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Although there are no strict rules on how to wrote a novel because it largely depends on your creativity and your writing skills, there are some basic things you should know and do to make your novel more interesting to your readers.
Get inspired: You produce better output when you’re inspired. You can receive inspiration by observing people, taking a walk, thinking at your favorite spot, watching a movie, among other things.

Get organised: Account for your characters, your plot, your theme, the setting and so on. Write them out to have a general idea of what you want to write. You can also consider starting with a summary before you proceed to write the full novel.

Start writing: After your initial planning stage then you can start writing your novel. At this stage, don’t bother editing until you have finished your first draft and also make sure you don’t write the book half way and abandon it. Ensure you finish what you have started.

Introduce your conflicts early: You can improve the readers’ experience by introducing the conflict early in the book. People love to read books that will reveal their emotions – sympathy, anger or admiration – but when the book seems perfect with no conflict, they are likely to abandon the book.

Add verisimilitude: Let your descriptions be realistic and believable. Writing things that seem improbable may offend your readers’ sensibilities and cause them to lose interest in your book.

Create suspense: A great novel gets even better when it is filled with suspense. This fuels the reader’s interest and holds his/her attention. If there is nothing to look forward to, the reader might drop the book and never pick it up again.

Edit your novel: When you are done writing your first draft, take time to read through and edit your manuscript. You should also subject your writing to the scrutiny of another writer or preferably, a professional editor.

These are just a few things to know before writing a novel. When you take note of them, you are more likely to produce a novel people will enjoy reading.

We’ve all heard that “content is king”, but with so much content vying for the throne, it can be a royal pain to know how often you should publish new content in the realm of content marketing.

According to a recent study by Wyzowl, 75% of content marketers release new content at least once a month, with over half publishing new content each week. But is this really how often you should be publishing new content? After all, what really matters most, quality or frequency?

These are the kinds of questions that keep content marketers awake at night. Rather than continue counting sheep, we’d like to finally put these questions to rest. Here are four things you need to consider when deciding how often you should publish new content.

Consider your purpose
What is your purpose for writing and publishing new content? If your primary purpose for publishing new content is to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, build brand awareness, or increase reader engagement, then it’s better to frequently publish new content. However, if your purpose is to improve your site’s SEO, then it’s more beneficial to fully optimize your existing content before writing and publishing new content.

Consider your audience
Who are you trying to reach? Publishing content geared towards new readers requires a much different approach than publishing content for your regular readers. Routine readers are far less likely to engage with older content because they are the ones who are visiting your site regularly in search of new content. This doesn’t mean that older content isn’t of any value, though. According to a recent study by HubSpot, 75% of their blog views and 90% of their blog leads came from old posts. Their conclusion? “The more [new content] you publish, the more old content you'll have that'll get you traffic and leads over time.”

Consider content type
Are you writing content to publish as a blog, social media post, white paper, or other formats? Much of the data found on the web supports that content with higher word count performs better. Depending on the type of new content you’re seeking to publish, longer isn’t always better. 68% of content marketers surveyed by Wyzowl believe that a blog post should be anywhere up to 1,000 words, but no one is going to be interested in reading a Tweet longer than 140 characters.

Consider your competitors
Many of our mothers may have told us never to worry about what everyone else is doing, but that’s simply not the case in regards to content marketing. One of the best ways to determine how often you should publish new content is to look and see how often your competitors are. If their content marketing strategy is working well for them, and they occupy the same niche as you, utilise their strategy to your benefit.

Credit: Foremost Media Blog post.

1. Use apostrophes correctly
Maybe it’s because of its diminutive size, but the apostrophe tends to be neglected and misused in equal measure.
The apostrophe is used to form possessives (e.g., the school’s faculty, our family’s crest, the shirt’s collar, Bill Thomas’s house) and certain contractions (e.g. it’s, let’s, she’s, they’re, I’ve, don’t).
The apostrophe is not used to form most plurals (e.g., she is looking at several schools, the families have similar crests, these shirts are on sale, we are dining with the Thomases). There are three exceptions: plurals of lowercase letters (e.g. dot your i’s and cross your t’s); plurals of certain words used as words (e.g., we need to tally the yes’s, no’s, and maybe’s); and plurals of certain abbreviations (e.g. the staff includes a dozen Ph.D.’s and four M.D.’s).


2. Know where to place quotation marks
Periods and commas go inside quotation marks, even if they aren’t part of the material being quoted. All other punctuation marks go outside the quotation marks, unless they are part of the material being quoted.
“Any further delay,” she said, “would result in a lawsuit.”
His latest story is titled “The Beginning of the End”; wouldn't a better title be “The End of the Beginning”?

3. Know how to punctuate with parentheses
When a parenthetical element is included at the end of a larger sentence, the terminal punctuation for the larger sentence goes outside the closing parenthesis.
When a parenthetical sentence exists on its own, the terminal punctuation goes inside the closing parenthesis.
She nonchalantly told us she would be spending her birthday in Venice (Italy, not California). (Unfortunately, we weren’t invited.)

4. Use a hyphen for compound adjectives
When two or more words collectively serve as an adjective before the word they are modifying, those words should normally be hyphenated. The major exception is when the first such word is an adverb ending in -ly.
The hastily arranged meeting came on the heels of less-than-stellar earnings.


5. Distinguish between the colon and the semicolon
The colon and the semicolon can both be used to connect two independent clauses. When the second clause expands on or explains the first, use a colon. When the clauses are merely related, but the second does not follow from the first, use a semicolon.
Semicolon: Only a third of Americans have a passport; the majority of Canadians have a passport.
Colon: Only a third of Americans have a passport: for most, foreign travel is either undesirable or unaffordable.

