Write during the holidays too

We moved our offices and that took me away from writing for a while. I’ve missed it and am finally glad to be back writing and editing.

Of course, this is a busy time of year–the holiday season is upon us and it’s easy to tell ourselves that we’ll write later (after we do thus and such). Let me encourage you to be good to yourself and continue to write during the holidays too.

If you’re writing fiction, you have a wealth of experiences, of visuals, of sounds, of tastes, of conversations, etc. you can capture in your writing. And I mean exactly that–capture the holidays in snippets, at least, so you can draw on them later when you have more time to write your scenes or develop your characters.

If you’re writing nonfiction, the same applies, but connect the holidays to the concepts in your book instead of to plot, scene, or character.

The holidays only come once a year, and the details are easily forgotten if you don’t write them down for future use. It’s sort of like dreaming. If you don’t write your dream down as soon as you awake, it will leave you and you won’t get it back. If you don’t capture your holiday experience, it, too, will evaporate in your memory.

Whatever you do about your writing during the holidays will serve you well into the future, so give yourself the gift of doing something for you (writing) during this busy time.

Happy writing!

Drafting Your Writing

I talked about the planning stage of the writing process in my last post. Now we’re on to step two–drafting.

As you begin to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), keep your planning tools handy. It doesn’t matter if you chose to use lists, mind maps, outlines, or whatever, just keep those planning tools handy because they’ll keep you writing.

Many writing teachers encourage students to free write. Why do you think that is? When you let the writing come out without restriction, it tends to flow better. When you’re in the drafting stage of writing, give yourself permission to keep writing without stops, starts, editorial comments, etc., that break up the process of getting your thoughts committed to paper. There’s plenty of time for revising (step three) later.

Writing typically starts with a beginning, flows into a body, and ends with a conclusion or close of some sort.

It makes sense to start at the beginning for most writing. However, an exception to the rule is mystery writing. You may want to start at the end so you know whodunit and write your clues and insert your characters and events  appropriately. But for the most part, start drafting at the beginning of your piece.

The body is merely an organization of paragraphs. Remember that a paragraph contains one thought. Rather than worry about how many sentences should be in a paragraph, focus on the thought the paragraph presents. It’s okay to realize that most readers are comfortable with paragraphs that range between 100 and 200 words, but don’t let that be your guideline. If you do, you risk adding words you don’t need or eliminating words that are critical to your point.

After you’ve written the first draft of the body of your work, move on to the close. Endings repeat the main idea of your piece, summarize, pose a question, propose an action, or offer advice. The main thing to remember is to avoid introducing anything new in your ending. And, if possible, end on a positive note.

Next time I’ll talk more about paragraph types and organization.

Happy writing!

 

 

Planning Helps When Writing

Most successful writers follow the three stages of writing: planning, drafting, and revising. Each stage has its own steps.

Here are the steps for planning your writing:

• Assess your writing situation. A basic assessment checklist should include the subject you’re considering writing about, the research you’ll need to do, the quality/credibility of sources you can use, the reason you’re writing the piece, thinking about your readers by asking the following: Who are they? What do you want them to take away from your piece? How well informed are they on the subject? How friendly (or not) are they likely to be to your position? What is your relationship to the them (authority or expert, for example)? How sophisticated are your readers (this impacts your word choice and sentence length and structure)?
• Experiment and explore ideas. Some techniques are lists, clusters, mind maps, branching, asking questions, and free writing.
• Determine the focus of your piece. You have many options, and you get to choose which one works best in achieving the purpose of your writing.
• Consider outlining your piece so you can bring some flow to your writing (helps you decide which idea follows which other idea). Be flexible since you’re in the planning stage. Give yourself permission to try various ways of presenting your information.

In my next post, I’ll offer some ideas on the next stage of writing–drafting.

Happy writing!

You Need Permission to Quote Song Lyrics

One of the biggest issues I come across when editing is authors quoting song lyrics. They hear a song and the words speak to them or say what they haven’t been able to. They love the lyrics and think the words would work well in their book so authors include them–or at least part of them.

Big no-no!

Although I’m not an attorney, so cannot and am not giving legal advice here, I can tell you that you need express written consent to quote song lyrics. If you don’t get that consent, you open yourself up to a copyright infringement lawsuit and who needs that!

Very often the copyright holder of the lyrics will grant you the permission to quote the song, so don’t be afraid to ask. You didn’t have permission before, thus if the answer is no, nothing’s changed. If the copyright owner asks for a huge fee to use the lyrics, you have a decision to make–pay the fee or don’t use the lyrics. At the very least you can imagine how much you saved in damages if you had used the lyrics without permission and been sued.

