Welcome to the October issue of Editing Tips!

We have officially entered Q4 of 2025. It’s time to prioritize what we would like to accomplish before the end of the year. (Just hit Reply to share one of your writing or editing goals for this quarter. I’d love to hear from you!)

Editing Tip

Creating the possessive form of words that already end in S has changed in recent years.

According to The Chicago Manual of Style, the correct possessive form of names such as Alexis and Thomas are Alexis’s and Thomas’s respectively.

Although it may look strange to some of us, it is a better reflection of how we say the possessive form of these names aloud.

Tip for Fiction Writers

And speaking of names...

When naming your characters, consider the genre and historical period of your story as well as the ethnicity of your characters.

While you may be particularly fond of a specific name, it may not be the best choice when you consider these and other factors.

Tip for Nonfiction Writers

As is the case with all of our writing, it’s important to consider our target audience.

The movie Hidden Figures comes to mind. It was released in 2016 and features three real life Black female mathematicians who were crucial to NASA’s space program. The writers and producers knew how to create a compelling story based on the book by the same name. They knew their audience.

And while I’m certain the writer of the book by the same name had her audience in mind, it’s doubtful that it was comprised of those in the same demographic. It focused less on the characters’ humanity and more on the technical side of their story.

The same story. Different perspectives and presentations.

Tip for Memoir Writers

Whether pitching to an agent or choosing the most effective categories for your self-published memoir, it’s important to be as specific as possible when describing it.

As is the case with books in any genre, the overarching category (“memoir” for example) will not grab the other person’s attention.

“Sports Memoir” is more specific than “Memoir.” But “Hockey Memoir” is even more specific, and will appeal to agents and readers who might not bother investigating anything less specific.

Deep Point of View Basics

Not all metaphors and similes, no matter how compelling, are appropriate for all stories.

Like every other area of a DPOV story, the author must ask, “Does this reflect the POV character’s perspective? Is it something they would notice? Is this how they would think about it or speak about it to another character?”

Featured Recommendations

Almost every week, I listen to Kendra Adachi’s podcast, The Lazy Genius.

While the podcast is not directly applicable to writing and editing, the principles she shares in her book by the same name can be applied to virtually every area of life.

I’m a big fan of “being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t,” the author-podcaster’s tagline.

A Final Word

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians this month and to my American friends in November.

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