by Judith Henstra | Nov 8, 2022 | Writing
The long-haired cat with a bushy reddish tail and green eyes strode across the rocky, wet ground while surveying the tall green-speckled bamboo. Did you give up reading before getting to the end of that sentence? I needed a two-shot coffee just to write it! There a...
by Judith Henstra | Nov 7, 2022 | Writing
Nouns can be modified by multiple adjectives. For instance, “the old blue plastic bin.” But can you just order them in any way? “The plastic blue old bin” doesn’t sound quite right. That’s because there’s a royal order of...
by Judith Henstra | Oct 20, 2022 | Writing
In today’s literary world, competition is stiffer than ever. With so many books being published each year, it can be difficult for your voice to be heard above the noise. So how can you make sure that your book stands out? One way is to pay attention to word...
by Judith Henstra | Oct 10, 2022 | Writing
The debate of whether to use a first-person or third-person viewpoint in fiction has been around for years. Each point of view has its own advantages and disadvantages. First-person fiction is told from the point of view of the protagonist, using first-person pronouns...
by Judith Henstra | Sep 29, 2022 | Writing
Have you heard of this interesting phenomenon? It’s called the doorway effect*. You’ve probably experienced it. It’s when you go into a different room and forget why you went in. Parts of your brain are always alert to danger so the first thing your working memory...
by Judith Henstra | Jun 27, 2022 | Writing
Dialogs A client of mine has written a novel. While editing, I wonder how many novels he has read. (Also read on if you’re writing non-fiction. This is also relevant for you.) Often, his dialogs go like this: John said, “What’s the matter, Mary? Are you ill?” Mary...
