Search found 39 matches

by hwnj
Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:28 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: More Commonly Misused Words
Replies: 7
Views: 14111

Re: More Commonly Misused Words

And sit versus set...
by hwnj
Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:28 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: More Commonly Misused Words
Replies: 7
Views: 14111

Re: More Commonly Misused Words

Then versus than...
by hwnj
Sat Jun 18, 2016 2:10 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Writer Research
Replies: 9
Views: 14616

Re: Writer Research

Hi, Yvonne, Thank you for keeping our writing brains engaged while Jan is occupied. There are so many good Christian researching writers, from Joel Rosenberg to Brock and Bodie Thoene. One of my favorite historic writers is Ellis Peters, who wrote a series of mysteries set in 12th or 13th century En...
by hwnj
Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:29 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Plot Devices
Replies: 6
Views: 10377

Re: Plot Devices

Hi, Jan,

I'm having trouble grasping the difference between the MacGuffin and the Red Herring. Is the Red Herring more related to the story than the MacGuffin?

I am quite fond of poetic justice. It may be the one I use the most. (Like in this week's entry. :D )

Is allegory a plot device?
by hwnj
Thu Jun 09, 2016 2:17 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Having a point or message #2--6th judging criterion
Replies: 25
Views: 46519

Re: Having a point or message #2--6th judging criterion

I'm curious where you find this to fall on the continuum. I can't clearly connect it with one of the six, hopefully one of the four, as I feel it has a point beyond entertainment. Replay I would say that it is a significant supporting character who is learning a lesson, maybe... So perhaps closest t...
by hwnj
Sun Jun 05, 2016 10:04 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Flashback
Replies: 9
Views: 11691

Re: Flashback

What's a simicolon?... :D (Another tool of which I make little use.) Thanks, Jan, for your patience. I think the lines are beginning to crisp for me. I was looking at another story with memories interwoven, and could see how flashbacks might have served the same purpose. It might have even made a mo...
by hwnj
Sun Jun 05, 2016 4:33 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Flashback
Replies: 9
Views: 11691

Re: Flashback

I'm really struggling with memory versus flashback, but I think I finally found one... As long as the relevant piece of the puzzle is included, does it make all that much difference which way it is provided?

A Reason to Celebrate
by hwnj
Sat Jun 04, 2016 10:33 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Flashback
Replies: 9
Views: 11691

Re: Flashback

I'm still not quite sure if this contains actual flashback or not... And yes, I realize upon rereading it, that I should have used present tense for the last paragraph... Does it matter how long ago something took place in order to be a flashback, as long as it is not happening in the present time o...
by hwnj
Sat Jun 04, 2016 1:45 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Flashback
Replies: 9
Views: 11691

Re: Flashback

Hi, Jan,


It doesn't seem that I use flashback much. Does Nicole telling her dog about the accident count?

Connecting the Dots
by hwnj
Sun May 29, 2016 9:10 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Writing Easy Readers
Replies: 6
Views: 9364

Re: Writing Easy Readers

Since I really need to direct my creativity in to my challenge entry for the week, I guess I'll stick with option one.
I'm not sure if it is actually an easy reader or a picture book, but one of my kids' favorites was Robert Lopshire's Put Me in the Zoo.
by hwnj
Sat May 21, 2016 2:00 am
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Writing for Children - Picture Books Part 2
Replies: 13
Views: 14955

Re: Writing for Children - Picture Books Part 2

Hi, JoAnne, I don't often use slant rhyme, but did here, so this would be a no go? Before long, in the sky, specks of gold, green, and bronze Disappeared from the mountain; they severed their bonds. Also, I have another question. Is there the trend to leave open endings in picture books, or do they ...
by hwnj
Fri May 20, 2016 11:56 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Melodrama
Replies: 3
Views: 7143

Re: Melodrama

Not sure if I got rid of all of it, but... Jan entered the library, tossing her auburn curls and flashing her cerulean eyes as the aroma of paper and ink flooded her nostrils. How I adore books! she thought. She chuckled to herself, as the memories of childhood hours spent reading in the solitude of...
by hwnj
Fri May 20, 2016 8:10 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Head Hopping
Replies: 24
Views: 26799

Re: Head Hopping

Color me dense, but I'm having trouble getting a crisp understanding of the difference between third person omnicient and head hopping. Without going back to look, I think I mainly use asterisks to indicate a lapse of time or shift in location. I think I try to use dialogue to express characters tho...
by hwnj
Fri May 20, 2016 5:08 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--MASTERING METER
Replies: 65
Views: 75292

Re: Be a Better Writer--MASTERING METER

Jan, thanks for the trip down memory lane. Perhaps I should go through and collect them... This is it, promise. :D In "All Things New," http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level4-previous.php?id=52342 I went with the formality of iambic pentameter because it was intended to be repeating...
by hwnj
Fri May 20, 2016 3:47 pm
Forum: Jan's Writing Basics
Topic: Be a Better Writer--MASTERING METER
Replies: 65
Views: 75292

Re: Be a Better Writer--MASTERING METER

Hi, Jan, Since this thread happened to pop to the top, I couldn't resist. It makes me feel old to say that I started writing poetry forty years ago, but it has really been that long. I have always had a reasonable ear for meter, but have definitely gotten more fanatical about it over the years. Whil...

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