Getting a Handle on Colloquialisms: Using Regional Terms, Expressions, and Dialect
Colloquialisms are elements of speech commonly used and understood in a particular region or geography. Unlike slang and jargon, they are not limited to people in specific age groups (teens, college students), professions (doctors, engineers), or culture (theater,...
What Is Foreshadowing? The Opposite of a Flashback
Each genre of literature has a set of elements. Fiction’s elements include theme, setting, characters, structure, plot, and style. Style is the technique by which the story moves from incident to incident and the manner in which the story is presented. Style concerns...
181 Best Literary Magazines: A Directory for Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story Publications
Have you imagined yourself sitting in a comfy chair, holding a cup of coffee with your favorite literary magazine? Or maybe you’ve been dreaming of seeing your short stories, poetry, or writing published in a literary magazine? If so, you’re in the right...
NaNoWriMo: How It Works and How to Write Your Novel in 30 Days (Updated 2021)
NaNoWriMo is a global phenomenon that has inspired millions of aspiring and established authors to say goodbye to writer’s block and finally write their novel—in just the 1 month of November. I believe NaNoWriMo is one of the best things that has ever...
He Said, She Said: Grammar and Options in Dialogue
We all have habits, things we do repeatedly and automatically, usually without thinking. We buy the same clothes in the same colors. We order the same dish at a restaurant. We watch the same TV programs. Writers have habits too. Dedicating time to write each day is a good habit. Reading great works of literature is a good habit. But unthinking overuse of certain words is a bad habit. This lack of creativity often shows up as repetitive “dialogue tags” (verbs that indicate who is speaking)—usually the word “said.”
