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7 ways to write beautiful prose

The Write Life

Writing beautiful prose isn’t something every writer nails in the beginning. Strong prose often reads like poetry. The term “purple prose” refers to writing that might be a bit too flowery. That’s not always a bad thing—lots of readers and writers love flowery prose.

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57 Metaphor Examples That’ll Pack Your Prose With Persuasion

Smart Blogger

The post 57 Metaphor Examples That’ll Pack Your Prose With Persuasion appeared first on Smart Blogger. Aristotle once wrote, “to be a master of metaphor is a sign of genius.” ” And the best way to master the metaphor? Devour lots of good metaphor examples!

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Grammarly vs WhiteSmoke: Which Is Better for You?

ProWritingAid

Grammarly is a grammar checker that can help you strengthen your prose. WhiteSmoke is a writing tool that checks grammar, spelling, and more. Learn whether Grammarly vs WhiteSmoke is right for you

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Outwrite vs Grammarly: Which Is Better for You?

ProWritingAid

Grammarly is a popular AI-powered grammar checker that can help you strengthen your prose. Outwrite is an editing tool that focuses on eloquence. Learn more about Outwrite vs Grammarly

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Quillbot vs Grammarly: Which Is Better for You?

ProWritingAid

Grammarly is a popular AI-powered grammar checker that can help you strengthen your prose. Quillbot is a software that started out as a paraphrasing tool. Learn more about Quillbot vs Grammarly

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How to Write a Well-Balanced, Meaningful Sentence

Enchanting Marketing

As Hemingway suggests: [The Old Man and the Sea] is the prose that I have been working for all my life that should read easily and simply and seem short and yet have all the dimensions of the visible world and the world of a man’s spirit. What’s the foundation of good writing?

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How To Use Sensory Language In Your Writing

The Write Life

Mastering writing with sensory language can elevate your prose, help your audience empathize with your characters, and create an overall more engaging story. As with any effective prose, the real writing happens in the revisions.

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The Necessity & Power of Sitting With Your Critiques

Jane Friedman

Or if you’re typing, remind yourself that this mediocre prose is filler and you’ll clean it up later. My second novel takes place in Paris, so instead of picking apart my florid prose about the City of Lights, my readers are already onboard for descriptions of a foreign place.

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26 Types of Humor to Tickle Your Funny Bone (+ Examples)

Smart Blogger

Do you need some pizazz for your prose? For the next piece of prose you write, or blog post you publish, try adding a bit of satire or situational comedy to it and see where it takes you. Are you looking for different types of humor to add a little wow! to your writing?

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100+ Vivid Verbs That’ll Spark Life Into Your Writing (+ Examples) 

Smart Blogger

But adverbs rarely make your prose sound better. If those verbs work a little harder, we can make the prose much more incisive: James strode across the street, dodging a cyclist as he pondered his conversation with William. Are you trying to use more vivid verbs in your writing?

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What is Assonance? Definition and Examples of this Literary Device

Grammarly

Assonance can also be sprinkled throughout prose to stress certain words, build a mood, and give prose a poetic quality. Poetic prose: Poetic rhythm and musicality don’t have to be limited to poetry. Usually, we think of reading as a silent activity.

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15+ Diction Examples for Any Voice and Style (Formal & Informal)

Smart Blogger

Ready to add some interest and flair to your prose? Whether you’re freelance writing for a client or writing blog posts for your own business, diction is a great way to add some life and variety to your prose. Looking for diction examples to inspire your next writing project?

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Literary Editor and Writer — What’s on the Bookshelf?

Melanie Saxton

Our independent bookshop supports and celebrates our community and serves as an incubator for young readers, new writers, and literary adventures,” says Teresa, who also hosted a fall children’s Riding & Writing Day Camp with Lone Star Horsemanship in Conroe to “Learn all things horses, from tail to nose, and all things writing from tale to prose!” As a literary editor and writer, I love working in the world of words.

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10+ Best Writing Retreats for 2023 (In Person & Online)

Smart Blogger

Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway — Atlantic City, New Jersey The Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway is a participant-focused writers’ conference. Writing retreats are back on the calendar!

