The Writer's Workout

Learn about copyediting and the repertoire of skills needed to be a copyeditor.

Hello! It's me (again). S.E. Reed, your favorite multi-genre Indie Author and volunteer at The Writer's Workout. Okay, so maybe I'm not your favorite, but I am an Indie Author who has made it her mission to help you find out more about others like me. Each of these episodes features a Q&A-style interview with an Indie Author so you can get to know more about them and their writing. In addition, some of the authors have chosen to participate in a 2nd interview on my website, W

It’s been said that love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Both are intense emotions. Both are characterized by passion. They even activate similar areas of the brain.  But they don’t mean the same thing, of course. “Love” reflects feelings of deep affection or pleasure in doing something, while “hate” suggests an equal level of animosity. So this begs the question: Is it possible to experience these seemingly conflicting feelings at the same time? If you’re neurodiver

So, you’ve finished your story. First of all, congratulations! You’ve succeeded at a long, difficult task! Here’s the bad news: you’re not actually done. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but what you’ve essentially done is apply the first coat of paint. Just like surfaces need several coats for the color to come out as strong as possible, your story needs multiple rounds of revision. And you want to know the worst part of revision? It’s cutting things. Alright, trimmi

Learn about the different stages of editing during the revision process.

Hello! It's me (again). S.E. Reed, your favorite multi-genre Indie Author and volunteer at The Writer's Workout. Okay, so maybe I'm not your favorite, but I am an Indie Author who has made it her mission to help you find out more about others like me. Each of these episodes features a Q&A-style interview with an Indie Author so you can get to know more about them and their writing. In addition, some of the authors have chosen to participate in a 2nd interview on my website, W

Distance before revision I wrote the first draft of my first novel just out of high school, right on the cusp of 19. I was young, inspired, and profoundly enamored with writing. It all started out with just a feeling: the grief that comes with unrequited love. From this one driving emotion flourished several characters whose voices and personalities wove their way into the pages of my story.  At the time, I felt prepared. I had read my genre voraciously. I had planned the tim

The advice on writing routines is endless and contradictory. Many aspiring novelists will be familiar with the idea that you must  write every single day, preferably at the same time of day, and hit the same word count. Spend some time digging for it and you will surely find the opposite advice too—don’t force yourself to write when you don’t feel like it because if you don’t like doing it, you won’t do it at all. Contradictory advice becomes frustrating when you feel like yo