Why Talk About Commas? I have two good reasons: First, I recently had a group critique the first chapter of my novel, and some of them gave advice on comma usage. The only problem was some gave wrong advice. Second, my daughter has been asking me to write about commas because she gets confused about […]
Lay Versus Lie: How to Keep Them Straight
“Writing in English is like throwing mud at a wall.” –Joseph Conrad Frustrated? Join the Club English is a beautiful, rich language, full of possibilities. Sometimes it’s frustrating. Have you ever felt as if you wanted to stand on top of a tower and scream? For some people, knowing when to use lay or lie […]
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition: Yea or Nay?
Never End a Sentence with a Preposition: Everyone knows you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition. All or most of your English teachers told you. Right? So, is it true? No, but most people seem to think it’s true. This rule does apply to Latin, which is where many hard and fast English “rules” […]
Writing Tip: “A Lot” Is Two Words!
One of my Biggest Pet Peeves: You guessed it: writing “a lot” as one word. I know. I know. “A lot” is written as one word all over the place, including the Internet. But that doesn’t mean it’s one word. It means people don’t know better. Since you are reading a blog post about writing […]
Writing Tip #5: Do You Know When to Use That Instead of Which?
Have you ever been confused about when you should use the word that instead of which? Or when to use which instead of that? The wrong usage of these words is common. And, yeah, it’s common to be confused. A lot of professional writers seem to be confused about this and often use these words […]
Writing Tip # 4: A Commonsense Writing Strategy
“Reading your own material aloud forces you to listen.” Stephen Ambrose. This is so basic it hardly seems necessary to say, but often, the simple strategies are overlooked. Read your prose aloud. This is one of the single most important acts for any writer. Read slowly; Say every word written on the page; Listen because […]