2019-05-13 23:43
The colon can be a tricky punctuation mark. You’ve probably grasped periods, question marks, exclamation points, and commas – but the rules surrounding colons may seem a bit tri… Read More
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Daily articles on grammar, spelling, misused words, punctuation, fiction writing, freelance writing and more!
2019-05-09 04:02
Among the pairs of words writers often confuse, affect and effect might be the most perplexing, perhaps because their meanings are so similar. Affect, derived from affectus, from the Latin… Read More
2019-05-06 14:53
Have you created character profiles for the main cast of your novel?
While not all authors use character profiles, many find them a very handy tool for keeping track of their characters &nd&helli…Read More
2019-04-29 21:46
I wrote about MasterClass a couple of months ago in my review of James Patterson’s course on Writing – and this month, I’ve been enjoying Margaret Atwood’s course on… Read More
2019-04-23 00:01
What’s your favorite word of compliment or admiration? How do you express approval? These are important questions for each generation of young people, who want their vocabulary to dis… Read More
![What Does [sic] Mean?](https://cdn.blogarama.com/images/posts_thumbs_site_id/647/64742-3500313966.w320.jpg "What Does [sic] Mean?")
2019-04-17 14:25
Samm [sic] asks “What does [sic] mean?”
Sic in square brackets is an editing term used with quotations or excerpts. It means “that’s really how it appears in the or… Read More
2019-04-15 14:21
Commas can be a particularly tricky punctuation mark. There are some cases where you know you should use a comma – such as when separating items in a list – but there are other… Read More
2019-04-08 15:29
Whatever you write: blog posts, short stories, client pieces – I suspect that, at some point, you’ve at least considered writing a novel.
Maybe it’s something you contempl… Read More
2019-04-04 12:24
The terms metaphor and simile are slung around as if they meant exactly the same thing.
A simile is a metaphor, but not all metaphors are similes.
Metaphor is the broader term. In a liter… Read More
2019-04-01 22:29
This article contains every common preposition in the English language. Isn’t it nice to know that you can learn them all? A list of every common verb or every common noun would be v… Read More
2019-03-25 12:26
Let’s say you’re writing a story that involves a character who’s smart, funny, gorgeous, and beloved by almost everyone.
They sound great, right?
Well, they might be. Or y… Read More
2019-03-18 14:47
This post outlines seven general areas of grammar and syntax that writers must be familiar with to enable them to write effectively.
1. Subject-Verb Agreement
Use singular verbs for singula… Read More
2019-03-14 09:47
One of the rules of language that you almost certainly know, even if you’ve never thought about it consciously, is that subjects and verbs must agree with each other in number.
If tha… Read More
2019-03-11 19:50
If critics tell you that your stories have too much dialogue, maybe you should consider writing scripts. It’s different from writing ordinary prose. For one thing, a script is not the… Read More
2019-03-07 19:12
Every company is in the business of communication, and now that our society is well into the digital age, and businesses deliver their messages across multiple forms of media, it behooves t… Read More
2019-03-05 10:56
Misplaced modifier is the syntactical error of misplacing nonessential but supplemental information within a sentence. It is so common among professional writers as well as those who are no… Read More
2019-03-01 00:40
Students like stories. Teachers know that stories keep their interest. But plot, emotion, character, conflict and theme – the tools of a fiction writer – can be power tools for… Read More
2019-02-26 11:56
Would you love to be a freelance writer?
Maybe you’re hoping to make a bit of money on the side of your day job, or you want to find some work that fits around being at home with your… Read More
2019-02-20 23:44
Some writers neglect the power of emotion when communicating their ideas, valuing logic more than others do, and assuming that everyone thinks like they do – that careful reasoning is… Read More
2019-02-18 12:49
1. Prepare
Absorb information about writing, but don’t overwhelm yourself. I’ve been known to read a writing handbook or editing manual cover to cover, but I recommend reading o… Read More
2019-02-14 20:15
You might well never have heard of polysyndeton before, but you’ve almost certainly seen it in action. Here’s an example:
“At the weekend, we went to the park and the fair… Read More
2019-02-11 16:56
This post lists prefixes, suffixes, and their meanings. (Many scientific and mathematical prefixes have been omitted.) Groups of one or more definitions after a prefix that are separated by… Read More
2019-02-05 13:46
If you’ve not come across MasterClass before, it’s a very slick website that offers courses from some huge names in the world of writing (and in quite a few other fields too).
T… Read More
2019-01-29 16:45
There is a lot of writing advice out there.
