Darling Axe Editing
@darlingaxe.com
Novel development & editing services. Our editors are industry experts and award-winning writers. Take your manuscript to the next level.
DarlingAxe.com
DarlingAxe.com
Pinned
Coming very soon!!
January 7, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Coming very soon!!
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:58 PM
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
I personally don't want to give in... 😭
January 7, 2026 at 12:37 AM
I personally don't want to give in... 😭
I'm not sure what claim you're talking about. Chatbot definitely overuses em-dashes, and it uses them in a characteristic way. I've talked to several writers who now take care to use them less frequently, even though that's an annoying concession.
January 3, 2026 at 10:50 PM
I'm not sure what claim you're talking about. Chatbot definitely overuses em-dashes, and it uses them in a characteristic way. I've talked to several writers who now take care to use them less frequently, even though that's an annoying concession.
For sure. Plot still matters.
January 3, 2026 at 1:44 AM
For sure. Plot still matters.
The rage comes from the suggestions that an em-dash = AI. Obviously humans use them all the time. It's more about how chatty uses them... and how often.
January 3, 2026 at 1:43 AM
The rage comes from the suggestions that an em-dash = AI. Obviously humans use them all the time. It's more about how chatty uses them... and how often.
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:58 PM
The Hidden Cost of Using AI
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Our brains are incredibly powerful tools, but they’re like muscles: they only stay strong when we keep using them.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
Listen to your characters, follow them, rather than forcing them to follow you. Get to know them and let them tell you what they’re planning rather than the other way around.
darlingaxe.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
The following is a roundup of new publishers and agents announced in 2025—free to all.
Want to be notified every week of new publishers and agents? Sign up for my newsletter The Bottom Line (free version works as well as the paid version for this purpose). See comments for sign-up link.
Want to be notified every week of new publishers and agents? Sign up for my newsletter The Bottom Line (free version works as well as the paid version for this purpose). See comments for sign-up link.
New Publishers and Agents in 2025 | Jane Friedman
A roundup of new publishers, imprints, and agents announced in 2025, as covered in The Bottom Line.
janefriedman.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The following is a roundup of new publishers and agents announced in 2025—free to all.
Want to be notified every week of new publishers and agents? Sign up for my newsletter The Bottom Line (free version works as well as the paid version for this purpose). See comments for sign-up link.
Want to be notified every week of new publishers and agents? Sign up for my newsletter The Bottom Line (free version works as well as the paid version for this purpose). See comments for sign-up link.
Yes, if it's a writer who has come to know their characters and is letting the story proceed in directions the characters would logically go. But as dev editors, we see many manuscripts where the characters are forced to follow a mechanistic plot that doesn't make motivational sense.
December 31, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Yes, if it's a writer who has come to know their characters and is letting the story proceed in directions the characters would logically go. But as dev editors, we see many manuscripts where the characters are forced to follow a mechanistic plot that doesn't make motivational sense.
Red Harvest (Dashiell Hammett) is an interesting book in how it sits at the crossroad of pre-noir hardboiled pulp—an important stepping stone in the development of detective fiction.
www.youtube.com/shorts/DIu4X...
www.youtube.com/shorts/DIu4X...
Have you read Red Harvest? What did you think? #writingcommunity
YouTube video by Septimus Brown
www.youtube.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Red Harvest (Dashiell Hammett) is an interesting book in how it sits at the crossroad of pre-noir hardboiled pulp—an important stepping stone in the development of detective fiction.
www.youtube.com/shorts/DIu4X...
www.youtube.com/shorts/DIu4X...
Definitely worthwhile. The free version is enough. You can sort by which agents are currently open to submissions.
December 30, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Definitely worthwhile. The free version is enough. You can sort by which agents are currently open to submissions.
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
I always follow my characters. It is their stories, so why wouldn't I listen to them?
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
Listen to your characters, follow them, rather than forcing them to follow you. Get to know them and let them tell you what they’re planning rather than the other way around.
darlingaxe.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:49 AM
I always follow my characters. It is their stories, so why wouldn't I listen to them?
Thanks for sharing :)
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Thanks for sharing :)
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
This was something I discovered several years into writing. At some point, the characters dictate the narrative's direction more than the writer.
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
Listen to your characters, follow them, rather than forcing them to follow you. Get to know them and let them tell you what they’re planning rather than the other way around.
darlingaxe.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This was something I discovered several years into writing. At some point, the characters dictate the narrative's direction more than the writer.
Do you use QueryTracker?
December 30, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Do you use QueryTracker?
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
Listen to your characters, follow them, rather than forcing them to follow you. Get to know them and let them tell you what they’re planning rather than the other way around.
darlingaxe.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Follow Your Characters, Not Your Outline
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
"Your characters are, or should be, the ones in the driver’s seat. This is their story."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/c...
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026.
darlingaxe.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026.
darlingaxe.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The Rejection Resolution: Flipping the Script
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
"If you send out enough submissions to garner 100 rejections, I can almost guarantee there’ll be a few surprises in your inbox in 2026."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/1...
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
Too Good to Be True: Writer Scams Are Proliferating
Their goal, naturally, is to get money from you. As for your book’s future? They couldn’t care less.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/w...
#writingcommunity
Their goal, naturally, is to get money from you. As for your book’s future? They couldn’t care less.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/w...
#writingcommunity
Too Good to Be True: Writer Scams Are Proliferating
Their goal, naturally, is to get money from you. As for your book’s future? They couldn’t care less.
darlingaxe.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Too Good to Be True: Writer Scams Are Proliferating
Their goal, naturally, is to get money from you. As for your book’s future? They couldn’t care less.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/w...
#writingcommunity
Their goal, naturally, is to get money from you. As for your book’s future? They couldn’t care less.
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/w...
#writingcommunity
New post up on the Chopping Blog 🪓🪓
How a Tech-Lite Trip Turned Into a Reading Bender
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
How a Tech-Lite Trip Turned Into a Reading Bender
Put the screen down and time reappears. For writers, that really matters. Thinking needs space. Planning needs quiet. Writing needs attention. Reading needs long stretches without interruption.
darlingaxe.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:00 AM
New post up on the Chopping Blog 🪓🪓
Reposted by Darling Axe Editing
How a Tech-Lite Trip Turned Into a Reading Bender
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
How a Tech-Lite Trip Turned Into a Reading Bender
Put the screen down and time reappears. For writers, that really matters. Thinking needs space. Planning needs quiet. Writing needs attention. Reading needs long stretches without interruption.
darlingaxe.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:58 AM
How a Tech-Lite Trip Turned Into a Reading Bender
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
"What surprised me was how much reading and writing we got through without trying."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/t...
Happy holidays from the Darling Axe 🎄🪓
December 25, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Happy holidays from the Darling Axe 🎄🪓
I aimed to stay positive in the video but I 100% agree. There are some interesting things here, but the kid's lack of agency is zzzzzzzzzzz
December 25, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I aimed to stay positive in the video but I 100% agree. There are some interesting things here, but the kid's lack of agency is zzzzzzzzzzz