Consistent formatting of our stories and books is important. That’s why we have rules for punctuation, abbreviations, number use, etc. It’s best to follow those rules; it would be chaos if everyone formatted their work as they chose. But . . . writing is an...
Everyone knows that we must write ethically. For example, we must not invade a person's privacy, violate cultural standards, or compromise public safety. And above all, we must write the truth.
But did you know there are ethical decisions to be made before you write your...
It’s been said many times that imitation is the highest form of flattery. All artists, visual, theatre, music, and even literary, have to start somewhere, and studying and copying the art of their favorite masters is a good place to start. But, copying a writing...
This article encourages writers to eliminate redundant, unneeded, and surplus words.
How’s that again? Obviously, I need to kill unneeded and surplus because they’re redundant.
But alas, many writers waste space and their readers’ time with unnecessary words.
Here are six reasons why writers let redundancy slip in,...
I started my journalism career as a newspaper reporter. Later I became an editor, then a radio news announcer, and finally worked in TV news. My point in giving you my background is to say that I learned how dissimilar writing for all three mediums...
As an author, are you a pantser or a plotter? I define the two as follows:
Pantser: A writer who gets a story idea, sits down, and starts writing without an outline, character, or plot details. S/he develops the story as s/he writes it, often surprising...
From characters to scenes to plot lines, it is important that readers can suspend disbelief; that is, the reader believes the characters to be true to life, the scenes accurate and realistic, and the storylines possible even as they know them to be improbable or...
Let’s say you’re writing a story with a protagonist named John. He’s a frustrated golfer with a short temper. In one scene, John throws his golf cap on the living room floor and stomps on it. His wife observes John's actions and asks him a...
After the period, do you type one space? Or two? Which one is correct?
Well, historically, and yes, considering the typewriter (pre-computers) has been around for over 150 years, we can consider this an historic dilemma, two spaces was the accepted norm. One period – two...
Most writers are familiar with the six journalistic questions. The first four are who, what, when, and where. Every writer, whether they write fiction or nonfiction, needs to answer these questions in every story or book.
As a practical matter, writers almost always do answer them...
