There’s something tremendously fulfilling in the moment you finish writing your story. You sigh with pleasure or scream with joy because somehow you know it’s the best one you’ve written. And through the sweat and sorting, you finished! But sooner or later you drift down off the bubble of wonder you’re floating on because, just […]
Writing Lesson 2.29 – Dialogue: To Attribute or Not to Attribute?
April 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“That is the question,” said . . . er . . . mused Jack. As you prepare your entries for the upcoming contest, consider the way you use dialogue. Have you read books where every snippet of dialogue ends with “he said” or “she said”? These phrases become boring and redundant. I’ve heard that our […]
Writing Lesson 2.28 – Are Your Scenes Boring?
April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In my last tutorial, I talked about heroes who are too perfect. In that same line, writing scenes that are too nice will lose your readers’ attention. Scenes that just meander on in Niceness, exuding lovely scenery, quiet dinners, bits of dialogue that mean nothing are boring. Something has to happen, even subtly, or the […]
Writing Lesson 2.23 – More About Homonyms
February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In my previous lesson, we looked at homonyms or homophones. In particular, we focused on contractions. Let’s look at more misused words. This section contains words that sound alike but have an entirely different meaning—more homonyms to confuse the English language. Alter (to change) Altar (a table used for a holy rite) Example: For weddings, […]
Writing Lesson 2.20 – Back to Basics
February 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Today, let’s talk about . . . Homonyms Huh? Sounds like grammar. <Pause here for groans> Yes! Creative writing is a LOT more fun than grammar drills, but if you intend to submit your writing for publication, Rule #1 is that it must be “clean”–properly punctuated with no misspellings or inappropriate word choices. You want […]
