Don't, can't, didn't, wouldn't, shouldn't, and more...
This post is all about writing with an apostrophe, and I don't mean the technical use of said punctuation mark- I mean the way we write with words like, won't, can't, couldn't, shouldn't, didn't (etc.). I grew up in a world where the phrase " can not" was an acceptable way to write. It was formal. It was preferred in certain circumstances. When I became a real writer, my editor asked me why the hell I " did not " use apostrophes... Yeah, you thought this post was about something else. I tricked you. This post is about contractions! I resisted it for a long time because I was taught that they were informal writing in most cases. The truth is this; they are informal, and that is their value. A novel is informal writing, and one of the crucial things that makes a book readable is its flow. Contractions make that flow more enjoyable and easier to read. Humans don't speak in completely formal language. I write novels, but for a long time