“Looked” and “gazed” are writer cop-outs and amount to telling. In this article, I’m not going to tell you to drop them completely from your short story or manuscript — since I’m a proponent of all things in moderation — but to encourage writers to consider alternatives, especially since those alternate options often bring aContinue reading “Looks and gazes = lazy”
Tag Archives: writing
Writing Prompt #6: Write a character’s obit
Obituaries can say a lot about a person: who their parents were, who their relative are (plus if any have predeceased them), where they were born, who they married (if they did at all), where they worked, affiliations they had, hobbies they enjoyed, their religion, how they lived, and of course, where and how theyContinue reading “Writing Prompt #6: Write a character’s obit”
What ya got against series?
What always surprises me as lurk around different forums is the hate series seem to get from some individuals, particularly series that reach great success like Harry Potter. “The author is just milking the cash cow,” they will say, or “Don’t they have enough money.” What these individuals don’t understand is that writers don’t writeContinue reading “What ya got against series?”
To hyphenate or not to hypenate
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”
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”
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!”
Blood & Ink 