Excerpt Critique: “Follow Me,” YA Suspense

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Please welcome today’s anonymous aspiring author, ready for a peer critique. Take a moment to read the excerpt, then please leave some thoughtful feedback in the comment section below. If you are a writer whose excerpt has appeared anonymously on Write It Sideways, and now you’d like your name to appear on your piece, please contact

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What’s In A Name? Writing the Right Title

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman. Is anybody else out there a terrible titler? Naming pieces of writing is one of the hardest parts of the process for me. To give you an idea of just how hard, I offer this confession: in college I wrote a swath of poems as various

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How to Use (not abuse) Jargon, Slang and Idioms

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman. Editor’s Note: For a chance to win a copy of my eBook, The Busy Mom’s Guide to Writing, drop by author Jody Hedlund’s blog and leave a comment on her latest post, 5 Ways to Reduce the Working-Mom Whine Syndrome.  I started my writing life as

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10 Ways to Boost Your Odds of an Acceptance

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Today’s post is written by Writer’s Relief. So you’re trying to get published—that’s great! But after a while it seems like your work is being “politely declined” by everyone—not so great. As the saying goes,“you can’t control the wind, but you can change your sails.” Here are some tips and tricks to help any writer change

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Excerpt Critique: “World Apart,” Science Fiction

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Please welcome today’s aspiring author, Cody Connor, ready for a peer critique. Take a moment to read the excerpt, then please leave some thoughtful feedback in the comment section below. If you are a writer whose excerpt has appeared anonymously on Write It Sideways, and now you’d like your name to appear on your piece,

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Shape Up Flabby Writing with Stronger Words

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman. Choosing the right words can make the difference between flat, tedious writing and writing that sings a clear, sweet song. Adjectives and adverbs are fine in moderation, but strong verbs will propel your writing forward and engage your reader in a sensory adventure. Flowery or distracting

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