Words Fail Me (23 page)

weak,
[>]
-
[>]

novels:

beginnings of,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

See also
fiction writing

now,
[>]
,
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now/then,
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numbers,
[>]
-
[>]
,
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objects, pronouns as,
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one,
in place of
I,
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organization,
[>]
-
[>]

Orwell, George,
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outlining,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

overly,
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paragraphs,
[>]
-
[>]

parameter,
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parentheses,
[>]

passive verbs,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

percentages,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

personal experience:

anecdotes about,
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as humor source,
[>]
-
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as subject matter,
[>]
-
[>]

Peterson, Roger Tory,
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place and time,
[>]
-
[>]

plagiarism,
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Poe, Edgar Allan,
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point of view,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
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in fiction,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
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shifts in,
[>]
-
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tone of,
[>]
-
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prefabricated expressions,
[>]
-
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prepositions,
[>]
-
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ending sentences with,
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unnecessary,
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pretentious writing,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
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progress, signs of,
[>]
-
[>]
,
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promises,
[>]
-
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pronouns,
[>]
-
[>]
,
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as contractions,
[>]

first-person,
[>]
-
[>]
(
see also I
)

possessive,
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Proust, Marcel,
[>]
,
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proxy words and phrases,
[>]
-
[>]

Psycho
(film),
[>]

punctuation,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

Python, Monty,
[>]

quotas, writing,
[>]

readers,
[>]
-
[>]

expectations of,
[>]
-
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familiarity with,
[>]

fear of,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
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imagination of,
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really,
[>]
,
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Reasoner, Harry,
[>]

redundancy,
[>]
-
[>]

repetition,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
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research, time spent on,
[>]

revision,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

on computer,
[>]

rewards of writing well,
[>]
-
[>]

rhyming modifiers,
[>]
-
[>]

rhythm in writing,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

Rice, Anne,
[>]

Rogers, Ginger,
[>]

Roth, Philip,
[>]

run-on sentences,
[>]
-
[>]

Runyon, Damon,
[>]
,
[>]

Russell, Bertrand,
[>]

Salinger, J. D.,
[>]
,
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satisfaction, writing as source of,
[>]

scheduling,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
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scientific writing,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

humor in,
[>]
-
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semicolon,
[>]
-
[>]

sentences:

arrangement of,
[>]
-
[>]

clarity of,
[>]
-
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connection of,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

construction of,
[>]
-
[>]

function of, in paragraphs,
[>]
-
[>]

length of,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

run-on,
[>]
-
[>]

Shakespeare, William,
[>]
,
[>]

Shaw, George Bernard,
[>]
,
[>]

she/her,
[>]
[>]

Shirer, William L.,
[>]

Siegal, Mordecai,
[>]

simplicity,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

slang,
[>]

See also
jargon

Smiley, Jane,
[>]

Smith, Red,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

Sokal, Alan D.,
[>]
-
[>]

speeches, organization of,
[>]
-
[>]

spell-checkers,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

spelling,
[>]
-
[>]

Spock, Dr. Benjamin,
[>]

sports writing,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

Stein, Gertrude,
[>]
-
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Stewart, Martha,
[>]

style,
[>]
-
[>]

clarity of,
[>]
-
[>]

of first drafts,
[>]
-
[>]

simple versus pretentious,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

Styron, William,
[>]
-
[>]

subject matter:

familiarity with,
[>]
-
[>]

organization of,
[>]
-
[>]

relevant,
[>]
-
[>]

sources of,
[>]
-
[>]

subjects, pronouns as,
[>]

subject-verb agreement,
[>]
-
[>]

subject-verb proximity,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

summary beginnings,
[>]
-
[>]

tense,
[>]
-
[>]

that,
[>]

their/there,
[>]

then,
[>]
,
[>]

there,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]

there/here,
[>]

they/them,
[>]

this,
[>]
,
[>]

this/that,
[>]

Thomas, Lewis,
[>]

time and place,
[>]
-
[>]

Tom Swifties,
[>]

Tomlin, Lily,
[>]

tone,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

Trevor, William,
[>]

Trollope, Anthony,
[>]

Twain, Mark,
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]

understatement,
[>]
-
[>]

Updike, John,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

verbs,
[>]
-
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,
[>]
-
[>]

active,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

infinitive form,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]

passive,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

relationship to subject,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

tenses of,
[>]
-
[>]

weak nouns versus,
[>]
-
[>]

very,
[>]
-
[>]

Walters, Barbara,
[>]

Washington, Booker T.,
[>]

what, why, and how,
[>]
-
[>]

of beginnings,
[>]
-
[>]

of fiction writing,
[>]
-
[>]

which,
[>]

White, E.B.,
[>]

will/would,
[>]

Winchester, Simon,
[>]

Winckler, Suzanne,
[>]
-
[>]

Wodehouse, P. G.,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

Wooster, Bertie,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

work habits:

breaks,
[>]
-
[>]

quotas,
[>]

scheduling,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]

writer's block,
[>]
-
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

writing well,
[>]
,
[>]
-
[>]

your/you're,
[>]

*If you must know, see the appendix.

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