Scookie Reviews

Colons are misunderstood pieces of punctuation. They have several uses: to start lists like this one, to show elaborations, and to introduce quotes or examples. The main issue which sticks its foot out and trips up writer in the corridors is the difference between semicolons (;) and colons (:). Many writers seem to opt for a semicolon without realising the difference. Whilst colons are less common, they are very different from semicolons and cannot be used interchangeably. Take a look at this example: Samantha knew there was only one biscuit left: the digestive. In this example, the second section is used to elaborate on the first. The digestive is the same biscuit as the one referred to in the first clause. The link is direct rather than implied, and the second clause is incomplete. However, when the second clause is complete and of a substantial length, you may want to consider capitalizing the first letter after the colon. There was only one question on Samantha’s mind:...

So you've posted your work online but the response isn't quite what you expected? Or maybe you're getting lots of reads when what you really want is help honing your craft? If you’re serious about writing and want to make the best of the online help available, then take a look at these tips: Firstly, forget hearts, likes, votes, and shelf space They are tiny rewards, like winning a game of Candy Crush. You’re in it from the long haul, right? You want to know how to develop your writing and put smiles on faces, so ask for critiques rather than comments or likes. Also avoid ‘I will give you super harsh critic ’ Even if they had written ‘critique’, you’re not looking for harsh criticism. You’re looking for constructive criticism or an honest read. Advertise to your audience (age and genre) Swapping with anyone who wants a read can get you going. However, the only readers which really matter, are your general audience. It’s no good when someone start a comment with ...

Ever written the best sentence in the world, except the rest of the world seems to hate it? Yeah, it happens to us all. You think it's witty or interesting, clever or metaphorical, but they think it’s purple prose, confusing, or just don't know what you're on about. The painful thing about writing is that sometimes you have to be selective for the sake of clarity or conciseness. If you can relate, take a breath and read through these options. 1) Let it go. If your audience has responded negatively to it, then they don’t want it. And you may be writing this book for your children, or best friend, or to prove something to yourself, but you’re also writing it for an audience and that should forever be in your mind. 2) Keep it. Proofreading and reading for comprehension are two completely different processes. You’re asking people to read with a critically mind, and therefore they are looking for problems. Plus, you might find that some people love that line, too. 3) ...

For the most part, these words may seem interchangeable. Of course, that would be a little too easy, so there’s actually a slight difference between when you should use the one word version instead of the the two word version. These quick explanations should help: Onto Onto:  To place on the surface. On to:  Can mean onto but can also mean forwards, as in Let’s move on to the next pub . No one is mounting any pubs in this example. Basically on towards  cannot be shortened to onto.  However, Let’s move on to the next point  would sound funny if you used towards  – hopefully you can see that to  kinda still means towards  in that example. Into Into:  Movement towards the inside. You’re indicating movement . In to:  Less common because it's a coincidence that in and to  appear next to each other. When it happens, you're indicating position . A lot of the time when it's in to , you can separate the words out: ...

Exposure has a powerful influence on evaluations. There’s a general exposure curve which show that the more we hear or see something, the more we like it (until we become explicitly aware of the intentions or tired of the repetition such as songs on the radio). However, something entirely implicit is that the frequency of positive words tends to be higher than negative words, and we also tend to prefer positives over negatives. These frequencies were calculated from a wide variety of texts and printed in 1944 by Thorndike-Lorge. They may have a bit of age to them although the point is still the same. The words ‘ happiness ’ occurs 15 times more than ‘ unhappiness ’. ‘ Beauty ’ is found 41 times more often than ‘ ugliness ’.  ‘ Love ’ is 7 times more frequent than ‘ hate ’.  We ‘ laugh ’ 2.4 times more often than we ‘ cry ’. Food is 12 times more often ‘ fresh ’ than ‘ stale ’, and 7 times more often ‘ sweet ’ than ‘ sour ’. Things are describ...

Sometimes it because of a blind spot. Other times, it because your typing-brain want to make you look silly. Either way, be aware of words which sound similar (homophones) but are spelled very differently.  It’s hard to write a first draft without having at least one homophone hiding in your manuscript, trying to let you down. The aim of the game is to spot it before anyone else does. Here are a few that are commonly written but not commonly spotted, or so it seems: Draw - With a pencil Drawer - Put pencils in Illusive - Illusion-like Elusive - Hard to catch, hard to see Bowel - Inside of you Bowl - Eat from (shouldn't be inside of you!) Manner - The way which you act Manor - A grand house. Inside, you should probably show good manners Faint - What I do when I see blood. Feint - What you may do to confuse an attacker and not lose blood Lose - When you don't win or when you can't find something (like that second 'o') Loose - Opposite of tight. T...