Lesson
When it comes to writing great fiction, less is often more. Think of modifiers and detail like perfume. Perfume can be lovely, sexy, attractive, and make one irresistible. It can also give others a headache or an asthma attack and have them looking for the closest bookmark exit.
Action
Comb through your prose and look for adverbs. When possible, replace them with stronger verbs.
She stood quickly out of the chair.
She bolted from her chair.
Look for redundant adverbs.
He yelled loudly.
Um…no, duh. How else would he yell? Softly?
Not all adverbs are evil. Adverbs are fine when they denote some quality that is not inherent in the definition of the verb.
She whispered conspiratorially.
Describing Characters
When it comes to character descriptions, you aren’t talking to a police sketch artist. Give the basics and let the reader fill in the rest. Trust your reader’s imagination to…
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For us, WordPress.com is our labor of love — we’re continually releasing new themes, upgrades, and features to help you create the best website and/or blog you can. In addition to great tools, we publish articles, prompts, and writing and photo challenges to inspire you to start posting and keep posting. While we’re never, ever done making WordPress.com better, we wanted to look back at some of the goodies we brought you in 2012.
We’ve got the look: 65+ new themes in 2012
We released themes at a rate of more than one a week in 2012. These beautiful themes look great no matter which device your visitors use to see your content. What’s more, if you’re a musician, restaurateur, bride-or-groom-to-be, or a civil servant looking for a simple way to share information with your audience, we’ve got you covered.
Custom Design puts you in…
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A reader writes:
Hi Anita,
I have sworn to myself that this will be the year that I successfully keep my New Year’s Resolution. For many years, I have tried to eat healthier, make smarter choices, and get more exercise into my daily routine but I seem to fall of the wagon in a matter of weeks. What can I do to make sure I succeed at my goal and become a healthier, better me?
Thanks for the question, Eager to Exercise,
During the holiday season, many of us see our weight creep up on the scales — to the point that we make Santa Claus himself look like a runway model! One too many of Grandma’s famous cookies or an extra helping of mashed potatoes here and there can really expand the waistline. It is no wonder that the top New Year’s Resolution is to become more physically fit…
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Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.
QUESTION: What song (or songs) make you smile and get you moving no matter when you hear it (them)?
Lisa J. Jackson: “Walking on Sunshine” has always always fallen into this category for me. It gets me singing and smiling and dancing (even if I’m in the car). “Call Me Maybe” is a recent favorite. I don’t know what it is about that song, but I just love it and there are so many fun lip synched plays on it on YouTube, too. It seems addictive to a lot of folks. But it makes me smile and I have to sing along whenever I hear it.
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Julie Hennrikus: My niece got Just Dance 4
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It’s Research Wednesday! Where I share the latest, or most fascinating, in the science of friendship.
“Reading more books has topped a list of most popular New Year’s resolutions, according to a survey. The poll conducted by LA Fitness asked 2,000 people what their aims for 2013 are. Saving money and losing weight are the second and third most common resolutions respectively, ahead of redecorating and taking better pictures.” (“Top 40 Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions for 2013 Revealed,” DigitalSpy.com)
While neither “make new friends” nor “spend more time with friends” are on this list, plenty of the most popular resolutions have to do with socializing “better.” By better, I mean mostly in person, and with people that make us feel good about ourselves.
Here’s the list of all 40:
1. Read more books
2. Save more money
3. Lose weight
4. Redecorate
5. Take better photos
6…
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I recently celebrated my 30th birthday and was reminded of my 29th birthday – I was in Russia for my 29th and my husband had traveled to visit me for that week in October. I thought about our walks through Tavricheskiy Sad – the leaves had all turned orange and yellow and Russians were walking around with those silly leaf crowns on their heads! The weather was cool and I was reminded of how “at home” I felt in my favorite city – Saint Petersburg. Upon returning to America, I regularly had dreams about SPB, walking down the streets which had become so familiar to me. I miss seeing the little boy who lived in the apartment below – he would always greet me enthusiastically each time we passed each other.
Whenever people ask me why I chose Russia for my study abroad experience, I never really quite know how…
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albertgenau 