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Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

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4 Tips for Writing Dialogue.

May 14, 2021 by Tahlia Newland

4 Tips for Writing Dialogue.

Writing dialogue well is an important skill for novel authors because it carries so much characterisation and drives much of the story. Stilted or unnatural-sounding dialogue is something readers will quickly pick up on, and they'll also quickly put your book down. Writing dialogue is more than writing down spoken English. The important thing to understand about writing dialogue is that we don't speak the same way we write. Written English and spoken English are different, and we have to write our dialogue as spoken English, in the way that people actually speak. But at the same time, we have to prune it back a bit, because no one wants to read lots of 'well's and 'um's. Or all the little things people say in introductions, like, 'Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?' In a novel, we want the dialogue to be on point, not to wander off into general chattiness. So start by writing exactly what your characters might say, and then cut back anything that doesn't move the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Editing, Writing & publishing, The writing, editing & publishing process, Writing tips Tagged With: how to write a novel, writing a novel, Writing dialogue

How to Revise a Novel

November 23, 2018 by Tahlia Newland

How to Revise a Novel

Once you’ve written several drafts of your book and you’ve received feedback from beta readers and/or a manuscript appraiser, you’ll need to know how to revise a novel because your feedback will most likely indicate the necessity for some revision. This is the last hurdle, the bit that might take a bit of effort, but if you pull it off, you're on the home straight, and it's easy sailing from here to the finish line. Yeah, I love analogies! How much work is required depends on many factors and how much direction you’ve got from your beta readers, but often they will point out something that doesn’t work without knowing exactly why. Your task is to find out why it doesn’t work and fix it. You may need only a few changes, but you may also need a complete rewrite, depending on the feedback you received. Regardless of how much revision is required, a checklist of the most important story elements comes in handy at this stage because you can use it as a diagnostic tool. I've made a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Editing, Writing & publishing, The writing, editing & publishing process Tagged With: how to write a novel, novel revision checklist, revision

Overcoming Obstacles to Novel Writing: What’s Stopping you?

March 3, 2018 by Tahlia Newland

Overcoming Obstacles to Novel Writing: What’s Stopping you?

Writing a novel? Feeling overwhelmed? Get new insight and inspiration with my FREE Novel Revision Checklist. DOWNLOAD IT NOW. Do you want to write a novel but haven’t got started or haven’t got very far before grinding to a halt? Considering how long it takes to write a novel, especially when you also have a job, it seems wise to start sooner rather than later, so what’s stopping you? And how do you overcome these obstacles to novel writing? I had an idea for my first novel for many years before I started writing—and when I did begin, I discovered that I had a series not a single book! But what stopped me from beginning my novel was, more than anything, a lack of confidence in myself and in my idea. Only when I shared my idea with a publisher friend and she said she thought my idea was worth writing did I seriously consider going ahead with it, but I still faced the hurdle of not being sure if I could write a good book or not. Lack of confidence If I can do it, you can too. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Editing, Writing & publishing, The writing, editing & publishing process Tagged With: how to write a novel, Novel Writing Obstacles

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Hi I’m Tahlia Newland

I can help you express yourself and share your story with the world.

 

Do you want to write a really good story and have it professionally polished and published?

As an editor, I help you be the best writer you can possibly be. I strengthen your voice, support your vision and can assist you all the way to publication.

On my blog you’ll find book reviews, writer’s tips, contemplative articles on meditation and working with your mind, and occaisonally pictures of my Burmese cats.

If you’re interested mostly in my contemplative articles then  Sign up to the Living in Peace & Clarity Newsletter to get those articles delivered by email. And check out the resources on my Living in Peace and Clarity Page.

I do a lot of community work involving blogging and general support for Buddhist students processing revelations of abuse in their spiritual communities.  Please consider supporting me to continue this work.

Occiasonally, when inspired and not too busy with community work, I make masks.

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Blue Burmese
Like cats in stories? Check out my books. And click the photo to read the cat colomn.

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Book reviews – sci fi, fantasy, literary fiction, Buddhist fiction and related non-fiction

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return is the third book in Val Tobin’s Tales from the Unmasqued World Series, and in it she deepens and expands the stories from the previous two book. The book has two central story arcs based around characters we’ve met before. One arc follows Kelsey (a human) who is with Josh […]

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My gorgeous Burmese cats

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Yesterday I did a photoshoot for my renovated website. Take a look around, particulary at the home page (Click on my name at the top to go there). It’s designed for editing clients with my books secondary because I need to focus on the part of this publishing business that actually earns me more than […]

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Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

Four of my books earned BRAG Medallions

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