The Picky Pen
Engaging Readers Through Dialogue
There are many writing tools that an author uses to keep their readers engaged, but without dialogue, it would…
February 24, 2026-
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The Picky Pen
How to Punctuate Dialogue
Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, you will likely use dialogue in your work. Let’s have a little…
January 22, 2026 -
The Picky Pen
Misplaced Modifiers
As an author, you have to carefully craft sentences that grab the reader’s attention. Part of that, as I…
November 19, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Common Apostrophe Mistakes
Apostrophes are small and barely noticeable punctuation marks, but without them the reader would have a difficult time deciphering…
September 22, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Verb Verbiage
As a writer, it can sometimes be difficult to get your thoughts down on paper, much less stick to…
August 22, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Figurative Language
Did you ever wonder how other authors make stories so interesting? Sure, they vary the structure of the sentences,…
July 23, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Imagery
In a previous article, I discussed word choice. This is an important element in literature, particularly when using imagery.…
June 28, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Appropriate Verb Tense for a Story
Have you ever wondered what verb tense works best in various pieces of writing? Worse yet, have you ever…
May 28, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Writing Styles
So, you want to write an article but you don’t know where to start? To make it even more…
April 24, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Creating a Story Title
Do you have difficulty coming up with a title for your article or story? This is sure to be…
February 22, 2025 -
The Picky Pen
Varying Sentence Structure
Do all of your sentences begin with “I,“ “we,” or a proper noun? Do all of them start with…
November 22, 2024 -
The Picky Pen
Considering Word Choice
Previously, we talked about the need to vary sentence structure to keep your writing from sounding repetitive. In that…
October 22, 2024 -
The Picky Pen
Use of Transition Words or Phrases
Do all of your sentences sound similar, or are you having difficulty transitioning from one scene to the next?…
August 22, 2024 -
Proofed and PolishedThis Post Is Better
Have you ever decided to buy a certain product because the packaging assures you that it’s better? I didn’t…
November 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Sentence Fragments Missing Something.
What does the title of this article say? Reread it. Did your brain fill in the missing word automatically…
October 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Common Mistakes I See When Proofreading: Vocabulary, Part 3
Let’s talk about contractions. I mentioned them last month in the context of using apostrophes correctly. Some words that…
September 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Do You Know The Apostrophe Basics?
In elementary school, I distinctly remember doing numerous worksheets on the possessive -s. There would be a list of…
August 22, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Self-Help Resources for Proofreading
Before you send off your precious manuscript to your editor, you probably want to make sure that it’s as…
July 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
A Quintessential Quick Guide to Quotation Marks to Quell Your Quotation Qualms
Recently, I edited a PhD dissertation for a literature major which mostly meant that I had to wade through…
April 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Why Can’t We Just Agree? Subject-Verb Agreement
When I was teaching English Learners in high school, we spent A LOT of time studying subject-verb agreement. I…
March 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Short and Sweet: Avoiding Run-on Sentences
Each author has their own unique voice. Likely, you’ve spent a lot of time developing the tone and style…
February 10, 2021 -
The Picky Pen
How to Edit Characters
As we continue this editing series how we can develop a great story, I hope you’re able to see…
January 22, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Who Are We Talking About? Using Pronouns and Antecedents
Keeping Your Sentences Clear Example #1 “They had such a great time at the amusement park. First, my aunt…
January 10, 2021 -
Proofed and Polished
Cat Got Your Tongue? Tricky Idiomatic Expressions That Get Us Bent Out of Shape
Let’s Cut Ourselves Some Slack Adding a little flair to your writing with idioms can be confusing, but hang…
December 10, 2020 -
Proofed and Polished
Common Mistakes I See When Proofreading: Vocabulary, Part 2
To Hyphenate or Not to Hyphenate… How do you feel about hyphens? Do you use them a lot? Never?…
November 10, 2020
