Category Archives: humor

Avoiding ethos in a short story (or trying to)

Aristotle’s pillars of argument include ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos has to do with the credibility of the narrator. Basically if you trust what the narrator is saying, if you think the narrator matches certain ideals like honest and integrity, the narrator has a better chance of persuading you. I thought it would be funContinue reading “Avoiding ethos in a short story (or trying to)”

Reaching for increased readability in fiction writing.

I wrote this month’s Transient Visitor’s teaser tale with an eye on the science behind readability. Based on the research by Shane Snow, many great fiction writers have great scores. In my short story, Chute the Virus, I sought similar scores. My results: very good grade-level readability – about sixth grade. Note that according toContinue reading “Reaching for increased readability in fiction writing.”