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66+ Alliteration Examples to Make Your Message More Memorable

Smart Blogger

Examples of Alliteration in Literature In poetry and prose, alliteration and other sound devices like rhythm help create a tone or mood, suggest a tempo, and emphasize certain words or phrases. Looking for some alliteration examples to expand your writing repertoire?

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40 Free Writing Contests: Legitimate Competitions With Cash Prizes

The Write Life

Prose. Prose offers weekly challenges meant to spark your creativity; many are just for fun, but look for the weekly numbered challenges posted by Prose (rather than community members or sponsors) for a chance to win money. Submissions may be prose, poetry or non-academic essays.

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What If You’re New to Writing and Don’t Know How to Fix Things?

Jane Friedman

One reason revision so often goes awry for authors is the temptation to focus first on perfecting the prose. Fine-tuning the verbiage—have you conveyed the story in prose that’s lean, elegant, precise, and unique? Photo by Daniel Reche.

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Why You Shouldn't Use Participial Phrases as a Crutch

Grammar Underground

But they're also common culprits in bad prose — inserting unnecessary or obvious information or linking ideas in ways that don't quite make sense. Reaching into her purse, Mary pulled out her phone …. Participial phrases like "reaching into her purse" are an indispensable part of the English language. Here's how to make sure you're using participial phrases for the best effect.

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The Secret Sauce to Being a Good Writer

Jane Friedman

This doesn’t mean that because you have the internal drive to write but haven’t pumped out profound prose that you “aren’t a writer.” Photo by Nong V on Unsplash. Today’s post is by author and editor Michael Mohr. Honestly, the No.

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72 Clever Creative Writing Prompts (+ 6 Brainy Bonus Tips)

Smart Blogger

Use these two writing devices to turbocharge your prose and watch the words burst off the page with intention. But grammar can sometimes get in the way of creativity and turn fluid prose into a turgid swamp of clunky awkwardness.

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10 Paid Poetry Contests (And How to Enter Your Poem to Win!)

Make a Living Writing

7 – OmniDawn Publishing – First/Second poetry Book Contest Judged by Sawako Nakayasu, Omnidawn Publishing poetry contest seeks a wide range of approaches, forms and diversities (like lyric and prose poems) to send to the judge.

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19 Ways to Win, Attract, and Retain High-Paying Clients

Freelance Magic

Or their poetry-dripping prose. How do some freelance writers demand $1/word while you’re stuck at $100/article (or less)? Maybe it’s their decades of experience. Perhaps they just have a magic wand to make these high-paying clients appear out of thin air.

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47 Colloquialism Examples You’re Gonna Go Nuts Over

Smart Blogger

Maybe you’re just now learning about colloquialisms, or maybe you’re a seasoned writer looking for ways to add flavor to your prose. If you’re looking for colloquialism examples, then you’re in the right place.

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15+ Chiasmus Examples & Definition: Write Like Yoda, You Will

Smart Blogger

When you use chiastic patterns in your writing, you can: Enhance your prose by emphasizing your message Make your content more memorable and quotable Add structure or poetic form to your writing Draw attention to unique ideas That, my friend, is why you want to use chiasmus in your writing.

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26 Weak Words to Avoid for Your Writing & How to Replace Them

Article Writing

Then there are those pesky words such as “just” or “that”, which may seem useful at first but can slow your prose considerably when they appear everywhere. Strong words will create strong prose! If you’re trying to establish yourself as an expert, then you need to sound like one.

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Types Of Editing: 4 That Will Improve Your Writing

Top Content Consulting

This will help polish up your prose and allow your work to shine. Editors have extensive tools and training that, when properly wielded, will make your prose sing. Working with a good line editor will improve your prose.

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10+ Proven eBook Ideas With Examples (& How to Pick a Topic)

Smart Blogger

And they do so using simple, easy-to-read prose. Are you looking for awesome ebook ideas? You’ve come to the right place.

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20 Repetition Examples Worth Repeating (+10 Repetition Types)

Smart Blogger

Then repeat words that stress that idea and make your prose more quotable. We see repetition examples everywhere — in books, movies, music, and even commercials. Advertisers use repetition to craft catchy slogans that entice us to buy.

