If you write or consider writing a novel, you’ve likely ran against the idea of the platform. This creature acts as the steed that carries the author to success if you believe the platform-oil salespersons. Email lists stand at the saddle for this steed. Honestly, it’s a lot of bunk. I’ve found the process of…

I love writing informative essays. I never know what goodies I will find when I set out to research for an informative essay. Informative essays involve all the gobbledygook about citations, quality of information, and copyright we’ve discussed. They also use the same writing techniques as reviews and critiques. The phrase informative essay sounds boring,…

Citations aren’t bad. I promise. Formal and semi-formal citations are important for anime blogging. Luckily, you don’t have to have every comma and period perfect for blog citations. The main purpose of citations isn’t to protect against plagiarism. They help readers find your sources. Citation design maximizes the ability of readers, and you, to find…

Adverbs add detail to verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Many grammar wonks tell us to cut adverbs unless they are necessary. I mostly agree (see what I did there?). Most –ly words are unneeded and weaken writing. Rukia said quietly. Rukia whispered. Saying something quietly is the same as whispering. Whispered is a stronger word…

Writing focuses on word selection. English overflows with words. Choosing the perfect word is fun, and it is hard. Some words are tired like awesome, cool, and fuck. They appear so often that they lost their impact. Other words are obscure and snooty: ascertain, utilize, and hitherto. They make you appear arrogant. There are two…

Voice is your unique way of speaking. You use words in ways that make a verbal fingerprint. Verbal ticks like like, um, because, so are as important as how your voice sounds. The trick is writing close to how you speak. Writing has certain rules that need to be followed for clarity. Writing exactly as…