I’ve been wanting to talk about writer’s block for quite some time, but I don’t know what to say. Actually, I do know; it’s just that I don’t want to irritate readers because I don’t think I’ve ever truly had writer’s block. That doesn’t mean everything I write flows effortlessly and without delay. It doesn’t […]
Category: Writing and Publishing
Writing and publishing articles by author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
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Who Do You Write Like?
Check out the I write like website (iwl.me). The premise is simple. You paste some you work into a text box and click “analyze.” The site will then tell you what famous author you write like. It is most interesting, but I’m not sure if it is much more. In testing a half a dozen […]
There are reportedly fourteen punctuation marks. Unfortunately, the lists I consulted do not completely agree. Some include “braces” while others list a “slash.” With consensus on the other thirteen, that makes a possible total of fifteen punctuation marks. Here are my thoughts on all fifteen: Comma: I use them, more then I should, and always […]
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Seven Quotes About Writing
Last week, I shared some biblical advice to writers. Here are some more items to ponder: Write on!
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The Bible Advises Writers
I am a student of the Bible, reading and contemplating it daily. (See my blog posts about the Bible for some of my thoughts and observations.) With me becoming more serious about the art and craft of writing, I’ve begun to notice relevant writing insights in the Bible. Yes, the Bible advises writers. Consider these […]
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How to Make a Dash
Once at a writers’ conference, I met with one of the speakers. I asked if he would provide feedback on an article I wrote. He readily agreed and carefully read my composition. After a few minutes, he informed me I had incorrectly formatted my dash. That was his only criticism. Then he listed what he […]
I struggle with spelling. I always have and despite some improvement as I write more, I fear I always will. I suspect the root cause of this dilemma is that when I read longer words, I don’t look at all its letters, but merely the first few, along with the overall shape and length of […]
Last month I mentioned that I entered a writing contest, my first one. I opted to enter this particular contest simply because it would not require a great deal of time or effort. It’s not that I’m lazy. It’s that if it required writing a short story or essay, I would be hardpressed to invest […]
Over the years I have written many formal papers, including two theses and two dissertations. In doing so, I have been required to follow various writing guidelines, such as the Chicago Manual Style, the MLA (Modern Language Association) style, and now “Turabian.” Nicknamed after its author, Kate L. Turabian, the book’s real title is “A […]
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Do You Write Like A Dude?
Have you ever read an article and wondered about the author’s gender? I have; then I check the byline only to be stymied with an indeterminate first name, such as “Terry” or a “Lynn” or merely their first and second initials. Towards that end, I recently stumbled upon an interesting website, The Gender Guesser. The […]