Perhaps you’ve signed up to read lots of blogs by email, you’ve bought some great writing-related books, and you still feel like some… Read More
2019-01-22 18:13
I’m 33 now (which feels very old!) but I’ve loved writing since I was a kid myself. The very first story I remember writing was about a mouse, when I was five or six. I spent a… Read More
2019-01-17 16:45
If you’re struggling to earn a living as a freelance writer, you’ve probably looked at many opportunities for writing online. The question is, which of them pay well?
You’… Read More
2019-01-15 12:20
A professional writer might add a thousand words a day to their rough draft. With speech recognition software, some writers can add several thousand. That’s one reason why more writer… Read More
2019-01-11 14:44
A word, phrase, or sentence that directs the reader to related information in the same document (or, in the case of online content, perhaps a different document), whether said document is a… Read More
2019-01-08 10:34
If you want to improve your writing, maybe it’s time to ditch all the writing books and podcasts and play some word games instead.
Yes, seriously! Word games and writing games are gre… Read More
2019-01-04 18:11
A writer can’t do anything he or she wants. Every human being – you too – is bound by limitations. Our readers are limited because they are human. A skillful writer learns… Read More
2019-01-02 13:53
Spelling, capitalization, and italicization are three aspects of writing that careful writers will attend to. This post discusses the importance of recognizing standards and making consciou… Read More
2018-12-27 13:25
Like any short form of writing, creating jokes teaches how to use a few words effectively. In this article, I will give examples of jokes and I will (shudder) explain them too. I know, you… Read More
2018-12-24 16:18
Word nerds rejoice! Imagine a word game where you can have fun and win cash prizes by leveraging your vast vocabulary. Well, it exists, and it is called HQ Words.
The game was created by t… Read More
2018-12-21 13:43
For centuries, writers and critics have tried to put stories into basic categories. I’ve written about the scientific quest for universal plot types using the Hedonometer and the theo… Read More
2018-12-19 09:45
Toward the end of every calendar year, Merriam-Webster, like other major dictionaries, shares a list of the words most frequently searched for on its website. As usual, this search traffic… Read More
2018-12-17 12:32
Whether you’re writing just for fun, for school, or with professional goals in mind, these exercises can all help you to improve your writing. Some will give you inspiration, others w… Read More
2018-12-14 13:02
A range is, in written expression, the numerical difference between or among two or more values, or a pair of elements denoting the end points on, and perhaps one or more elements along, a… Read More
2018-12-12 10:00
Too often I forget to do it. But when I’m pleased or impressed by someone, I need to make a point to write them a note. Some people are embarrassed by strong face-to-face compliments… Read More
2018-12-10 14:01
Would you like to have a friendly editor reading your drafts and pointing out typos and clunky sentences – before you show them to the rest of the world?
That’s what ProWritingAi… Read More
2018-12-06 13:21
Dialogue refreshes. Seeing quotation marks on a page has been proven to increase readability, which means that readers find the page more interesting. And you want your readers to stay inte… Read More
2018-12-04 20:59
As you might know, some time ago we created a YouTube channel to publish some of our content under a video format. Here’s one thing we discovered: producing videos that talk about gram… Read More
2018-12-03 09:40
The Oxford Dictionaries has announced that its Word of the Year for 2018 is toxic, which visitors to its websites searched for not only in isolation but as an element in multiple phrases.
T… Read More
2018-11-30 18:42
For centuries, writers and critics have tried to put stories into basic categories. Novelist Kurt Vonnegut described eight of them: Man in Hole, Boy Meets Girl, From Bad to Worse, Which Way… Read More
2018-11-28 10:55
Welcome to the wonderful world of writing!
However young or old you are, writing can be so rewarding. For some writers, it’s a fun hobby and a creative outlet; for others, it’s… Read More
2018-11-26 09:59
According to Merriam-Webster’s website, these are the ten most frequently search terms on the site—not what is trending now, but the words that consistently rank among the top s… Read More
2018-11-23 08:50
Take is one of the most generic and therefore versatile verbs (and, as a noun, has multiple senses), prompting an extensive collection of idioms, many of which are listed below.
give and ta… Read More
2018-11-19 12:03
The functions the hyphen appear to be straightforward, but exceptions and inconsistencies abound. This post serves as a guide to the recommendations of The Chicago Manual of Style regarding… Read More
2018-11-16 13:27
Great writing is not only enjoyable, it has something to say – there is greatness in the theme. It may not be primarily a moral or a lesson, but something about the story appeals deep… Read More
2018-11-14 20:23
Have you ever thought about writing a non-fiction book?
