Just Do It: False Starts, Late Deaths, and Appearances by John Robert Marlow
PUSSYFOOTING AROUND
There are several things wrong with this sentence: “Frank was visibly upset when he
started to cross what appeared to be a street.” Strictly speaking, there may be nothing
grammatically incorrect here. Stylistically, though, it’s a …

Blah, Blah, Blah: Overdescription, Exposition, and Stage Direction by John Robert Marlow
THE BLAHS
Have you ever attended a lecture, or sat in a classroom, or watched a video where the speaker droned endlessly on about what should have been an interesting topic? After a while, the eyes and …

Hey, Look at Me! Intrusive, Chatty, and Explanatory Writing by John Robert Marlow
Authors have a single, overriding function: to connect reader and story. At our best, we immerse the reader so thoroughly in the world of our story that the “real” world disappears and, for a time, …

Bouncing Eyeballs and Other Unintended Meanings by John Robert Marlow
LITERAL VS. FIGURATIVE
Unintended meanings are mood-killers. This is as true on the page as is it is in life: you say one thing, your listener hears another, and trouble soon follows. They heard every word you said, and accurately too—but they …