In most cases, you are better off to give the song title and paraphrase the song’s message in your own words.

Keep Writing!

Keep Your Reader in Mind

I often ask students, “Who do you write for? Yourself? The reader? Who?” Many new writers tell me they write for themselves. Of course, it’s important you enjoy writing, you have an interest in your topic, and you are proud of what you write, so in that sense writing for yourself is good.

However, you’ll enjoy more success as a writer if you keep your reader in mind. Think of your reader as a house guest you’ve invited into your home. Wouldn’t you take special care in making sure your reader felt welcome? So it should be when you invite a reader into your book, into your article, into your writing of any type.

Here are some questions to ponder to help you keep the reader in mind.

• Who is your reader? Can you picture him/her? I tell my students to peruse magazines until they find a photo of someone who represents their reader, then cut the photo out and tape it to the computer monitor so it’s in front of them whenever they write.
• What does the image of your reader tell you about the reader’s attitude toward life in general?
• What do you think appeals to this reader?
• What do you think turns this reader off?
• What does this reader need to know?
• What does this reader expect to learn/get/achieve by reading your writing?

Once you get in touch with your reader, it’s easier to remember that you are having a one-on-one relationship (writer to reader) with your reader. One of the mistakes I see many new writers make is they forget they are not writing to the masses. They write, “Most of you…,” or “Some of you…,” when they should write, “You may…” or “If you…” to show the reader the personal connection between two individuals communicating.

And, yes, I do know communication is sending and receiving between two parties. However, the reader cannot send feedback to the writer, so it is critical the writer keep the reader in mind and, using the questions above, try to anticipate what the reader needs, then strive to meet those needs.

Keeping the reader in mind is not difficult, but it is important. Start doing it today and you’ll absolutely do a better job in communicating with your writing.

Happy writing!

Words That Are Commonly Confused

English is a tough language to master–even when  it’s your original language. The recent Arby’s ad campaign shows how words that are spelled similarly aren’t pronounced the same–Good Mood Food. We also can’t count on simple letters to help us–send some sugar (shouldn’t all words that start with s followed by a vowel have the “SSSSS” sound?).

Here’s a list of commonly confused words that I’ve seen in manuscripts I’ve edited.

• Accept – Except. Accept is a verb that  means to receive. Except is generally used as a preposition. Examples: I accept your nomination.  Everyone is here except Susan.
• All ready – already. All ready means everything or everyone  is ready. Already is an adverb modifying an adjective, verb, or another adverb. Examples: We took a poll and discovered we are all ready. He is already ten minutes late.
• All together – altogether. All together means everyone is co-located. Altogether means completely. Examples: The team was all together at the quarterback’s wedding. You are altogether incorrect in your assumption.
• Allusion – illusion. Allusion comes from the verb allude and means reference. Illusion means erroneous judgment. Examples: His blatant allusion to her error shows his true feelings about her. She thought she saw his car ahead of her, but it was an illusion.
• Amount – number. Amount refers to quantity. Number refers to things counted. Examples: The amount of sugar in this cereal is shocking. I noted a number of errors in your calculations.
• Fewer – less. Fewer is used when things can be counted. Use less for quantity. Examples: The express checkout line is for people buying fifteen items or fewer (note that less is incorrect grammar even if we see it every day in stores). The police report shows less crime than last year at this time.
• Anxious – eager. Anxious is used when anxiety is involved. Eager is used when something is highly desirable. Examples: I was anxious when I saw my child get hit with the hockey puck. I am eager to start my new job.

This list is long enough for one post, so I’ll continue the list of commonly confused words in my next post.

Happy writing!

Dashes–Do They Help or Hurt Your Writing?

One of the most perplexing punctuation marks for writers seems to be the dash. Because dashes are so powerful, many writers don’t use them at all.

The hierarchy (from least to most powerful) of punctuation is comma, parentheses, colon, dash.

Commas are commonly used and there are numerous reasons to use them (but that’s a different blog post).

Parentheses are stronger than commas when showing a reader something is unnecessary (parenthetical) to the writing, but helpful to create understanding. Commas are used for that purpose as well, but there are many other reasons to use commas.

Colons are used when the writer wants to  create anticipation. Example: (note the colon creates anticipation that I’ll give you an example).

Dashes are used to get the reader’s attention. They provide a sharper break in the sentence than commas do, and they offer a more dramatic alert that something’s being inserted in the sentence than parentheses do.

Here’s when dashes help your writing.

