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Maria Heath, editor, consultant, and Ph.D. Candidate in Linguistics
Welcome!
Welcome!
Welcome to The Written World, an editing service that recognizes that writing creates new realities as well as being a reflection of our own world! Whether you're writing nonfiction, fiction, or even academic papers, your writing can benefit from an editor with an eye for both technical details and for the social and linguistic context of your work.
Having received a PhD in Linguistics (the science of language), I offer a unique editing service that draws on my technical understanding of English structure, the structures of other world languages, the history of language change and use, and the social attitudes toward different languages. An editor with a background in English can help you produce high quality and artistic prose, but an editor with a background in Linguistics is specially situated to offer broader perspective on how your language choices relate to culture and identity. Language is not just an art, it's human nature, so make sure your writing reflects the world you want it to.
Check out a preview of the services I offer below, or feel free to reach out to me for additional information!
Nonfiction or fiction, if your story takes place in a realistic human society, you should consider the role of language variation in the cultures you describe. I provide fact-checking and sensitivity reading regarding the description or use of languages you may not be very familiar with, the description or use of dialects or accents not easily represented in Standard English writing, and the possible power dynamics and social consequences of language and dialect variation. Make sure your language use is realistic and appropriate!
Are you a fiction writer inventing a fantasy or alien language for a story? Creating a believable invented language is not as simple as making up a few cool-sounding words! I offer consulting to help you develop the structure, writing system, and social role of your language. Whether you're planning to write whole poems in your invented language or just inventing unique names of characters or places, invented language consulting will help you integrate your invented language with your world and the language's speakers in a believable and immersive way.
I offer late-stage proofreading and editing for academic papers, books, assignments, and other writing that needs to be presented in a high-quality academic style. I have experience with both writing works of publishable quality and grading student writing. I also have experience with helping non-native speakers of English make their academic writing more fluent and fit the expected style of American academic writing, including offering specific pointers for future writing if desired. I specialize in the Humanities and am familiar with APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
Writing a modern story where characters communicate via text or social media? Advertising or writing for social media or other casual internet spaces? Baffled by the slang and styles of internet culture? I offer consulting on English chatspeak and internet language to help you produce, adapt, or interpret accurate internet language. I am experienced with written varieties found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Reddit, Discord, Twitch, MMO games, and SMS, among others.
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