Melissa Maygrove

  This is my   Insecure Writers Support Group   post for August 2021. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month  are:    PK Hrezo,   Cathrina Constantine,   PJ Colando,   Kim Lajevardi,   and  Sandra Cox! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you .  💻💻💻💻💻 August question - What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why? I'm gonna be a real rebel this month. 

Writing pal Carrie Butler is hosting a  clever bloghop about authors and our reflections on our writing journey.  Participants are charged with writing a letter to our beginner-writer selves, advising the 'green' us and telling us how it will go.  With the author's approval and PK Hrezo's help, Carrie plans to compile the entries into a e-book to encourage and inspire other writers. Dear Melissa [ redacted ],

Are we identical? Look closely... In the English language, there are many pairs of words that sound alike and are spelled almost alike, yet have entirely different meanings. Consequently, it's easy to write the wrong one and not realize it. To compound this problem, word processors do not recognize it as a misspelling and may not flag an incorrect usage as a mistake. Let me give you some examples: altar (a sacred table in a church) vs. alter ( which means to change) born (to start life) vs. borne (to carry) and... compliment (an admiring remark) vs. complement (an addition that improves something) What a difference a letter makes! Here are a few more: accept / except...affect / effect...coarse / course...discreet / discrete... pour / pore...past / passed...site / sight...and the list goes on. What do you do? Well, making yourself aware of them by reading through lists of these pairs can help. Keeping a dictionary (like Thesarus.com ) open in your browser so you can easily ch...

Who's on first? When to use who vs. whom is a grammar issue that stumps a lot of people, but it's really not that difficult if you know the rule. Use who when you are referring to the subject of a clause and whom when you are referring to the object of a clause. The subject is the one doing the action, and the object is the one having the action done to them.  Ex: Paul hit Allan.   In this sentence, Paul is the subject and Allan is the object. Now that you understand that, I'll give you a short-cut way to figure it out.  He = Who and Him = Whom.  If you would use 'he' in the sentence, then use 'who.' If you would use 'him,' then use 'whom.' Who hit Allan? (He hit Allan.) ...Paul hit whom? (Paul hit him.) While we're on the topic of subjective and objective pronouns , let's touch on some problems with them. First, I'll give you a list of each. Subjective pronouns are used when they are the subject of the sentence. They are I,...

Since I don't have any super-inspirational, wisdom-filled articles or guests lined up for today, I decided to let all of you provide those things for this Wednesday's post. The question is: What 3 things have helped you most on your writing journey?  You're welcome to mention more than 3, but try to give the top 3 somewhere in your answer. For me, besides Molly , the author friend who kindly but honestly got me on course in the beginning and my retired English teacher mom, who is the source of my better-than-average grammar skills, my three would have to be: 1. Reading as much fiction as I can get my hands on - to get a feel for what does and doesn't work. (I've read well over 100 books in the last 15 mos, while writing 2 of my own.) 2. Learning and improving along the way, through critiques and articles like Final Revision Editing and The Verb Lottery . (I mean, seriously! I look at some of the first versions of my mss and shudder at how I used to wri...

For some really great articles, like 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Prologues' and 'Don't Eat the Butt' parts 1, 2 & 3, check out Kristen Lamb's blog . You won't be sorry. Kristen Lamb is the author of the best-selling books We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer and is represented by Russel Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary, Inc. in NYC.

Today we have Carrie Butler from So, You're a Writer over to discuss the importance of first chapters. Carrie and I met a few months back via an ad I posted for critique partners.  I definitely hit the jackpot with her. Not only has she turned out to be a super critter—she’s an incredibly talented writer and a great friend, too. (I wasn’t kidding when I said she frequently causes me to spray coffee all over my screen. = P) Unlike me, Carrie’s many writing strengths include beginnings. ; ) Here's Carrie...  ~~~~~ “What is the first chapter , Mr. Trebek?” That is correct.  *Applause* …Okay, so I’m not Alex Trebek. I’m not a game show host. I never even knew Merv Griffin. But I do know this: If you don’t nail your first chapter, your book could be in jeopardy. (Oh, I went there…) Let’s say you have an MC named Jill. Starting out, you may feel tempted to lead with her backstory. After all, you need to explain why Jill doesn’t trust men, before she meets her love interest, r...

Due to a minor scheduling snafu (which was my fault entirely *blush*), the next installment in the You Are Here tour is being posted a day early so that author and friend Carrie Butler can make a guest appearance on the blog tomorrow. But, hey. It's a 2-for-1 this week, so that's good for you. To see a list of upcoming guests and topics, go to: Upcoming Guests & Events . (This link can also be found under 'Page Index' on the right hand side of the blog.) Now for Wednesday's post... The next topic on the tour deals with fiction writing skills that are not as obvious or basic as some, but ones that are important if you want your writing to be the best it can be. You may not be ready to incorporate these yet, but it won't hurt to familiarize yourself with the concepts my next article touches on. This way, when you get critiques from more experienced writers, you'll at least be prepared...and you won't think they're writing snobs. ; ) Please ...

It's Wednesday, and y'all know what that means - it's time for a new and clever post to magically appear. As promised, the next stop on the You Are Here tour is waiting, and it's only a click away. This week's topic is ' Showing & Telling .' Enjoy!

You’re a writer. It’s just something one knows. I mean, the drive is unmistakable. It wakes you up in the night and makes you forgo sleep to get that scene down just right before the inspiration leaves—and leaves you wishing you’d struck while the iron was hot...those bursts of genius so incredible that—try as they might—your feverishly-typing hands can’t possibly keep up with your brain. You know what I’m talking about. You’re probably sitting there nodding your head and smiling one of those conspiratorial, smug smiles. But where are you in your writing journey? Anyone with a reasonable command of the language can write. The question is: are you writing something others will actually want to read? In the spirit of ‘paying it forward,’ I’ve decided to dedicate my first few blog posts to helping beginning writers find their way. If you’re relatively new to the game, you’ll likely find something here—hopefully a lot of things—to help you make the transition from scoff-worthy beginner to ...