Show, don’t tell

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” This quote by Chekhov may be familiar to some of you. It encapsulates perfectly one of the rules of good fiction writing: Show, don’t tell. Even my eight-year-old daughter knows what it means – they’re taught it at school.…

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Employing a Professional Proofreader

This is an article I wrote for NZ Business and Management Magazine. It's in the November issue, which is out now. You’re a business that prides itself on communicating effectively to its clients and prospects. You produce brochures, flyers and other written marketing material. Your website is a major component of your communications plan. Your company produces…

Why good grammar matters

“Sticklers Unite!” is the rallying cry from Lynne Truss in her #1 New York Times bestseller for grammar nerds, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. I’m a stickler and proud of it. And not a closeted one, either. My profession—proofreader, editor and writer—is just a tiny giveaway, for a start. Then…

A New Name

Dear followers, likers and hangers-on: Just a short post to let you know that I have changed the name of this blog. Previously known as bellbirdwords, it is now called thebellbirdblog. I have just launched my own freelance proofreading, editing and writing business, and I have called it Bellbird Words. This blog, my Facebook page (Bellbird Words) and…