Language

In the Beginning: How to Draw in Your Reader

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman. A story either leaps off the page or it doesn’t. Beatriz Badikian-Gartler once told our writing group that “Titles are a kind of promise you make to the reader.” Certainly, titles are important, but I think her point applies even more to the beginning of your

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Working Past Wordiness For Fresher Writing

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman. I’ll give you twenty seconds to skim these paragraphs and tell me which one exhibits stronger, more engaging writing: Paragraph A The hottest month in Ayemenem would certainly have to be May. Each and every day is long and exceedingly humid. The river starts to dry

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How to Use (not abuse) Jargon, Slang and Idioms

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Susan Bearman. Editor’s Note: For a chance to win a copy of my eBook, The Busy Mom’s Guide to Writing, drop by author Jody Hedlund’s blog and leave a comment on her latest post, 5 Ways to Reduce the Working-Mom Whine Syndrome.  I started my writing life as

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How To Balance Dialogue and Description

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman. I often read about the importance of spicing writing up with dialogue or description: a little show-don’t-tell language, a heated argument relayed with fast-paced exclamation points, a vivid image, an exchange whose subtext reveals more than the words themselves. “Absolutely!” I always say. “I need to include

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Use Your Fiction Skills To Write A Personal Essay

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Today’s post is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman. A talented member of my writing group once told me she couldn’t imagine writing a personal essay. While the powerful description and plot development she employed throughout her novel-in-progress impressed us all, she said she would find it impossible to generate ideas for a nonfiction piece

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Think Backward to Write Meaningful Metaphors

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Today’s article is written by regular contributor Sarah Baughman.  “Ugh, Mrs. B.!” my student groaned, rolling his eyes. “Why can’t this author just say what he actually means?!” We were reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and my student wasn’t the only one in the class who seemed weary of reading about pythons that were really hoses, symphony conductors that were

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