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Why Grammar Check Leaves Much to Be Desired
Published on 2012-05-11 21:18:00
The “Dear John” letter pictured above has been used for decades to illustrate the importance of punctuation. > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “The Shadows That Bind”
Published on 2012-04-18 22:50:00
I saw the prompt for this week and knew I had to find the time to take part. > read more
Online Research Tools
Published on 2012-04-17 15:02:00
It’s that time of year again! Students are scrambling to get research projects completed (or, in many cases, started!) and researchers are rushing to present their findings at conferences and in grant proposals. > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “Bubbles’ Revenge”
Published on 2012-04-04 22:51:00
The prompt for this week on Flash Fiction Friday included gorgeous artwork by the very talented Steven Russell Black. > read more
The Grammar Errors That Surround Us: Rise Above Them
Published on 2012-04-03 18:08:00
Please forgive the poor quality of this photograph. > read more
So Much To Learn From Life
Published on 2012-03-19 19:01:00
After reading this comic in this week’s Sunday paper, I ran to get the scissors and laminating paper. > read more
The Dogs of Peru say “Guau”
Published on 2012-03-13 22:20:00
I love dogs. Really, I love animals of all kinds, but dogs have a special place in my heart. They love unconditionally and will go to extreme lengths for a simple pat on the head or “good boy.” No one else is as happy to see you again minutes after you just left the room, and no one else is so willing to do silly, embarrassingly ridiculous tricks for the simplest of treats. During my trip, the dogs I came across helped alleviate the homesickness of knowing my own dogs were back home wait [..] > read more
The Linguistic Hegemony of English
Published on 2012-02-24 10:54:00
I recently returned from a short trip to Peru to visit my extended family. While Peru has much to offer in terms of tourist attractions, my visit only took me to Huancayo, the small mountain city where my grandfather lives. It’s been 15 years since the last time I stepped foot on Peruvian soil and what I saw surprised me. English was everywhere. While few people actually spoke it fluently, you could hear English words spoken in thick Spanish accents scattered liberally throughout convers [..] > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “Hidden Shadows”
Published on 2012-01-31 11:30:00
Groundhog’s Day is coming up! In celebration, Flash Fiction Friday’s prompt for this week asks for a story that takes place around February 2nd. Just to keep things interesting, it also must include the word “salad.” I couldn’t wait to start writing because Groundhog’s day, with its theme of creatures hiding from shadows, fits in nicely with a story I’m already working on. In the scene I wrote, the tables are turned as it’s the shadow that is hiding from the “creature” [..] > read more
Value in the Old Things: Save Your Writing
Published on 2012-01-29 12:29:00
On my way to a bookstore yesterday, I walked by a furniture store and decided to take a look inside. The pieces it housed were almost all rustic, old, and handmade – furniture with a soul. Running my fingers along the intricate yet imperfect carvings of some of the works reminded me of just how much value we place on work that wasn’t made in a factory, especially if its aged. The imperfections lend a uniqueness that adds to the appeal. The same love people have for their early attempts [..] > read more
Why Spell Check Leaves Much to Be Desired
Published on 2012-01-02 11:27:00
There is a myth pervading America, sabotaging the efforts of students and professionals alike. That myth is the myth that spell check and grammar check work well. People everywhere are relying on them as their sole source of editing, much to the detriment of their writing. To understand just why this dependence is more a hindrance than a help, let’s look at how spell checkers and grammar checkers work. This post will focus on spell check first because it’s more widely used than grammar [..] > read more
Yuletide Wishes!
Published on 2011-12-12 10:44:00
Goodness, so much has happened this past month to keep me away from blogging! NaNoWriMo was a thrill to participate in for the first time. It was everything I thought it would be and more. The community of people involved (both locally and online) was so welcoming and enthusiastic, it really made you feel like you were part of something huge and significant. I will definitely be taking part in next year’s writing marathon. Thank you everyone who cheered me on. I started a research assis [..] > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “Runes and Shadows”
Published on 2011-11-01 22:09:00
It’s a good thing I can’t get disqualified from Flash Fiction Friday for not following instructions. It turns out I’m quite bad at it! I’ve gone 250 words over the word limit again and failed to use two of the required words in my story. My writing always takes me where it will, though, and when it decides the rules are too confining and breaks loose, all I can do is hang on for dear life. This story is actually part of a much larger story that I am currently working on for NaNoWriMo. [..] > read more
NaNoWriMo 2011 Kickoff!