Maybe you’re worried that you need to be an “expert”, or you feel daunted by the idea of writing so many words. But… Read More
2018-11-12 12:42
This post discusses the three types of compounds in English: compound nouns, compound modifiers, and compound verbs.
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns come in three forms: closed, hyphenated… Read More
2018-11-09 11:45
Not many writers lounge in an ivy-covered tower pouring out inspired words – that’s unrealistic. Many successful writers still keep a day job, most out of necessity, some out of… Read More
2018-11-07 14:00
The soul of writing is specificity, yet all too often, we lean on general-purpose words instead of choosing the most precise ones. Most of our daily communication probably depends on less t… Read More
2018-11-05 13:40
So you’d like your latest writing project to get moving faster. Great writers have felt the same. Don’t worry, it’s fixable. When the words stop, writers have effective wa… Read More
2018-11-02 10:32
Mental and its lexical relations, all pertaining to workings of the mind, as well as mind and words and phrases derived from that word, are listed and defined in this post.
MentalMental is… Read More
2018-10-31 13:55
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), considered the greatest writer in the English language, used more than 24,000 words in his writings, more than any other author. Of those words, more than 1… Read More
2018-10-29 14:42
This post discusses the three primary functions of the apostrophe in the English language: the marking of the possessive case in nouns, the marking of the omission of one or more letters, a… Read More
2018-10-26 11:52
A definition is a phrase or sentence (or more) that explains the meaning of a term, and a gloss is a brief definition offered parenthetically after the term. This post includes examples of… Read More
2018-10-24 18:22
This post lists and defines terms derived from two or more distinct sports that by extension serve as idioms in other realms of endeavor outside athletics. (The original meaning is provided… Read More
2018-10-22 15:03
Authors call the hidden part of a character’s life their “backstory.” When I was acting in plays, directors might ask me to decide what my character was doing before the s… Read More
2018-10-18 10:29
Let’s talk about something good. Here is a variety of words for good things, based on ancient words for “good”: Latin bonus and Greek eu.
Good words from Latin
In Rome, bo… Read More
2018-10-15 15:31
To create an anagram, you rearrange the letters of a word or phrase to form a different word or phrase. For example, the word section is an anagram for notices and vice versa. A “pe… Read More
2018-10-13 10:56
This post lists words derived from words in other languages as a result of folk etymology, a process by which speakers adopt the foreign terms after revising them by using existing elements… Read More
2018-10-10 11:43
This post points out common errors committed when reporting what has been said or written. Each example is followed by a discussion of the problem and a revision that provides a solution.
1… Read More
2018-10-08 15:43
Are you stuck for something to write about?
Or are you looking for prompts to use in the classroom?
These prompts are aimed at middle school students (roughly age 11 – 14) – but… Read More
2018-10-05 10:20
This post lists and defines words derived from the Greek term gramma, which pertains not only to a small weight, as in gram and compound words in which gram is the base, but also to letters… Read More
2018-10-03 16:19
It used to be that when people thought of songwriting, they didn’t think of great writing. Then Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Dylan wasn’t the first songwriter… Read More
2018-10-01 13:27
Addyson, a sixth grader who loves to write, asks, “How can I learn to spell better?”
That’s certainly a worthy question, and over the years, we’ve given many sugges… Read More
2018-09-28 21:32
You’ve probably heard writers (or teachers, or critics) talk about “style” in writing. What exactly is style, though?
It can be tough to pin down, because there are a vari… Read More
2018-09-26 21:51
Many writers—professionals and creators of casual composition alike—employ a form of emphasis that is usually unnecessary and often clumsily intrusive. Scare quotes, pairs of qu… Read More
2018-09-24 18:47
After French, Latin and Viking (and Old English of course, but that is English), the Greek language has contributed more words to modern English than any other – perhaps 5%.
Many Gree… Read More
2018-09-21 09:18
American English has been enriched by the widespread adoption of words based on vocabulary of Native American tribes, including the many tribes that spoke (and, in some cases, still speak)… Read More
2018-09-19 17:15
Most of us heard or read stories about cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, blockchain and so on over the past few years. Few of us, however, understand what those terms mean. Given that those techno… Read More
2018-09-17 16:21
Writing and publishing a book is a huge (and wonderful) undertaking – and you’ll want all the help you can get.
There are loads of great downloadable tools out there for book au… Read More
2018-09-14 04:21
Writers sometimes sabotage their efforts to express themselves by leaving key information out of a sentence, resulting in confusing statements. Each of the following examples suffers from o… Read More
2018-09-12 04:18
Do you ever find yourself distracted when you’re writing?
I don’t think I’ve ever met a writer who could honestly answer “no” to that question!
