As a copy editor, I have to read a lot of freelancers’ articles, and often times, I am amazed at the interesting grammar choices they bring into the sterile, grammar disease-free environment of our editorial office. They bring in grammar flavors of the month, going in cycles of wanting to put a comma here oneContinue reading “To hyphenate or not to hypenate”
Author Archives: smwright
Why am I a lightning rod for misfortune?
The month of June has been perhaps the most “eventful” month I’ve had in a long time — just filled with mechanical failures and a body fail. Albeit some of the misfortune began in May after I finished my print-out read-through. First, my laptop breaks down, taking with it my writing articles and article ideas,Continue reading “Why am I a lightning rod for misfortune?”
Mind that space bar: Put your best foot forward
Let’s be honest, no matter what sphere of writing you might be interested int the writing world is extremely competitive. With this in mind, it is important to put your best foot forward, to make a good impression. You want your writing to shine, to stand out from the rest. To do this, you willContinue reading “Mind that space bar: Put your best foot forward”
Exposition and Dialogue: How to Get the Perfect Mix
I will never forget finishing my first novel, or how quick I was to show it to all my English teachers, hoping for feedback as to whether it was good or needed some TLC — never even thinking that I might kill the project in the future (which I did, though I reminiscence fondly onContinue reading “Exposition and Dialogue: How to Get the Perfect Mix”
March Madness, indeed
This month has just been insane! Things are picking up both at work and in my almost non-existent social life. On top of it all, I’ve been trying to keep up on EdNaNoMo with the month a little over halfway gone. I have to wonder where the month went since suddenly I’m having to completeContinue reading “March Madness, indeed”
Writing numbers, a quick guide
I’m going to ease back into the blog with an easy topic: numbers. So when do you spell them out or put in the Arabic numerals (ex. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.)? The simple guideline is when the figure is under 10 you spell it out while anything greater than 10 uses numerals. This alsoContinue reading “Writing numbers, a quick guide”
Character Series: Habits — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Habits — the good and the bad… and sometimes plain ugly — can add spice to any character, making them complex and flawed. Habits are routine behaviors that occur repeatedly and can happen on a subconscious level. So what habits do your characters have? Are they good or bad? Some habits only appear when aContinue reading “Character Series: Habits — The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
It’s Paramedic Style!
Well actually, it’s called Paramedic Method and it can de-clutter writing by forcing writers to consider their word choice, in addition to pinpointing words aren’t pulling their own weight. Beyond targeting wordiness, the Paramedic Method helps writers look at passive sentence and consider active variations. How does the Paramedic Method work? Well, it is bestContinue reading “It’s Paramedic Style!”
March is NaNoEdMo
I love March, not only because it means that spring is just around the corner, but because it is NaNoEdMo, a month dedicated to editing. So many, writers fall short when it comes to self-editing their own work. Let’s face it edits — or at least serious edits — can be time consuming and evenContinue reading “March is NaNoEdMo”
February’s end: Now what?
I’ve made it! I’ve posted a blog entry everyday during the month of February, an achievement that I had some doubts that I would achieve it, especially on some days. With my blog posting month done, what does that mean for the blog? Well, I will go back to my semi-set-in-stone schedule with posts onContinue reading “February’s end: Now what?”
Blood & Ink 