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• A Quiz About Expletives

  4434 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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  Writing with Computers Too Easy

  2197 readersThe word processor brings obvious advantages to writers. The ease with which you can write and revise, having typing and spelling mistakes corrected as you go, leads to...carelessness. Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook. Original Post: Writing with Computers Too Easy

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  Words Our Writing Can Do Without, Part 1

  2833 readersWhen a new writer comes to me for advice, I typically recommend they begin their career by stocking their bookshelf with several must-read titles. Some cover the craft of writing, and others, the business. Of course, I always recommend they visit FWJ, too, including, but not limited to, the job listings and Bob Younce’s business

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  Free Dictation Software for Writers

  2288 readersThe first draft of this post was dictated using the free Dragon Dictation iPhone app last night. While this GalleyCat editor strolled home and talked into his iPhone, the program automatically transcribed the words you are reading. The uses of dictation software seem endless for writers: you can dictate your notes, emails, Tweets, Facebook post,

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  The Golden Rule of Writing

  2668 readersA guest post by Eric Cummings of On Violence I learned what I consider the “Golden Rule of Writing” – the only rule that can help every writer – in the first creative writing class I ever took. Of course, I didn’t learn the rule immediately, or even in the first class. My classmates and I

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  How to Plan Your Non-Fiction Book to Set Yourself Up for Success

  5010 readersEditor’s note: this article was written by guest contributor Ali Luke, author of Lycopolis. Have you ever started a book … only to give up part-way? Some authors get a few chapters into their book before running out of steam. Others don’t even begin: they have a great idea, but they’re stuck at the starting line, not

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  Developing a Writing Style by Todd Rutherford

  8252 readers Image by Rupert Ganzer When writers are first starting out, they often emulate the style of other authors whose work they admire. But in the course of most writing lives, at some point, a unique style is developed. Sometimes that style evolves over many years of writing, other times it essentially erupts from the writer. But

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  Developing a Writing Style by Jason Rutherford

  728 readers Image by Rupert Ganzer When writers are first starting out, they often emulate the style of other authors whose work they admire. But in the course of most writing lives, at some point, a unique style is developed. Sometimes that style evolves over many years of writing, other times it essentially erupts from the writer. But

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  BTB #249: The Doctor’s Book Is In

  6684 readersWhen it first appeared in 1979, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper outlined the basic structure of scientific articles, and detailed the basics of good scientific writing style. A generation later, those basics remain largely unchanged, but the writing and publishing process is nearly unrecognizable from the days of typewriters and printed galley

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  Made With Scratch?

  2292 readersA fast food restaurant, I heard recently on the radio, now has “scratch-made” biscuits. I’m suspicious, but what bothers me more than my doubts is the misuse of the idiom “to make something from scratch.” Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook. Original Post: Made With Scratch?