Tag Archives: tips and tricks

Grammarland: Affect, Effect, and Affectation

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Jodi L. Milner

  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 →

Posted in Grammarland | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

NaNo 2014 – Beating the Murky Middle

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Jodi L. Milner

Saturday marks the halfway point for all you NaNo writers out there, that means you should be nearing or hopefully passing the 25,000 word mark in your new drafts.  It’s usually around now when the story starts falling apart and … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, NaNoWriMo | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Debate: Linear vs. Non-Linear Writing

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Jodi L. Milner

There are several debates when it comes to drafting a novel. The most well-known debate is usually between plotters and pantsers. Plotters being those who outline and plan each chapter in advance and pantsers being those who wing it and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Concept Creation, Editing and Revision, Organizational Skills | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Grammarland – The Comma Splice

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Jodi L. Milner

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

Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Jodi L. Milner

If I were to ever teach a writing class, heaven forbid, I would have everyone read at least two different writing books written by writers.  It wouldn’t matter which ones either, because honestly they all say variations of the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Books and Reading, Inspiration | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blogging: Making First Impressions

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Jodi L. Milner

In the blogosphere, it takes maybe five seconds to encourage readers to keep reading or to click away.  If your blog fails to capture the interest of your reader, chances are they won’t stick around.  Over the last few weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Marketing and Publication | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Using Personal Space to Your Advantage

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Jodi L. Milner

  Two weeks ago in the post “Using Stereotypes to your Advantage” we discussed how the careful use of widely accepted stereotypes can add flavor and personality to a scene without adding the bulk of excessive description.  Today we will … Continue reading →

Posted in Art of Writing, Editing and Revision, Language usage, Visual writing, Writer's Voice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments