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Legal Writing

Daily Writing Tips

Are you trying to improve your writing skills? If so Daily Writing Tips is the right place for you. Featuring daily tips about grammar, spelling, punctuation, copywriting and more!

Post Frequency: 3.6/day

Last Entry: November 02, 2020 at 06:34:48

When and How to Use Brackets

Posted on October 07, 2008
Reader John B. Moss asks if there are guidelines for the use of brackets. There are indeed. Academic style guides such as the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers go into such matters at great length.

On-tap Inspiration Online

Posted on October 06, 2008
Do you ever find that you have an hour or two free to write, but you just can?t get inspired? Whether you want a compelling idea for your next short story, a topic for your blog or a starting prompt for a poem, your brain just seems to be blank. If only there were some way to get inspiration on-tap?

Word of the Day: Bureaucracy

Posted on October 04, 2008
Bureaucracy [by?-r?k'r?-s?] refers to the administrative system that governs social organizations. Bureaucracy includes laws, regulations, departments, and committees.

The More You Tell, The More You Sell

Posted on October 03, 2008
Most writers don't need encouragement to write more words. After all, that's how some of them get paid: by the word! Using the words you need and no more - writing concisely - is a skill that every writer spends a lifetime learning. Mark Twain once said, ?I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead...

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An Article Marketing Guide

Posted on October 02, 2008
Article marketing is a great way to promote a product, service, website or blog. The name says it all: article marketing means marketing yourself with articles and it's easy to do if you know how. Here's how to create a good article marketing article.

Pen Or Keyboard ? How Do You Write?

Posted on October 01, 2008
Last week, my grandmother (who knows I do a lot of writing) asked me, ?Do you write straight onto the computer or do you write by hand first??

Setting Writing Targets

Posted on September 30, 2008
When you?re working on a big, long-term writing goal ? perhaps becoming a published novelist, or making a living from your writing ? it?s easy to get discouraged or distracted along the way. Sometimes the gulf between where you are with your writing and where you want to be can seem like an impassable chasm.

12 Greek Words You Should Know

Posted on September 29, 2008
Along with Latin, Greek is probably the language that most influenced other languages around the world. Many English words derive directly from Greek ones, and knowing their origin and meaning is important. Below you will find 12 Greek words that are commonly used in our society...

I Have A Theory?

Posted on September 27, 2008
I have a theory ... or do I?

Stephen King?s On Writing

Posted on September 26, 2008
One of the best books I?ve read about writing and being a writer is Stephen King?s On Writing.

Is That a Noun or a Verb? I?m Confused

Posted on September 25, 2008
The main reason why sentences are confusing is that they are too long. Shorten them and your readers will thank you. But another leading reason for confusing sentences: uncertainty about what part of speech a word is: noun, verb, adverb, adjective, and so on.

Writing An Effective Fiction Query

Posted on September 24, 2008
I'd rather write a 60,000 word novel than a one-page query letter, but I know that a query letter is my chief tool for winning the attention of a literary agent. Here are some things to consider when pitching your novel in a query letter.

How to Generate Hundreds of Writing Ideas

Posted on September 23, 2008
Do you ever feel completely out of ideas? Sometimes, I?ve got time to write ? but I?m just not feeling inspired. I might want to write an article for one of my blogs, or work on a short story. I may just want to write something personal, perhaps a letter to a friend, or a journal piece, but for some reason I can?t think up a topic.

Short Story Competition: The Winners

Posted on September 22, 2008
The competition is finally over. We had some controversies along the way, but overall I think the event was successful. I am sure that the writers enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their pieces, and that the readers enjoyed the opportunity to read stories coming from all sorts of backgrounds...

The Question Mark

Posted on September 19, 2008
The question mark is used at the end of a direct question. Example: 'What is your name?' she asked.

Word of the Day: Dystopian

Posted on September 18, 2008
Dystopian [d?s-t?'p?-?n] (or dystopic) is the adjective form of dystopia, a place in which people live in misery. It derives from the literary invention of Utopia, an imaginary place in which human misery has been eliminated. The terms are common in film criticism.

