The Ultimate Strong Verbs List And Guide To Power Up Your Writing

Why should it matter so much whether your verbs are strong or weak? And how do you even know if you’re using weak verbs? If you know the answer to the question, “What is a verb?” and if you enjoy reading, it won’t take long to answer the bigger question of how to replace weak …

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Looking For Negative Mood Words For Your Writing? Here’s The Only List You Need

negative mood words

When one of your characters is going through something, how do you communicate that to your readers?  Think of a scene in one of your own stories where the protagonist is in a foul mood. Maybe the other characters picked that up quickly enough, but did your reader?  When that magic happens, it’s all in …

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So Where Does The Comma Go? Before Or After So?

Comma Before or After "So"

It’s not the first time you felt stymied as a writer. It happens. You’re looking at a sentence you wrote and thinking, “Do you put a comma before so?”  Is so a coordinating conjunction? Is it a subordinating conjunction? Is it an adverb?  The short answer is, “Sure. It can be any of those things.” …

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Are You Using Passive Voice In Your Writing? Here’s How To Fix It

woman typing on computer how to fix passive voice

What is passive voice misuse? How do you know if you’re overdoing it with passive voice constructions? And is active voice always better?  If you’ve ever run your work through the Heminway Editor, you know it flags passive voice right away (along with wordy or overly long sentences).  Human editors, too, tend to bristle at …

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55 Of The Best Young Adult Creative Writing Prompts

young adults standing together ya writing prompts

You’re looking for some creative story ideas for teenagers, maybe because you want to write YA fiction, or maybe because you know someone else who does. Welcome to our inspired collection of 55 writing prompts for young adults.  You’ll find a variety of characters and scenarios to play with. Choose from different themed groups to …

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Write Like Water: 9 Ways to Achieve Effortless Writing Flow

picture of waterfall writing flow

Whether you’re working on the next great American novel or drafting your company’s annual report, choppy, disjointed writing kills readability.  Smooth, seamless prose sweeps readers along effortlessly.  So how can you transform stilted, clumsy text into flowing, lyrical passages?  In this article, we provide simple yet powerful tips to dramatically improve the flow of your …

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