Poor Grammar. It has such a strong, hateful stereotype, doesn't it? People call it unnecessary, ugly, devious, and even sadistic. But Grammar and its convention henchmen are actually quite helpful and vital to the English language, at least literarily. The trick is how to use it. Sometimes, people forget that the point of grammar is…
Conversations about my writing usually go something like this: "How is your book going?" "It's going." "When will it be published?" "It's a work in progress," I usually say with a sigh. And it is. Compiling a book of any kind takes months or, more often than not, years of work. For instance, the drafts…
I am standing on the bridge between chaos and tranquility, between crimson and greenery. I want to drink from that well of blue water, to graze beneath the hearts of rounded mountains. I want to stop and dance with the dandelions, to twirl around their seeds, to grow my own. I want to expel black…
As an experiment, I've written the start of a few short story ideas. If you're a writer, doing this really helps the creative juices flow for the projects that you're working on. I hope you enjoy them! The Musician: Carla, the cleaning lady on Clermont Street, has a son who is engaged to a…
In writing, one may choose to use several different persons or perspectives to convey a story to a reader, including first person ("I"), second person ("you"), or third person ("they"). Many modern authors have experimented with writing in second person, in particular. But why? Why not just write traditionally, in more of an orthodox style?…
Time is a liquid. We carry it throughout the day in our cupped hands; we slosh it around as the hours pass; we watch as droplets fall unto the ground when we stress and when we are unproductive; we watch time glide down our fingers when we procrastinate. And when the day is over, we throw our…
A writer’s goal is to make his characters as believable as possible; therefore, he has to make them as complicated as possible.
2B or Not 2B 