intention | Purposeful Prose

Feb 5, 20234 min read

There is Detriment in Holding Back the Impossible

This sounds like a contradiction. While so many past Purposeful Prose posts, so many bloggers, and so many forum posts will, in words set...

Jan 1, 20235 min read

When Their Hand Around a Locket Speaks With More Conviction Than the Movement of Their Lips

It's no one's place to say what constitutes as "bad" writing for anyone other than themselves. There are pieces of writing that can...

Oct 16, 20225 min read

Sweat the Details, but Only a Little

Knowledge is a blessing and a curse. A well-thought-out story can inspire, explain, inform, validate, shock, resonate, but the author of...

Sep 18, 20228 min read

The Resonance of Our Speech

I would only order coffee under one of two circumstances. If C-- had arrived early and I'd seen her at a table, my first destination...

Sep 4, 20225 min read

An Exposé on Exposition

In order to be made accessible, writing needs a clear thread to follow. Ideally, there should be intention behind action and an end goal....

Jun 26, 20225 min read

Show and Tell

Recently, I've had to focus the majority of my criticisms on writers' openings. It's not a secret that the way in which a writer performs...

Nov 26, 20214 min read

Meddling with Writing as Simulation

As an editor, when I see "in fact," I usually get rid of it. I'm not opposed to passive voice and I'm very lenient with a lot of...

Nov 18, 20215 min read

The Importance of Forming New Habits

It's common for writers to develop rituals in preparing for, executing, and finishing a piece of writing. For some writers, those rituals...

Jul 22, 20216 min read

Writing Apprehension in Composition

In my personality test on writing apprehension, I looked at different scales with which writing apprehension has been measured, noting...

Jul 8, 20217 min read

Writing Apprehension: A "Personality Test"

For the purpose of today's post, I read a piece entitled "Writing Apprehension" by John A. Daly that traced different tests administered...