Source: The Punctuation Guide

When applying for a job, the employer meets your C.V before meeting you; as a result, the C.V is usually the first stage of screening. In order to get your dream job or at least make it through the first stage of screening, here are some mistakes you should avoid in your C.V:

1. Making Grammatical Errors and Typos: Your C.V shows your writing skills and your level of intelligence, so making grammatical errors in your writing can be discouraging. When writing, ensure you have proofread your resume before sending it to your recruiter.
2. Irrelevant Experiences: Experiences that have nothing to do with the position you are applying for should be avoided. Thus, every statement on your C.V should be relevant to the current position you are applying for and lead the employer to the conclusion that you have the right qualification for the job.
3. Submitting Incorrect Information: When writing a C.V, you should avoid incorrect information, such as wrong telephone numbers, or even data that are incorrect. You might think the recruiter might overlook such information and may not research it but the person might actually do and find out that you have provided the wrong information.
4. Exaggeration: You should avoid exaggerating your skills and achievements. There are times you might give some information and it will be clear that it is an exaggeration. The recruiter may be discouraged by this act and simply ignore your resume.
5. Personal Information: Personal information like age, weight, religion or even personal background should be avoided. Information like that is not needed for recruitment and an attempt to give such information might send the wrong signal.
Basically, critically scrutinise your resume to avoid grammatical errors and other types of technical errors in order to give you a fair chance of being invited for an interview.

One of the most frequent types of mistakes that students of foreign languages make has to do with preposition use. Though prepositions can often be translated from one language to another, it’s usually hard to predict which one is used in what situation when learning a foreign language. It doesn’t help that prepositions can sometimes completely change the meaning of what you’re trying to say, especially in certain set expressions. Here are some pairs of phrases that seem pretty similar, but actually mean very different things.

If you can think of more pairs like this, please post them in comments. Also, feel free to add new sentences that use these phrases in different ways!

1. Hang up / hang out
To “hang up” means to end a phone call; to “hang out” means to spend time relaxing, usually with a friend.
If he hangs up before I’m done talking, I will be too mad to hang out with him this weekend.

2. Look up / look forward
To “look up” means to search and find information about something, usually in a dictionary or some sort of database. To “look forward” to something means to be excited about an event that will happen in the future.
After looking up the plot of Woody Allen’s latest movie, I’m really looking forward to seeing it!

3. Get into / get over
To “get into” means to become involved or interested in something. To “get over” can either mean the opposite of this — to lose interest in something — or it can also mean to recover from something, particularly an illness.
After I get over this flu, which is making me so weak, I’m going to get into biking again.

4. Throw out / throw up
To “throw up” means to vomit, whereas to “throw out” means to dispose of something that is no longer being used. Hint: In this case, “out” and “away” can be used to express the same meaning, so to “throw something out” and to “throw something away” both mean to put it in the garbage.
If my cat throws up on the floor in my living room, I’ll have to throw away the rug that’s in there.

5. Break into / break up
To “break into” a place means to forcibly enter it, and is usually used with a place that you should not enter or to which access is usually restricted. To “break up” with someone means to end a relationship.
If your girlfriend breaks into your house in the middle of the night uninvited, that’s probably a pretty good reason to break up with her!

Source: Maya Barzilai from Voxy Blog.

When you surf the web, do you read on every web page that you visit? Of course not. In fact, people who visit websites are not even called readers, they are users. That’s because most website visitors don’t read; they scan. It’s easy to see, then, why the challenges facing web writers are different from those facing document writers.
Below are some answers to key questions about writing for your web audience:
How can your site answer questions fast?
Most of your users are just like you. They are short on time and in need for information quickly. They come to your site because they believe that there is something for them there— either to click on, scan or learn— and they want to access that information right now. Catering to your users’ needs will go a long way in ensuring satisfied visitors.

How will your website overcome user cynicism?
The web is crowded with pages of ill repute and users know they are connecting to unknown servers at faraway locations. Therefore, it is vital that you earn their trust. Learn to use straightforward language, and your site won’t be regarded as just another pop-up ad.

How can your website engage users to actually read your content?
As any scroll bar user will attest, it is much more difficult to read text on screen than on paper. In fact when web users do read, they do it about 25 percent more slowly on screen. That’s why they scan— to get all desired information from merely a sentence or two, or even just parts of sentences. Thus, limiting your content is the key.

Source: Write to the Top by Deborah Dumaine

Have you ever felt that you are a slow writer, especially when compared to the speed at which your friends and colleagues churn out great pieces of writing? Being a “slow writer” is nothing to worry about. Writing, like every other skill, improves over time. You had to learn to crawl and walk before you developed the capacity to run. Increasing your writing speed takes a similar process.
Here are some tips that can help you write faster:
 Identify your productive time: What time of the day do you generally have the highest degree of inspiration and least distraction? Some people love writing in the morning after a cup of coffee while others prefer to write late in the afternoon. We also have authors who engage in writing as a sort of relaxation process before going to bed at night. Find out what time of the day works best for you and schedule your writing assignments for that time.
 Research on what to write your subject: Writing is easier and faster when you already know what you want to write and you have sufficient knowledge about it.
 Choose a subject you love or one you’re passionate about: When you write, try to write on subjects you are passionate about, that will help boost your writing pace.
 Get rid of distractions: Where you write is as important as when you write. You’re more productive when you write in a place that is devoid of distractions. When you get distracted you are forced to stop the writing process and by the time you get back to what you are writing you might have lost the thought flow and would need to take a moment to catch up.
 Set a timer: To improve your writing pace, you need to take note of how long you spend on each piece. It is by tracking the time devoted to each writing task that you know if you are getting faster at it.
 Practice free writing: While writing, let your hand do the thinking. Don’t go back to correct errors or restructure sentences; just keep writing until you have written down all your ideas. When you are done then you can read through and edit.
 Edit vigorously: After practicing free writing, edit your text, restructure your sentences and correct your errors.
You may not see changes immediately but after practicing the foregoing tips consistently over time, your writing speed will improve.

These two words mean the same thing even though they have different spellings. It means to ask somebody for information or conduct an investigation on someone or something. It could also mean the act of asking questions while enquiries is a place where you can get information.

Generally speaking, either of the spelling can be used, but it has been observed that a lot of people prefer to use ‘enquire’ and ‘enquiry’ for the general sense of ‘asking questions’ while they use ‘inquire’ and ‘inquiry’ for a formal investigation.

Below are some examples
- Sandra enquired her registration number from the officer
- The last enquiry in my MD’s inbox yesterday was about vacant offices
- The policemen will inquire into the bank’s fraud
- John’s family asked when the inquiry will be concluded

It is common place to for speakers of British English to use enquire and enquiry while inquiry is used more among US English speakers. This is applicable for both formal and informal investigations. The Advanced Oxford Learner’s Dictionary seems to recognise inquire as the more dominant form.

