The rule for using “a” and “an” is actually more complicated than you may have been taught. A lot of people learned the rule that you put “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels, but it’s actually more complicated than that. For example, here’s Matthew with a question: I’ve been wondering […]
Cut All The Adjectives & Adverbs. Why It’s Nonsense, And When It Isn’t
Emma Darwin “Cut All The Adjectives & Adverbs”. Why It’s Nonsense, And When It Isn’t Cut all the adjectives & adverbs” is right up there with “Show, don’t Tell”, as one of the first “rules” that new writers get told, and for similar reasons. And although it’s perhaps responsible for more bland, threadbare writing than almost
Cut All The Adjectives & Adverbs. Why It’s Nonsense, And When It Isn’t Read More »
Being Published: Editing
Emma Darwin BEING EDITED If you’ve ever had good, experienced feedback on your work, in some ways being edited by a publisher isn’t that different. It can even be better, because a professional editor’s basic duty is to help you write the book that you thought you’d already written – and why wouldn’t you want
Being Published: Editing Read More »
Quotation Marks and Dialogue
Quotation marks are used to identify words that someone has said. You’ll often find them in fiction, where they signify dialogue, the words spoken by the characters. In newspapers, journalists use quotation marks to signify that something is a direct quote from a person in the article. In academic papers, quotation marks can signify that you
Quotation Marks and Dialogue Read More »