Blog - Page 33 of 54 - Kris Spisak

The Story of a Writing Tips Book (& a Title Announcement!)

Writing Tips Book If you haven’t heard me screaming it from the rooftops lately, I have some news. But I’m a writer, so let me set the scene.

In the summer of 2012, I wanted to rethink the blog I had been dabbling with on my website, and after some experimentation on social media, my “Wednesday Writing Tips” began with a discussion of the differences between “farther” and “further” as well as a shout-out to the James River Writers Conference that was about to happen that year.

If anyone has ever told you that blogging is a waste of time for a writer, I’m here to prove you wrong.

Writing Tip 186: “Kernel” vs. “Colonel”

Kernel vs Colonel I have a feeling there are some authorities in the world who might be less than happy with this mistake. When I caught it a few weeks ago, I gave the writer the benefit of the doubt that they took a stab at spelling “Colonel” the correct way and autocorrect was to blame for turning military personnel into a dried seed ready for popping popcorn.

Remember, folks:

A “colonel” is an officer of high rank. In the U.S. Army, a colonel is above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general .
A “kernel” is the interior part of a seed, nut, or similar, which is often edible. If not enclosed by a hard shell, it can also be within a husk. A secondary definition of “kernel” refers to that metaphorical nugget that is most important, for example a “kernel of truth.”

Some kernels are better with salt and a little bit of butter. Colonels, on the other hand, are not.

Don’t let spellcheck fool you into making hilarious mistakes, folks!

Using your Words, not your Font, for Emphasis (Video)

Whether we’re writing for work or we’re writing for pleasure, sometimes we use bold, italics, and other font changes like jazz hands for emphasis. As we become better writers, we need to learn how to use our words more effectively.

“Down the Pike” vs. “Down the Pipe” - Dog on Pike's Peak — On Pike’s Peak, this dog might be wondering what’s down the pike and perhaps if it’s some pike of the fish variety for breakfast. (How’s this for a subtle reminder?)

Here’s another often confused idiom. Is it coming “down the pike” or “down the pipe”?

Both have their logical arguments. Something could travel through a pipe toward you (e.g., water through pipes, emerging via a spigot), or something could travel along a pike—that is once you realize what a pike is. It’s this latter word that is one major source of confusion for this phrase.

Writing Tip 184: “Balmy” vs. “Barmy”

Balmy vs. Barmy Beer foam bubbles - orthotetrachidecahedrons Is the summertime “balmy” or “barmy”? Maybe it depends on your disposition. Maybe it depends on your choice of drink. But only one of these words means warm and soothing.

The roots of both of these words goes back to the 1500s, when “balm” first was utilized to denote a soothing ointment and “barm” first described froth from fermented yeast. Their noun forms evolved into adjectives over time.

When you’re editing a book, proofing a business correspondence, or simply looking over a social share before you press publish, elevate your manuscript by cutting these weak and/or over-used words or phrases. Trust me, your readers will thank you.

Writing Tip 183: “Phase” vs. “Faze”

Faze vs Phase What? Are you doing a double-take? Did you realize there’s this other word “faze” that you should be aware of? Yep, pay attention to your spelling, folks. The “phase” vs. “faze” distinction is one you should definitely know.

A lot of people assume that the “phase” spelling covers everything. It might not have fazed you, but it’s fazed a lot of editors over time.

Writing Tip 182: “Spilt” vs. “Spilled”

Spilt vs Spilled Milk Why could you argue that the word choice is correct when one “spilled the beans” about the “crying over spilt milk”? Well, in essence, it’s all a matter of the dates and locations of the two idioms’ origins. Let’s dive into “spilt” vs. “spilled.”

While “spilt” was the original past tense form of the verb “spill,” the most commonly used past tense form today is “spilled.” It’s this newer form I recommend to you for no reason other than it’s the one that has fallen into style.

As we know from discussions of “wend” vs. “went,” verb forms sometimes evolve.

Muse - Bemused vs Amused — And speaking of the writing muse, I’ve been pretty psyched about some progress with my fiction lately. Stay tuned for details!

Some speak of the Muse, when discussing their writing. Today, I’m going to ask which one.

No, we’re not talking about Calliope, but we are discussing two words that have the same derivation in the French word muser, which back in the 15th century meant to stare blankly. Here’s the tip you should know just in case Calliope hasn’t whispered it in your ear:

Writing Tip 180: Dialogue Tags – 3 Tips

We talk to people all the time. We listen and interact, because that’s what people do. Then why is it that writing dialogue can be so tricky?

Dialogue Tags-Giraffes — And then, he said, “I’ll show you whose head is in the clouds.”

I’ve discussed the power of using dialogue to differentiate characters and not over-using character names, but today, let’s just focus on dialogue tags, the “he said,” “she said,” or similar phrases surrounding a character’s spoken words.