Sentence Fragments – Stylistic Choice?

ADVERBS – PART THREE – THE DREADED “LY’S” When discussing adverbs in regards to writing fiction, the kind we’re usually talking about are the “ly” words, like clearly, dearly, and madly. Many high-brow critics complain that the use of adverbs like this is a lazy man’s (or woman’s) tool. I remember the first time I…

ADVERBS – PART TWO Some words can serve as both adjectives AND adverbs. 1) He swung hard with a right hook. Here, “hard” serves as an adverb which modifies the verb “swung”. 2) When he fell, his head hit the hard concrete. Here, “hard” is an adjective modifying the noun “concrete”. Occasionally, some adverb-adjective pairs…

An ADVERB is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Here’s some examples: adjective form adverb form 1) happy happily 2) clear clearly 3) close closely 4) dear dearly 5) perfect perfectly Of course, not all adverbs in in “ly” as the following list demonstrates: 1) here 6) now 11) then…

Every time I turn on the television or pick up a new book at the book store, I see yet another cliche or variation on a cliche, and I roll my eyes. “Again?” I say. “Geez! Is everybody these days so lacking in imagination, so devoid of creative talent, that they can’t come up with…

This one’s a tough nut to crack. Avoiding cliches is like avoiding headaches. We’d all love to, but there’s no way we’ll ever completely avoid them. With hundreds of cliches, they’re as thick as pea soup, and therefore, often the first ideas which come to mind. Cliches are simply too ingrained into our patterns of…

OVERCOMING WRITER’S BLOCK SILENCING THE INNER CRITIC – Overcoming writer’s block sometimes involves shutting up the little green monster that sits on the writer’s shoulder (particularly the beginning writer) telling them that everything they write is “stupid”, and that they’ll never make it as a writer. Find a way to build confidence, and trust yourself….