Related Articles

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  Obliterating “And,” “Also,” and “Additionally”

  3717 readersThe rule that you can’t begin a sentence with the word “And” was drummed into my head by elementary school teachers and my mother from the time I could write. “Everyone” knew that was wrong, wrong, wrong. For years, I wouldn’t begin a sentence with “And,” took the word out of every article I edited,

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  Divine Passive Voice

  2480 readersMost writers know the difference between active and passive voice. In active voice, there’s a clearly identified agent performing an action: Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook.

• 5 Ways to Reduce Use of Prepositions

  6122 readersPrepositions, words that indicate relations between nouns, pronouns, and verbs (mostly small ones like for, in, of, on, to, and with but sometimes more substantial, as in the case of beneath or between), are often integral to a sentence, but writers can clutter sentences by being overly dependent on them. Here are five strategies for

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  Let’s Get to the Action: Verbs

  2575 readersThis post is the second in my series on “parts of speech.” Workshop teachers often instruct aspiring fiction writers to begin their stories: “in media reas” (in the middle of the action). Without verbs, a story would have no action. How dull would that be? Verbs – Verbs are action words. Nouns can “do” verbs. Dogs bark. Writers have

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  11 Smart Tips for Brilliant Writing

  2587 readersDo you sound smarter when you use big words? According to a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology , the answer is no. In fact, complex writing makes you sound small-minded. Just consider the title of the study: Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly. Wouldn’t it be better to title

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  Three Steps to Foolproof Proofreading & Editing

  2568 readersI was doing research for some parenting articles yesterday, and linked back to one of my earlier blog posts about baby crib mattresses. (Captivating topic, no?) I began skimming the article for a good sentence to use as a link and for some additional information. (Do you think I actually remember anything I write?) To

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  Showing and Telling for Article Writers

  2340 readersWarning: I’m getting into realms that can send fiction writers to insane asylums – showing v. telling. Do you need to show rather than tell in non-fiction, as well? The answer, as with so many things in writing, is a definitive, “Sometimes.” (And that’s the case in fiction, as well!) The examples I provide in my

• A Quiz About Expletives

  4446 readersOne easy solution for getting sentences off to a strong start is to make them more active by eliminating what is called an expletive, or a dummy subject, such as “There is” or “There are.” It is not necessary to eradicate all expletives from your writing, but minimize them by identifying the real subject of

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  More Words to Avoid in Freelance Writing

  3273 readersIf this isn’t a case of attracting what you want to avoid, I don’t know what is. Since I wrote about avoiding the word “And” to begin sentences, I’ve been finding places in my articles where it’s the best transition. And so… at the risk of finding future posts peppered with adverbs, I’m going to

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  5 Simple Ways to Power Up Your Writing

  2617 readers“”Begin at the beginning,”, the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop” ~ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland I could probably share 500 ways to power up your writing, never mind 5… but then I’d be ignoring my own opening line.  So I’m going to keep it simple.