If you are not familiar with the word, nominalization is a grammatical term for turning verbs and sometimes adjectives into nouns. For example, the noun decision instead of decide or experimentation instead of experiment. There is no grammatical problem with turning verbs into nouns. However, it can have a detrimental effect because it can weaken…
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Like most authors, you would never even dream of wanting to waive copyright for your books. However, there are occasional exceptions. You might choose to release your work into the public domain due to wanting to contribute to education or science, promote a cause or theory, or simply as a means to reach more potential…
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Indefinite adjectives are common and extremely useful in all forms of writing. While many of them are often determiners, they can also act as adjectives. When it comes to referring to a number, these adjectives allow you to avoid specifics that, in many cases, are unnecessary or irrelevant. For example, A vast crowd enjoyed the…
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Almost everyone is familiar now with AI (artificial intelligence) and its ability to provide answers, create images, and even videos. For writers, however, the ability of AI to produce text is the most worrisome. All it takes is a quick prompt, and it can output 1,000 words on any topic in seconds. Naturally, this creates…
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Is it born or borne? While both are past tense forms of the verb “to bear,” they are used in different contexts. Use born specifically for birth (a baby was born). Use borne (with an “e”) for everything else, including carrying an object, supporting a weight, or enduring a hardship. The grammar of borne and…
Here’s a little tip to help you promote your book. Have you thought about including reviews in your book description? Why? Because it’s the first thing a potential reader sees when they click on your book. You might have a ton of great book reviews, but they all appear way down your book page on…
The causative is an extremely useful tool for fiction writers. It lets you show the influence of one character over another, such as for control, persuasion, or cooperation, instead of telling your reader. The grammatical structure, sometimes called causative verbs, quickly shows what one character causes another to do without writing long, complex sentences. While…
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Can you start a blog anonymously and keep your identity a secret? Yes, you can, and it’s relatively easy to do. Perhaps you want to protect your privacy or avoid potential conflicts with your professional life. For authors who write under a pseudonym, blogging under your pen name is often a good idea. Whatever your reasons,…
The first draft of a short story, novel, or even an article or poem is only for you. Terry Pratchett once said, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” It doesn’t matter if you are a plotter and work with an outline or a panster (a writer who flies by the seat…
For most writers, using conditional sentences is intuitive. You don’t need to think because they come naturally. While that’s perfectly okay, sometimes it’s worth investigating grammar points that you rarely think about. In this case, you might find that you can do more or add more variety to your writing. Do you know that there…
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