An Editor's Cup of Tea

We all know someone who has a fantastic story idea in their head, but they’ve never gotten around to writing it down. Unfortunately, these people mark the difference between a storyteller and someone with a fantastical imagination. There isn’t anything wrong with either type of person, but only one of these options allows stories to […]

Starting Out Most aspiring authors have at least one substantial story idea under their belt, and they sit with that story for years, writing and perfecting it until they are certain it’s complete. However, once that story is done, they often fall into a creative slump, asking themselves, “What if that’s the only story idea […]

The Starting Point In July of this year (2024), I received a call from my alma mater, Weber State University. In this phone call, they informed me that I was to be the recipient of a $3000 award, due to my outstanding academic achievement while in school with them. This news was quite a surprise, […]

Throughout my writing career, I have encountered many people who downright despise passive voice. Whenever they see it used, they wince and turn away as if passivity is some demon that will come after them. Are they right? Are there any instances where writers can successfully use passive voice? Let’s find out! Created via the imgflip meme generator […]

Stylistic punctuation is a powerful tool for creating voice in writing. However, this effect quickly dwindles if writers don’t use punctuation marks correctly, particularly when it comes to ellipses and em dashes. Some people misuse these marks, while others tend to overuse one and avoid the other. In reality, using both ellipses and em dashes […]

For a lot of people, syntax is a scary word with an obscure meaning. It’s something that teachers don’t cover much in schools, and as such, many people don’t understand all of its nuances. So, what is syntax? Essentially, syntax is the proper choice of words for each sentence. It covers topics such as word choice, denotation […]

Except when it comes to newly developed slang, spelling has been standardized in the United States since 1806, when Noah Webster published his first dictionary. Words are supposed to be spelled a certain way so that everyone can read them and know what they mean. However, sometimes, companies will still sell misspelled items and make […]

Over the course of this semester, I have delved into three separate books that explain different aspects of grammar, punctuation, and writing. Each of them had very different tones and described multitudes of topics. Because I enjoy sharing great texts with anyone who needs them, I have decided to write a small review for each […]

Have you ever struggled with spelling? It’s okay. You can admit it. Spelling words correctly can be incredibly difficult, and it’s not something that is going to go away because you passed all your spelling tests as a kid. The truth is: We aren’t usually taught how to spell. We’re taught how to memorize spellings, and there […]

Antecedents are one of those little things that people don’t realize are important. In fact, a lot of people don’t even know what antecedents are. For most of us, it seems natural to shove a pronoun into a phrase without thinking about the repercussions. When antecedents become unclear, however, our sentences soon become little puzzles […]