Tag: writing

Writing with Jargon

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

J= Jargon

  • Speech or writing having unusual or pretentious vocabulary, convoluted phrasing, and vague meaning.
  • Slang or Lingo
  • Language used by a group, profession, or culture, not words and phrases are not understood or used by other people.

Not everyone understands tech-talk.

Make sure your writing speaks to a broad audience, not a select few. Believe it or not, there are still a few people who do not use computers.

A ransom note filled the screen. The sender wanted five-thousand dollars. Her computer was under attack. Rachel hit delete and the next email popped up repeating the threat.

Getty image

What the hell? With each click, the threat reappeared. She couldn’t close her email. The computer now belonged to someone else.

thankyou note card

Writing With Intrigue

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

I = Intrigue

  • cause to be interested or curious
  • Fascinate your readers with words that peak their curiosity.

Sprinkle words throughout your writing that alarm, deceive, or charm the reader.

Getty Images

The mail icon on her computer flashed. Rachel opened the inbox and stared. Line after line from a strange address, concealed by symbols, &?#%$@mail.net. Fifty weird emails, marked urgent family emergency filled the screen. How did this person get her private email address?

Junk mail should’ve gone into the spam box. She hoped the anti-virus software would protect her computer. The cursor blinked, daring her to click. Curiosity was a weakness, all her life she’d heard about the cat dying.

She opened the first email.

thankyou note card

Writing a Better Hook

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell3 Comments

Writing a good hook is not as easy as it may sound.

Every writer wants to grab the reader by the neck and squeeze.

I’m bad to read the first couple of pages and if I’m not hooked stop reading.

So it stands to reason, that first page or even that first paragraph is the most important part of the story.

Without a good hook, the reader moves on to another book.

H is for Hook

Want to write a great hook?

Keep reading…

Larry Brooks at the Storyfix explains how a writer should reach for a better hook.

Over at WritetoDone is a good article on writing a hook using visualization.

Write it Sideways gives 6 Ways to Hook Your Reader.

A few books that had me from page one…

Delirium (Delirium Series Book 1) [Kindle Edition] by Lauren Oliver,

Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 – 5) (Silo series) [Kindle Edition] by Hugh Howey

The Memory Box [Kindle Edition] by Eva Lesko Natiello,

Outlander: A Novel (Outlander, Book 1) [Kindle Edition] by Diana Gabaldon

Share your favorite reads that grabbed you from the first page, or maybe a book that hooked you but didn’t live up to the promise.

Writing with Gerunds

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell1 Comment

G = Gerunds

Writers new and old sometimes stumble over writing with  Gerunds.

Do you know the correct way to write with Gerunds?

Not all of these “ing” Devils are bad. This is a writing tip worth repeating. A reminder that I make sure the “ing” action matches the rest of my sentence.

“Running home she flung open the front door.” Hmm… This needs work.

Want to rid your writing of a few of these scary little Gremlins?

Head over to The Kill Zone’s post titled Gerunds Be Gone, for examples for writers.

For additional help, you might want to check out editing software Grammarly , Ginger and ProWritingAid. I use all three.

Ready to go Gerund hunting?

Elmer hunting

Read the post over at Writing-World. com for more help.

Click the link for more details on the  A to Z Challenge

Talk to me, I love reading your comments.

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