Use Power Words; Avoid Limp Words.

When you write, google power words.  I read an article by a successful author about his writing techniques. He said he uses power words. If I could have asked him more, I would have. But when I don't know something and need to ask, I google it. Don't you?

Some websites contain power words.  Smart Blogger, 317 Power Words https://smartblogger.com/power-words/

https://www.inc.com/john-brandon/punch-up-your-prose-with-these-10-power-words.html

https://blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-list

There are a few lists of power words for resumes.

What makes a word powerful?  Many successful writers talk about what kinds of words are not powerful. These are words that need to be avoided. They include the forms of the verb to be. Although we cannot exclude them, we can try to reduce the number of times we use them. Do you remember conjugating the verb to be? Depending on how old you are and where you went to school, you may be able to recite this conjugation. The verb forms included--the verb forms not to be included in powerful writing--are am, is, are, was, were, be, being, and been.

Although most writers don't use this term, progressive verbs are considered weak. These are the verbs that end in ing.

And the worst no-no of all is the use of the passive voice, which means using a form of the verb to be
as  an auxiliary (helping) verb, followed by a past form. (Examples: Limp--I am loved by him. Strong--He loves me.)

A few facts I learned while writing House of Seven

Researching for House of Seven, my new humorous novel that will be released in July 2017, I have learned some things. I always do. When I write a novel, I check everything and still write some anachronisms. Here are some lessons I learned from my beta readers:

Soot vs smut--which is it? The reader believed that smut was an incorrect word. Actually soot and smut are synonyms when referring to the black residue from fire.

Fly vs placket--I thought the words fly and placket meant the same when referring to the opening of a man's pants, but I discovered that a man's trousers can have a placket but it is usually called a fly.
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Bolo ties--One of the characters in House of Seven wore a bolo tie, but I had to change it. Bolo ties first appeared in the 1930's.

Distressing clothes--The little boy in House of Seven wanted to distress his clothes, but this idea is a modern concept. He didn't.

I heard that children were sent in the mail in the early 1900's. I checked this story in Snopes
Here's the story:

"In 1913 it was legal to mail children. With stamps attached to their clothing, children rode trains to their destinations, accompanied by letter carriers. One newspaper reported it cost fifty-three cents for parents to mail their daughter to her grandparents for a family visit. As news stories and photos popped up around the country, it didn’t take long to get a law on the books making it illegal to send children through the mail."

It happens that House of Seven takes place in 1913..

A Kindle Historical Inspirational Romance

The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson is number one in free Kindle downloads of historical Christian romance fiction.

It will be available for a limited time as a freebie. Here it is featured as number one:
The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson

The year is 1908. Loretta Larson has many blessings in her life. She is attractive and accomplished. She has so much money that her salary from teaching is not enough for her to notice. In her thirties she is living in the village of Taylorsburg, a south Mississippi railroad town. What she does not have is a man who loves her. She suffers in a damaging relationship with a cruel and dishonest banker. Will she ever find love?

Panthers in South Mississippi

I-Stock 157399673

In 2016 my friend, Sarah Walker Gorrell, and I co-authored a novel, Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek. One of the characters was a panther. Sarah's family and mine, having lived near Cohay Creek, knew about the big cats that screamed like women. Many Smith County people have seen these huge screaming cats, even recently...perhaps more now that farmland is returning to forest land.

Most people say they are black, approximately one fourth of our friends say they are yellowish-brownish tan, and some people have seen some of each color. Biologists deny the existence of the ferocious cats we call panthers.

On Facebook in February 2017, I asked my Taylorsville and Smith County friends and family and friends of my friends and family to share their stories. So far eighty comments are in this thread. Although the group is limited to people who grew up in Smith County or who have family members who did, it is possible to read the comments. Click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/347962535294214/?fref=nf

Since the stories move about as comments are added, it is necessary to scroll down the page. Look for “Mary Cooke, Smith County Panthers.” The discussions are convincing. They’re also funny, scary, logical, and sometimes scientific. If you read these, you too will believe there are panthers in those woods.