Sample Page
This is an example page. It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this:
Hi there! I’m a bike messenger by day, aspiring actor by night, and this is my blog. I live in Los Angeles, have a great dog named Jack, and I like piña coladas. (And gettin’ caught in the rain.)
…or something like this:
The XYZ Doohickey Company was founded in 1971, and has been providing quality doohickies to the public ever since. Located in Gotham City, XYZ employs over 2,000 people and does all kinds of awesome things for the Gotham community.
As a new WordPress user, you should go to your dashboard to delete this page and create new pages for your content. Have fun!
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 5:49 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
When it comes to words, I’d like to think I know a lot. I went to college. I read. I write for a living. And yet, there are so many words of which I have never heard. These are English words, words that I could be using. Certainly my listener might look at me perplexed, but perhaps in the right context they would flow easily into the conversation and capture the subtlety of some nuanced thought I am trying to express. For instance, we could talk about my neighbor, a virago obsessed with her lawn and a lack of pity for a pooch who must potty. Or perhaps we could talk about the contretemps of this morning that nearly led to a law suit. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 2:48 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
Homophones.
We should all have learned long ago that special list of words that sound the same and yet are spelled differently and have very different meanings. But that was a long time ago, so sometime in the flurry of writing, the wrong word quietly sneaks in and settles down unobtrusively in a sentence. Perhaps you forgot the difference. Maybe you never knew. More likely, you are thinking about the overall story and message and your brain is focused on other details. This is where a good editor comes in handy. This would be a living, breathing type of editor – grammar check will often skip these types of errors as long as you’ve used a legitimate word. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 3:21 am in Uncategorized | 2 comments
There are certain mistakes that are frequently made even by those who know better. We all learned our grammar lessons way back when, and yet we get grooving on the copy and things slip by us. I bring this up not to be preachy but to highlight common errors by way of helping people like me remember to avoid them. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 4:10 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
A challenge for you: try writing three paragraphs without using the word “is.” This tiny word has such a powerful role in our language that nearly nothing can be said without it. It can, however, become a crutch or even worse a blockade to the creative imagery needed to make a piece come alive. Falling back on it over and over precludes the use of more interesting and descriptive words that add color and depth to a sentence.
- He is weary. He grew weary.
- He is sick. He sounds sick.
- The chocolate cake is delicious. The chocolate cake tastes delicious. (Now, I want chocolate cake.)
- Dog poop is disgusting. Dog poop looks and smells disgusting. (Good luck getting that image out of your head.)
(more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 6:06 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
There are times when the words just won’t come. The idea is to big or the story too long and it seems impossible to even get started. You try a lead and then another and then another and nothing seems interesting enough. Or worse, you can’t even find a place to start and you’re starting to wonder why you thought you could write in the first place. That’s when you wonder if it wouldn’t be more fun to clean toilets for a living. At least then you would have clear direction. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 9:18 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
My typical technique when it comes to writing is to slam through a story pushing on until I’m done and then going back to fix it. A few years back, however, I had the privilege of working with a colleague who happens to be a great writer and employs a much different style that I have come to greatly appreciate. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 7:12 pm in Uncategorized | 2 comments
There are times when you have to sit down and slam out your copy all at once. You have a tight deadline or you just have so much to say that you have to get it all out at once and quickly. If you have the time, there’s another trick to working past the writer’s block. I call it setting the stage. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 4:50 pm in Uncategorized | 1 comment
It is much easier to say that writers write than it is for writers to write. A blank page is overwhelming and sometimes the ideas are so unwieldy that the refuse to be corralled long enough to be put on paper (or computer screen). That’s when a writer needs tricks to get things moving along. All good writers have their a few to trot out as they get stuck. Collect as many of these tricks as you can find to have ready as needed. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 2:45 pm in Uncategorized | 1 comment
The most obvious piece of advice that successful writers give to wannabe writers is that if you want to be a writer, you have to write. It seems that is something that go without saying. And yet, I know from personal experience, that it doesn’t happen. People get intimidated about putting things down. It has to be grand. It has to be mind-boggling. It has to be perfect. (more…)
Posted by Jennifer Powell on 5:13 pm in Uncategorized | 0 comments
There is a poignant scene in the movie The River Runs Through It when ‘ is home schooling him. He turns in an essay and his father frowns a bit and tells him to cut it in half. The boy returns with the assignment and the father tells him to again cut it in half. He does so again and is finally released to go fishing. It may seem torturous and unnecessary, but the father was giving his son an incredible gift. The one thing that will hold a writer back more than writer’s block is writer’s verboseness. Yes, I’m saying that giving your readers too much to read is worse than giving them nothing at all. Fortunately, it’s an easier problem to fix. (more…)
