Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you today on this first day in June. Reading is still one of my favorite past times. There’s nothing like curling up on the sofa on a rainy day with a good book in hand.

Since becoming an author, I tend to read with a more critical eye, looking for ways I can improve my own work

Writing styles have changed over the years. Our vocabulary and choices of words are different than what they were a hundred or more years ago. People’s attention spans are much shorter, perhaps in part to the introduction of television in the mid-twentieth century. These days texting and instant messaging have become the norm. We like to keep communication short and sweet. Things that were once acceptable in writing are frowned upon these days.

Consider the opening paragraph from Last of The Mohicans, written in 1826 By James…