A comma is used after an introductory clause or phrase. So first, you’ll need to know the difference between clauses and phrases. If you don’t know, don’t worry–it’s actually quite easy. A clause has a subject and a verb (predicate),…
Monthly Archives: August 2015
Commas: Introductory Clauses
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, clause vs. phrase, Comma, dependent clause, independent clause, introductory clause
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Commas and Independent Clauses
It’s time for more fascinating punctuation. That subtle little comma is possibly the most misused punctuation mark in the English language. That’s really saying something, since English also has apostrophes. This post will focus on independent clauses, which deserve a short review…
Author Interview with Erik Therme
What’s the craziest story idea you’ve ever had? And did you write it? At one point I toyed with the idea of writing a book about a donut shop robbery, told from multiple people’s perspectives. I have no idea how…
Weasel Words, Filters, and Other Candidates For Cutting
I used to overwrite in insane amounts. Unfortunately, I wrote seven novels before I discovered this, and now I’m working my way through, cutting them all down to size. So in honor of cutting my fourth novel by a third,…
Apostrophes–End the Abuse!
Perhaps it’s just that misery loves company. But I’m going to share some basic apostrophe rules anyway. 🙂 Apostrophes are most commonly used in contractions. I am becomes I’m: I’m running as fast as I can. They are becomes they’re:…
How to Use Semicolons
I’ll pick up the challenge. This is how to use semicolons if you’re not typing an emoticon. First, you need to understand independent clauses. An independent clause is a complete sentence–subject, verb, (and most often) object. Simple independent clauses are…
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, conjuction, contrasting ideas, independent clauses, semicolons
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Interview with Allan Emerson
Allan Emerson is a Canadian writer who was born in Saskatchewan and brought up in small towns there and British Columbia. He lived in Australia and New Zealand before marrying and settling on the west coast of Canada. As his…
Tagged with: Allen Emerson, Death of a Bride and Groom, Honeymoon Falls, interview, murder mystery
Posted in Author Interviews
Posted in Author Interviews
The Familiar Ground of Self-Doubt
You don’t have to be a writer to relate to doubt. It’s one of the reasons I like this photo. Imagine what the guy/gal went through who pushed this project through. You want to build a what? Why would you…
Author Interview with Kate Morgan
Who’s your favorite character you’ve written so far and why? The Redeemers. They’re so delightfully batshit evil. Plus they know for certain that they’re the instruments of perfect good. I’m surprised their brains don’t implode like the old Star…
Cathleen Townsend 