Where can you submit your writing for free?

Published on November 8, 2017November 8, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell25 Comments

How about 30 plus places to submit your writing?

And they pay you!

Some of my scariest and most rewarding experiences as a writer happened when I stepped out of the shadows and submitted a story. Nothing beats reading, “We would like to feature your submission.”

Scary, yes, because I felt as though I were sending a piece of my soul out into the big bad world to be judged. Rewarding because acceptance is what I dream of as a writer.

Thanks to Erica Verrillo for providing us with this great list of publications looking for good writers. This month you can submit your favorite piece and get paid.

November is just getting started, so pull out that story from your slush pile, polish it till it gleams like a newly minted penny and hit send.

There is still time!

34 Calls for Submissions in November 2017 — Paying markets

I recognize a few on her list but many are new to me. There’s poetry, fiction, speculative fiction, essays and more.

Another great list is provided by Rachel Poli. Unfortunately, not all are free to submit but there are payment and prizes. So check out her post…

November/December 2017 Writing Contests

Do you find submitting scary and rewarding as I do?

What do you think?

Any of these publications look good to you?

Have you had any success with either of these organizations?

Do share your thoughts and experience in the comments.

And take a minute to follow me on social media, just click on the buttons below. I’ll leave a light on.

How to speed up your word count

Published on November 6, 2017November 3, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell7 Comments

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month?

Well, congrats! You’re a week in now.

Not doing NaNoWriMo but still, need to write a lot more words every day?

Although I’m not participating this year, I’m here to cheer you on! And to help you up that word count, check out this post by Louise Foerster.

Ways to Thrive During NaNoWriMo: Bolstering Word Count

When the clock is ticking, and your muse isn’t talking, this article may help move your story along.

What I gleaned from this article?

All you need is words, so type some.
Remember a good editor can fix a lot of mistakes.
Use techniques and tools other writers have provided.
- What tools or techniques?
- Quotes from other publications. Prose, comments, verses or documents.
- Send your characters into the world and show what they see and hear. Don’t forget to add their reactions.
- Let your characters talk. You never know what they might say or where it will lead.
- Use cringeworthy tricks.
  - You have to read her article for these.

Like I said, I’m not doing NaNoWriMo but, I plan on using some of her ideas for my writing.

What do you think? Are these tips helpful?

Do you need to write faster?

I really want to know so leave me a comment.

Also, if you can please stop by my other locations and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

OR CLICK THE “WRITE ME” TAB AND SEND ME AN EMAIL.

Get the dash right when you write

Published on November 3, 2017November 2, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

Not talking Morse Code.

Does the Hyphen, EN Dash, and EM Dash ever confuse you?

They have me. Thank goodness for editors who know the difference.

I wonder if I’ll ever remember everything I need to know about punctuation. Seems the more I read the more I need to read. Something like that. Joel Friedlander posted a great article about using dashes instead of commas and how we can get the placement mixed up.

What I learned about the right way to use these punctuations…

That the dash is not based on the font size.
The difference between a Hyphen, EN, and EM.
- Hyphen is shortest
- EN is shorter than EM
- EM is the longest
The three are not interchangeable.
An editors shorthand for where to put them.
And the short-cut keystrokes to insert them.
Short-cut keystrokes are a quick way to insert special characters. Of course, you can always click on the Special Characters menu but I’m a big lover of shortcut keys when writing in Scrivener or MSWord.
For blogs click on the Special Character in the WordPress Visual Editor.

This screen pops up and you can select whichever character you need.

The Hyphen key is easy. It’s on our keyboard.
The EN Dash shortcut for Scrivener or MSWord is Ctrl+Minus. Looks a bit like a hyphen and is used to connect a range, for dates or pages. Often found in indexes.
The EM Dash shortcut for Scrivener or MSWord is Ctrl+Alt+Minus. The EM dash is for a pause or parenthesis with somewhat more emphasis than a comma and somewhat less than what parentheses imply.
- The Punctuation Guide states, “Most newspapers — and all that follow AP style — insert a space before and after the em dash.”
- However, this may not be practical for fiction as it may result in a formatting nightmare—resulting in a line break where you may not want one.

To learn more, click and read Joel’s entire post.

Hyphens, Em Dashes, En Dashes—Everything You Need to Know BY JOEL FRIEDLANDER

Keep reading more info here.

How to insert special characters in WordPress.

Did any of this help clear up things for you?

Do you use EN or EM dash in your writing?

What do you think?

I really want to know so leave me a comment and talk dashes.

Also, if you can please stop by my other locations and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

OR CLICK THE “WRITE ME” TAB AND SEND ME AN EMAIL.

What to do with old obsolete grammar rules?

Published on November 1, 2017October 26, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell28 Comments

Do we throw them out?

Or do we realize some rules are made to be broken?

Hooray! At last, a common sense post about what to do about hard and fast rules that make no sense in this day and time.

6 Old Grammar Rules That Are Finally Going Out of Style by KELLY GURNETT

I felt a kinship with Kelly and you will too. You may enjoy the workarounds she provides unless of course, you are one of the few Grammar Police left in the world. I hope you’ll set aside that red marker and reconsider after reading her post.

Here is my take on her 6 rules:

Ending sentences with a preposition.
- Guilty, but I didn’t know this rule was attributed to Winston Churchill
Starting sentences with a conjunction.
- Oh yes, guilty. This gem was apparently courtesy of teachers in the 19th century.
Sentence fragments.
- Now honestly, I write like I talk. And well…
Split infinities.
- This one drives me nuts. But what a relief, Kelly gives us permission to use as needed and explains why.
Who vs Whom
- I love her suggestions. Just avoid if unsure. But realize the word “whom” is for formal writing.
Pronouns.
- What about “they?” Turns out it’s not one but what else is a writer to use?