The Final Polish: Making Your Prose Serve Your Story

Authors often love to polish their prose, shining up the words of their story until they gleam. But there's much more to skillful line editing than just making the words pretty. In the strongest stories, the language serves the story as potently as any other element of craft. It strengthens, clarifies, deepens, and heightens impact.

Line editing means taking a microscope to every word of your story and making sure it says what you want say in the most impactful way, that it says exactly what you mean, that it clearly conveys your intentions, and most important, that it never draws attention to itself and gets in the way of the story or risks pulling readers out of it.

In this 90-minute live webinar, career book editor Tiffany Yates Martin will show you how to trim the fat from your prose that can lead to flabby writing and stall out or dilute the effectiveness of your story—and how to add the flavor, conveying your intentions in the most elegant and effective way, while expressing your unique voice that will set your story apart.

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Isabel Klee is best known for her work in fostering and rehabilitating dogs in New York City. As "Simon Sits" on social media, Klee chronicles the experience of caring for heartbroken animals and giving them a second chance at life.

Now, with her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Dogs, Boys, And Other Things I've Cried About, Klee is inviting readers into her personal orbit with stories of heartbreak and betrayal, of personal loss and times of growth, and the dogs that were there through it all.

Out of nearly 100 entries, WD editors chose the following 5 finalists who wrote stories based on this photo. Vote for your favorite by using the comments section at the bottom of this article. Deadline to vote: May 29

Out of over 100 entries, WD editors chose the following seven finalists. Vote for your favorite using the comments section at the bottom of this page. Deadline to vote: June 26

Write the opening line to a story based on the photo prompt below. (One sentence only.) You can be poignant, funny, witty, etc.; it is, after all, your story. Email your submission to yourstorycontest@aimmedia.com with the subject line "Your Story 142." Deadline to enter: June 22

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Writer's Digest Annual Conference offers everything you need to advance your writing career creatively and professionally. Gain invaluable tips to improve your craft, explore publishing options and learn how to establish a sustainable career—all while being inspired by successful authors and your fellow attendees. It’s all brought to you by Writer’s Digest, the experts at nurturing and developing writers at every stage of their career for over 100 years.

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