Bryan Collins's Blog, page 55

A Common Verb List: 20 Words You Must Know

When learning to write and read English, having a common verb list on hand can help you identify verbs and use them effectively.

The English language is full of interesting words, and verbs are the part of a sentence that shows the action or state of being. Understanding the English common verb list will help you identify these in your writing and use them more effectively, even when they have irregular conjugations.

The English language has thousands of potential verbs, but for those lear...

The 9 Best Content Writing Apps for 2021

These content writing apps are the best options for quick, concise writing no matter what you're working on.

We’ve all got writing goals, right? And the whole point of picking a third-party writing app is to make it easier to reach those goals, preferably without spending too much money.

The good news is that we now have an excellent crop of writing programs that are being designed and updated with features specifically for writers – and without the confusing fluff of more generic text edi...

How to Become A Technical Writer in 5 Easy Steps

Technical writing is in high demand. This guide breaks down how to become a technical writer.

Technical writing involves taking complex information and breaking it down into something an audience can understand. Tech writers must understand their audience and their material, and this makes it a highly specialized type of writing.

If you are thinking of becoming a tech writer, you will find that this is a lucrative writing career. Here is a closer look at how to become a technical writer an...

20 Best Historical Fiction Books: Read Them Today

Delve into an existing read, and get transported back in time, with one of these best historical fiction books

Whether it explores Victorian London or takes place in New York City during the Great Depression, a historical fiction novel will transport the reader to a different time period. The best historical fiction books are those that use the time period as a major plot point, but that still tells a great story.

It doesn't matter if you are exploring the wives of Henry VIII or the real-l...

11 Top Essay Writing Tips for Students

If you struggle with essay writing, these essay writing tips for students can help you get started.

College applications and examinations all have one thing in common. In most cases, they require the student to write an essay. Essays give a chance for students to show their writing skills and ability to reason, making them valuable pieces of information for the people making decisions about the entrance to college.

If you want to succeed in writing essays, you need to practice. These essay...

The Best Courses for Copywriting: 5 Courses to Improve Your Skill

Discover the best courses for copywriting to transform your writing into a successful business.

If you have good writing skills, you can have a successful business as an online copywriter. Yet it takes more than just being able to write.

You also need to understand email marketing, direct response writing, blogging, and more, and the best courses for copywriting will teach you all of this.

5 Best Courses for Copywriting

If you are going to invest your money in an online copyw...

Is None Singular or Plural?

Is none singular or plural? We’ve consulted several grammarians on the subject and want to help you alleviate this grammar conundrum right now. 

If you’ve stumbled upon this guide to the confusing little four-letter word “none”, welcome! None means basically “nothing”, and causes a lot of confusion for students, professional writers, and even some grammar teachers.

You’ve never really lived until you’ve tried to explain to a non-native English language speaker how to use it correctly with...

On Vs Upon: What’s the Difference?

Knowing when to use on vs upon is a tough grammatical question, but I’ll straighten you out here.

Remember seventh grade, when your teacher stood at the front of the room and wrote various prepositions on the blackboard or whiteboard, expounding the difference between on vs upon? Perhaps they illustrated the point with a cat playing around a table, or a hiker exploring a mountain.

If that didn't stick with you, you're not alone. Prepositions are one of the most difficult parts of speech to...

Lead vs Led: What’s the Difference?

Writers who get confused about lead vs led can use some tricks to understand the difference.

The words lead vs led are easy to confuse, especially since they can be homophones. Led, the past participle of the verb lead is pronounced the same way as the metal lead. Thus, lead vs led can get quite confusing to the English writer.

Thankfully, learning the difference between these commonly misused words can help you keep them straight. To make the distinction between the words and their differ...

The 4 Most Famous Moleskine Users

Many famous people have used the type of notebook that inspired the Moleskine brand, including these four famous Moleskine users.

The Moleskine brand is a relatively new player, coming on the scene in 1997 when Modo & Modo started producing small, notebooks with simple covers, sewn spines elastic bands, and bookmarks. Yet though the brand is new, the Moleskine-style notebook has a rich and vibrant history.

Non-spiral notebooks in the tradition of the Moleskine have been popular with artis...