Which verb tense?

Present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect?

How often have you found yourself changing verb tenses partway through a scene? Do you have any idea why this happens?

When we tell a story, the tenses seem quite natural. When we write a story, it’s very easy to get lost in the timeline.

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Finding Descriptions

Writing out of your era…

Descriptive writing brings text alive for readers. It allows the movie to roll in a reader’s’ mind, but only if the language is vivid and the description is real. Fantasy requires the author to create suspension of reality with believable description. Those setting aren’t necessarily real, but they do need to be plausible.

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The Work of Writing

School is about to start for most students in the United States. It’s that time of year when learners and teachers alike prepare for the work ahead, excited about opportunities for intellectual growth. That learning and growth alway include writing. For some, no problem. For others, dread sets in at the very mention of written assignments.

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Avoiding Research Pitfalls

Research: How much is too much?

Writing authentically is a challenge when a setting is unfamiliar to the author. Understanding setting and circumstance is necessary to maintain credibility with readers. The wrong application of science, for instance, can wreak havoc for an author. So, as most authors would agree, research is a task that cannot go by the wayside. Reading, visiting locations, observing people, watching documentaries or other films are all ways that writers can gather valuable knowledge.

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The Rigor of Common Core Writing

Sample assessment items related to Common Core writing that are now available put students in a difficult position. If you are an expert writer, you understand the difficulty presented by a task that requires cross-textual analysis. You understand the potential pitfalls of guessing exactly what is to be examined in the multiple texts and how that examination will be accepted by the reader.

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