Everyone has some gaps in their grammar education. No matter how much grammar was pounded into us in class, we didn’t get it all. We might operate on the principle that if something ‘sounds’ right, it is right. Why it is right is often beyond…
Of course, I have style. Writing style is part of our personality: brash, in-your-face, shy, retiring, academic, rational or emotional. It is a little like clothes sense–something we develop to suit ourselves and to make a statement to others. Our choice of long sentences…
Of course, I have style. Writing style is part of our personality: brash, in-your-face, shy, retiring, academic, rational or emotional. It is a little like clothes sense–something we develop to suit ourselves and to make a statement to others. Our choice of long sentences or…
Here is the dialogue test: Give a reader a sentence taken from the dialogue in your book manuscript. Ask him or her to identify which character said which sentence. It should be obvious. Characters speak in dialogue that has a definitive and unique flavor. A…
Whose story is it? Which character is giving the reader the gateway into the book? Decide early. Trust me, it saves hours of rewriting. Usually, the story is told from the protagonist’s point of view. We want our readers to empathize with…