Writer's Toolbox
Features
Sentences: A sentence is a thought, not a warehouse
Sentences can be large, they can contain multitudes—but not literary litter. Read more
Name your agent
Who did what? If you are writing about people, put them in the sentence. Read more
Acronyms and otherwise
The abbreviation “CBC” is not an acronym. Really. Read more
The order of things
Your prose will flow more smoothly if you narrate things in the order in which they happened. Read more
Living vs. being based
When did we stop living in a place and start being “based” there, as in “Jane Geist, based in Toronto”? Read more
Interview with Mary Schendlinger
Luanne Armstrong interviews Mary Schendlinger on: types of editing, from developmental, structural, to copyediting; writing Geist buys; finding an editor; the term "creative non-fiction." Read more
The sense of sight
Stop, look and listen before you use the verb to see. Read more
Find yourself, but don’t say so
Use constructions like these sparingly: “She found herself shouting at him”; “Suddenly I found myself shopping in an X-rated video store.” Read more
How does narrative die?
The death of narrative finds its roots in the optical culture of the twentieth century. Read more
Verbs: Avoid the quiet and the copulative
It may sound sexy, but it isn't—not in a strong narrative, anyway. Read more
Function shift
It isn't always a pretty sight when one part of speech gets turned into another. Read more