In conclusion, it is your choice to make which spelling you will adopt, although it is better to find out which spelling is used if you are writing for a particular publication. It is advised to stick to inquire if you are unsure of which to use and whichever you decide on, ensure you are consistent.


Credit: Daily Writing Tips

As a writer, it is important to know the meaning of each word you use and how its meaning varies according to its context. It is difficult to associate meaning to words in isolation because the meaning could change in another context. For example, the word ‘hand’ means different things in different contexts. ‘Infoplease Dictionary’ highlights some of these as follows:

Hand:

 The terminal, prehensile part of the upper limb in humans and other primates, consisting of the wrist, metacarpal area, fingers, and thumb
 The corresponding part of the forelimb in any of the higher vertebrates.
 Something resembling a hand in shape or function, as various types of pointers: the hands of a clock.
 A person who performs or is capable of performing a specific work, skill, or action: a real hand at geometry.
 Skill; workmanship; characteristic touch: a painting that shows a master's hand.

The Macmillian Dictionary also has different meanings for the same word (hand) and various contexts in which it can be used:

 To have/hold something in your hand:
He was holding a mug of coffee in his left hand
 To hold hands (hold each other’s hands):
The park was full of young couples holding hands
 To shake hands:
The two men introduced themselves and shook hands
Beyond lexical meaning of the word, “hand” is also used in idiomatic expressions. Here are some examples from Espresso English:
 Get out of hand
To get out of control
My uncle’s drinking problem got out of hand, and eventually he became an alcoholic.
 Experience something first-hand
To experience something yourself
I didn’t realise how hard it was to be a parent until I experienced it first-hand.
Change hands
For an object to be passed or sold from one owner to another
This house has changed hands several times since it was built.

If you don’t understand the meaning of a word, there is a high probability that you will use it in the wrong context. This is one reason you should read wide and cultivate the “dictionary habit”.

Idiom: A manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
Every language has its own collection of wise sayings. They offer advice about how to live and also transfer some underlying ideas, principles and values of a given culture/society. These sayings are called "idioms" – or proverbs if they are longer. These combinations of words have (rarely complete sentences) a "figurative meaning" meaning, they basically work with "pictures".
This list of commonly used idioms and sayings (in everyday conversational English), can help to speak English by learning English idiomatic expressions. This is a list which contains some of the most commonly used idioms and their meaning.
A hot potato
Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed

A penny for your thoughts
A way of asking what someone is thinking

Actions speak louder than words
People's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.

Add insult to injury
To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavourable situation.

An arm and a leg
Very expensive or costly.A large amount of money.

At the drop of a hat
Meaning: Without any hesitation; instantly.


Back to the drawing board
When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over.

Ball is in your court
It is up to you to make the next decision or step

Barking up the wrong tree
Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person

Be glad to see the back of
Be happy when a person leaves.

Beat around the bush
Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.

Best of both worlds
All the advantages.

Best thing since sliced bread
A good invention or innovation.A good idea or plan.

Bite off more than you can chew
To take on a task that is way too big.

Source: English Language Smart Words

Here are my top 10 tips for fun, creative and productive writing, which can be applied to blogging, writing a book, an article, a report at work, a thesis, a term paper or any other major writing project.

1: Go out and write
Getting out of the house means I’m not distracted by all of the other stuff I could/should do at home (from washing the dishes to finally fixing that loose door handle). Also the café has noise, music, people coming in and out and while this may not work for everyone, it’s a nice level of distraction for me, and actually allows me to concentrate better than I do in a quiet office.

2: Leave the laptop charger at home
This may be the most important tip. This way the battery life of my computer sets an upper limit to how long I can write. I can’t sit there all day – I have 3 1/2 hours at the most. This means I spend zero time surfing the web, checking up on news, etc…

Also, I could never write for a whole day. I have about 2-3 good writing hours in me per day before the creativity, productivity and quality of my writing starts to plummet.

3: Decide on the structure first
I start by lining up all the chapters, so I know what sections the book has and which order they will come in. I don’t write the chapters in that order, and I also change this outline as I write.

But I do know where each chapter will fit, and approximately what it will contain. This saves me from moving a lot of text around and it also makes it easier to write the chapters without always having to refer to something that’s coming later in the book, something I find sloppy and indicative of a messy structure.

4: Write what you want to write
Every morning, I work on the chapter that interests me the most that day. Because I have the overall structure in mind, I don’t need to tackle the chapters in sequence. If I feel like writing about why happiness at work is important to you and me I do that. If the question what is happiness at work is on my mind, I write about that.

This helps make the writing process fun and less of a chore.

There’s a corollary: If you don’t want to write, don’t. Writing is rarely fun, productive or good when you’re not in the mood. Instead of forcing yourself to write, consider if there’s something you can do to change that (like going out to write) or if maybe it’s just time for a day off from writing.

5: Work on it in your head before writing
One reason the writing can go so fast is that I know what I want to say. I have spent a lot of time thinking, taking notes, talking to people and gathering stories and business cases about happiness at work.

Writing while at the same time finding out what to say takes a lot more time. So find out what to write first. Talk it over with other people. Then write it.

6: Work on two chapters in parallel
I always write on two chapters at the same time. Well not at the exact same time, but on the same day. One of these is almost finished and just needs a rewrite and some polish. The other one I’m just starting on, and this is where most of the actual writing happens.

The good thing about this approach is that I don’t aim to finish a chapter the same day I start it – I can fill out most of it, but leave open questions or difficult sections to another day.

This also means that each writing session contains both “original” writing and re-writes, so the process is more varied. Spending a whole morning just re-writing chapters is way too boring.

And finally this eliminates the practice of writing the whole thing and then doing reviews and rewrites – which only serves to make reviewing intensely unpleasant.

7: Write alone

Even if you’re working on a project together with someone else, do the actual writing alone. Two (or more) people sitting at a computer arguing over each sentence is not a good use of people’s time.

If you’re collaborating with others then:

Decide on a structure for the whole project
Decide who does what
Do the actual writing alone
Then get together and compare notes
Never, ever do the actual writing together )

8: Get feedback as you go
Because I post chapters straight to the blog, people are reading what I write right away, not in some distant future where the book may have been published and people may have bought it. This gives the process an immediate pay-off that motivates me.

