Last week I read in The Writer's Magazine, (information I have read a dozen times before), about the importance of avoiding passive verbs, and other weak words, and such. Well, I decided that I would test my novel by searching and changing the color of fonts for each type of problem. I also highlighted sections consisting of telling (vs. showing) and I am still working on that part. I can't believe the colorful pages of my novel! The colored font is peppered all over my pages...I am so appalled! If you asked me if there were any of these problems on my manuscript, I would have said, "A few, I am sure." HELLO. Now that these problems are in my face, a complete rewrite of the problems must be addressed before I query another agent. If you are a new writer and wonder if your manuscript is clean, try colored fonts and highlighting to track areas that might need to be updated. It works. Time for me to go.....good luck on your critiquing.
Sherry
