Shall we take a short deviation from grammar? NO. There are some folks who think grammar is unnecessary and stifling. I’ll tell you (IMHO) that it is as important as ever.
Category: Writing Tips
Fluency
When we ask too much of the reader, they revert to word calling or parsing at best. At worst, they focus so intently on each syllable or phonetic sound that they are taken completely outside the text. Don’t send your reader away!
Exercise
Punctuation, creative ideas, chronological writing, detailed writing, concise writing (paring it down with repeated removal of extraneous words), and other exercises make us a more balanced writer.
Darkness
A piece would be boring and unfulfilling without some sort of chiaroscuro (light vs dark) to bring out the characters, the story line, and our own investment in reading.
Let’s Be Bad
by Jessie Lynn McMains Sometimes, I want to do bad things. This is not a confession of nefarious plots or dirty thoughts. Maybe I should rephrase it. Sometimes, I want to allow myself to be bad at things. I want to let myself make crappy stuff. I want to let myself just make the absolute…
It’s Like a Cross Between Sex and Christmas
It’s been a week of making art, writing, listening to podcasts, reading new books, and getting a second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. I look forward to engaging with mankind again. However, as I’m both an introvert and an HSP, my engagement will find me in the wading pool of society rather than its deep waters.
Superheroes with Pens
Writers are rock stars. I wouldn’t cross the street to see Mick Jagger, but I’ve driven 500 miles on two occasions to see my literary heroes, Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient) and Robertson Davies (The Deptford Trilogy), in Stratford, Ontario. In early adulthood, I wore a maroon T-shirt with the J.D. Salinger book title, The Catcher In The Rye, printed on it, replicating the paperback edition’s cover.
Obit Workshop
If you missed the obituary writing workshop, here are the notes from the presentation for your perusing pleasure! Obituary Writing For Beginners Patti Fitchett Racine Arts Council Writer-In-Residence pattipotterfitchett@gmail.com Writing an obituary can be a daunting challenge. Whether you are writing one for a loved one at the time of death, preparing for the death…
What’s Your Story?
What is your defining moment? What one event in your life represents all of your triumphs and struggles? What part of your story is the most important? If you are a regular human like the rest of us, this is not easy. Our lives are made up of interconnected moments; joys and sorrows that comprise…
Techno-gaga
So many folks say that our interest in our phones to the exclusion of human interaction, and our time-consuming ego-driven social media frenzy along with the isolation that comes from feeling that while we are surrounded by information, we are bereft of genuine communication. And to those folks I say, “Cut back on your caffeine…
ArtRoot Writer-In-Residence 