In this post, I’ve curated a list of my favourite books on writing craft. I’ve split the list into two sections: one is for people who are just starting out in their creative writing, with great books to help you develop your muse and learn some important skills that all writers need. The second section…
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Writing blocks and the inner critic In my writing group we shared our experiences with the inner critic and how it blocks our writing and creativity. In preparation for the meeting, I researched about this topic and found some books on this topic by Eric Maisel. In this essay I will present what Eric Maisel calls…
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In this post I’ll give you a free style guide template to work with, and I’ll cover the following: What is a style guide? Why create a personal style guide? How to create a style guide. In university we learn about style guides such as MLA and APA, which are so confusing that you practically…
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This article explores the extraordinary phenomenon called social media and its influence on our lives. I will give you some definitions from relevant sources, as well as my own definition, and I will highlight examples of its influence on our day to day lives. One of the arguments I am making in this article is…
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Pico Iyer wrote a playful and eloquent article for the Los Angeles Times about his decision to write long sentences as a form of protest against our world’s obsession with speed. He explained that as a young journalist he had succumbed to the need for speed and crunched his writing into short soundbites, but as he…
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We spend a lot of our time and energy doing whatever we can to avoid the worst possible outcome, but what if we embraced it instead? This is an essay about facing our fear and anxiety using various techniques including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The following topics are covered: What is Your Worst Possible Outcome? My…
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Twitter Tips for Twitter Chicks This list of twitter resources and secondary applications will help you run your twitter effectively and with less effort: (Updated June 2011)
The following resources are in my media library from some of my blog posts: my personal writing style guide my quick reference sheet on Writing Advanced Sentences (with some basic grammar rules that everyone needs!) my favourite free mind-mapping tool: xmind. Great for mapping out your complicated plot-lines and characters in an easy to visualise format YWriter is…
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So, what is grammar? One of the best definitions of grammar that I have heard comes from a book called The Practice of English Language Teaching (link opens book on Scribd), which defines grammar as: “the description of the ways in which words can change their forms and be combined to form sentences.“ For example, “I pie…
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For the writers (and readers) who have not read (or who have not finished reading) William Gibson’s Neuromancer NEUROMANCER! Well, I don’t want to come across as a book snob, but I do have to ask: How can you call yourself a well-read fictionado without having read Neuromancer? In classic Lily-(from How I Met…
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People often think sentence fragments are bad, but they are actually a writer’s best friend when used properly. This article explores sentence structure in depth, and acquaints the reader with the seven types of sentence fragments. You will learn how to write beautiful, strong sentences that are varied and complex. This lesson is for beginner…
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We live in what is called the ‘information age’ and the world has been called the ‘Content Nation‘; people are now able to create content at rates that were truly unreachable even 20 years ago, and share that with people on the other side of the world. It’s amazing–and very overwhelming. Pete Cashmore (of Mashable)…
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Learning & trying new things can be intimidating Late last year, my friend Rebecca, an artist in Vancouver, told me that I needed to join Twitter because it would connect me with all sorts of people who are passionate about the things that I’m passionate about. I had been a user of Facebook since 2007…
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This evening I watched the documentary, Food, Inc., which exposes huge flaws in our food system and explains why unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food (see this in-depth post). Somewhere near the middle of the documentary, they flashed the statement, “the largest predictor of obesity is low income” and a lightbulb went on in…
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Did you know that the average person uses only 2000-5000 words on a daily basis? One of the most important tools I use as an English, ESL & Literacy teacher is a most frequently-used-words list. It is possible to make countless vocabulary exercises & games from the crucial 2000 most frequently used words, and they…
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Hi, I'm Shalon and I'm a writer and educator. I use this site to share what I learn on my journeys in creative writing, education, English, science, and psychology.
Each article you read here is a labour of love grounded in research, with plenty of references to professional, academic, or peer websites, books and articles. I aim to connect my writing to a larger knowledge community while offering my own unique perspective or contribution, which often comes in the form of free downloadable templates, worksheets and study guides.
Welcome. I hope you find something useful here.
You might enjoy reading the top post on my site, The 7 Types of Sentence Fragments and How to Use Them.
This post is used every day by teachers and students around the world to teach and learn the art of building beautiful, advanced sentences in English.
The free pdf download of the lesson in shortened form is free to copy, alter and distribute.
If you are using this lesson, please let me know how you have used it and how it has helped you. I’m curious!
Below you’ll find works of art that I lovingly crafted just for you!
FEAR & HORROR IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
In this essay, I discuss why children’s literature is often scary, and why that’s awesome!
In this essay I discuss how to use comics to teach Language Arts, and how diversity in comics can help students enrich both their literacy and their life.
In this essay I discuss my personal journey with anxiety and some of the ways I’ve learned to manage my anxiety.
PLOT YOUR NOVEL WITH M.I.C.E. QUOTIENT
In this post I share what I learned at a writing conference about plotting with Orson Scott Card’s M.I.C.E. Quotient, and Mary Robinette Kowal’s adaptations to this technique, including nesting codes and try/fails. All of these techniques help you evaluate whether your plot keeps the promises you made to your readers.
