Becoming a Lifelong Learner of the Craft of Writing

By author, editor, educator Shon Bacon aka ChickLitGurrl™

About The Write Life for You (TWL4U)

The Write Life for You (TWL4U) is a monthly column that focuses on the nuts and bolts of writing creatively.  So many of us have ideas for stories, and so many of us put ideas to page and develop short stories, novellas, and novels.  However, many of us have no idea how to care for our literary babies with correct grammar, mechanics, and storytelling skills once that first draft is done.  That’s what TWL4U is for – to offer, through short articles, advice on such issues as camping vs. marching, taglines, plot, characterization, dialogue, and punctuation.  The writing life is not quick – it is a lifelong journey to study the craft of writing, to learn the rules of the English language (so that you can eloquently break them!), and to better your writing with each new piece you develop.

There is also the opportunity for readers to contact Shon and ask questions; your questions and Shon’s comments could become upcoming features on TWL4U.

About Shon Bacon aka ChickLitGurrl™

Shon Bacon is an author, editor, and educator.

As an author, she has published both in the creative and academic arenas.  Topics of interest include Christian, romance, and women’s fiction; inspirational non-fiction, screenwriting, and anything related to grammar.

As an editor, through her ChickLitGurrl™ brand name, Shon edits manuscripts for individual clients and small publishing houses.  Through her Writers Boot Camp, she helps new writers move from story idea to story outline in 28 days.  Shon has several online outlets that showcase her love of disseminating information about writing and writers to the public:  Blogging in Black [http://www.blogginginblack.com], The Nubian Chronicles [http://www.tnc-magazine.net], ChickLitGurrl™:  high on LATTES & WRITING [http://chicklitgurrl.blogspot.com], All the Blog’s a Page [http://alltheblogsapage.blogspot.com], and The World According to ChickLitGurrl™  [http://chicklitgurrl.wordpress.com] (where she talks about her personal writing and editing endeavors).

As an educator, Shon is an English Specialist and mass communication instructor at McNeese State University in Louisiana.  There, she teaches freshman composition, writing for radio/TV, introduction to mass communication, and media writing.  In 2005, 2006, and 2007, she contributed and co-edited three academic textbooks that are currently being used as the official textbooks for freshman composition at the university.  Occasionally, she teaches fiction writing and fiction workshop through the university’s continuing education department.

 Editor’s Note:  I have known Shonell Bacon for almost as long as I’ve been surfing the net; she’s been a cyber friend for over eight years.  Tho’ our paths didn’t cross for a moment, because she was off finishing school and I was off finding myself, we came back together over two years ago because of MySpace.  We took up where we left off…as tho’ there was no missed time in between.  When folks talk about authors/writers being UNSUNG, Shonell Bacon comes to mind.  This young lady, who I watched blossom into the individual she is today, is so talented!  So, APOOO encourages you to stop by every month, especially aspiring authors, to get a ‘word’ from this wonderful and smart individual.  To stay abreast of what’s coming, add the following dates to your calendar.  Look forward to seeing you every month…and don’t forget to leave comments and questions for Shon.  She welcomes them.  PS–Note, that future columns will appear the first of each month, so mark your calendar to return next week.  Better yet, subscribe to APOOO so that you don’t miss any upcoming literary news.

Upcoming Topics @ TWL4U

September 22, 2008 What’s Your Story About?
October 1, 2008 Developing Your Writing Style
November 1, 2008 How Solid is Your Plot?
December 1, 2008 Building Character
January 1, 2009  Camping vs. Marching in Your Story
February 1, 2009 Showing vs. Telling in Your Story
March 1, 2009 Point of View
April 1, 2009  Dialogue (and Taglines)
May 1, 2009  Words (overwriting, wordiness, commonly confused words, and usage)
June 1, 2009  Passive vs. Active Voice
July 1, 2009  Capitalization
August 1, 2009 Punctuation ([,] [.] [‘] [!] – particularly in dialogue)
September 1, 2009 Using Modifiers Effectively
October 1, 2009 Adverbs
November 1, 2009 Writing Numbers
December 1, 2009 Formatting (to include when to italicize and writing “thoughts”)

Related Posts

• What’s Your Story About? by Shonell Bacon
• Book to Screen 4: Writing Structurally, The Script by Shonell Bacon
• Book to Screen 3: Thinking Structurally by Shonell Bacon
• Book to Screen 2: Seeing Book as a Visual Story by Shonell Bacon
• Book to Screen 1: Some Basic To-Haves & To-Dos by Shonell Bacon