Language is not static. Language evolves over time. Words come en vogue (or are invented) and some words become passé or archaic. As language changes, so do the “rules” of its use.



For example: someone says to you that “every sentence ends with a period and that rule will…

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As all writers know, the page is a battlefield. First, you must conquer the blankness of the white paper (or screen, depending on your preferred setting), then all of your little troops of letters must be ordered about to create sense and purpose. In this epic struggle between mind and matter, where do you draw the line between being correct and being creative?

In a perfect world, we would all be churning out perfectly written sentences full of revelatory, life-changing…

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My article, To Spank or Not to Spank is up on Yahoo Voices; Lifestyles;
http://voices.yahoo.com/to-spank-not-spank-11543224.html?cat=25

I would really appreciate any comments (good or bad) left on site.  Thanks :)

The Cover of My Debut Novel, Semi-Charmed Life (Just Published on July 3rd!)

If you’ve ever written a personal essay or memoir or even retold an elaborate story that relies on memory to a rapt group at a…

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I've posted a new poem, "The Rules for Planting Roses", in response to this month's "Roses" theme at TweetSpeakPoetry blog and Every Day Poems.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2012/05/rules-for-planting-roses-poem.html

If you thought Sh!t My Vagina Says was funny, then come join me at my new blog (my next book) Where The F#@k Is My Tiara? @  http://www.jacquibrown.wordpress.com

I just came across the most wonderful "Rules for Writing" series at the guardian.co.uk site, thanks to a mention of it in yesterday's NYTBR's "Inside the List". On the site, many truly extraordinary writers of all sorts list their "10 Rules for Writers." I haven't had a chance to peruse them all yet, but… Continue

Eight rules for writing fiction:



1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.



2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.



3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.



4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.



5. Start as close to the end as possible.



6. Be a sadist. Now matter… Continue