ExistentialQuestions.com: Share Your Meta-Physical Theories

Posted on September 18, 2008
Warning: this post is off topic and does not contain any writing tips. If you are interested on meta-physical and philosophical issues, though, read on! What is the meaning of life? Does God Exist? Are we alone in the Universe? Where do we came from? What is happiness?

Dirt and Filth

Posted on September 17, 2008
In today's paper I read: Moisture and filth on the video detection camera's lens can cause it not to detect cars...

How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point Arc

Posted on September 16, 2008
One of my favourite ?how to write? books is Nigel Watts? Writing A Novel and Getting Published. My battered, torn and heavily-pencil-marked copy is a testament to how useful I?ve found it over the years.

Short Story Competition: The Grand Final

Posted on September 15, 2008
The time we all have been waiting for has finally arrived. It is the Grand Final of the first Short Story Competition on our blog. We had 8 batches over the past 8 weeks, each with 10 stories competing for an entrance on this final. As you can imagine the quality of the stories you will find today is pretty high...

Elegant Variation

Posted on September 12, 2008
I learned about "elegant variation" from my high school English teacher, but even she taught about it with a slightly-skeptical smile. It's a rule that many writers feel bound to follow when they don't need to.

Verbless Sentences

Posted on September 11, 2008
One of the basic grammatical rules in English is that every sentence should contain a verb. Some of Daily Writing Tips?s readers may have had sentences underlined in red at school if they weren?t a ?proper sentence? ? and I?m sure many of you (especially fiction writers) have had Microsoft Word squiggle a green line under a sentence saying ?Fragment (consider revising)...

Old English, Parvus sed Potens

Posted on September 10, 2008
Since I am currently participating in an Old English seminar--we're translating Beowulf--I'm especially sensitive to anything that may seem like a slur on Old English, the fascinating language that was the origin of modern English.

Word Games to Improve Your Writing

Posted on September 09, 2008
It?s hard work to increase your vocabulary by memorising long lists of words and definitions, or to improve your spelling by constantly writing out words you get wrong. Why not try playing some word-based games instead? If you have kids, these are great ways to help them with their writing skills whilst having fun!

Short Story Competition: Eight (and Final) Batch Is Open for Voting!

Posted on September 08, 2008
All right folks, with the eight stories being presented today we arrive at 76 total entries! That is a bunch of them huh? If you sent one and it never appeared on one of the batches, let me know as soon as possible and I will try to include it on this one...

Word of the Day: Bromide

Posted on September 05, 2008
Bromide (br?'m?d'), a compound of bromine, is a sedative. Used figuratively it can mean a dull person or a trite saying.

Whom Are You Writing For?

Posted on September 04, 2008
Writing is a form of communication, but for many amateur writers, its most important purpose is for communicating with themselves. That sounds strange, but seeing your own words on paper helps you understand who you are and what you're thinking, even in the moment as you're writing them down...

How to Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing

Posted on September 03, 2008
Whatever sort of writing you do, it?s important to revise and edit your work ? especially if you write academic essays, or articles or short stories that you?ll be submitting to editors. However much time you took over the piece on the first draft, you?ll always find a few mistakes to correct.

Seven Things To Do When You Don?t Feel Like Writing

Posted on September 02, 2008
Sometimes, you?ve got an hour or two free ? but you don?t feel like writing. All the advice in the world on becoming inspired or getting self-disciplined just isn?t helping you. For whatever reason, you know your ability to string together a new article or story is temporarily absent.

Short Story Competition: Seventh Batch Is Open for Voting!

Posted on September 01, 2008
I thought this week we would have the final batch of stories, but we still have one more to go next week. We were left with 15 stories, so instead of making a bigger batch, we will have 8 competing today, and 7 next week. That way you have more time to read each of the stories and vote on your favorite one! After that we will have a final round with all the batch winners (8 of them), competing for the first place and for the prizes.

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