Virginia S. Anderson's Blog, page 19
November 20, 2017
Against Outlines
Do you outline your novels? Why or why not? Since my title is “Against Outlines,” you may suspect I’m going to argue against them. Maybe, though, I’m not vehemently against outlines for writing novels. The outlines you need! In my … Continue reading →
November 14, 2017
More on Commas and Those Pesky Nonessential Modifiers!
Don Massenzio shares more on how to detect and punctuate essential and nonessential modifiers. This post from the Ediket blog provides some great practice examples! Check them out. via How to Use an Appositive Advertisements
November 1, 2017
What to do with old obsolete grammar rules?
Originally posted on Jean's Writing:
Do we throw them out? Or do we realize some rules are made to be broken? Hooray! At last, a common sense post about what to do about hard and fast rules that make no…
Do we throw them out? Or do we realize some rules are made to be broken? Hooray! At last, a common sense post about what to do about hard and fast rules that make no…
October 30, 2017
The Only Comma Rules You’ll Ever Need!
Commas are among my favorite tools for building meaning. Used intelligently, commas are wonderful signposts that tell readers which part of a sentence they’ve stumbled into—and then help them make their way out again. I like commas so much I’ve … Continue reading →
Top 5 Lessons From Bad Writer
Originally posted on Allison Maruska:
I have an alter-ego on Twitter. Her name is Bad Writer. She doesn’t have a million followers or viral tweets or anything like that. She exists merely to be the public face of my sarcastic…
I have an alter-ego on Twitter. Her name is Bad Writer. She doesn’t have a million followers or viral tweets or anything like that. She exists merely to be the public face of my sarcastic…
October 21, 2017
12 book marketing buzzwords you need to know via Sandra Beckwith
I found this really helpful! Thanks for Don Massenzio for passing it along. Source: 12 book marketing buzzwords you need to know via Sandra Beckwith #h2e Advertisements
October 12, 2017
Amazon’s “Gray” Book Market Explained
Today’s New York Times reports on the change in Amazon’s book-selling practices that allows third-party sellers to sell as “new” books they’ve acquired from remainder stocks or book reviewers as well as other sources. Authors won’t receive royalties on these … Continue reading →
September 23, 2017
Green River Writers Contest Deadline 9/30! Don’t Miss Out!
The Deadline is coming for the 2017 GREEN RIVER WRITERS annual contest. Two grand prizes @ $175 for first place, 13 other categories all with cash prizes, $3 entries. “NOVEL FIRST CHAPTER” CATEGORY! How many of those do you see? … Continue reading →
September 22, 2017
Review: Every Writer Should Read Dorothy Sayers’s *Gaudy Night*
Maybe I should say, every female writer. The book I’m recommending is about women, yes. But was it written for women only? I’ll hold to the faith that my literary male friends might find some familiar sentiments in this story—timeless … Continue reading →
September 14, 2017
A Brief for the Lowly Dialogue Tag
Today I want to devote a few minutes’ attention to the lowly and often maligned dialogue tag. I generally agree with what I believe to be the consensus: Dialogue tags (e.g., he said, she asked) should function almost as invisibly … Continue reading →
