Writing Realistic Dialogue: How Real is Too Real?
If you struggle with writing dialogue, you’re definitely not alone. As a big part of characterization, dialogue can be the difference between whether a reader loves or hates your characters. Dialogue that’s not broken up by action can be confusing, but too many dialogue tags can bog down your writing. Plus, people tend to talk differently than they write. Should you include slang or speech … Continue reading Writing Realistic Dialogue: How Real is Too Real?
How to Be Attractive
Some people are naturally endowed with stunning good looks and charisma for days. This is a guide for the rest of us. Continue reading How to Be Attractive
Stop Putting Commas Before Verbs!
My dearest internet writers who have chosen quantity over quality and eschewed the laws of grammar in the name of poorly constructed stream of consciousness sentences, this one is for you. Rather, I suppose, it is meant for you, but it is really and truly for the grammarians and pedants of the world who will read this and agree with it and perhaps even share … Continue reading Stop Putting Commas Before Verbs!
Holiday Survival for the Self-Identifying Loner
The holidays create a certain kind of chaos. November shifts to December and suddenly there is shopping and baking to do, social engagements to attend, family outings to cringe through, projects to complete, and holiday movies to watch. Gone are the hours of excessive reading or writing, gaming or sketching. Christmas for the self-identifying loner is not that easy to enjoy. I know the feeling … Continue reading Holiday Survival for the Self-Identifying Loner
Pokémon Sword and Shield Is the Most Enjoyable Pokémon Game in Years, Battle Me
We’ve all heard it by now. Pokémon: Sword and Shield (SwSh) is a sinking ship bent on an unforgiving watery grave. Well, I’m here to tell you to sit down, put your pitchforks away, and hear me out. Pretty please with a cherubi on top? Most aspects of the game haven’t changed. Like other titles, it follows a young lad or lass whose mission is … Continue reading Pokémon Sword and Shield Is the Most Enjoyable Pokémon Game in Years, Battle Me
Just Say Yes
We are a culture of no. Like toddlers learning autonomy for the first time, we bandy about rejection with reckless zeal. No, I don’t want to go out tonight. No, I won’t help you unless you help me first. No, I won’t eat that donut. No, I won’t make the first move. Self-care gurus and influencers praise the merits of staying in and being selfish, … Continue reading Just Say Yes
Mourning My Morning Pages
From March through the end of August, I experienced a major creative dry spell that convinced me I wasn’t a writer anymore. I was just a person who happened to write sometimes. But my dad, another evening writer, gifted me The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron because his friend said it was life-changing. I’m sure it is, but I barely made it past Week One, … Continue reading Mourning My Morning Pages
Making Time to Read, Not Excuses
I should read more, but I just don’t have time. We’ve all heard it. You may have even said it at some point. Either way, it’s most likely a lie. It’s a known fact that our world is busy. People race from work to pick up the kids from school or soccer practice to go grocery shopping and make dinner to play sports or video … Continue reading Making Time to Read, Not Excuses
‘Joker’ Has Redefined Good Cinema
Is Todd Phillips’ Joker a good movie? At this point, it doesn’t really matter. I wasn’t intending to see Joker, because neither psychological dramas nor superhero movies hold much interest for me. But as it became a cultural phenomenon, I was curious what all the hype was about. What all the controversy was about. Surely one film couldn’t be all that everyone was claiming it … Continue reading ‘Joker’ Has Redefined Good Cinema
Get Off Your High Horse, the Book Is Not Always Better Than the Movie
It is common knowledge among book readers that the movie version will almost always be inferior to the book it’s based off of. It’s a popular refrain by moviegoers, dinner guests and librarians everywhere. And to some degree this belief is well justified. There are a lot of bad or utterly forgettable book adaptations out there that deserve to be purged from popular memory. Hollywood … Continue reading Get Off Your High Horse, the Book Is Not Always Better Than the Movie