Also I get great feedback in the comments. I have already gone back to previous chapters and updated them, based on the comments people leave. Also, I get encouragement. I’m a sucker for praise, and the fact that people leave encouraging comments motivates me a lot.

9: No deadlines or goals
I have had no specific targets or goals. I did not set out to write half the book in 8 mornings – that would’ve been serious hubris. I have no deadline, no goal to write so many words per day.

I could never write to a specific deadline, because writing is a creative process. I can do it when I’m in the mood. Trying to write when I’m not, is a frustrating exercise in futility.

But having no deadlines does not mean I’m slacking – I’m actually looking forward to getting up in the morning to write. This attitude is the basis for good writing. To me, good writing can never be a chore. To quote The Laziest Man in North America: “If it feels like work, you’re not doing it right.”

The sci-fi author Lois McMaster Bujold tried this approach and to her great surprise found that she wrote more than twice as fast as when she was writing to a deadline. She also had a lot more fun.

10: Make it fast
While I have no fixed deadline I did decide to write the book quickly. I could’ve given myself half a year to write, but I prefer to immerse myself in the project for a short period of time as opposed to having it on the backburner for months on end.

This keeps the structure, content, tone and feel of the book consistent in my mind and makes the process easier and ultimately more efficient.

The result

The thing is, I’ve started on a book before but had to stop again because I just couldn’t focus on the writing or because I lost steam somewhere along the way. But this time I’ve found a process that works very well for me and this has made writing:

Fun – I just can’t wait to write, it’s that much fun
Productive – I mean a book in 20 days…
Creative – I’m taking some chances and trying a lot of things I haven’t tried before
Good – I like what I’m writing, and it’s really high quality for what is essentially a first draft
And the very best thing is coming out of the café with the really, really great feeling that “MAN, this is fun and MAN I’m proud of my work”. That is what writing should feel like!


Credit: Positive Sharing

Acceptable – Several words made the list because of the suffix pronounced -êbl but sometimes spelled -ible, sometimes -able. Just remember to accept any table offered to you and you will spell this word OK.
• Accidentally - It is no accident that the test for adverbs on -ly is whether they come from an adjective on -al ("accidental" in this case). If so, the -al has to be in the spelling.
• Accommodate - Remember, this word is large enough to accommodate both a double "c" AND a double "m."
• Acquire- Try to acquire the knowledge that this word and the next began with the prefix ad- but the [d] converts to [c] before [q].
• A lot - Two words! Hopefully, you won't have to allot a lot of time to this problem.
• Amateur - Amateurs need not be mature: this word ends with the French suffix -eur (the equivalent of English -er).
• Apparent - A parent need not be apparent but "apparent" must pay the rent, so remember this word always has the rent.
• Argument— Let’s not argue about the loss of this verb's silent [e] before the suffix -ment.
• Atheist—Remember that this word comprises the prefix a- "not" + the "god" (also in the-ology) + -ist "one who believes."

Credit: YourDictionary.com

• Blogs. This is one of my favorites, of course. Aside from this blog, there are dozens of great blogs on writing and every topic under the sun. I like to read about what works for others — it inspires me to action!

• Books. Maybe my favorite overall. I read writers I love (read about my current loves) and then I steal from them, analyze their writing, get inspired by their greatness. Fiction is my favorite, but I’ll devour anything. If you normally read just a couple of your favorite authors, try branching out into something different. You just might find new inspiration.

• Overheard dialog. If I’m anywhere public, whether it be at a park or a mall or my workplace, sometimes I’ll eavesdrop on people. Not in a gross way or anything, but I’ll just keep quiet, and listen. I love hearing other people have conversations. Sometimes it doesn’t happen on purpose — you can’t help but overhear people sometimes. If you happen to overhear a snippet of interesting dialog, jot it down in your writing journal as soon as possible. It can serve as a model or inspiration for later writing.

• Magazines. Good magazines aren’t always filled with great writing, but you can usually find one good piece of either fiction or non-fiction. Good for its writing style, its voice, its rhythm and ability to pull you along to the end. These pieces inspire me. And bad magazines, while perhaps not the best models for writing, can still be inspirations for ideas for good blog posts. These magazines, as they don’t draw readers with great writing, find interesting story angles to attract an audience.

• Movies. Sometimes, while watching a movie, a character will say something so interesting that I’ll say, “That would make a great blog post!” or “I have to write that in my writing journal!” Sometimes screenwriters can write beautiful dialog. Other times I get inspired by the incredible camera work, the way that a face is framed by the camera, the beauty of the landscape captured on film.
• Forums. When people write on forums, they rarely do so for style or beauty (there are exceptions, of course, but they’re rare). Forumers are writing to convey information and ideas. Still, those ideas can be beautiful and inspiring in and of themselves. They can inspire more ideas in you. I’m not saying you have to read a wide array of forums every day, but if you’re looking for information, trawling some good forums isn’t a bad idea.

• Art. For the writer aspiring to greater heights, there is no better inspiration that great art, in my experience. While it doesn’t compare to the experience of seeing the art in person, I like to find inspiring works of art and put it on my computer desktop for contemplation (Michelangelo’s Pieta is there right now). It doesn’t have to be classical works, though — I’ve found inspiration in Japanese anime, in stuff I’ve found on deviantart.com, in local artists in my area.

• Music. Along the same lines, it can be inspiring to download and play great music, from Mozart to Beethoven to the Beatles to Radiohead. Play it in the background as you write, and allow it to lift you up and move you.

• Friends. Conversations with my friends, in real life, on the phone or via IM, have inspired some of my best posts. They stir up my ideas, contribute ideas of their own, and they fuse into something even more brilliant than either of us could have created.

• Writing groups. Whether online or in your community, writing groups are great ways to get energy and motivation for your writing. My best short stories were done in a writing group in my local college (a great place to look for such groups, btw), as we read out our work to the group, critiqued them and made suggestions. The work of the other writers inspired me to do better.
Source: Write to Done

When writing your novel, be wary of these common mistakes made by authors which could put people off your book. It could also mean you’re not being thorough in the delivery of your work. Therefore, in order not to send the wrong message to your teeming audience, ensure you look out for the following in your work.

1. Misspelling. Typical mistakes include confusion between ‘write’ and ‘right’, ‘maize’ and ‘maze’, and ‘blue’ and ‘blew’ amongst others. On no account should you rely on spell checkers to confirm a spelling that may be used in the wrong context. Always do a painstaking review of your work before going to the press so as not to lose confidence in your readers.