Whether it&rsqu&helli…Read More
2018-09-10 04:17
Point and words and compounds containing that root, as well as terms with the element punct- and some similar (and not so similar forms), are all cognate, deriving from the Latin verb punge… Read More
2018-09-07 15:12
This post lists and defines words stemming from game and gamble, both of which derive from the Old English word gamen, meaning “amusement,” “fun,” and “joy.&rd&helli…Read More
2018-09-05 12:06
Blog posts might look straightforward, but if you’ve ever tried to write one, you may have found it was harder than you expected.
Whether you want to start a blog as a hobby, as a ste… Read More
2018-09-03 19:07
This post lists suffixes—any group of letters attached to the end of a word, a base, or a phrase to convey a meaning related to that of the root element—that pertain to qualitie… Read More
2018-08-31 14:54
You might think avoiding other influences makes you a more original writer. But nobody can write in a vacuum. Even the meanings of words depend on how others have used them. You didn’… Read More
2018-08-29 11:42
If you are still on the fence about becoming a DailyWritingTips Pro subscriber, here are five reasons that will certainly convince you to join today.
1. 50% discount ($3.99 per month)
The… Read More
2018-08-27 17:22
This post discusses two categories of parts and speech key to helping writers describe things and actions.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word or a combination of two or more words that modif… Read More
2018-08-23 12:14
This post lists and defines words deriving from the adjective primus, meaning “first” or “finest.”
premier: first, or earliest; as a noun, a synonym for “prime… Read More
2018-08-21 13:14
If you read my post of resume tips a few weeks ago, you’ll already be familiar with best practice for writing a great resume.
While there’s nothing wrong with hand-crafting your… Read More
2018-08-18 11:09
You’ve probably read those acknowledgements at the back of a book: “Special thanks to Nobel Prize winner Niels Ryberg Finsen for the many hours of medical advice and strong coff… Read More
2018-08-15 15:54
Have you ever daydreamed about writing for the big screen? I know I have! Writing a screenplay that gets picked up by Hollywood could see your story reach millions of people – whereas… Read More
2018-08-13 22:00
The simple insertion, deletion, or relocation of a comma (or two) can alter a sentence’s meaning, so when writing or editing a sentence, carefully analyze it to determine whether the… Read More
2018-08-09 16:50
Every writer, at times, has trouble thinking of what to say next. Or what to say at all. The cause may be fear, pressure, perfectionism, but often lack of inspiration. No doubt even Mesopot… Read More
2018-08-07 04:58
This post lists and describes words deriving from the Latin verb computare, meaning “sum up,” that, unlike computer and the like, do not closely follow the original spelling.
Co… Read More
2018-08-02 20:55
As a writer, I have probably learned the most from having tight word counts. In several assignments, each piece had to be 150 words or less, or 250 words or less, or three lines or less. So… Read More
2018-07-31 04:40
All writers need a helping hand now and again – and having the best tools at your fingertips can make a huge difference.
I’ve picked my favourite tools that will work for almost… Read More
2018-07-26 20:39
This post defines and discusses the three types of conjunctions (words or phrases that serve as a bridge linking two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences): coordinating, correlative, and s… Read More
2018-07-24 18:53
Short stories are tricky to write well. Every word counts – and you don’t have long at all to establish characters and get the plot going.
While most of my fiction-writing time… Read More
2018-07-20 11:08
Veteran writers often advise aspiring writers to “kill your darlings.” Grisly, isn’t it, but they all say it.
William Faulkner wrote, “In writing, you must kill all… Read More
2018-07-18 17:03
This post details the function of various symbols that appear the top of a line of type to communicate additional information about the text.
Apostrophe
The apostrophe signals that, dependi… Read More
2018-07-16 20:47
Today we are opening the 2018 edition of the Freelance Writing Course. Over 1,300 students have taken the course in the past and the feedback has always been immensely positive. This year… Read More
2018-07-12 10:30
Probably you’ve never studied Conversational Viking, let alone claimed to speak it. But the language of the Vikings, Old Norse, has influenced the development of English more than any… Read More
2018-07-10 12:55
Writing essays can be tough … and sometimes you need all the help you can get.
The great news is that there are plenty of online tools that can help you write the best essay you can… Read More
2018-07-06 09:00
Market and attendant words, deriving from the Latin verb mercari, meaning “trade,” are listed and defined in this post.
Market, referring to a place where goods are sold, migrat… Read More
2018-07-03 12:43
Hard rules are a good thing for writers sometimes. The sonnet is one of the strictest forms of poetry, but some of the world’s greatest poems are sonnets. A haiku form is even stricte… Read More
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