S. Mitchell‭

Different collections of hymns have significantly different editorial policies. Many modern collections will, for example, change 'we are sons' to 'we are children' so that they conform to modern s...

posted 7y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

See editing as a different form of creation: from something not so good you create something brilliant. Frank Cottrell Boyce opened my eyes when he said that being used to writing films he was used...

posted 7y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

You would say 'Block D' when referring to a place.

posted 11y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I have been told that the sentence you should cut out is the one you love the most. I have found this true of my own writing: a really interesting section just has to go because it doesn't fit with...

posted 11y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Creating original similes and metaphors is incredibly difficult. When teaching students I find that similes are easier than metaphors. It is possible to write similes and then convert them to metap...

posted 11y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I have seen bold and I have seen inverted commas. I haven't seen combinations. Simply say which you are going to use at the beginning. For example, I just found this in 'Beginning Android Applicat...

posted 11y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Although the following might seem obvious, some of the things I tell my students include: don't use 'then'. If you have written it well one thing follows from another. Secondly, avoid starting sen...

posted 10y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Perhaps one way to see it is that you are representing reality, not copying it. In the same way that a painting (even those of the photographic realism school) represents or shows reality rather th...

posted 10y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

In a novel it is conventional to start a new paragraph when you change: -- speaker (yes, every time) -- place -- time -- character -- topic You can change the 'meaning' of your text just by ...

posted 10y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

You could try looking at lists of homophones and homonyms. These lists can give you ideas about similar sounding words. However, in the end, you just have to keep practising. Sometimes it does take...

posted 10y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

You could use symbols and motifs. This sounds very obvious, but like all literary techniques, if done well it works. It could be the use of the colour red. It could be the mention of a poetic work....

posted 10y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

No. Simple answer. If it makes sense to the reader and people want to read on, do what you want with the plot. Twists can add a great deal to a novel. If you can keep thinking of them and the reade...

posted 9y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I agree with what Mark Baker said, but you might want to consider the following. If she said it is your intellectual property, that suggests you still own the copyright and you didn't give it away...

posted 9y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I would accept the sentence you have written, usually. It depends on the context. Tenses in English are actually incredibly complex. (I have recently written a simple guide for distinguishing betw...

posted 9y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

It depends on what you are trying to do. Present tense creates tension because the reader doesn't know what is going to happen -- is the narrator going to live after the bomb explosion, for example...

posted 9y ago by S. Mitchell‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