Search found 225 matches

by swfdoc1
Sat Jan 03, 2015 7:21 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer -- GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
Replies: 30
Views: 28399

Re: Be a Better Writer -- GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

Jan, I agree that this is an important issue. I taught it at the graduate level for 10 years. I also fully appreciate the things you said you did not want to get into. So, I will only touch on one of those tangentially in order to explain the reason that I would tweak one point in your lesson. I thi...
by swfdoc1
Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:57 pm
Forum: Ann's Grammar Basics
Topic: Jesus's or Jesus' ?
Replies: 4
Views: 9049

Re: Jesus's or Jesus' ?

I agree with Deb’s answer. But I note that several style manuals disagree with her and me. Also, to answer your question, there ARE rules for this. In the case of “Jesus,” two rules actually apply. Some manuals invoke the classical/biblical name rule, whereby you don’t add the apostrophe to classica...
by swfdoc1
Sat Nov 22, 2014 1:57 am
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY
Replies: 27
Views: 24170

Re: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY

Except line 5 is too short. "And thus learned a lesson sine qua non" would be better.

And now back to your regularly scheduled class.
by swfdoc1
Sat Nov 22, 2014 1:34 am
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY
Replies: 27
Views: 24170

Re: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY

OK. How about a Coming of Age limerick:

There once was a lad from Azerbaijan
Who traveled to Rostov-on-Don.
Big adventures he sought.
But disappointment it brought,
A lesson sine qua non.
by swfdoc1
Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:47 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY
Replies: 27
Views: 24170

Re: Be a Better Writer -- COMING OF AGE STORY

So, I looked up "Bildungsroman" on m-w.com and was reminded of your lesson "Rhyming Beyond the Basics." Under "Rhymes with Bildungsroman" I found this: abutilon, Agamemnon, anticodon, antiproton, archenteron, arrière-ban, asyndeton, automaton, Azerbaijan, Bellerophon, c...
by swfdoc1
Tue Nov 04, 2014 11:28 pm
Forum: Rules, Ratings, Judges and Official Info
Topic: "Language deemed inappropriate for Christian readers"
Replies: 13
Views: 14702

Re: "Language deemed inappropriate for Christian readers"

Mike, Tough, tough issues. The first question is what OUGHT Christian writers write. Or more precisely, what ought SOME Christian writers write. Which is complicated by the issue of what they ought to be ALLOWED to write. Until recently the “allowed” part dealt with what Christian publishing houses ...
by swfdoc1
Tue Nov 04, 2014 7:46 pm
Forum: Rules, Ratings, Judges and Official Info
Topic: "Language deemed inappropriate for Christian readers"
Replies: 13
Views: 14702

Re: "Language deemed inappropriate for Christian readers"

Sex is always a little dicey around here. Part of what I do for a living is fight pornography, so I would never submit anything that I thought was inappropriate, yet I had an entry disqualified for content (before the current owners took over--but I don't know whether that would have made a differen...
by swfdoc1
Sat Nov 01, 2014 5:03 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Replies: 19
Views: 21347

Re: Be a Better Writer--CONTEMPORARY FICTION

A question, a thought, and a question about the thought. What differences—if any—do you see between secular contemporary fiction and Christian contemporary fiction? I know your advice is geared towards the Challenge, but as I thought about what Christian publishers want, I thought of something that ...
by swfdoc1
Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:36 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--A FEW LOOSE ENDS
Replies: 24
Views: 22705

Re: Be a Better Writer--A FEW LOOSE ENDS

How NOT to get rid of adverbs explained here. Scroll down to "Justice Kennedy and Ernest Hemingway."
by swfdoc1
Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:35 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Jan's New Writing Lessons--TIGHT WRITING
Replies: 102
Views: 210989

Re: Jan's New Writing Lessons--TIGHT WRITING

It's funny that this thread got active again this week while I was working a brief that I filed last night.

First draft, 23 pages; page limit, 15; at stake $450,000.00.
by swfdoc1
Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:58 am
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Replies: 50
Views: 54919

Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY

Quick, somebody else submit some sentences!
by swfdoc1
Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:21 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Replies: 50
Views: 54919

Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY

CatLin wrote:I also stumbled a bit reading "unknown smile", but the explanation helped. I've awakened with a smile on my lips before, so I know what you mean. Maybe "unconscious"?
Yes, that's better & many other things might work better than my original.
by swfdoc1
Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:12 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Replies: 50
Views: 54919

Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY

Jan, Well, I could play the writer’s nuclear but (usually) stupid card: “you’re fire…” :D Googling “blinked open” produces 370,000+ hits so people use it. (But that doesn’t mean a writer should.) But to go to the heart of the writer-editor debate, as I indicated, I would dig in only if my research s...
by swfdoc1
Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:05 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Replies: 50
Views: 54919

Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY

Jan, Great stuff! Your point about ‘fluttered” vs. “flew” is interesting. I never considered the “girly” issue. This shows the value of editors and/or (preferably “and”) beta readers. If I got this feedback elsewhere, I would probably counter with “What about ‘Todd’s eyes BLINKED open’”? What do you...
by swfdoc1
Tue Sep 16, 2014 2:34 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY
Replies: 50
Views: 54919

Re: Be a Better Writer--USING IMAGERY

Well, even when I write multiple drafts of something (that will be submitted to an editor), I expect to get corrections (and/or suggestions); I certainly expect it when I dash something off, as I did here. (I think I made 2 changes from my original banging-out.) Since you asked, Jan, here are my tho...

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