A great self-edit program

I like to self-edit and get my manuscripts as clean as I can before having an editor take a final look. In the past, I’ve used a list to guide me through my self-edits, but this time I used a free site called Edit Minion. I’m glad I used it because I found some words I had been overusing that I hadn’t noticed.

Edit Minion is a basic guide using highlighting to indicate passive voice, adverbs, ending in prepositions, weak words and ‘said’ replacements. Then it lists how many times a word has been used. This basic guide worked for me and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a free self-edit program.

I discovered I use ‘that’ and ‘with’ way too much. I also end a lot of sentences with prepositions.

Editing programs are great for cleaning up your manuscript, but I would recommend using a live editor or proofreader before publishing if you plan to self-publish. There are some errors only a live person can catch.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Favorite Friday

Since winter has arrived with a frosty nip in the air, I thought about some of my favorite things about this time of year. My two most favorite things about winter are drinking hot chocolate and wearing UGG boots. Where I live we don’t have snowy winters, but it still gets cold. I can’t wait for the scorching summers to end so I can stop painting my toenails and just slip my bare feet into my warm, snug UGG boots, sit down and sip some oh-so-awesome hot chocolate. I have one rule: My hot chocolate has to have marshmallows. If it doesn’t have marshmallows, it doesn’t taste the same. Mmm. Now I just need to snuggle with my dogs, I mean my honey, and I’m a happy camper.

Snow on the mountains.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Weird word Wednesday

abaft

adverb

Definition of ABAFT

:  toward or at the stern : aft

Examples of ABAFT

1. <the lookout in the crow's nest warned that there was an enemy frigate abaft and bearing down hard on their ship>

Origin of ABAFT

Middle English, from a- + baft in the rear, from Old Englishbæftan, from be- + æftan behind — more at aft

First Known Use: 15th century

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Cloud formations at sunset in Arizona

Photo by Kelley Heckart

I have a fascination with cloud formations, especially at sunset and sunrise. Here in Arizona we have some amazing sunsets and sunrises.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A new year, a new outlook

Yeah, a new year! I want to be hopeful that 2014 will be a better year than the previous five years, but my pessimistic self won’t allow me to get too excited. I suppose this new year can’t be worse than what we went through after 2008. And things seem to be improving for me (and my husband) but we aren’t out of the black hole yet.

It seems life cannot be planned. Everything that has happened to me in the last thirteen years has been an unpleasant surprise. My life did not turn out the way I had wanted it to be. Some good has come out of these changes, but also some very bad things as well.

Writing saved me from myself, kept me from losing my sanity. Finding an outlet for my frustration, pain and anger was the good that came of my life changes.

The bad, well the bad is something I try to forget. I guess things end up working out somehow, though I’m still struggling a lot with accepting my fate. It’s terrifying not being able to do the things I used to do, to be a different person. But I am lucky to have a husband and a family that understands and sticks by me.

I just hope 2014 is the year that I can finally stop worrying, but then do we ever stop worrying about the future? For what lies in the future, but the unknowable and the inevitable fate of all mortals?

Perhaps the best way to deal with life changes is to think of life as one long, unpredictable adventure and live in the moment. That seems to be the way to live life. Maybe if I had done that all along, I wouldn’t be so bothered by the unexpected.

I didn’t want to make any New Year’s resolutions because I never keep them, but I decided to make a resolution for 2014—to live in the moment.

Happy New Year!

My dogs—living in the moment

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604