Relationship Words
By Annette Rey
Put on your writing caps. This quiz will exercise your ability to recall words, to substitute more descriptive words for general terms when creating your work. Good writers use specific words. Good writers use words like Corvette instead of car or auto – even battered Corvette – but we are not dealing with adjectives in this quiz.
Avoid Wandering Distractions
By Annette Rey
So many blog posts have so much to say. And that can be a problem. The writer has a good point he wants to make, he has the information behind him to add to the post, and he uses the right words and punctuation to convey his thoughts.
So what’s wrong with the piece? Let’s take a look.
Your Ending Sentence
By Annette Rey
Recently, I misinterpreted a writer’s call on Facebook. Someone asked for ending sentences. I thought it was an exercise to think creatively. It turned out to be a call for an actual ending a writer had used in his work.
This mistake gave me the idea to create a writer’s exercise that makes us think in reverse. Start at the end of your work, create that last line, and see how that line affects the way you construct the last chapter, or the ending of your short story, or article. Your physical brain needs exercise and asking it to respond in new ways will challenge a boring routine. These exercises are designed to shake you and wake you.
Easy Hint to Know the Difference
By Annette Rey
Your writing is flowing. You’re sliding along like an oiled zipper. Then, darn, you hit a snag. A sentence you are constructing is posing a problem. You’re not sure which word to use. In this case, the words to choose from are fewer or less. Some writers move on and keep writing, planning to correct later. Some writers, like me, stop forward momentum and waffle with a word choice.
All writers can avoid either scenario by learning in advance which of these words to use. It’s a matter of memory and I have a hint for you.
Keep your writing flowing. Read on.
35-Word Challenge
By Annette Rey
This is a real challenge that beats even flash fiction word limits. Give this a try and remember to make it complete by including answers to the questions: who, what, when, where, and why.
If Stuck, Start Here
By Annette Rey
This exercise can go anywhere each individual writer can take it. Make an effort to be accurate and include high points (and low points) you’d like a reader to know.
The result can be a start to a longer memoir piece.
Radio Noir
By Annette Rey
Oh, for the days language was used that slapped the listener in the head, jangled his brain, and imparted a vivid visual view in a flash of a second. Machine gun language denoting so much information the listener is running a sentence behind the descriptive narrative. Radio language was used decoratively, stretching metaphors beyond the meaning of the technique.
When I’m driving, I listen to Sirius Classic Radio broadcasts from the 1930s and 1940s. This is how I can learn from, enjoy, and appreciate stimulating script writing.
I’d like to share the following excerpts with you.
Practice Results in Unblocking
By Annette Rey
I tell you writer’s block is an imagination. It’s not real. It has no substance. If you open your mind to such thinking, you will follow advice, go along, and see unblocking results in your own work. I promote doing writing exercises. Once you do them, you will find blocking either goes away in your life or can never exist as long as you keep your pen moving.
In that vein, I am practicing what I preach.
Stop and Check for Clarity
By Annette Rey
As writers, we can get lost in our own words. We get absorbed in our stories and we concentrate on many aspects of putting our story together. Often, our fingers are moving slower than the speed of our mental thoughts, and mistakes are made.
Let’s put a concentrated eye on unclear sentences that confuse the reader. Once you become aware of these errors, you will be able to correct them.
Grammar Help
By Annette Rey
A difference exists between the words infer and imply. Labels of parts of speech can be confusing – transitive verb, intransitive verb, adjective, etc. – so I am doing away with those terms, and simply looking at how the words are used.
The examples presented should be extremely helpful for polishing your writing.
Writer's Block No More 