Published on 2011-11-01 10:52:00
This year I am finally going to be taking part in NaNoWriMo instead of just watching from the sidelines. For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. November of every year since the event began in 1999, tends of thousands of people around the world participate in writing a novel from start to finish within a time limit of 30 days. An average novel has about 50,000 words so NaNoWriMo participants need to reach a daily word count of 1,666 to finish on time. [..] > read more
The Maturation Process
Published on 2011-10-27 10:37:00
I ran across this image a while back and it has stuck with me. I remember learning about the maturation process in my psychology classes and this image is dead-on. If I were still in the classroom, I’d blow it up and hang it on the wall. I’m glad age ranges weren’t added to the graphic as a person’s maturity level is a very subjective thing; I’ve known adults who refuse to accept responsibility for any of their actions and I’ve had the privilege of teaching some adolescents who wer [..] > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “Attack of the Cliche Circuit”
Published on 2011-10-19 18:42:00
This prompt for Flash Fiction Friday was one of the most difficult for me, especially since I used a very loose interpretation of what an antagonist is. I chose to write a science-fiction story and I never realized how much you have to keep track of: ranks, ship layouts, and command procedures (to name a few). I gave it my best shot and only went a couple hundred words over the word limit this time. Thanks for reading! Prompt: This week’s prompt is to start with one conflict and reverse th [..] > read more
Flash Fiction Friday: “Birthright”
Published on 2011-10-11 20:15:00
Flash Fiction Friday has come up with another prompt for this week and I’m as excited about this short story as I was about the last prompt I participated in. I still have trouble sticking to the word limit (I’m 300 words over after extensive editing), but I can feel myself improving with each story I write. Here’s the story and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Prompt: A car pulls up to a lake with two occupants inside. Explain why they are there and who the [..] > read more
“Talker’s Block” by Seth Godin
Published on 2011-10-10 16:45:00
I enjoy reading Seth Godin’s blog because of how concisely he articulates everyday truths that we all know, but few of us practice. His posts are little nuggets of wisdom that seem so obvious only after reading them. His recent post titled “Talker’s Bock” is a new favorite of mine. I particularly enjoy the introduction: No one ever gets talker's block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the [..] > read more
Outlines: How They Help You Write Your Paper
Published on 2011-06-29 11:03:00
This might come as a surprise to you, but the hardest part of writing an essay is not the actual writing of it; it’s the coming up with ideas for what you write. I’ve already discussed ways to generate ideas using freewriting and mindmappin > read more
FREE Click-to-Donate Online Charities
Published on 2011-06-23 12:47:00
My last post highlighted the need everyone has for character development and I thought this would be a great opportunity to call attention to several online charities that allow you to donate to great causes at no cost to you. Every night before I > read more
Personal Character: How It Affects Your Writing
Published on 2011-06-20 21:38:00
Teaching at-risk high school students for the past year was a learning experience for me. Being faced with difficult circumstances (sometimes outright hostile ones) helped me to grow both as a person and as a writing instructor. While I w > read more
The Writing Process: A Graph
Published on 2011-06-17 14:18:00
Several months ago I saw this graph on BoingBoing and fell in love with how true to life it is. Created by Ed Yong, a science blogger for Discover magazine, it maps out Mr. Yong’s writing process from article conception to pseudo-end. Y > read more
How to Write an Essay FAST
Published on 2011-06-07 13:07:00
Summer is here! Summer’s arrival brings with it beaches, swimsuits, ice-cream, barbeques….and summer school. Summer school is a great way to get ahead educationally and complete credits you wouldn’t normally have time to take. But > read more
The Big 3: Comma Splices, Fragments, and Run-Ons
Published on 2011-04-24 20:49:00
I was making photocopies one morning a couple of years ago and noticed that another professor had left copies in the machine. Being the nosy novice teacher that I was, I immediately appropriated them and was delighted to find that they were lef > read more
Write for a Specific Audience
Published on 2011-02-21 20:06:00
Writing with an awareness of audience is conceptually an easy idea to understand. Most people understand that when writing a children’s book, swear words and sexual innuendo should be avoided. Likewise, most people realize that slang ha > read more
Free E-Book Resources
Published on 2010-12-25 09:46:00
Merry Christmas! I hope your Yuletide is as filled with family, feasting, and festivities as mine is. I didn’t include “presents” (or “favors,” just to keep the alliteration going) in that list because presents aren’t what the holid > read more
What Happens When Reading and Writing Aren’t Important To You?
Published on 2010-12-24 17:55:00
What happens when, for one reason or another, a person fails to think writing well is a necessary skill for success in life? The high school where I work gives me plenty of examples from which to gauge just how critical an intrinsic sense of th > read more
Ergofiction’s Search Term Challenge!
Published on 2010-10-31 21:20:00
If November has you in the mood for voting, how about going over to Ergofiction and voting in the second Search Term Challenge? Those who have been following my blog for a while will know that I am a staunch supporter of web fiction (especially the > read more
How to Give a Handshake
Published on 2010-10-30 22:46:00
My father would do something with me that more fathers need to include in their parenting. Mothers can do it with their children, too. A simple enough act to perform, any parent can easily fit several of these acts into every week. My own father woul > read more
7 Techniques That Make Writing Introductions a Piece of Cake
Published on 2010-09-04 22:05:00
One of the hardest parts of writing an essay (of writing anything, actually) is coming up with an introduction. That’s due in large part to just how important an introduction is to a paper. That first paragraph has to be so provocative, > read more
Taking It Day By Day
Published on 2010-07-24 21:04:00
Goodness, it’s been a while since I last posted on this blog. I haven’t forgotten about it – quite the contrary, actually. The less time I have for writing blog posts, the more potential entries nag at my mind. As guilty as I > read more
Online Plagiarism Checkers
Published on 2010-06-10 20:27:00
Most college students I know are terrified of accidentally plagiarizing a source in their essays – and for good reason. The definition of “plagiarism” doesn’t account for intentionality, so even if the act of plagiarism was purely accidental > read more
Happy Memorial Day!
Published on 2010-05-31 15:49:00
It’s Memorial Day and I want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has ever served in the military. Over the course of my teaching career, I’ve gotten to know quite a few students who were either planning on joining the military > read more
Web Fiction Spotlight: Above Ground
Published on 2010-05-20 11:09:00
Really good web fiction is hard to find (Although, Web Fiction Guide is making the hunt easier), so when I find one that’s so well written I can use it in my college composition classes as an example of writing done right, I want to spread the word > read more
Brief Hiatus
Published on 2010-05-02 15:37:00
This will come as no surprise to those who have been following along with the blog and not seeing any updates in the past couple of weeks but I wanted to make it official: Writing Simplified is on (a brief) hiatus. Unfortunately, the deman > read more