Since time immemorial, clichés have sneaked in the door when we least expect them to. They're low-hanging fruit for writers…
Verbs are the engines that move your writing and your readers, but many authors don’t spend enough time choosing the…
Two-word clichés are perhaps the least obvious kind. Unless we’re vigilant, they sneak into our prose, steal color, mask our…
Discussions of English Language pet peeves provide an entertaining forum for the expression of ire. In fact, if a “pet”…
So many writers get discouraged. This stinks. I quit. Others are overconfident. They've always had "a gift for words" so…
You threw a grand party but nobody came. Your novel is so good but you're not selling books. What happened?…
Are images analogous to words? Is what makes a sentence sound "right" the same thing that makes an image "pop"…
"Passive writing" refers to a specific set of grammatical circumstances where emphasis switches from subject to object. The money was…
Generic descriptions are telltale signs of lazy writing. Add color to your writing by replacing overused and boring words. It's…
Dialogue presents challenges for writers. Some prefer to simply declare what was “said.” Many authors feel that “said” is both…
This third installment of Judging a Book by its Cover looks at great book cover designs that won the 2012…
As a graphic designer, I see numerous parallels between the values that create engaging imagery and the values that create…
The word "that" is often abused. "That" is a perfectly useful pronoun but it's often the useless fat that slows…
Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued "professional" covers taken from Amazon's Editor's choice…
I recently responded to a question in a writers’ forum from an author who was in the process of designing…
Nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly crafted book cover. The standards for book design aspired to by trade publishers are…
After completing the final draft of a manuscript for my fifth book, I wanted a reality check. I hired a…
The word processor has placed new burdens on writers to understand how to use italics, big and small capitals, dashes,…
We all use clichés, often without realizing it—and there's a place for them. However, every cliché makes your words less…
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