Fighting Writer’s Block: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…Mega Sentence!
A hero of mighty proportions, he’s cloaked in wordiness but armed with proper punctuation. He travels the brainwaves of struggling young authors, searching for creative juices just waiting to be released. Wherever writer’s block rears its ugly head, he’ll be there. Wherever a bleary-eyed kid looks up from his keyboard and cries, “I can’t think of anything to write,” he’ll be there. He is…Mega Sentence! When you write a formal composition for school or homework, teachers are on the hunt for run-on sentences. A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses (with both a subject and a verb) are joined together without proper punctuation. Here is an example of a run-on sentence: “My brother...
Read MoreJust a Word Will Do
By Kevin Scott Collier Young writers are always looking for ways to make their stories have more impact. One way to do this is to think of writing one word to describe something instead of many. Too often writers think they have to use a lot of words to describe an effect, when one more-powerful word will do the trick. As an example, let’s look at the sound a firecracker makes and how you might write about it when it goes off. You could write, “The firecracker blew up.” Now, take the two words “blew up” and imagine one word that would have greater impact. How about exploded? “The firecracker exploded.” See the difference? Let’s say your story has a drinking glass fall from a table and hit the floor. You may write, “The glass fell from the...
Read MoreVigorous Verbs
By Donna Shepherd Have you ever talked with a friend about what you wanted to do together? Maybe your friend responded with, “I don’t care. Whatever you want to do is fine by me.” Another day, your friend might answer, “Let’s watch that new show about space travel. I hear the special effects amaze you!” The first response, a passive one, might leave you feeling a bit let down, while the second reply energizes and spurs to action. Don’t you want to go watch a show about space travel after hearing that review? You also want to use an active voice to energize your writing. In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. For example: Emma devoured the chocolate bar. With...
Read MoreWaffles Are For Breakfast
I love waffles for breakfast with lots of maple syrup and a sausage or two. Yum! Yet waffles of another type often turn up outside the kitchen. Take writing for instance. What we call “waffling on” is not a good thing when you’re writing a story. This kind of waffle makes the reader yawn instead of being eager to turn the page. “Waffling on” means filling paragraphs with unnecessary words that try to explain, show, or describe something. “Writing waffles” add nothing dramatic or fun to your plot, and they never make your characters richer or more interesting. They don’t even offer maple syrup! All they do is add to the word count. And if you’re writing a picture book or a short story, there’s often a limit on the number of words...
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If it’s in the Bible, The Pirate Preacher knows the story. Monday nights he leads a “Jesus Study” in Moore Square, Raleigh, NC. Each Sunday you will find him in the park and at the bus station helping others enjoy the abundant life Jesus promised.
The Pirate Preacher helped launch Christian Devotions Ministries and is the former CEO of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, a Christian book publishing company. He’s also a “Blessed Selling” author and Writers’ Coach.
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Jehovah Jireh: The Incredible Provider — A super Hero Graphic Novel
