Peek Over the Peak with Piqued Interest The English language is tricky. Words can sound the same but have very different meanings. This makes mastering grammatical rules difficult. One set of confusing words are peek, peak, and pique. All three words share the same pronunciation, pēk, but have unique definitions and usage. Peek Peek in … More Peek Over the Peak with Piqued Interest
How to Create Fantastic Metaphors Aristotle said a metaphor was “the act of giving a thing a name that belongs to something else.” It allows you to pack a powerful punch in a few words. Your reader can take their full understanding of one thing and apply it to another thing. By writing, “my cubicle … More How to Create Fantastic Metaphors
Top Ten Writing Tools of 2019 Put these writing tools on your resolution list and get ready to make a clean start in the New Year. Contents: The Day Job New Year. New Ambition? Little Extras The Day Job Writing Apps #1: Scrivener It had to be you. At The Novelry, we have tried them all: Ulysses, Novelr, … More Top Ten Writing Tools of 2019
Do You Know the Key Differences Between UK and US English? Sometimes it feels like British English and American English might as well be different languages. Football versus soccer, loo versus bathroom, queue versus line… the differences are endless! We can’t help you figure all those out, but we can help with alternate spellings between … More Do You Know the Key Differences Between UK and US English?
Kill the Thought Verbs! Get Readers Involved Story is action. Verbs create action. When your characters act, readers turn pages. But, you may slow down your readers when you go inside your character’s head. Not because you are going inside their head but because you revert to thought verbs. What are thought verbs? They are … More Kill the Thought Verbs! Get Readers Involved
Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 60: Flat Plots One of the most deflating criticisms authors hear is that “they’re writing flat plots.” Not only does this (seem to) indicate a certain lack of personal depth, it’s also a sign the story is boring and forgettable. Fortunately, there’s no reason you need ever fall prey to this … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 60: Flat Plots
Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 59: Overly Complex Plots Complex plots? Good. Overly complex plots? Not so good. Complex plots are the stuff of literary mastery. They can take a story beyond a single dimension into an intricate exploration of life. Dickens, Mann, Eliot, and so many more literary luminaries show us how to do … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 59: Overly Complex Plots
Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 58: Too Much Description Sooner or later, most writers will get their hands slapped over description, whether it’s too much description or too little. The bad news is that this is a big deal in narrative fiction. Get the balance of your description wrong, and it could throw off your entire story. … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 58: Too Much Description
K.M. WEILAND Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 56: Unfulfilled Foreshadowing Sometimes writing feels like magic. You look back at the story you’ve created and it seems like it came from beyond you. One of the coolest examples of this is with foreshadowing. Some little something you wrote in the early chapters without even thinking about it … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 56: Unfulfilled Foreshadowing
Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 54: Story Events That Don’t Move the Plot One of your chief jobs as a writer is to come up with story events—stuff that happens in your story. Coming up with these exciting elements is likely why you started writing in the first place. Like C.S. Lewis, you were zapped with … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 54: Story Events That Don’t Move the Plot
