Short story author, Novelist in the making & Grammar enthusiast
Ever lost time humming and hawing over a comma?
Or simply wished ‘further’ and ‘farther’ were more straightforward?
Or wanted to investigate how a truly great novel describes its setting?
Since July last year, I’ve indulged my inner writing geek and tackled these issues—and many more—across 32 blog posts.
And I want to make it as easy as possible to find exactly the blog that will help you.
So, welcome to my Big Blog Directory!
[Read More…] about Could I help you write? My Big Blog Directory
In late-19th-century Boston, one lonely figure strides past closed curtains and shuttered windows, hurrying to catch the earliest train to New York City. Hers is a life defined by death and hell-bent on revenge.
Two years and eight drafts into writing his novel, a frustrated author leaves his manuscript on a cafe table while he dashes to the washroom. He returns to find it in the hands of a beautiful woman, who won’t give it back.
[Read More…] about Could I entertain you? Glimpses—your free book of 8 short stories.Do you want to write clear sentences that use grammar and punctuation correctly? But do phrases like "compound … Read more » about To Comma or Not to Comma? When to put commas before “and”, “but”, “or”, “nor”, and “yet” made simple
Writing description can be a tricky business. Too much and the reader might get bored. Too little and they’ll … Read more » about How to write Riveting Description with “The Pillars of the Earth”
Ken Follett opens The Pillars of the Earth with a stark and unsettling line. The small boys came early … Read more » about Sentence cadence. Uncovering this secret of great prose in “The Pillars of the Earth”
I’ve got a book on my shelf printed by the Oxford University Press and another printed by the Cambridge … Read more » about What’s an Oxford comma? How do I use it correctly? And do I need one at all?
‘Place a comma before “which” but not before “that”.’ I’ve come across this simple guideline many times, and … Read more » about Can a single comma change the meaning of a whole sentence? A simple guide to placing commas before ‘which’ and ‘that’
It’s October 2019. I’m applying to university. I’m filled with anticipation, excitement, and no shortage of … Read more » about From tighter prose to cooler novel openings: More Awesome Writing Lessons I Learned in 2020
Over the past few weeks we’ve been dashing and colon-ing and semicolon-ing. But we’ve been doing them all … Read more » about Dash, Colon, Semicolon—which is right for my sentence?
There a three punctuation marks that look like a dash: The hyphen - The EN dash – The EM dash — … Read more » about Hyphens, EN dashes, and EM dashes. What’s the difference? And how do you type each of them?
Grammarly.com compares dashes to Swiss army knives. They can stand in for commas, colons, and parentheses, as … Read more » about Oh, dash!
Welcome to week two of our foray into punctuation marks I wish were easier to use correctly. Last week, we … Read more » about Semicolons—What in the world do they do?
If I could have it my way, three punctuation marks would have permanent how-to guides hovering above … Read more » about Colons—How in the world do you use those?
In a box somewhere there’s a stack of pencil-written pages bearing my first story. I was eleven or twelve, I … Read more » about 3 Awesome Writing Lessons I Learned in 2020
‘Avoid passive voice.’ That must be one of the most common pieces of grammar advice. And one of the most … Read more » about What is passive voice?
And I thought writing a blog about further and farther would be easy! Or at least somewhat straightforward. … Read more » about ‘Further’ vs ‘Farther’ as simply as possible
If I was you, I’d keep reading. Wait, though … shouldn’t it be “were”? If I were you, I’d keep … Read more » about “If I was” or “if I were”? Simple methods for choosing the right one every time
