This post on breaking capitalization rules is part of our blog series on creatively breaking grammar rules. Visit our first post in this series to learn more about this series and its goals! The focus of this post is one of the most basic conventions in the English language: capitalization. You know: making letters UPPERCASE…
To Break or Not To Break: Breaking Rules in Writing
A new blog series on why rules exist, when writers shouldn’t break them, and how writers can break them effectively Welcome to my new blog series! The series is dedicated to helping writers understand how they can break writing rules to achieve certain goals. The art of writing is often seen as a means to…
Fiction Writers Are Murderers: 12 Categories of Common Character Deaths
Fiction writers are murderers: the Gods of our worlds, the dealers of death. We ultimately decide which of our characters live and which of them die. We kill them for many reasons. This is a huge responsibility, and many fiction writers (for text, film, games, and more) have been criticized for their death-dealing methods, as…
Why the Gatekeepers of Book Publishing are Losing their Gatekeeping Status
In our technologically advancing world, with the rise of new storytelling platforms, self-publishing opportunities, and online spaces for socializing and crowdfunding, the gatekeeping status of traditional book publishers (and other book-publishing gatekeepers) is weakening. (Read more about the people who are considered the gatekeepers of book publishing and why they’re considered gatekeepers here.) Online publishing…
6 Ways Social Media Has Revolutionized the Ways Writers Tell Stories
Social media has undoubtedly changed the world for better and for worse. The worse effects of social media are difficult to ignore: easier spread of misinformation, feelings of divisiveness, and truly negative impacts on mental health, to name just a few. But social media has also revolutionized (and is continuing to evolve) the way people…
The Gatekeepers of Book Publishing
Literary agents, and acquiring editors, and publishers are considered often considered the gatekeepers of book publishing. Writers must get “through” them to get their books traditionally published. A literary agent is a professional who represents authors and their written works to publishers, film producers, and other potential buyers. The role of a literary agent is…
The Current Tense Trend: Mixing Past and Present Tense Conventions
One of the main choices an author has to make when writing a narrated story is which verb tense to use. Many readers and writers alike will tell you that you have only two tenses to choose from: the past or the present. (Because English does not actually have a future tense—i.e., an inflected future…
9 Linking Best Practices for Content Creators
Many freelance writers—especially those who are just starting out their freelancing careers—often don’t understand the best (hyper)linking practices. Hyperlinking is when writers insert a clickable link that serves as a digital reference, and this is a common practice and expectation for content creators. Because content writers don’t always understand the best linking practices, editors often…
Sentence Parts and Parts of Speech Part 4: How Can Phrases and Clauses Function as Parts of Speech?
In the previous posts of this multi-part blog series, we’ve discussed the parts of sentences, including words, phrases, and clauses. We’ve also discussed the parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. We’ve discussed how understanding the separate sentence parts and parts of speech can help you learn how those parts function together…
4 Easy Tips for Improving Your Word Choice and Upping Your Creative Writing Game: Getting Rid of To-Be Verbs
A lot of novice creative writers struggle to create engaging sentences using effective word choice, and many of these writers aren’t even aware that issues with their word choice exist. Issues with word choice can make writing feel dull and colorless, despite how exciting the story might be. There is one issue in particular that…