Tag: Writing Tips
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D&D Alignments for Writing Characters
Characters are the lifeblood of any story, but sometimes it’s a challenge to breathe that life into them. They need to feel realistic, but how do you do that? There are quite a few strategies out there, and one tried and true method is a fairly simple one: nail their personality. People are shaped by…
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Spelling: Commonly Misspelled Words
Sometimes, when words are spelled wrong, it’s because they’re inconsistent with the book’s dialect, they’ve been incorrectly capitalized, or you’ve mistaken it with a homonym (words that sound the same with different spellings). Most of the time, though, words are just hard to spell. When we read, we don’t usually pay attention to the way…
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Writing Compelling Villains
Stories always have antagonists, someone (or something) who opposes the main character. However, they don’t always have a villain. But what’s the difference? And, if you’re writing a story with a villain, how do you write them to the best of your ability? What is a Villain? First, what is an antagonist? Defined, an antagonist…
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Writing Good Characters
Let’s face it: writing characters is hard. Writing good characters is even harder. But it’s possible. I won’t be able to give you a step-by-step guide of writing good characters, but this article will help shine a light on how you can improve your understanding of people—fictional or not. What Makes a Good Character? In…
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Punctuation: The Apostrophe
Definition: a punctuation mark (’) used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers. Note: Do not rely on grammar or spelling checkers to identify missing or misused punctuation. Although a checker may flag possibly missing or incorrect marks, it cannot do much else. While I still recommend using these AI checkers…
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Punctuation: The Exclamation Mark
Definition: a punctuation mark (!) indicating an exclamation. Note: Do not rely on grammar or spelling checkers to identify missing or misused punctuation. Although a checker may flag possibly missing or incorrect marks, it cannot do much else. While I still recommend using these AI checkers while you’re writing, I insist that you also trust…
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Punctuation: The Question Mark
Definition: a punctuation mark (?) indicating a question. Note: Do not rely on grammar or spelling checkers to identify missing or misused punctuation. Although a checker may flag possibly missing or incorrect marks, it cannot do much else. While I still recommend using these AI checkers while you’re writing, I insist that you also trust…
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Punctuation: The Semicolon
Definition: a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma. Note: Do not rely on grammar or spelling checkers to identify missing or misused punctuation. Although a checker may flag possibly missing or incorrect marks, it cannot do much else. While I…
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10 Tips for All Writers
Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the waters or you’re a full-blown author, these tips can help you. They’re some of the most universal, so you may have heard them before, but I think they’re the most important as well. 1. Write the story you want to read This may go without saying, but…
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Punctuation: The Comma
Definition: a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list and to mark the place of thousands in a large numeral. Note: Do not rely on grammar or spelling checkers to identify missing or misused punctuation. Although a checker may flag possibly…