• Use the dash for emphasis. Example: She had to make a decision regarding her career–and she made it this morning.
• Use the dash to indicate an abrupt change. Example: When they went to the casino, he hated to see her lose–or win–since both kept her gambling.
• Use the dash to summarize. Example: Every argument has two viewpoints–the other person’s and the correct one.
• Use a pair of dashes instead of parentheses to enclose parenthetical information. Example: Her thoughts on dieting–if she thought about it at all–were few and far between.

To complicate matters more, there are two kinds of dashes–the em-dash and the en-dash.

The em-dash is so named because it takes up space equal to the letter m. It is the most commonly used dash and the default of most word processing programs.

The en-dash is so named because it takes up space equal to the letter n. It is used between inclusive numbers.

Do dashes help or hurt your writing? When used correctly, they definitely help. When overused, they hurt.

Happy writing!

Comma Sense

In the writing classes I teach at the college, I assign a comma exercise. I provide students fifteen sentences and instructions to add commas in the appropriate place, provide the reason for the comma, or mark the sentence with a C if it is correct (no commas needed).

The textbook I use contains a glossary with the most common reasons for commas, and I encourage students to use the appendix.

For most students, this is one of the hardest assignments of the semester. Sentences without punctuation are difficult to read. Knowing where to insert a comma is tough, but knowing why is even more difficult.

Here are some common reasons to use commas.

• Insert comma between two independent clauses joined with a conjunction. Example: Louise thought John would be late, but John made it on time.
• Use commas between three or more items in a series. Example: Larry, Moe, and Curly. NOTE: Some writing manuals require the comma before the conjunction in a series (Chicago Manual of Style and APA, for example), while others do not.
• Use a comma after introductory phrases. Example: When the sun goes down, the night creatures come out.
• Use a comma to set off contrasting words or phrases. Example: The more you edit, the better your writing.
• Use commas for sentence interrupters. Example: She is, or thinks she is, a wonderful person.
• Use commas to set off explanatory equivalents. Example: My mother, Jane, is a huge baseball fan.
• Use a comma in a direct address. Example: Mary, can you babysit Saturday night?
• Use commas with direct quotations. Example: Tom said, “I’m trying out for the lead in the class play.”
• Use commas between modifiers. Example: the thorough, concise, readable manuscript.

Make sure you have a reason for inserting a comma (and the reason is not “That’s where I stop to take a breath.”). Your comma sense will show and you won’t go comma-crazy.

Happy writing!

Keep Colons in Your Punctuation Toolbox

Technology changes many things, including the formality of some of our written communication. Email is less formal than letters, for example. Many people don’t bother with a salutation (Dear Ms. Doe:) when writing email, but if they do, they keep it informal (Hi, Jane,). You’ll note in the formal salutation example that a colon is used while in the informal salutation a comma follows the greeting.

So, when do you use a colon?

• Use a colon after a formal salutation (Dear Mr. Jones:).
• Use a colon after an introduction before  a list , a summary, or a long quotation (A good writer does these things: reads a lot, considers the reader, free writes, revises). By the way, capitalize the first letter in what’s written after the colon only if what follows is a complete statement, a quotation, or contains more than one sentence. Otherwise, keep what follows the colon in lower case.
• Use a colon to indicate dialogue (Mary: I’ve missed you. John: And I’ve missed you.).
• Use a colon after the words the following or as follows–even if the words are implied rather than stated (She required the event include: entertainment, food, cash bar, and table decorations.).
• Use a colon when stating ratios (The odds are 3:1.).
• Use a colon to separate a title from a subtitle (Why I’m Blessed to Have You as a Friend: The little things that mean a lot).

One caution: Do not use a colon directly after a verb (Her three favorite authors are: Ernest Hemingway, J. K. Rowling, and Agatha Christie.).

Happy writing!

How Hard Can It Be to Use an Apostrophe?

Most of us probably give little thought to the appropriate use of an apostrophe. I say that because I see it used incorrectly in printed messages on the television screen, in periodicals, and even online. And this stuff is written by writing professionals!

People plug in an apostrophe where it doesn’t belong and they don’t insert one when it’s required.

Here’s a primer to help you with this misused punctuation.

• Apostrophe shows possession. Example: writer’s block.
• Apostrophe indicates omission of letters or numbers. Examples: ’90s (notice the apostrophe precedes 90 rather than comes after it because the numbers 1 and 9 are omitted) and they’re (this is the contraction for they are and omits the letter a).
• Apostrophe forms some plurals. Example: She earned all A’s.

There are only three basic rules for using an apostrophe, so I ask, “How hard can it be to use an apostrophe?” Not so hard, really.