You might like to visit her website -
www.serenpublishing.com
Karin has been a guest previously on the Scribbler. Go HERE.
Don’t be shy with your editing
questions.
July 5, 2023
Ethics in Editing
Recently,
I had to make a tough decision. I had to choose between just doing my job as a
seasoned, professional editor versus being unwilling to help promote, in my
opinion, incorrect and harmful information.
One
of the things I strive to do as an editor is view a manuscript’s subject matter
through an objective lens. I always say, “It’s not my book; it’s the author’s.”
And with that in mind, I edit to ensure consistency, clarity, correct grammar
and punctuation, good organization, flow, and that the level of formality is
appropriate for the intended audience and for what the author is trying to
convey. In both fiction and nonfiction, I will often do some basic
fact-checking, as well.
But
when it comes to content itself, I trust the writer has already included, to
the best of their knowledge, accurate information from their own experience,
research, or field of expertise (in nonfiction) or what they intend to portray
for artistic or entertainment purposes (in fiction and poetry). Therefore, even
if my own experience or tastes contradict the author’s, it’s not my job to make
commentary to that effect, unless I believe the material is inappropriate for the
intended audience. And even then, I will construct my input as a suggestion,
allowing the author to make the final call as to whether revision is necessary.
Currently,
there is a lot of discussion about editing for sensitivity, diversity, and
inclusion, which basically means you don’t want to, either unwittingly or intentionally,
fall back on stereotypes or offensive, outdated terms. This applies mainly to
various nonfiction genres but is especially important when working with
publications for business, industry, and education. But even with fiction
writing, an author might want to consider moving away from stereotypical
characterizations to reach a more modern society—or not. It really depends upon
who you determine your target audience is. In fiction, there are endless
options and opportunities to convey different themes and create characters the
readers will identify with, have compassion for, or even despise. Again,
however, it is the author’s choice whether to follow any of my suggestions
regarding this type of revision. “It’s not my book; it’s the author’s.”
As
editors, though, when should our own sense of ethics take over? My answer to
that would be: whenever you feel the text you are supposed to be polishing and
perfecting is so offensive, disturbing, or potentially damaging that you
cannot, in good conscience, work with it.
We
each have an ethical line we cannot cross, no matter how lucrative the project,
and that line is different for every editor. Some editors refuse to edit gory horror
novels. Some refuse to edit graphic sex scenes in a steamy romance novel. And
some refuse to edit text that goes against—or even condemns—their own religious
or philosophical beliefs.
Now,
the good news for authors is that what one editor finds offensive, the next may
not. My advice? If you’ve had a manuscript turned down by an editor because of
your subject matter, look for another. Also, if the editor who turned it down
is willing to tell you why, you can ask other potential editors if they are
amenable to working with that type of content. I have had authors ask me bluntly,
before even submitting their manuscript to me, if I was comfortable working
with particular subjects. And most of the time, I will say I am.
But
let’s go back to my earlier conundrum. Did I decide to edit the text in
question anyway? No. This time, I had to turn it down. It crossed my self-determined
line. And I felt it would have brought my personal and professional integrity
into question, not to mention it would have made me feel like . . . well, not
at all good. So I respectfully declined the job.
Next,
I would like your input. As a writer, have you ever struggled with what to include—or
to not include—in your book(s) because you thought it might be offensive? Were
you concerned about how family and friends would view the material? Or maybe
readers in general? If you wanted to write it anyway, did you consider using a pseudonym?
Or did you fearlessly plow ahead, daring anyone to censor your creation?
During
this celebration of Independence Day for the U.S., I think it is good to recognize
the power words can wield and to ponder what freedom means to us, as
individuals, as we communicate through writing.
February 10, 2023
Are You Stuck in a Word Rut?
As
humans, we often gravitate towards what is familiar or comfortable. As writers,
we are no different. We often get into what I like to call a “word rut,” which
means using the same word(s) or phrase(s) over and over in our writing. Most
commonly, I’ve found, this seems to happen with adjectives, adverbs, and
cliches (“his warm embrace,” “really moving,” “at the end of the
day”). But for our readers, this can be boring or even annoying. And when
something in the text becomes annoying, chances are increased that the reader
will not finish the book.