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Iambic Pentameter: Definition and Examples

Grammarly

uses iambic pentameter to give the prose a more subtle musicality. You’ve probably heard of William Shakespeare, that olde English fellow, the famed poet often referred to as the father of our modern language.

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583 Sensory Words to Take Your Writing from Bland to Brilliant

Smart Blogger

It’s almost too easy. By using sensory words to evoke the sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell; smart and attractive writers just like you are able to make their words burst to life in their reader’s mind. In this post, you’ll learn: The science behind sensory details (e.g.

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Of 'of'

Grammar Underground

And it has an uncanny power to promote wordy, inefficient prose. For a tiny word, “of” causes a lot of trouble. It pops up where it doesn’t belong in sentences like “I should of known.” It baffles even word-savvy users in expressions like “too big of a deal.”

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That Swipe File won’t make you a better writer. But, this will.

Honey Copy

And, while I’m a working writer that has put out two books of poetry and prose , hundreds of essays and more advertising than I can count for brands of all shapes and sizes… I realized that if I wanted to be the kind of “creator” that I admire, I’d have to do less curating and more creating.

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6 Vignette Examples To Add Depth to Your Writing (+ Definition) 

Smart Blogger

Vignettes in television and film are similar to vignettes in prose, except they’re literally seen and heard. Vignette examples don’t only come from the classics like Hugo or Hemingway. They can also be found across television and film. That’s why we’ve got a few examples from each.

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16+ Funny (& Famous) Limerick Examples You’ll Love

Smart Blogger

Not like long prose that may cause a fright. If you’re looking for some limerick examples, you’re in the right place! Whether you’re seeking entertainment from this particular literary device or want to learn and understand it better, we’ve got you covered.

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Poets and Writers Magazine – Is It Worth Subscribing?

The Write Life

It’s a workshop for poets and literary prose writers to navigate the world of publishing. If you want to become a poet or a writer, you have most likely come across the Poets and Writers Magazine.

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GPT-3 for SEO: How Will This The Future Of Content Writing?

Neil Patel

In fact, a New York Times article in 2022 judged that GPT-3 could create prose that matched the originality and fluency of a human. It’s important to remember that while GPT-3 can emulate human prose, specialized content will likely need a human touch.

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Chiasmus: Definition and Examples

Grammarly

Chiasmus in this casual prose might create vivid imagery , but it also comes off as overdramatic. Clear writing is important, but sometimes you want to do more than simply get the message across. To add style to your writing, you can incorporate literary devices like chiasmus.

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138 Writing Quotes to Motivate, Inspire, & Kick Your Butt in 2023

Smart Blogger

One of the exquisite pleasures of writing… “I would write a book, or a short story, at least three times — once to understand it, the second time to improve the prose, and a third to compel it to say what it still must say. Who doesn’t love writing quotes?

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Epigraph: Definition and Examples of This Literary Device

Grammarly

Types of epigraphs Epigraphs come in many forms, including prose, proverb , poetry, lyrics, and even dialogue. At the beginning of Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart , there is a page with four lines from a W.

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Can I End a Sentence with a Preposition?

Grammarly

To enhance your prose. Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition? Many teachers will say no, but the truth is, under the right circumstances, ending a sentence with a preposition is not only acceptable—it’s the best option.

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How to Craft the Perfect Writing Sample in 2023 (+ Examples)

Smart Blogger

They’re not simply trying to publish your beautiful prose or fluff-filled essays. Just when you thought you finally found your dream job, your hopes are deflated by two simple, intimidating words: “writing sample.” You know the job is perfect for you.

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What Is a Ghostwriter?

Grammarly

literary prose. Ever wonder how James Patterson can churn out so many novels each year? Or how Carolyn Keene keeps producing Nancy Drew mysteries ninety years after the first one was published? Maybe you’ve seen CEOs with a few productivity books and wondered how they had time to write them.

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How to Write Your First Paragraph

Jane Friedman

And he discovered that when he read the beginning of his book, the prose didn’t pop. Photo by Monstera. Today’s post is excerpted from the book The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel’s Key Moments by John Matthew Fox ( @bookfox ).

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