𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Available at most online retailers.

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Redundancy Quiz #16 for Writers: Can You Score 100%? Before I Begin the Quiz I have been AWAY for more than a week but not AWOL. While on summer hiatus, I removed a WordPress plugin (auxiliary program) on my website. The plugin contained more than 11…

Can you find the unnecessary words in these ten sentences?

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Should Emojis or Emoticons Ever Appear in Your Writing? Do Emojis Belong in Serious Literature? Emojis or emoticons in text messages and social media comments can take the place of facial expressions, emotions, and objects. Sometimes they provide just t…

Emojis in texts and comments can take the place of facial expressions. They often provide the touch you need to make a point.

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The Writer’s Lexicon Series: Favorites of Writing Coaches The Writer’s Lexicon, The Writer’s Lexicon Volume II, and The Writer’s Body Lexicon – Why do you write? Perhaps you’re penning a memoir, fantasy, or romance.  Maybe you’re writing a sci-fi se…

“This Author is AMAZING! … she truly cares about her readers … my go to authority on anything about writing … She is my guide, my inspiration and my Yoda.” GM Harris

Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Chapters, Kobo …

kathysteinemann.com/lex

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Exclamation Points! Plague or Pleasure? Are There Rules? Let’s Review What a Few Famous Writers Have Said About Exclamation Points “Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald “But …

How often should you use exclamation points in your writing?

!!! Need alternatives? !!!

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Writers: Are You Overlooking Potential Readers? It costs between four and ten times as much to win a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Do you make any of the following mistakes in your interactions with potential readers? Lack…

Do you make any of these mistakes in your interactions with potential readers?

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/pote...

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Ways to Say “Laughed” or “Smiled”: A Word List for Writers Do You Depend on Smiled or Laughed Too Often in Your Writing? This post provides ninety-nine alternatives. Before studying them, though, consider the other possibilities available to you. Rather th…

Too many laughs or smiles in your writing?

Try chitters, simpers, whoops, smirks …

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/ways...

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Redundancy Quiz #15 for Writers: Can You Score 100%? What Are Redundancies? These nuisances are superfluous words or phrases also known as pleonasms. Rather than augment writing, they slow action scenes and increase word count — without adding constr…

Can you find the redundancies in these sentences?

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Reader Gripe #13: Writers, Can You Guess What It Is? This series of articles discusses hurdles that cause reader confusion. Confusion = gripes = lost readers. Here’s article #13. Do you see the problem? How would you fix it? Introduction to Excerpt A…

A surefire way to alienate readers.

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Redundancies 101: 400+ Redundant Words to Avoid in Writing Redundant words, or pleonasms, are a misery for many writers. This post presents more than 400 common redundancies. Avoid them, and your writing will benefit. See also Redundancies 102: 250+ Ways t…

She "sat down" or she "sat"?

He "told a lie" or he "lied"?

He "kneeled down" or "he kneeled"?

Redundant words bloat writing.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/redu...

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How Background Noise Can Inspire Your Writing Creativity You Don’t Have to Hang Out in a Lab to Stimulate Your Brain Scientific research reveals that a moderate level of noise, about seventy decibels, stimulates concentration and creativity. That’s compa…

Is it time to try a noisier writing environment?

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/back...

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More Than 300 Ways to Say Use: A Word List for Writers How Often Do You Use the Verb Use? Use, make use of, put to use. Use a key, use a credit card, use a language. This three-letter word haunts public signs. It hangs out in instruction manuals, and w…

❓ How often do you use the verb "use"?

Read this post for more than 300 ways to mitigate "use" abuse.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/use/

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100 Best Writing Blogs to Follow in 2026 FeedSpot brings you the best list of Writing blogs, ranked by relevance, online following, and freshness to keep you connected with the latest voices

"Blogs with highest credibility within the Writing space are ranked higher. This list is updated regularly to ensure it reflects the most active, influential, and valuable Writing blogs on the internet today."

#WritingCommunity #KathySWriter #Feedspot

bloggers.feedspot.com/top-100-writ...

The Writer’s Lexicon Series: Favorites of Writing Coaches The Writer’s Lexicon, The Writer’s Lexicon Volume II, and The Writer’s Body Lexicon – Why do you write? Perhaps you’re penning a memoir, fantasy, or romance.  Maybe you’re writing a sci-fi se…

“fantastic reference book. I have been looking for a book just like this … I knew this would be great and IT IS. Thank you for writing this … such a great price.” Virginia

Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Chapters, Kobo …

kathysteinemann.com/lex

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Do These 34 Words and Phrases Mean What You Think? Do you use any of the following words incorrectly? If you misunderstand them, so might your readers. Blunders would be suitable for dialogue, but not for the main body of a story, unless that story…

"Ambivalent?" "Benused?" "Noisome?" "Nonplussed?" "Tortuous?"

Are you using these words correctly? Check them out — plus dozens more.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/surp...

