In 2016 I enrolled in a year of tertiary study to help my writing. Not unusual, but I didn’t do a traditional “writing 101” type course. Uhuh. Not me. I studied biometrics. This course (Certificate IV in Biometric Technologies) provided practical training in biometric recognition. Biometrics are biological or behavioural characteristics that can be used…
Craft
Opening sentence
I was talking about the opening sentence of my novel with a writing friend recently. The conversation reminded me of an old post I wrote. It’s been a few years, but here it is: Thursday, March 17th, I spent the morning in anxiety, the afternoon in ecstasy, and the evening unconscious. “Risk” by Dick Francis…
Adjectives go like this…
Did you know that adjectives have to go in a specific order in the English language or they just sound plain weird? In 2016 a paragraph from a book “The Elements of Eloquence” by Mark Forsyth went viral: Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a…
Ablaut Reduplication
Until recently I’d never heard of “ablaut reduplication”, but I have unknowingly been applying it my whole life…and so have you! Ablaut reduplication is when you repeat a word that has a similar sound or spelling. The following examples are from ProEdit: Chitchat Crisscross Dillydally Ding-dong Kitty cat Knickknack Mishmash Ping-pong Pitter-patter Riffraff Singsong Splish-splash…
Conference: lightbulb moments and awards
A couple of weeks ago I attended the Romance Writers of Australia annual conference. I had a ball. I caught up with friends, pitched my manuscript to agents, attended the fancy dress cocktail party (although this year I wussed on the costume and just wore a blingy tiara with my jeans for the tiara and…