On italics, all caps, and other typographical effects — Okay, right off the bat, these are not fonts technically we’re talking about. The elements of italics, bold, and others are more rightly called typographical emphasis, but that doesn’t have the same zing as fonts and definitely not the same name recognition. So “Fonts for Creative Writers” it is. Anyway…

You don’t have to like poetry to like these books — In celebration of National Poetry Month, I wanted to highlight three amazing books in verse for those fiction readers who maybe aren’t the biggest fans of poetry. These titles are not only amazing narratives but also compelling uses of creative language. …

How to start your stories the fanfiction way — Pretty much all fiction writers know that starting out their story strong is important. We talk about “the hook.” We talk about amazing opening lines (which may or may not be overrated depending on your perspective.) …

Applying the six to short fiction — The generally agreed upon six elements of a story are: setting, character, plot, point of view, theme, and style. However, I’ve sometimes seen it split into 7 or 9 elements, but usually, that is just one of the above split into more detail. …

Using length, structure, and rule-bending to make your words sing — One element of making your words on the page sound pretty are paying attention to their rhythm and flow. These are not just elements of poetry. They have a place even in the most casual styles of fiction. And they are more than just stylistic flourishes. In a subtle and…

Hey, pay attention! On stops, starts, and set apart’s — Punctuation rules were created for formal writing. We learn about them within the school context, and they are reinforced by the practices of “correct” writing. However, creative writing means getting to be creative with all the areas, rules, and techniques of writing. In part 1, I explored how to use…

May I interject? On dots, dashes, and parenthesis — As I said in “Academic Writing Rules to Leave Behind When Writing Fiction” there are official writing rules that we learn in grammar classes and are reinforced in academic and professional writing… that have nothing to do with creative writing. Because creative writing is, as it says in the name…

Why dialogue tag placement matters — I love writing dialogue, and I love writing about dialogue. Here’s the evidence: On Writing Dialogue Edit descriptionmargerybayne.medium.com There has been a lot said about whether you should or should not use words other than “said.” Generally, no… However, that rule can be broken, or at least I break it. There is a lot said…

There is no wasted writing — The first fanfiction I ever wrote and posted online was in 2004 and the last was in 2020. Fanfiction writing took me from middle school to high school to college and up through my early adulthood. It’s the first place I played with creative writing, was part of a writing…