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The Algorithm and the War Machine Part 1: The Prophet

More on the dangers of AI.

#ArtificialIntelligence #AI #WritingCommunity #KathySWriter

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Writers: How to Find Ideas for Character Profiles You might have a friend who tries to control every conversation, and seems to know all there is to know about any topic you mention. Should you base one of your characters on that friend? Probably …

How to create characters that your readers — and you — will remember.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/char...

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Private Facebook group

"… a group specifically created as a place for authors to relax and discuss their writing journey with good natured banter. It’s a group meant to share wins and lament losses."

www.facebook.com/groups/14978...

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The Writer’s Lexicon Series: Favorites of Writing Coaches The Writer’s Lexicon, The Writer’s Lexicon Volume II, and The Writer’s Body Lexicon – Why do you write? Perhaps you’re penning a memoir, fantasy, or romance.  Maybe you’re writing a sci-fi se…

“This Author is AMAZING! … she truly cares about her readers … my go to authority on anything about writing … She is my guide, my inspiration and my Yoda.” GM Harris

Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Chapters, Kobo …

kathysteinemann.com/lex

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A Writer’s Interview That’s More Than an Interview Over the years, I’ve interacted with Sam Kandej, an Iranian teacher, translator, and writer. He’ll be releasing a fiction anthology this summer. Each story, originally written in English, will be p…

An interview that contains advice and links for writers.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/kath...

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Anonymous Artist: A Short Story by Kathy Steinemann Tomorrow’s post mentions this story. Rather than leave it as a nebulous reference, I present it here and hope you enjoy it. Anonymous Artist This story is based on a tale penned by a young woman wh…

Could this story be true? How would you know if it were? (7-minute read)

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/anon...

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How Unnecessary Dialogue Tags Can Create Redundancies You might not realize why a certain passage in your writing doesn’t read quite exactly the way you intend it to read. Your brilliantly crafted, eloquent words are there, but the writing seems to dr…

Authors, do some areas of your writing seem long-winded or sluggish? Maybe redundancies in dialogue tags are to blame.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/redu...

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Zoe 3.0 by Joanna Friedman Short stories hand-picked from authors around the world. Submissions accepted. Humour, crime, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and everyday life.

#FREE #ShortStory with a different perspective on #AI by @joannafriedman.bsky.social

www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/07/zoe-...

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» 5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in January 2026

These magazines pay for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are a mix of literary and genre magazines. They’re open now, or will soon open for submissions.

authorspublish.com/5-paying-lit...

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Artificial Infatuation: Story Prompt for Writers #7 Imagine a real-life incident so surprising, it gives new meaning to Lord Byron’s and Mark Twain’s observations that truth is stranger than fiction. This story prompt will leave you wondering if you…

Story Prompt: Imagine a real-life incident so surprising, it gives new meaning to Lord Byron’s and Mark Twain’s observations that truth is stranger than fiction.

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/stor...

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Santa’s Redundancy Quiz #1: Can You Beat Rudolph’s Score? Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa Here I was looking at Kathy’s Christmas list the other day, and saw that she wanted someone to create a redundancy quiz for her. Hmm, I thought, that sounds like fun. But nobody w…

Surprise: Santa Claus volunteered to write a redundancy quiz!

Can you ace it? Or will you end up like poor Rudolph?

kathysteinemann.com/Musings/sant...

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Beware: Em Dash Abuse—It Ain’t Pretty. Try These Fixes Abuse—Overuse—Misuse—Whatever You Call It—Too Much Is Too Much How often do you rely on em dashes—and why? … Although occasional em dashes can clarify—or emphasize—phrases—and clauses—their appeara…

Do em dashes👽make your👽writing look like👽alien speech👽or Capt. Kirk👽dialogue?

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11 Affordable Book Marketing Services for New Authors If you're a new author looking for ways to get in front of your audience affordably, we'll uncover affordable book marketing services you can start using today.

"Today’s book market is crowded—not a new revelation for most. The barrier to entry as a new author is lower compared to just a decade ago. POD technology, AI book production support, and a growing community of …"

self-publishingschool.com/affordable-b...

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How to Transform Words Into Writing Inspiration | Writing Forward Writing ideas aren't so hard to come by if you've prepared for your creative writing sessions. One way to prepare is to collect words.

"… we can borrow, trade, steal, even invent words for our own pleasure. To find words, you have to pay attention. You’ll discover them in your environment … in conversations, in your reading material, on TV, …"

www.writingforward.com/creative-wri...

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9 Strategic Reasons Indie Authors Revise Published Books Discover 9 strategic reasons indie authors revise their published books and how revisions can strengthen long-term sales.

»Authors can revise their books at any time—and sometimes should. Revising a published book doesn’t mean something was “wrong.” For indie authors, it’s a strategic advantage.«

www.ingramspark.com/blog/9-strat...

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