I use the title of the lord and master of the story as a thorn in the flesh for both lord and servant. It's constant repetition is the grain of sand in the oyster that eventually explodes. I'm trusting my readers to subconsciously absorb the title without reading it every single time.

May I recommend to you the series The Story of English ? All languages are constantly changing and I think it can be argued that English has the most reasons to change, and is the most gracious in its changes. The French are only one language group that has a central committee to regulate new words. I don't think English has such a thing. I do lament the lessening of vocabulary and punctuation in our language. I regularly rant on this forum about that. However, someone recently reminded me that reading is a privilege. The percent of people who can put letters together to understand script has increased in our day, and we ought to be grateful for them, and even more grateful to those who study to a higher level. Long Live Literacy! !!!!!!

Alas! The conundrum of YA writers! We know adults are secretly devouring our books. We want to write a few tidbits in the plot and characters to suit them, but would lose our YA license of we did!

Thank you for your wisdom! It sounds like a subtle dance, that not a machine, but a very human touch is needed. Gradations, shading, and Spirit led intuition.

The Exuberant Exclamation Point I am a lover of the exclamation point. In writing, I trim its sails, but in electronic communication, five is minimum. 💝

On Nicholas' website he has a large number of posts about fight scenes. There are the best writing I've ever read on this subject. Please Lynn, could he post the links here? It is not self promotion if we ask for it, is it?

@Johne ! I wrote an outline yesterday! Aren't you proud of me? I did it because I have no time to write and I need to get the plot down before the panther eats my brain. My motivation wasn't pure, but I can still call it an outline, right?

Which depends on the reader, and especially the reader's level of education. Reading is, after all, a privilege that less than a third of our world enjoys. There are about as many levels of engagement with grammar as there are readers out there! Standardised education is a myth. What is a poor writer to do?

We can learn at Johne's feet! Truly, I am learning at all your feet. Thank you for your wisdom. My Leoshine book is 'competition' to Avitar, as if anyone could compete with that!

Dialogue is where we lay the subtleties and vagarities of humanity out on the page/screen. It's a little like ripping the blanket off a bed of lovers. We need great skill and tact to show just enough to trigger the same emotion in the reader's brain without embarrassing ourselves or the lovers.

But what if I don't have Facebook? Do I sign up just for this? I'm tempted.

Thank you! I appreciate all your support! God is blessing me! He is wonderfully creative.

There is an option to record your own book! It isn't strange that you hear your book in your voice. Seems quite natural to me. But your readers will all hear it their voice. Audiobooks do limit the imagination to one voice interpretation as movies do with visual interpretation. It has to do with the amalgamation of society.

You could have written it yourself!

My sentiments exactly. Hippopotami do not eat pie. Just my sense of the ridiculous rearing its lumpy head.