Social media and texting apps are full of slang; some old, some new. For many people, using slang seems cool, but it’s also because we just don’t have time to write everything in full. I mean, we have a lot of time, but there are a bunch of things that are shortening our attention spans, … Read more
If you are a writer, there is one thing that you’re constantly reminded of: unlike formal written English, spoken or conversational English is too unregulated. When we speak, we usually have the liberty of abusing the Queen’s language—throwing in a bunch of adverbs, confusing which for that, omitting important articles, and committing other atrocious grammatical … Read more
You might have seen it in a letter or email before or even used it on several occasions, but you don’t know what it means. In a world where the new and saucy LOLs, BTWs, LMAOs, and TBHs are taking over, P.S. is still among the relevant professional and personal correspondence abbreviations. The fact that … Read more
I always say that if you want to get the best results with your writing, you should always proofread before publishing. But proofreading is as good as your grammar skills. Even if you are using tools like Grammarly or Ginger, your grammar needs to be good enough to sift through the recommended edits. It may … Read more
There are a lot of punctuation marks that were used in the past that have been buried under ‘obsolete symbols.’ The Hedera is one of them. Although such marks are infrequently used nowadays, their ‘obsolete’ tag is almost invalid. You can still use the hedera and other uncommon typographical tools in your writing. Before I … Read more
As a writer, I want to write every day, but that’s easier thought than done. Most of the time, I lack inspiration. If you are like me, you often need something to spur your creativity. It could be a line or a couple of lines. Whatever can instill ideas into you. One of those creativity-inspiring … Read more
Does the setting contribute to the story? If it does, how does the setting contribute to the story? Setting is one of the most significant elements in literature and it advances the plot. The setting of a story is important for both the writer and the reader. The setting informs the reader of the environment, … Read more
When writing a story, it’s important to consider the number of main characters in the story. How many main characters should a novel have? The answer is simple but not definitive. I would say that it depends… The number of main characters affects the complexity of the story and also determines whether the lead characters … Read more
Some people can barely tell the difference between ‘bare’ and ‘bear,’ and I can’t bear the sight of those sentences. Bear with me, I’m not saying that my mastery of the queen’s language isn’t 100%, but some things (i.e., knowing the difference between bare and bear) ought to be the bare minimum. Enough with my … Read more
Is it just me, or do morally grey characters represent the very fabric of human nature? You know, most of us want to be better people and do good things, but now and then we sprinkle a bit of hypocrisy on our “morals.” The duality of grey characters makes them more interesting than most non-human … Read more
