A tree stretches its branches toward the sky like a child reaching for her mother, crying to be held. Flying away from the weeping willow, a bird zips above leaves rolling across the lawn. They’re pushed by a zephyr stalking the yard for hungry breaths like those of the bird, who darted toward a window…
The Footnote as a Literary Device
Footnotes don’t have to be boring digressions. In fact, they can be quite helpful. Norton anthologies are loaded with footnotes. They shed light on aspects of a work or the circumstances of an author’s time. This gives context to a story, which aids in comprehending and analyzing a work. A dictionary might describe information in…
Book Review: An Abundance of Katherines
John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines (Penguin Random House) shines in the young-adult category. In fact, it’s a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book. The contemporary story reels readers in with a relatable plot and “an abundance of” unique features that flip Humdrum on its head. Although published in 2006, the read is timeless….
Sticky-Note Diary: Adjective Rabbit Hole
Sections 5.91-3 of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., (CMS) discuss a variety of adjectival predicaments. Writers might study these sections on their quest to figure out how to deal with multiple adjectives in succession. Coordinate adjectives require commas. Phrasal adjectives have their own rules. Complicating matters, these rules have exceptions. Situations can get…
Novel Beginnings
Story endings often get all the attention. However, it takes a good beginning to motivate a reader to read to the end of a book. Just as an entire story usually has a structure that holds it together, so does a beginning. By “structure” I don’t mean it’s a rigid one. But the beginning shouldn’t…
Using “They” As A Singular Pronoun
According to The Chicago Manual of Style, they, as a gender-neutral pronoun referencing an individual, was chosen in 2015 as the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year. When I first learned about pronouns, a singular antecedent always required a singular pronoun: “Beth brought her laptop to class.” However, some individuals prefer they as their individual…
Tweak Your Style: A Quick Lesson In Clarity
Good literature isn’t a chore to read. A character performs an action, and I know what’s going on without having to reread sentences a hundred times. Even if the character is figurative, such as a personified earthly element, that subject’s action verb should stand close by: “Light twinkled off the water while Darkness lurked below.”…
Truth: A Blank-Page Writing Strategy
Many people forage for knowledge about writing. They skim through books at Barnes and Noble, read blogs and magazines, and watch vlogs by editors, authors, and agents. Occasionally, the foraging reaps priceless, insightful quotes from famous authors. Faulkner’s “Kill your darlings,” which I discuss in another article, helps me after I complete a first draft….
How to Write a Novel
Would you love to write a novel but don’t know where to start? Do you fear you’re not good enough to write a novel? If so, this article is for you. Writing is a craft that requires honing and a process as unique as each writer. Consider what you learn here and elsewhere, but do…
Sticky-Note Diary: Italics or Underline
Long before I bought my Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), 17th ed., I’d researched whether I should underline that which I wanted to italicize. I read (I forget where) that although in the past doing so was necessary, nowadays it’s not. However, in my last year of college–recently–two different older professors underlined my italics when…