“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.…
The Book Exchange
I’ve achieved some rather major literary goals this year, and last night I celebrated with two lovely women. There's me in the middle. (Those holes in my top are a design feature, not a result of drunken undressing in the dark. I wish.) On the right is Joanna, and to the left is Sara: the…
How to Avoid Huge Ships
I want to share with you a marvellous book I was gifted earlier this year. I'm the first to admit I am a little anally retentive. That's one of the reasons being a proofreader is the perfect profession for me - I love finding mistakes and correcting them. (Friends and acquaintances reading this: you may now scrape…
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…
What Makes a Good Proofreader?
I wrote this article for New Zealand Author, the official publication of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It was published last week. You have drafted and redrafted. You may have had some or all of your manuscript assessed. Finally, with relief and incredulity, you have typed The End and poured yourself a glass of…
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…
Dip. Edit. goes bush
I have finished my year-long Proofreading and Editing Course and I am now (as long as I didn't bum out in my final assignment) actually qualified to point out grammatical and spelling mistakes to people. Oh, and fix them. And now the hard work begins, because it's all very well having a pretty certificate up…
Patricia Bell, Author 