HEARTICLES: Articles with Heart

What's a part of speech? Q: What's a part of speech? A: It's a word. Q: Are all words parts of speech? A: Yes. Q: Are all words the same part of speech? A: I'm glad you asked that question. No. Words are words are words. Their functions vary. There are 8 common parts of speech – nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.  It's important to know parts of speech. These are the pieces of the puzzle. The way they are combined creates the full picture. Unless an author knows how to combine these pieces properly, the finished picture will be a chaotic mess. You can't analyze your own work or understand a critique if you don't know what the parts are and how to put them together.  Below, I've given a simple definition of each part of speech with links to a site that not only goes into more explanation, it has exercises and teaching tools. I wish I'd had a page like this available to me wh...

I'm not going to rail about poor grammar. I'm not a Grammar Nazi or the Grammar Police. I am, however, someone who appreciates when appropriate grammar is used. As a writer, I know that presenting my work in the best possible light will give me the best chance of having it looked at, and possibly contracted. As a publisher, seeing well-presented work impresses me and tells me a lot about the author. Like -- Their attention to detail, or lack thereof Their determination to work hard, or if they're lazy and hoping it will be fixed in editing Pride in their work, or just skating by, etc. The first step to a great presentation is using appropriate grammar. If you're like me, sometimes the easiest explanations are not the most obvious. Hopefully, this little tutorial will help you understand in which context words should be used in your writing. Let's focus on some of the most obvious. I know you've seen the jokes about they're, their, and there . B...

{interview conducted with Stephanie Lawless of Publishing Ireland }  Kemberlee Shortland is the owner of digital-only publishing company Tirgearr Publishing- the only such publisher in Ireland. This week marks Tirgearr’s first anniversary for which several events have been pencilled in to mark the occasion. In addition to being interviewed on …, Kemberlee is also keen to promote Read and eBook Month for March. Although this is in Canada , it has spread internationally. The event kicks off with a weeklong Read an eBook Week from 3-9 March, starting this Sunday and carrying on until the following Saturday, where digital books are being offered at knockdown prices, some even free. Publishing Ireland talked to Kemberlee about what it means to be a digital-only publisher in Ireland, the advantages and disadvantages of selling only eBooks and what digital publishing means for the future of the industry.   PI - How are things going for Tirgearr one year on?   ...