Category Archives: Writing trends

Why Not AI?

Posted on June 22, 2025 by knlistman

I write under a curse that requires me to experiment and revise as I create. Despite considering ideas, creating outlines to guide me and re-reading my initial work to improve it, the quality of my writing is not consistent. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Creativity, Ideas for writing, Novels, Story structure, Teaching writing skills, Trends in books, Writing trends | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What’s the Big Deal about Readability?

Posted on July 5, 2024 by knlistman

Today, writers rarely use semicolons, which provide a level of pause between a comma and a period. Authors have declared war on adverbs, forms of the verb to be, or filter words that identify a character’s thoughts. Others want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction in education, Novels, romance, Writing trends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does the Box Really Matter?

Posted on May 2, 2024 by knlistman

I encountered a young writer who claimed that he always thought “outside the box.” Although many might consider inside the box as a small confining area, much of what we learn to do follows standards, laws, and rules. For example, … Continue reading →

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Writing for Therapy

Posted on March 7, 2024 by knlistman

The idea of writing as a therapy is not new. Being able to bare these struggles of the soul on a page could make a person feel better—or worse. My desire to write creates more stress than relief, so I … Continue reading →

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A Matter of Ego

Posted on February 22, 2024 by knlistman

No one really writes a novel without considering the plot beforehand. Nor do they outline the events so tightly that they know each step the protagonist will take and never vary from this initial plan. So why do we argue … Continue reading →

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More to a Name than I Imagined

Posted on December 21, 2023 by knlistman

The statue pictured is a highly stylized likeness of Jehanne Darc, which is displayed all over France even in areas far from her homeland of Domrémy. Those few words not in “normal” English may convince a reader that they really … Continue reading →

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How Can Writing Not Be “Telling?”

Posted on December 6, 2023 by knlistman

I find the “show don’t tell” adage for writers a curious contradiction. Unless you are writing a movie script that will be produced, everything that you record is actually told to the reader. Writing is very abstract, so providing this … Continue reading →

Posted in Drama and movies, Ideas for writing, Literary devices, Literature, Novels, romance, Showing versus telling, Trends in books, Writing trends | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

From Music to Words

Posted on November 23, 2023 by knlistman

My first experience with music as an inspiration for writing occurred in the summer between high school and college. I lay in bed at night listening to the radio and trying to go to sleep when a pop song with … Continue reading →

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Writing What You Don’t Know

Posted on October 26, 2023 by knlistman

Writing what I know makes the presupposition that I possess an intimate knowledge of events surrounding my own life. However, this knowledge is so specific to me that it may not reflect what others knew or thought at that same … Continue reading →

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Who Are the Grammar Police?

Posted on September 7, 2023 by knlistman

As I perused research about grammar police, I found one study with a conclusion that I had already deduced myself. No matter how much of a thought provoking story or essay that I create, the people who notice every misspelling … Continue reading →

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