If in exploring the Itch you meet a link which leads to Typepad’s ‘closed’ sign, don’t despair: virtually all important posts have in fact been migrated over here to Substack. We are still working our way through the massive job of updating the thousands of links in the hundreds of posts, but meanwhile just use the ‘search’ facility to find the Substack version of the post you’re looking for - and feel free to message us if you get stuck!
Itchy Bitesized 37: SIX THINGS ABOUT SENTENCES
SENTENCE STRUCTURE : have you ever thought about the order in which you put the elements of a long sentence? An exploration of what's going on.
SHORT SENTENCES and how to wrangle them : why it’s worth paying close attention to the order of words. (£)
LONG SENTENCES and why you should use them : there's a prevailing orthodoxy that short sentences are punchier and more pacy. Here's why I think it's largely not true, and certainly not that simple.
THINK OF EACH SENTENCE AS A STORY : how spotting ‘cart before the horse’ problems and cause-and-effect failures in sentences and paragraphs can really strengthen your storytelling.
PUNCTUATION: The Itch of Writing Guide : What you need to know about punctuation, including how not to commit a comma splice (£)
Itchy Bitesized 7: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMMA SPLICES
STRUCTURING AND PUNCTUATING A SENTENCE : an example from my own work
WHAT DO I MEAN BY ‘YOGA FOR WRITERS? And no, it’s not about putting your writerly ankle behind your readerly ear.
SENTENCE YOGA IN PRACTICE : the one about the more-than-eighty (yes, eighty) ways round to write the same simple sentence. The post otherwise known as A Million Little Versions
FREE INDIRECT STYLE : what it is and how to use it : the huge advantage we have over the playwrights and scriptwriters, so why wouldn't you exploit all the things it can do?
WHAT IS PASSIVE VOICE : and why are you told to avoid it? : and why it's actually a vital tool in your toolkit.
PARTS OF SPEECH
VERBS ARE THE ENGINE-ROOM OF YOUR STORY : How to work with them to raise your writing from just OK to something special (£)
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS : why you're so often told to cut them, and why you shouldn't (always) cut them
DANGLING PARTICIPLES AND MODIFIERS : what they are, how they happen, and how to sort them out. (£)
VERBAL NOUNS : how do they work and why does it matter? (£)
PHRASAL VERBS : and why they’re important for your editing (£)
MAY vs MIGHT : the confusion even some of the most knowledgeable writers still suffer from.
Itchy Bitesized 14: ‘EFFECT’ vs ‘AFFECT’
Itchy Bitesized 28: STARTING A SENTENCE WITH ‘BUT’ OR ‘AND’
SPELLCHECKERS, GRAMMAR CHECKERS AND MIGHTY THESAURI: how to make them your servant, not your master. (£)
