Tag Archives: Literature

What Exactly is Imagery?

What is the difference between describing details and creating imagery? Perhaps I should ask what is the difference in describing details that are exquisite and those full of boring minutia. The concept is difficult to explain because it does depend … Continue reading

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Classics Don’t Qualify as Comps

Before attending my first writer’s conference in Oklahoma, I poured over the biography of all the speakers. Each one was asked to disclose a classic novel in their want to read list. Despite the different books listed I was shocked … Continue reading

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Pushover Protagonist?

How often have you heard warnings against creating a protagonist who is the opposite of a mover and shaker, one who simply lets things happen to them? Or one who watches the other characters struggle without taking charge? A main … Continue reading

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The Terrifying Part of Horror

The terrifying part of horror is often the nature of the threat. Perhaps only one lucky survivor remains alive through a traumatic adventure out of sheer luck. The terrifying part of reading horror is realizing how much of it is … Continue reading

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The Definition of a Classic

First, you must understand that there is no one definition of a classic work. There is the assumption that the work is well-known. But, in which periods has it gained fame? If it is a current written work, will this … Continue reading

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A new definition of literacy

A child of mine made a joking statement that if we wanted to raise the level of writing we needed to lower the number of people who are literate. The supposed logic behind this suspect claim is that the books … Continue reading

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What makes a classic, a classic?

When a person refers to classic art, you automatically assume it is the style derived from classic Greek art. This style is associated with city-states on a small Greek peninsula beginning about 500 B.C. and ending 323 B.C., at the death … Continue reading

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Let students read what they want?

Reading literature in education may be on the way out. It is one of the many previous foundational skills that have been thrown aside to find a place for all the additional science, math and technology that a “competitive” county … Continue reading

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How to rant like a literature professor

“That was the year I came to class at the start of the new semester and found only one student to sign up for Drama from Aeschylus to O’Neill.” Do you know who Aeschylus or O’Neill were?  I assume you … Continue reading

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Ten top reasons not to read classic literature

10 – There are so many choices of books to read now, why bother with less relevant writing from the past. There is also a lot more to learn in the fields of history, science and math so while we’re … Continue reading

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