Category Archives: Writing Notes

“Stop using those strange dialogue tags,” she chided (exclaimed, exhorted, quipped, chirped, opined).

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Ellen Akins

(Also, could you punctuate them properly?) This is something that exercises any number of people.  Here, for instance, is number 3 in Elmore Leonard‘s “ten tips for writers“:  Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue. The line … Continue reading →

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Point of View (seemingly endless) notes for my students

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Ellen Akins

This is a very long email I sent to my students last semester, when a few had questions about point-of-view.  There are occasional references to particular students and particular stories, but I thought the specific advice might mean something even … Continue reading →

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On Rules

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Ellen Akins

Today on NPR (“Weekend Edition Sunday“) linguist Arika Okrent was talking about changes in English.  When the host said she could hear her 4th grade English teacher saying such-and-such, Okrent remarked that most of what we think of as rules … Continue reading →

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