This month I’m going to look at two words which through over-use or misuse have lost so much meaning and power they have become pointless sentence fillers, and therefore need to be used with extreme caution in any writing. They … Continue reading
If in your story, or more likely your novel, the passing of time is important, it may be a help to create a timeline – a list of dates, and if necessary, days of the week – on which you … Continue reading
There’s a fine line between telling your readers too much or too little. Novice writers tend to think they should explain everything, and it takes quite a long while to learn how to discern the right level of exposure. I’m … Continue reading
One of the disadvantages of such a rich language as English is the number of words with subtly different meanings. They must be treated with care and used appropriately. It isn’t fussy or ridiculous to be particular about how we … Continue reading
When I first come back to a draft to make the necessary changes, I often turn a fair number of my sentences inside out, or by chopping them up, rearrange the clauses. It’s a useful exercise to see how a sentence sounds when it’s … Continue reading
In this post I’m going to reflect on unnecessary, clumsy or meaningless words. As usual, this is what works for me and for my personal style or ‘voice’, and while I don’t expect it to apply to other writers or to a … Continue reading