2. Missing determiners. Determiners help to carry your readers along through your story. Omitting them may mean they could get lost along the ‘journey’ of the story. Examples include: ‘the’, ‘a’, and ‘an’.


3. Misuse of commas. Commas generally indicate a pause in the course of a sentence. Sometimes, we over use it while at other times, it is underutilized therefore defeating its purpose. A good suggestion will be to read aloud your writing adhering to all the punctuation marks. That way, you will be able to tell if you have under or over used it.


4. Incorrect capitalization. Initial capitals are generally used for nouns which are names of persons, places or things. We should avoid writing words in all capitals as it will amount to literally ‘shouting’ at your audience.


5. Wordiness. Unnecessary extra words or phrases may make your work look tardy. It has a way of affecting the structure and composition of your work, thereby reducing its quality. Therefore, as much as you can, keep your writing succinct and apt for clarity.

Credit: Grammarly

Writers are creative and very dynamic people. They think outside the box recreating what happens in the society. Literature mirrors every day events in our world which is why writers are thinkers and creators. They help us understand the world better by using stories to illustrate culture, traditions and even life generally.

However, in order to be efficient in this chosen field, there are basic tips that writers and upcoming writers must consider. Below are a few to note.

1. Be innovative and dynamic. Nothing is constant in life. Everything changes including language. As such, writers must be ready and willing to adapt to change. This is not to imply that we shouldn’t abide by the standard and accept colloquial usage. The fact is some contexts do not allow for relaxation of rules. However, most forms of writing are flexible and so should you be. Occasionally consider adapting the language to the content and also adapting the content to the language of your audience. For example, when writing story books for children, the language should be easily understood and stories interesting enough to captivate their attention. It should also have images which illustrate the story further.

2. Be aware of the rules. As a writer, you should be open to continuous learning, unlearning and relearning. Do not only hold on to the rules of grammar and syntax you learned twenty years ago. Deliberately confront your prejudices and recall your understanding of the basics. Take time to invest in yourself by updating your knowledge base. Be aware of the current trend on usage, style, grammar and syntax. Don’t be obsolete. Learn new things.

3. Endeavour to always verify. Whenever you are in doubt of a term you use, endeavour to verify. Don’t rely on spell-checker to edit your spellings. To be sure you are using the right word, phrase or expression in the appropriate context; endeavour to always check your thesaurus. In addition, always double-check your spellings especially when discussing a person, place or thing that you are not sure of. Be diligent enough to confirm and correct your impression to ensure that the reference you are making is appropriate for both the content and context.


Credit: Daily Writing Tips

Quintessence is defined as the most important features of something; it could also be referred to as the essence of something. It also means the perfect example of something.
The origin of the word can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosophers who claimed that there were five elements which include earth, wind, air, fire and a fifth substance that made up objects in the Heavens. This idea soon became widely accepted and then passed down through several generations to Latin-speaking scholars who decided to name the fifth element quintessence- originally from the Latin words quintus, meaning ‘fifth’, and essentia meaning ‘being’.

Overtime, the meaning of the word has evolved into the modern definition of ‘essence’ or ‘something of utmost importance’. The fifth element was believed to be a lot more superior compared to the others; therefore ‘quintessential’ has come to mean something that is superior or most important.
Below are some examples
- The teacher’s new topic on evolution contains the quintessence of Darwinism
- Few artists have succeeded in aligning their music with life experiences which is the quintessence of true sold music
- Most teachers do not inculcate the habit of personal learning into their teaching methods aside academics which is the quintessence of education
- Some couples hardly create time for bonding and friendship after marriage which is the quintessence of a good relationship
- A lot of CEO’s are so preoccupied with work-related matters that they hardly read to broaden their horizon which is the quintessence of leadership.

1. Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” Far from the compliment it is today!
2. Silly: Meanwhile, silly went in the opposite direction: in its earliest uses, it referred to things worthy or blessed; from there it came to refer to the weak and vulnerable, and more recently to those who are foolish.
3. Awful: Awful things used to be “worthy of awe” for a variety of reasons, which is how we get expressions like “the awful majesty of God.”
4. Fizzle: The verb fizzle once referred to the act of producing quiet flatulence (think “SBD”); American college slang flipped the word’s meaning to refer to failing at things.
5. Wench: A shortened form of the Old English word wenchel (which referred to children of either sex), the word wench used to mean “female child” before it came to be used to refer to female servants — and more pejoratively to wanton women.
6. Fathom: It can be hard to fathom how this verb moved from meaning “to encircle with one’s arms” to meaning “to understand after much thought.” Here’s the scoop: One’s outstretched arms can be used as a measurement (a fathom), and once you have fathoms, you can use a fathom line to measure the depth of water. Think metaphorically and fathoming becomes about getting to the bottom of things.
7. Clue: Centuries ago, a clue (or clew) was a ball of yarn. Think about threading your way through a maze and you’ll see how we got from yarn to key bits of evidence that help us solve things.
8. Myriad: If you had a myriad of things 600 years ago, it meant that you specifically had 10,000 of them — not just a lot.
9. Naughty: Long ago, if you were naughty, you had naught or nothing. Then it came to mean evil or immoral, and now you are just badly behaved.
10. Eerie: Before the word eerie described things that inspire fear, it used to describe people feeling fear — as in one could feel faint and eerie.
11. Spinster: As it sounds, spinsters used to be women who spun. It referred to a legal occupation before it came to mean “unmarried woman” — and often not in the most positive ways, as opposed to a bachelor …
12. Bachelor: A bachelor was a young knight before the word came to refer to someone who had achieved the lowest rank at a university — and it lives on in that meaning in today’s B.A. and B.S degrees. It’s been used for unmarried men since Chaucer’s day.
13. Flirt: Some 500 years ago, flirting was flicking something away or flicking open a fan or otherwise making a brisk or jerky motion. Now it involves playing with people’s emotions (sometimes it may feel like your heart is getting jerked around in the process).
14. Guy: This word is an eponym. It comes from the name of Guy Fawkes, who was part of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605. Folks used to burn his effigy, a “Guy Fawkes” or a “guy,” and from there it came to refer to a frightful figure. In the U.S., it has come to refer to men in general.
Source: IDEAS.TED.COM

