Do you have your own blog? If so, do you sometimes feel guilty about spending time writing for your blog rather than working on something which you consider more “worthwhile”? If you don’t have a blog, have you ever thought of starting one? Perhaps you’re not sure whether it would be worth the investment of … Read more
Interjection comes from from a Latin word that means “throw between.” It’s a word or phrase that is thrown into a sentence to express an emotion: Goodness, how you’ve grown! Darn, I forgot my lunch! Alas, will he never return? All the impolite expressions that we call expletives are interjections. According to Wikipedia: In linguistics, … Read more
A reader asks what we think of the comment: In many ways, good writing is a matter of opinion. It’s not a question that has an easy answer. Opinion is a slippery word. So is good. Some opinions are founded on facts, knowledge, and experience. Others are based on nothing better than whimsy, rebellion or … Read more
All right folks, it was about time to run a writing competition over here. The first one will be a short story competition. You have until next Sunday (July 20th) to send your story to us via email, on the infoATdailywritingtips.com address. The Prizes The competition will be sponsored by WhiteSmoke. It will offer 3 … Read more
I’ve been reading a book on linguistics recently. During the process I have discovered some new terminology, such as converse terms. This phrase describes pairs of words where one word reverses the relationship that is denoted by the first. As someone else put it, there’s a relationship of equivalence. In other words, if you are … Read more
Two commonly confused words are prevaricate and procrastinate. They are similar in being quite formal, Latinate, words but have different meanings. Prevaricate means “to deviate from the truth” (Merriam-Webster). It is not quite so strong as “lie” but implies an intention to mislead. It is often, but not exclusively, used in reference to politicians: “It … Read more
The Internet has provided freelance writers with a whole new set of prospects for selling their skills. But while traditional markets will always be the main source of freelance writers’ income, it is possible to increase earnings in other markets using a little imagination and ingenuity. Here you will find fourteen markets that are always … Read more
A conjunction joins words and groups of words. There are two classes of conjunction: co-ordinate or coordinating and subordinate or subordinating. Co-ordinate conjunctions: and, but, either…or, neither…nor. Subordinate conjunctions: that, as, after, before, since, when, where, unless, if. Mother and Father are driving me to New Orleans. (and is a coordinate conjunction joining words of … Read more
The DWT Forum is enjoying a lively discussion of the problem of what do do about the political need to make writing “gender neutral” without writing such ugly constructions as s/he, he/she, he or she. Some readers still support the use of “he” in a general sense as was the practice until it came to … Read more
Happy 4th of July to all the U.S. readers. Below you will find the most popular articles of the past month; check them out if you missed any. Nonstandard Usage Detracts from Novel: The English language can certainly be said to be in flux when college professors write such stuff as… Using the Active Voice … Read more
There’s often confusion between rebut and refute and both words may be misused when deny is most appropriate. It’s true that they all have to do with negation, but that’s where the similarity ends. To deny a statement is simply that. If I say ‘all dogs are grey’, then if you deny or contradict that … Read more
If you aspire to be a writer, and read tips from well known authors, you’ll have come across the advice that you should write every day. Sharon suggested this in the best way to start out in freelance writing: I recommend writing every day, even if it’s only for a little while. It makes writing … Read more