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Category Archives: Style and voice
Word of media
Recently we had to evacuate the school due to a gas leak. Students were jammed up against the back fence of a subdivision across from the school. Fire trucks roared past, lights flashing and phones were raised in the air … Continue reading
Posted in Style and voice, Writer's resource
Tagged Facebook, Standard written English, Twitter, Writers Resources
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Vibrant verbs
Writers can throw around the terms used to describe interesting language – sensory images, unusual syntax, well-developed descriptions, and vibrant verbs. But incorporating these into writing and preserving the flow is a challenge. Recently I worked with some nascent writers trying to … Continue reading
Posted in Style and voice, Teaching writing skills, Writer's resource
Tagged Verb, words to replace said, Writers Resources, Writing
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More than what you see
The term ‘imagery’ brings to mind, of course, images–verbal pictures that allow us to peer into the world which an author has dreamed up. Imagery sometimes implies page after page of descriptive detail–in which case you might risk having the … Continue reading
Posted in Literary devices, Style and voice, Writer's resource
Tagged allusion, imagery, schizophrenia, Synesthesia, Writer, Writers Resources
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Playing musical words
One of the quickest ways to make your writing voice stand out from the crowd is to master the use of literary devices. Some devices are just fancy names for specific types of diction and syntax. For example, anastrophe is … Continue reading
Posted in Literary devices, Style and voice, Writer's resource
Tagged alliteration, anastrophe, Assonance, cacophony, consonance, euphony, hyperbaton, Literary devices, Star Wars
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Deciding on a direction
“Say what you are going to say, say it, and finally say what you have said.” I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this rule for organizing the written word repeated in the educational realm. But rules are meant … Continue reading
The speed signs for writing
The way we string together words and the type of words we use contribute to the “pace” of writing. Longer sentences with a plethora of subordinated clauses provide an intellectual sound to the writing. The reader takes more time to … Continue reading
Order matters how?
While diction determines word choice, syntax determines where the words are placed. Language without syntax are words strung together with no method to the madness–in other words, nonsense. Our normal syntax mimics what we have heard before. Unique syntax requires mixing … Continue reading
Posted in Style and voice, Teaching writing skills, Writer's resource
Tagged Sentence (linguistics), Star Wars, Syntax, Writer's voice
3 Comments
Tone of voice
Tone of voice… you have probably heard this phrase used frequently, such as in “I don’t like your tone of voice.” As a child I often assumed that phrase was the adults’ way of reprimanding someone whose statement was not … Continue reading
Write or wrong word
Diction is one of the building blocks of voice that pushed far enough can become a two-edged sword, making the written word dangerously inaccessible to readers. When teaching Shakespeare’s plays to students I frequently pointed out that it was not … Continue reading
Voice, deconstructed
Voice in writing can be best defined by breaking it down into its components. But the problem remains that voice is comprised of different things, depending on who you ask. According to the Texas TAKS writing rubric, voice is demonstrated … Continue reading
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