Here are some lists of phobias and their definitions. Check out the one you might have:
1. Ablutophobia: Fear of washing or bathing
2. Acrophobia: Fear of heights
3. Agoraphobia: Fear of open spaces, crowds, or leaving a safe place
4. Ailu¬rophobia: Fear of cats
5. Alektorophobia: Fear of chickens
7. Anuptaphobia: Fear of staying single
8. Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders
9. Atychiphobia: Fear of failure
10. Autophobia: Fear of oneself or of being alone
11. Caligynephobia: Fear of beautiful women
12. Cynophobia: Fear of dogs
13. Gamophobia: Fear of marriage
14. Mysophobia: Fear of germs or dirt
15. Nyctophobia: Fear of the dark or of night
16. Ophidiophobia/Herpetophobia: Fear of snakes
17. Ornithophobia: Fear of birds
18. Phasmophobia/Spectrophobia: Fear of ghosts
19. Philophobia: Fear of being in love
20. Photophobia: Fear of light
25. Pupaphobia: Fear of puppets
21. Pyrophobia: Fear of fire
22. Thanatophobia or Thantophobia: Fear of death or dying
23. Xanthophobia: Fear of the color yellow
Source: How stuff works (Health)

Whether you like it or not, foreign expressions represent an integral part of the English language (and of many other languages, too). Knowing the meaning and usage of the most used ones is very important. First of all because it will enable you to understand pieces of text that include them. Secondly, because you might also need to use those expressions on particular situations (avoid using them just to sound smart though). Below you will find 6 foreign expressions commonly used in English, enjoy!

1. De Facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means “actual” (if used as an adjective) or “in practice” (if used as an adverb). In legal terms, de facto is commonly used in contrast to de jure, which means “by law.” Something, therefore, can emerge either de facto (by practice) or de jure (by law).
Example: “And what of the plastic red bench, which has served as his de facto home for the last 15 years and must by now be a collector’s item?” (NY Times)

2. Vis-à-Vis
The literal meaning of this French expression is “face to face” (used as an adverb). It is used more widely as a preposition though, meaning “compared with” or “in relation to.”
Example: “It’s going to be a huge catalyst in moving the whole process forward and it really strengthens the U.S. position vis-a-vis our trading partners.” (Yahoo! News)

3. Status quo
This famous Latin expression means “the current or existing state of affairs.” If something changes the status quo, it is changing the way things presently are.
Example: “Bush believes that the status quo — the presence in a sovereign country of a militant group with missiles capable of hitting a U.S. ally — is unacceptable.” (Washington Post)

4. Cul-de-sac
This expression was originated in England by French-speaking aristocrats. Literally it means “bottom of a sack,” but generally it refers to a dead-end street. Cul-de-sac can also be used metaphorically to express an action that leads to nowhere or an impasse.
Example: “But the code of omerta was in effect for two carloads of fans circling the cul-de-sac to have a look at the house.” (Reuters.com)
“A cul-de-sac of poverty.” (The Economist)

5. Per se
Per se is a Latin expression that means “by itself” or “intrinsically.”
Example: “The mistake it made with the Xbox is that there is no game console market per se; there are PlayStation, GameCube, and Xbox markets.” (PCMag.com)

6. Ad hoc
Ad hoc, borrowed from the Latin, can be used both as an adjective, where it means “formed or created with a specific purpose,” and as an adverb, where it means “for the specific purpose or situation.”
Example: “The World Bank’s board on Friday ordered an ad hoc group to discuss the fate of President Paul Wolfowitz.” (CNN)


Credit: DWT

Sometimes, people are worried about their writing skills and they think of ways they can become a better writer. So, here are few tips on how to be a better writer:
1. Use questions

Questions are at the heart of all writing, fiction or otherwise. When writing fiction, ask yourself questions like “what are the central themes here?’ and ‘what do I want to say in this story?” Spending a little time noting down the answers can help you pin down the crux of your story. Questions in nonfiction, such as essays or blog posts, are powerful hooks for the reader. Open with a huge question that sums up what you want to explore or discuss. That way, readers are fully invested and pondering the question in the back of their minds while they read on.

2. Break the mold

Of course, everyone tries to break the mould, looking for new ideas and new twists on old genres and formats. This is great, but as a piece of personal advice, consider first breaking your own mould. In other words, try something new for yourself, regardless of how new it is to the world. Never written in the crime genre? Try a short story and expand your horizons from your usual work. Do all your blog posts look like lists? Try an essay instead. Even if the results are terrible, you’ll learn something about yourself and your style.

3. Don’t do it alone

“No man is an island,” said John Donne. No doubt he meant the same for women. There will be times when you feel that your writing is awful, your metaphors are limp, your characters are boring and your blog is just an electronic rag. This happens to all writers, no matter what they say. Whether you have writer’s block or a dearth of inspiration, the solution is to talk to someone! Other writers, friends, family, co-workers, anyone. They might have some harsh advice or positive encouragement, or they might not get it at all. The important thing is that sharing your frustration makes it far easier to understand and combat.

4. Upgrade your software

Writers should explore their options when it comes to software. Microsoft Word doesn’t have the same hold that it used to have. For example, consider OpenOffice as a free alternative. Not everyone can afford Microsoft’s price tag, after all. For those seeking software that aids the writing process, there are some great tools out there designed for writers. Sigil is useful for creating ebooks, allowing you to write and edit ebooks manually. Evernote is a favourite of those who keep notes in several formats, syncing easily between phone and computer. Scrivener is a popular choice (with a free trial available), which makes managing a novel far easier. Finally, consider the free Grammarly browser plugin to lend your work a helping hand.

5. Read, read, read!

Dusting off another bit of common advice: all writers should read. Managing a blog? Read blogs. Writing fantasy? Read fantasy. Then, read something else that you wouldn’t usually read. Just as fire needs fuel, creativity needs inspiration. Naturally, you should never copy devices or ideas that you read, but by all means, analyse them and compare them to your own work. Reading is never a waste of time!


