Category Archives: Grammarland

Grammarland: Apostrophe

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Jodi

Contrary to most of English, the apostrophe is a fairly easy lesson.  It only has two uses – just two – and they are 99% consistent.  Because it’s so easy you’d think that you would rarely see errors.  WRONG. I … Continue reading →

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Grammarland: Affect, Effect, and Affectation

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Jodi

  Despite the best intentions of english teachers everywhere, affect vs. effect still ends up on almost every single common grammar mistake list out there.  I should know, I mix them up nearly every time. The fact is, most normal … Continue reading →

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Grammarland – The Comma Splice

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Jodi

After some soul searching, erm I mean blog searching, I discovered that it’s been way too long since I’ve tackled a grammar subject here at My Literary Quest.  Today we learn about the dreaded comma splice. Earlier this year I … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Grammarland | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Insubordinate little devils, um I mean Clauses

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Jodi

As much as I would love this to be a awesome short story about rebel Santas (insubordinate clauses, get it? Oh forget it.), we’ re actually diving into that dense and unforgivable jungle that is Grammarland. Today’s Topic: Subordinate Clauses … Continue reading →

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Posted in Art of Writing, Editing and Revision, Grammarland | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Connotation vs. Denotation, or how to become your editor’s new BFF

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Jodi

I’ve made a liar out of myself already, promising a weekly post and then letting almost a month slip by without a word.  Fear not, in addition to growing a new human I’ve been working on projects that have needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing and Revision, Grammarland | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

The Subtle (and not so subtle) Art of the Euphemism

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Jodi

It’s been a while since we’ve journeyed to Grammarland, that mythical place where language usage rules and parts of speech mingle.  Today we shall tackle the euphemism, that funny phrase either used or invented that refers to something entirely different, … Continue reading →

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Fun Friday: The Portmanteau

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Jodi

We’ve all heard them, a bizarre word that’s half one word half another but manages to capture the meaning of both.   Today we learn the proper name to call them – a portmanteau. These little gems sprung from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammarland, Humor | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Isn’t it Ironic?

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Jodi

Ah irony . . . when mastered it delights any reader with it’s sarcastic twist.  It adds a certain depth and realism to characters that is hard to achieve any other way. Then why, I beg, is it so friggin … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Concept Creation, Grammarland | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Oxymorons are Among Us!

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Jodi

In light of having a very unrestful weekend (stomach flu, blech), I’m letting the wonderful web bring you a touch of humor. Oxymorons are figures of speech normally composed of a pair of neighboring contradictory words. These are often used … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammarland, Humor | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Grammarland: A Lot, Alot, Allot, and Shallots

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Jodi

Let us return to the mythical oasis of Grammarland where the magic water of words flows in abundance.  Ladies and gentlemen, I confess, I have a bad habit of typing “alot” when I’m not paying attention. No, not a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammarland, Humor, Language usage | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments