Self-Editing with Patricia Stoltey

Patricia Stoltey initially wrote for the Blood-Red Pencil from 2009 to 2010, before taking a break to concentrate on writing fiction. We were thrilled when Pat decided to rejoin us in 2018.

Patricia Stoltey's latest releases

In the early 1800s in a village on the Illinois frontier, young Jo Mae Proud wishes her cruel brother dead. Forced into prostitution by Caswell, Jo Mae discovers she is pregnant and vows to escape. Then Caswell is injured by a near lightning hit.

When Lynnette Foster's cop husband punches her in the face, she leaves him and boards a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. At the airport, a criminal accidentally switches Lynnette's laptop case with his own. Sammy's boss sends a hit man to recover his property. To complicate Lynnette's life, eleven-year-old Grace McCoy follows her off the plane during the Denver layover. Then Lynnette learns that her husband has been murdered.

When a body is discovered in a hotel bathtub in Nevada, guest Sylvia Thorn decides to do a little sleuthing. Accompanying her mother and her travel club friends, Sylvia is shocked when a gruesome connection is made between the dead body and their tour group. Then Sylvia’s brother, reluctant clairvoyant Willie Grisseljon, senses trouble. Unable to contact their mother by phone, Willie and their father impulsively fly to the rescue. Willie soon wishes someone would rescue him instead.

Patricia Stoltey's top articles at the Blood-Red Pencil

Pat produced an excellent series ten years ago, Self-Editing One Step at a Time, which is still just as relevant today:

1. Charting the Novel Story Arc

2. How to Identify Dragging Narrative

3. Identifying and Eliminating Your Habit Words

4. Searching for More Silly Stuff

5. Weeding Out Unnecessary Adjectives and Adverbs

6. Cleaning Up Those Dialogue Tags

7. Analyzing Sentences for Redundancy and Wordiness

8. Fine-Tuning Sentence Structure

9. Read Your Manuscript Aloud

10. One Final Self-Editing Chore

11. Critique Groups Part I

12. Critique Groups Part II


Connect with Pat on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. And pay her a visit at her website and blog.