Credit: Grammarly
Sometimes, people are worried about their writing skills and they think of ways they can become a better writer. So, here are few tips on how to be a better writer:
1. Use questions

Questions are at the heart of all writing, fiction or otherwise. When writing fiction, ask yourself questions like “what are the central themes here?’ and ‘what do I want to say in this story?” Spending a little time noting down the answers can help you pin down the crux of your story. Questions in nonfiction, such as essays or blog posts, are powerful hooks for the reader. Open with a huge question that sums up what you want to explore or discuss. That way, readers are fully invested and pondering the question in the back of their minds while they read on.

2. Break the mold

Of course, everyone tries to break the mould, looking for new ideas and new twists on old genres and formats. This is great, but as a piece of personal advice, consider first breaking your own mould. In other words, try something new for yourself, regardless of how new it is to the world. Never written in the crime genre? Try a short story and expand your horizons from your usual work. Do all your blog posts look like lists? Try an essay instead. Even if the results are terrible, you’ll learn something about yourself and your style.

3. Don’t do it alone

“No man is an island,” said John Donne. No doubt he meant the same for women. There will be times when you feel that your writing is awful, your metaphors are limp, your characters are boring and your blog is just an electronic rag. This happens to all writers, no matter what they say. Whether you have writer’s block or a dearth of inspiration, the solution is to talk to someone! Other writers, friends, family, co-workers, anyone. They might have some harsh advice or positive encouragement, or they might not get it at all. The important thing is that sharing your frustration makes it far easier to understand and combat.

4. Upgrade your software

Writers should explore their options when it comes to software. Microsoft Word doesn’t have the same hold that it used to have. For example, consider OpenOffice as a free alternative. Not everyone can afford Microsoft’s price tag, after all. For those seeking software that aids the writing process, there are some great tools out there designed for writers. Sigil is useful for creating ebooks, allowing you to write and edit ebooks manually. Evernote is a favourite of those who keep notes in several formats, syncing easily between phone and computer. Scrivener is a popular choice (with a free trial available), which makes managing a novel far easier. Finally, consider the free Grammarly browser plugin to lend your work a helping hand.

5. Read, read, read!

Dusting off another bit of common advice: all writers should read. Managing a blog? Read blogs. Writing fantasy? Read fantasy. Then, read something else that you wouldn’t usually read. Just as fire needs fuel, creativity needs inspiration. Naturally, you should never copy devices or ideas that you read, but by all means, analyse them and compare them to your own work. Reading is never a waste of time!


Credit: Grammarly

A simple way to express yourself more clearly and be more successful is to improve your vocabulary. If you’re a writer, learning and using new vocabulary will improve the dynamism of your work. Choosing which words to learn from the over one million words in English, however, can be a daunting task. We’ve done the legwork for you and selected five truly stunning words that will add vigour to your speech and writing.

1 Ephemeral
adjective
Lasting for a very short time
My feelings about him were ephemeral; they left as quickly as they arrived.

2 Imbroglio
noun (plural: imbroglios)
An extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation
When the fully booked hotel allowed someone else with the same name to check into our room, it took several hours for us to maneuver the imbroglio.

3 Mellifluous
adjective
(Of a sound) pleasingly smooth and musical to hear
Adele’s voice is mellifluous.

4 Nefarious
adjective
Flagrantly wicked or impious: evil
Alan Rickman was famous among younger audiences for playing the nefarious Snape; older audiences will remember him as Hans Gruber from Die Hard.

5 Propinquity
noun
Nearness of blood: kinship
Nearness in place or time: proximity
Despite our propinquity, my sister and I don’t know each other very well.

When you use these new words with people who don’t know them, turn the exchange into a mini–vocabulary lesson and show them the value of learning new words.

Credit: Grammarly

New words are usually added to the English language on a daily basis; here are some new words added to the English vocabulary:
Agritourism: A form of tourism in which tourists stay on farms or in agricultural villages, and often participate in farm activities
Alcopop: Fruit drinks fortified with alcohol, designed and marketed to appeal to young people
Audiophile: Person who loves and collects high-quality audio equipment
Blook: A blend of 'book' and 'blog'. It means a book written by a blogger.
Content farm: A website that publishes large amounts of low-quality content, or content copied from elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and improve its search-engine rankings.
Source: Learn English Today

From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.
- Winston Churchill

I wrote a few children's books. Not on purpose.
- Steven Wright

I get a lot of letters from people. They say: "I want to be a writer. What should I do?" I tell them to stop writing to me and get on with it.
- Ruth Rendell

If writers were good businessmen, they’d have too much sense to be writers.
- Irvin S. Cobb

If Moses were alive today he’d come down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments and spend the next five years trying to get them published.
- Anonymous

Words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings are called homophones, and especially for kids who are just learning to spell, they can cause trouble every time. There are some rules to help budding writers remember the trickiest homophones, but in many cases it’s just a matter of memory. There, their . . . they’ll get them in time.

Its and It’s

This pair is tough because apostrophes are often used to denote possessives—but not in this case. It’s is short for it is. So, “The dog wags its tail because it’s time to eat.”

Your and You’re

Kids (and even some grown-ups) get caught on this pair a lot, and it drives grammar-loving parents nuts. Your is possessive, while you’re is short for you are. “You have to know your rights,” but “I know, you’re right.”

There, they’re, their

The first of this trio is the easiest to remember: Just start here, then go over there by adding a T. They’re is short for they are. The last one, their, is possessive and you just have to remember that you add an I in the middle: “They got their ball and went home.”

Close and Clothes

You could clean up the clothes from the floor, or just be lazy and close the door. Reminding kids that clothes means clothing can help them keep this pair straight.

So and Sew and Sow

Only in The Sound of Music is sol(silent L) “a needle pulling thread.” The right way to spell what you’re doing when you stitch on a button or fix a seam is sew. If you’re outside spreading seeds or planting, you’re sowing. So, you’ll just have to commit these to memory.

Complement and compliment

This one is more challenging than some other examples here. You use complement when talking about things that go well together, like “That shirt complements your skin tone.” It can also be a noun, referring to a complete set. A compliment, on the other hand, is a nice thing to say. To remember the difference, think “I paid you a compliment.”

Through and Threw

“He threw the ball through the window.” Remind yourself that threw is the past tense of throw, and they only vary by one letter. If you’re walking through a tunnel, or something is flying through a window, it is traveling—and the longer word fits.

Affect and Effect

These words are similar in usage and meaning, so are extra tricky. But in most cases, one is a noun and the other a verb. Think the effect to remember that effect is the noun form.

