Words are powerful and can ‘paint’ a picture, particularly words used in poetry that resonate and stay with us. Favourite passages in novels are often read and reread to relive that feeling and scene, or that memory of the first time they were read. Visual art stimulates an immediate sensation through sight and is not tied to language. A work […]
I read a lot of historical fiction and I have my favourite authors of the genre: Peter Carey, Geraldine Brooks, Tracy Chevalier, Barbara Kingsolver, Hilary Mantel, Kate Grenville and Markus Zusak. I have also been blown away by so many emerging historical fiction authors whose unpublished novels are sent to me for assessments. I love being able to immerse myself […]
Do you have an unpublished novel or a non-fiction manuscript ready for submission to publishers or agents, or maybe you’re considering self-publishing? Before you take the plunge and hold your breath, hoping for success, it is prudent to submit your manuscript for a professional objective critique. So why not take advantage of my fee-reduction offer for the month of September […]
Superfluous words are the enemy of good writing. I often come across writing that includes adjectives and adverbs that are either wrongly chosen to ‘qualify’ another word or are lazy choices (written without thinking whether they are necessary or appropriate). One of the best ways to avoid these inconsequential (lazy) qualifiers is to read back every sentence you write and […]
If you’re ready, or nearly ready, to have your writing (fiction or non-fiction, thesis or academic paper) proofread (or lightly edited), then why not contact me with a brief overview of your project and any specific requests for assistance (such as a looming deadline or the need to stop writing!). I understand that it takes courage to hand over one’s […]
Choosing the intimate first-person point of view to write a scholarly book or a fictional narrative is challenging. Point of view (POV) is the perspective from which an author writes a story or presents information. There are three points of view (viewpoints) — the first-person POV (I, we), the second person (you, your), and the third person (he, she, they). […]
Whether you’re writing a crime narrative, Young Adult novel or an academic textbook, the ultimate aim is to create sentences that flow effortlessly so your reader is constantly engaged with the content/narrative. This memento mori still life painting by the seventeenth-century Dutch artist Pieter Claesz is a potent reminder that life is short, but our finest work/s will endure. So, […]
Recently, I taught an adult class about classical art and spent time, with my editor’s hat on, explaining the difference between the words ‘classic’ and ‘classical’, and whether to capitalise these words in a sentence. Both words imply that something is of a special class, and refer to high culture, especially the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome (hence the […]
Whenever I’m reading a novel or editing an unpublished manuscript with heaps of dense descriptive text, it’s always a welcome relief to turn a page and see more white than black, which is usually in the form of dialogue. More importantly, successful dialogue excites most readers because it not only advances the story and fleshes out the characters, but enlivens the […]
Although ‘principle’ and ‘principal’ sound the same, as do ‘past’ and ‘passed’, they are often used incorrectly in a sentence. These two pairs of words are called homophones — two or more words that sound the same (identical pronunciation), but have different meanings and sometimes different spellings. The term homophone comes from Greek ‘homo-’ (same) and ‘-phone’ (sound), so the […]
I would like to thank my editor, Denise Taylor, for her invaluable feedback and support throughout the writing process. I have appreciated her comments and engagement with this project. Denise, with her impeccable work and incisive editorial remarks, significantly improved the manuscript as a whole.
Professor Olivera Simić, Griffith University Law School
Denise’s assessment was thorough, considered and she highlighted several important shortcomings in the plot and character development. ‘Red Can Origami’ became a much stronger manuscript for her input!
Madelaine Dickie
Denise was invaluable in getting my novel from a rough 3rd draft to publication ready. I especially liked her capacity to develop a collaborative working relationship so that all the work of editing, polishing, re-writing was held in the spirit of my writing journey.
Denise has well-honed writing skills, of course, but as well she has this unusual capacity to support and encourage. She really tuned in to my direction as a writer which was enormously helpful in moving my novel forward. Beyond the fine-tuning of my last draft, Denise then gave some timely coaching to help me negotiate the new realities of publishing. How great it was to have access to such a well-grounded and experienced mentor! Highly recommended.
Thupten Lekshe
Dear Denise, Many thanks for the way you have prepared and presented my memoir. I could not imagine at the start that it would turn out looking the way you have presented what now seems a very interesting life; in fact, I might live it again. Thank you and congratulations.
Percy Rogers