Words are powerful stuff for writers. With them, we convey stories we’re dying to tell. We create characters that jump off the page. We build settings that our readers can visualize. We develop plots that grab readers and keep them turning pages until the end of the book. We conceive alternative worlds that allow our readers to escape their ordinary lives whenever they want to be someone else, be somewhere else, or do something else.
“Teacher, May I Go Mambo Dogface In The Banana Patch?”
Intentional Fragments: Stylish or Fiction Faux Pas?
The use of fragments in fiction is an acceptable style technique. Well done, they add to the professionalism of a polished manuscript. Poorly done, however, they come off like a tryout for the talent show at the annual office Christmas party.
One-Minute Grammar… Hyphenation Between Words
Poor Mr. Hyphen. He gets no respect. Considering he can combine the power of two words (sometimes three) and force them to work together to describe a noun—all in one simple swoop—Mr. Hyphen is one mighty mark.
Top 15 Misused Words in Commercial Fiction
Writers love words, don’t we? We love to use them to create characters that jump off the page, to build settings our readers can visualize, and to develop plots that grab readers and keep them turning pages until the end of the book… we love words! Except sometimes, we use them WRONG.
Top 5 Ways to Kill A Sentence
It happens every day in some part of the world, a poor, defenseless sentence becomes the unwilling victim of a homicide. Hit and run. Voluntary manslaughter. Murder. Are you guilty of a sentence crime?