Of course, you add an extra wrinkle when affect is a noun (She has a false affect) and effect is a verb (We are working to effect a change), but those usages are less common, especially in kids’ writing.

Accept and Except

To accept something is to agree to it. To except is to rule something out. “I accept that you’re a better speller than I am.” “I love all of my classes, except gym.” Think ex for things you want to get rid of.

Knew and New

“You knew these already, but to kids, they’re all brand new.” Early writers commonly misspell knew, because of that pesky silent k. But once they remember that it’s the past tense of know (which is different from no) they won’t mess it up again.


Credit: Grammarly

There are plenty of folks happy to tell you how to write better, just as any doctor will tell you to “eat right and exercise.” But changing your writing (or eating) habits only happens when you understand why you do what you do. I can help you with that.

That proposal or email you wrote must now compete for attention with Facebook and the Huffington Post. Here’s how to compete more effectively, and why you’re not doing it already. (The wall chart for these is at the bottom of the post.)

1 Write shorter.

Why it matters. Readers are impatient and will give up on your blog post, email, or document before you’ve made your point. Every extra word makes readers antsy.
How to fix it. Edit. Delete your “warming up” text and start with the main point. Cull extraneous detail and repetition. Work as if each word you eventually publish or send will cost you $10.


2 Shorten your sentences.

Why it matters. Long sentences make readers work too hard to figure out your meaning.

How to fix it. Break sentences down into bite-size ideas. Then delete what you don’t need. Think Hemingway, not Dickens.

3 Rewrite passive voice.

Why it matters. Passive voice sentences conceal who is acting and create uneasiness.

How to fix it. Figure out who the actor in the sentence is and make it the subject.
4 Eliminate weasel words.

Why it matters. Words like “generally” and “most” make your writing sound weak and equivocal.

How to fix it. Delete the weasel words, then read the resulting statement. If it’s too bold, write the strongest, clearest statement you can to take its place. (If no bold statement applies, you have nothing to say, so delete the sentence.)

5 Replace jargon with clarity.

Why it matters. Jargon makes your reader feel stupid. Unless they’re an insider, they can’t figure out your meaning.

How to fix it. Imagine you’re talking to your mom (unless your mom is an expert in your subject; if so, imagine you’re talking to your high school history teacher). Explain what you mean in plain English. If using a technical term would actually make things clearer or shorter, define it first.

6 Cite numbers effectively.

Why it matters. Used properly, statistics can back up your point.

How to fix it. When citing a statistic, include the context (compared to what?). And statistics shorn of sources are meaningless; “It is estimated that” might as well say “I made this number up.” Here’s a proper way to use a statistic: “Forrester Research estimates that by 2017, 2.4 billion people will own smartphones, or around one third of the world’s population.”

7 Use “I,” “we,” and “you.”

Why it matters. Taken together, these pronouns create a relationship between the writer (“I”), his organization (“we”), and the reader (“you.”)

How to fix it. Imagine the reader. Then rewrite using the word “you.”


8 Move key insights up.

Why it matters. You only have a few sentences to get the reader’s attention. If you boldly state your key point at or near the top, they’ll stick around to see if you can prove it.


How to fix it. Force yourself to start with a bold statement. If you just can’t get in this habit, write whatever you need to warm up to stating your thesis, then delete the warmup.


9 Cite examples.

Why it matters. Text without examples is dull and not credible. Text with examples comes alive.

How to fix it. For a piece of any length, plan to spend half the writing time doing research first.

10 Give us some signposts.

Why it matters. If you’re writing anything longer than a page, people want to know what they’re in for.


How to fix it. After you’ve stated your main thesis, write this: “Here’s how I’ll explain this.” Then include a few short sentences or a numbered list. It’s that easy!

Josh Bernoff

Communication is integral to success in any field of endeavour. A slight gap in communication could spell the difference between peace and conflict. For communication to be effective, the sender and the receiver must have the same frame of reference. To this end, it is important to ensure that we make our communication clear, leaving no room for ambiguity.
A key consideration in this regard is the need to not only increase our word power but also to distinguish between words that sound alike or seem to have a similar meaning. I’m sure you’ve seen folks write “common” when what they really want to say is “come on”. Perhaps you’re guilty of this yourself. This blog post addresses six of such commonly confused pairs of words.
1. “Bogus” does not mean “big”
If I had a thousand naira for every time I’ve heard someone use the word “bogus” as synonym for “big”, I would buy a new MacBook! The more perturbing thing about this error is that it is not limited to young learners; even English scholars, TV presenters and public speakers are also guilty. Regardless of how you have heard the word used, “bogus” does not mean “big”. The two words are not even remotely related. Do you doubt that? Check your dictionary or simply enter the search query “Define bogus” (without the quotes) in Google”.
2. Don’t confuse “seize” with “cease”
If you’ve had cause to teach English Language at secondary school level or Use of English at the tertiary level, you’ll agree with me that this is a fairly common error. In its most common usage, to “seize” is to take hold of, grab or take possession of. It is totally different from “cease” which means to end, finish or stop.
Examples:
i. LASTMA officials seized the erring driver’s documents.
ii. Good things will not cease in your life.
3. Distinguish “Perpetuate” from “Perpetrate”
While it is technically correct to talk about “perpetuating evil”, most likely the word you really wanted to use is “perpetrate” not “perpetuate”. To perpetrate is to perform an act, usually, a negative act such as crime while to perpetuate is to carry on, to cause to continue or prevail. Both words may be on the same page of the dictionary but they are far apart in meaning.
Two other commonly confused pairs of words are cause/course and expand/expound. You want to pick up your dictionary and see the appropriate way to use these words.
Finally, I have observed that not a few people have formed the habit of introducing an “n” into words like covenant and expatiate thus changing them to convenant and expantiate both of which are alien to the English language. Look up these words in your dictionary. If you don’t have one, use Google.
Are you guilty of any of the aforementioned blunders? Well, even native speakers commit grievous blunders. I’ve seen quite a few on some of the most reputable media sites from the UK and US. So it’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you use English as a second language. What you should be ashamed of is the refusal to seek help. Don’t wait for a public embarrassment before getting the help you need. Talk to our training department at TRW Consult today. Send a mail to training@trwconsult.com. We have customised plans to suit your specific needs.