Latest, Most Favorite Writing Tool

"At its most basic we are only discussing a learned skill, but do we not agree that sometimes the

most basic skills can create things far beyond our expectations? We are talking about tools

and carpentry, about words and style...but as we move along, you'd do well to remember that

we are also talking about magic." --Stephen King, On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft

Thanks, Girl Friday over at Reading, Writing and Ribaldry, for introducing me to my latest, most favorite tool--EditMinion. What a treasure for those of us up to our knees in revisions.

Quoting the page, "EditMinion is a robotic copy editor to help you refine your writing by finding common mistakes. To get started, paste a chapter of writing into the box and click Edit!"

What kind of editing help does EditMinion offer? The site scans the copy, and highlights such problem areas as adverbs, weak words, passive voice. It notes frequently occurring words, and gives a count of how often you use them. It notes misspelled words and--my weakness--sentences that end in prepositions. Appears it also points out cliches, but maybe I'm stronger in that category. After using the site to edit six chapters, not once was a cliche highlighted. Yea!

I just pass on this information in case you'd like to check it out. I'm guessing that you, too, are on a quest to dig deeper and make your writing better. We're always on the look out for tools that might help us master our craft.

And, with any luck and a lot of perseverance, we'll uncover some of the magic Stephen King talks about along the way.

What has been one of your latest, most favorite writing tools?

Patching Holes

I blame a hole in the asphalt for the song that's been tormenting me.

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Remember that old song? As kids we loved the Burl Ives version. Later a Sesame Street rendition came along. But the tune actually originated in Germany in the 1700s.

No matter. The hole in the side of the road that I've been watching grow bigger on each of my walks recently--a hole that without attention will become a major tire-swallower--triggered the memory. And I can't get it out of my mind.

Well, fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry. Well, fix it, dear Henry. Dear Henry, fix it.

With every one of Liza's suggestions, Henry counters:

With what shall I fix it? he asks...With a straw, she answers.

But the straw is too long...Then cut it.

With what shall I cut it?...With a knife.

The knife is too dull...Then sharpen it.

With what shall I sharpen it?...With a stone.

But the stone is too dry...Then wet it.

With what shall I wet it?...With water.

In what shall I carry it?...In a bucket, dear Henry.

But there's...

Can't you just picture Liza tearing her hair out about this time?

I hope I'm not so contrary when it comes to fixing the holes in my manuscript. If someone says my characters are like straw, my plot needs a trim, my description falls as flat as a stone, my dialogue needs honed, or my whole story leaks, I'm going to have to do a lot of patching in order for it to hold good stuff!

Do you have any leaks in your writing bucket? How do you propose to patch them?