As creators of story worlds, authors are privileged with a certain amount of inside information. We almost always know what’s going to happen to the characters before an event actually occurs. We understand cause and effect intuitively. The readers and the main character might not have seen that left hook coming from the antagonist, but […]
January 9, 2011 by 74 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Are You Using “There” as a Crutch?
When used as a pronoun, the utilitarian word “there” becomes an insidiously easy way for writers to get their point across. “There” gets the job done, no doubt about it. But using “there” at the beginning of sentences and phrases is the lazy way out. Whenever you see the word “there” used as a pronoun, […]
December 19, 2010 by 64 Comments Most Common Writing MistakesMost Common Writing Mistakes: Are Your Verbs Showing or Telling?
One of the most common bits of life-sapping “telling” found in a story’s narrative is also one of the easiest for writers to overlook. It’s also, fortunately, one of the easiest to correct. How Telling Verbs Can Block Reader Participation Take a look at the following impromptu example and see if you can spot the […]
