SPaG is writer shorthand for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. It is the most basic level of revision. Most word programs have built in spell and grammar checks. They may even alert you to punctuation errors such as not using a question mark where you need one. Spelling Let’s look at spelling first. You may think spellcheck is your friend. Beware! Unfortunately your computer cannot distinguish between rode and road; sink and synch; or weight and wait. It is your job to proofread for meaning. The English language has hundreds of homophones, words that sound alike but are spelled differently. If you’re unsure of proper spelling look it up! Some homophones…
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Quotation Marks
Whether you’re writing fiction, a letter to the editor, or a heavily researched report, it is important to know how and when to use quotation marks. Dialog In fiction, quotation marks are used exclusively for dialog. That is to say, they surround a character’s spoken words. For example: I shove the photo in Evan’s face. “Who is she?” I demand. “Alex,” he says, his face a giant question mark. And you slipped this into my locker because. . . ?” he actually squirms under my glare “You said you wanted pictures.” In this example the character’s spoken words begin and end with quotation marks. Anything outside of the quotation marks…
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Strong Verbs
Strong verbs make your writing sing. Since verbs drive the action in your story, it’s important to choose them carefully. Walk, look, and turn are not strong verbs. Neither are talk, watch, think, or realize. Yet beginning writers use these weak verbs all the time. What are Strong Verbs? A strong verb is one that does double duty. It defines the action but it also describes it. Let me show you what I mean. We can write, “Ashley looked at the letter.” Look defines what she did, but doesn’t describe it. Some writers are tempted to solve this dilemma by writing, “Ashley looked at the letter longingly.” The verb, look,…
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Persuasive writing
You’ve heard of the power of the pen? I’m pretty sure whoever wrote that was talking about persuasive writing. We are surrounded by persuasive writing: advertisements online or in print; movie posters at the theater; social media feeds; book reviews; letters to the editor; political campaign ads. Anytime someone tries to convince the reader to their way of thinking, that’s persuasive writing. Persuasive writing is a balancing act. Essentially you are making an argument without being argumentative. Let me explain. Let’s say you want to persuade school administrators to keep chocolate milk on the lunch menu. The key is to acknowledge the downsides of chocolate milk. Then state your position.…
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Show Don’t Tell Part IV
I want to challenge you to use the sense of touch in your writing. The obvious uses are texture and temperature. But there’s so much more. When you think of the sense of touch you may think of your fingertips. The sense of touch goes beyond what you feel with your fingertips. Texture and Temperature Floors are hard, roads slick, and pillows soft. That’s texture. Sometimes a simple word will describe texture, other times you may use a comparison. For example, the floor was hard as a tombstone might be appropriate in a ghost story. But for a light-hearted tale you might describe the floor as hard like rock candy.…
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Show Don’t Tell Part III
Use volume, pitch, rhythm, and rhyme to embed your reader in a sonic landscape. Show Don’t Tell is a writing technique to draw the reader onto the page. Imagine a snowy day. What do you hear? I heard the tap-tap of snow hitting my brimmed hat, the squeak of boots in snow, and the sheer quiet of a world muted by falling flakes after a first snow. Several days later the sounds morphed. The snow had a crust of ice that crunched under my boots. Birds sang from snow covered branches. Traffic hummed on the highway a mile away. Volume and Pitch Show emotion with your dialog. For instance, words…
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Show Don’t Tell Part 2
Show Don’t Tell invites your reader into the pages of your story. Normally in show don’t tell the writer uses descriptive language to evoke the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. You can show taste in terms of intensity, the five basic tastes, physiological reaction, and memory activation. Show Taste Taste usually involves food, but not always. More about that later. One way to immerse your reader is to suggest the intensity of a flavor. There is a big difference between the hint of a flavor and a blast. Take peppermint for example. When I add a candy cane to my hot chocolate, I taste a hint of…
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Show Don’t Tell, Part 1
Show don’t tell is great advice for writers. But what does it mean? The difference between showing and telling is the difference between immersion and bullet points. Think about when you are learning a new skill. While some people can learn from reading a manual, most of us do better when we observe the task then try it out ourselves. Take a moment to write the steps for a routine activity such as making a sandwich or washing your face. Now, think about how you can show the same activity. Did your fingers get sticky from the peanut butter? Did your eyes sting from soap? One way to immerse your…
