Brain Spew in Lieu of Wit

  Note: This article was originally published August 30, 2020 on my now-defunct website for AMA Creative Solutions. I have completed the most minor of edits, so what you see is what was published (barring a glaring and obnoxious error). What even is an essay?! Essays are a non-fiction prose form that is used to explore an idea or experience. The core components are the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. More creative non-fiction essays, like you might see from David Sedaris and other memoirists, may not have a traditional structure. However, even these styles introduce the topic, often through a descriptive account of an event or memory, then use the body to explore or process the impact, and the conclusion may be a “take-away” or closing observation about the experience. Most U.S. schools teach essay writing using a “three-point thesis” model. In this structure, the writer uses the introduction to provide context for the thesis, or core argument, of the essay. The thesis ...

Note: This article was originally published July 29, 2020 on my now-defunct website for AMA Creative Solutions. I have completed the most minor of edits, so what you see is what was published (barring a glaring and obnoxious error). We are rarely taught writing warm-ups, which you spend 10 or 15 minutes on before getting into your immediate project. These warm-ups help you develop your skills, narrow your focus to what you will be working on in a session, and help build a transition point in your writing routine. One of my personal challenges is shifting from other tasks into writing, which prevents me from focusing on the words and usually leads me to work on chores (or checking social media or working on administrative work or going back to conversations or any number of other hurdles to actively writing). We are (sort of) taught how to outline and draft in school, but these are often expected to be stages of a project more than a warm-up to dive into a project. The way they are des...

  Note: This article was originally published May 17, 2020 on my now-defunct website for AMA Creative Solutions. I have completed the most minor of edits, so what you see is what was published (barring a glaring and obnoxious error). Semicolons act as a middle point between commas and periods. They can connect two closely related sentences, separate complex lists, and separate individual ideas in complicated sentences. One of the biggest complaints I hear from students about reading social theory, older literature, and philosophy is that the sentences make the ideas too difficult to follow. These writers tend to have long, winding sentences with several clauses separated by semicolons and commas. I tend to recommend using semicolons sparingly, but many writers & editors have distinct stylistic preferences and the rules can change depending on your (or your audience's) region. Here are some general rules to follow when using semicolons. As always, double-check your style guide f...

  Note: This article was originally published May 17, 2020 on my now-defunct website for AMA Creative Solutions. I have completed the most minor of edits, so what you see is what was published (barring a glaring and obnoxious error). Commas are one of the most misused (and misunderstood) punctuation marks. Not only are comma rules complicated, they also have a great deal of stylistic variation. 1. How they are used has changed over time. I love complicated sentences with many phrases offset by commas and semicolons because many of my favorite literary works are from 19th-century England. Some people prefer the shorter, more concise sentences seen in US writing since the mid-20th century. We often develop our writing styles and grammatical preferences from the writing we love, which can also cause a lot of consternation between people of different stylistic origins. 2. There is a lot of variation in regional, professional, and personal styles. Comma usage changes depending on wher...

Note: This article was originally published July 7, 2020 on my now-defunct AMA Creative Solutions website. I have made only the most minor edits in cases of particularly obvious or obnoxious grammatical errors. There are three different dashes that each have their own purpose. Hyphens are used within words to show a specific meaning. The en dash is most often used in date ranges and point scores. The em dash is a stylistic punctuation mark that is used to reflect a pronounced pause or to highlight specific information. I will be explaining how each of these types of dashes is used in general writing. As always, if you are writing professionally, double-check your organization’s style guide. Hyphens Hyphens are placed within words to demonstrate specific meanings or to show that the word continues on the next line. They are entered into a word processor by pressing the dash key (most U.S. keyboards have it placed to the right of the number row) or the minus key on the number pad. You c...

Note: This article was originally published June 10, 2020 on my now-defunct website for AMA Creative Solutions. I have completed the most minor of edits, so what you see is what was published (barring a glaring and obnoxious error). Perhaps it’s just me, but I find the colon the most mysterious of all punctuation. While we often have a general “sense” of how and where to use commas and semicolons, the colon seems to be less straightforward. They aren’t used as often in modern writing as the comma or semicolon and are most often found in citations. Regardless, colons are useful punctuation marks to draw attention to the words or phrases that follow them. Here are the general rules for using colons (and, as always, refer to your style guide for how colons are used in citations and quotations). Between two independent clauses Colons are used between independent clauses when you are using the second clause to clarify or explain what you mean in the first clause. The first letter following...

  One of the most constant conversations with my friends is how to keep up our creative endeavors while we're fighting depression and anxiety. I know that I personally feel hopeless in dragging my pen through depressive numbness and overcoming the defeatist terror that comes from feeling like nothing I say matters, or has been said before, or is wildly inaccurate. I'm notorious for freezing and going dark (creatively and otherwise) when I'm depressed and overwhelmed. What I ultimately forget, though, is that writing is part of my self-care. Not writing is akin to not cleaning my house or  not showering. Unfortunately, like any self-care, being creative through depressive lows and anxiety spikes requires practice and patience. Journaling (the Writer's Sketchbook) My anxiety and perfectionism tell me that every work should be a masterpiece, that anything less than brilliant is not worth putting in words. This, naturally, blocks my creative process. I know  that nothing...