So
how can we avoid falling into this rut? Here are a few things that can help.
1 1. Read a variety
of books and other publications. If you continually read
only your favorite genre or a particular author’s works, you probably won’t be
challenged with new concepts or new vocabulary. Instead, read something
different. If you like fiction, try some nonfiction. Read magazine articles and
blog posts outside of your usual interests. And throw in the occasional
literary classic. Because I read so much for work every day and am often
reluctant to read for pleasure, too, I’ve found that listening to narrated
books, short stories, and informational pieces can be beneficial. And just as
with reading, if there is a word I am not familiar with, I look it up.
22. Try to learn a
new word each day. Increasing your vocabulary is always a good idea. There are
lots of free “word of the day” email subscriptions available. And I once had a
little calendar sitting on my desk that presented a different obscure word,
definition, and examples of usage on daily tear-off pages. It was not only a
great learning tool but also provided interesting conversation fodder. And
speaking of conversation: when you learn a new word, try to use it sometimes in
your speaking or writing; this will help you learn it more effectively and
become more comfortable using it.
33. Read your
written work aloud. I advise doing this for a
number of benefits, but as far as finding word ruts, reading aloud will really
help you catch those pesky repetitive words.
44. Search within
your text. If you begin to notice a
particular word or phrase popping up, do a search for it within your text. (In
MS Word, click on the Editing tab and then Find.) This will show
you where and how many times the word occurs.
55. Replace
repetitive words with appropriate synonyms. While you certainly don’t have to replace every occurrence of these
words, replacing some is advisable. If you can’t think of an optimal
substitution, consult a thesaurus. But—and this is important—it is better to
keep the original word if it conveys the best meaning. I recently edited a
manuscript in which it was apparent the writer had gotten a bit thesaurus-happy
and had just thrown in approximate synonyms for variety. But many of them were
not effective word choices for what she was trying to convey. So rather than
making the story more interesting, it made it somewhat confusing in places.
Of
course, a good editor will also spot repetition and strive to eliminate it,
either by replacing words and phrases where needed or flagging them so you can
go in and decide which ones to replace, what words to use in place of them, and
which ones you’d prefer to leave alone.
Also,
don’t forget that both fiction and nonfiction writers can fall into overusing
their favorite words. I once proofed a client’s fifty-word business letter in
which he had used the same word—I think it was “important”—four times.
What
word or phrases do you find yourself overusing in your own fiction or
nonfiction writing? Let us know in the comments!
If
you’re interested in seeing examples of commonly overused adjectives, adverbs,
cliches, and buzzwords to avoid, check out these articles:
Words and Phrases
Made 2023's Banished Words List | Reader's Digest
Merriam-Webster’s
Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate | Merriam-Webster
51
Over-Used Adverbs, Nouns, and Clichés in Your Writing | She Blossoms
(theadventurouswriter.com)
Simplify
Your Writing - Avoid These 44 Overused Words & Phrases - Writers Write
Karin Nicely is an
Ocala-based editor, writing coach, promotional writer, and independent
publisher with more than twenty-five years’ experience in her field. Originally
from Pennsylvania, she earned her Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Professional
Writing and has worked with international publishing houses such as Prentice
Hall and Wiley. Ms. Nicely has also been a marketing consultant for SAE
International (the Society of Automotive and Aerospace Engineers) and has
written for the APEX-award-winning business-to-business publication Spotlight
on Safety.
Now specializing in developmental and line editing
for independent authors throughout the United States, Ms. Nicely, owner of
Seren Publishing Co., Inc., is also the editor of quarterly magazines, presents
customized workshops for writers, and writes advertising and public relations
copy for corporate clients.
Ms. Nicely’s other interests include music, horses,
dance, swimming, paddleboarding, history, and creative writing.
Thank
you for the clever article, Karin. Glad to have you back.
January 3, 2022.
Getting into Character
Character development can be one of the most interesting aspects of writing fiction. In determining who (or sometimes what) the character is, you get to imagine their physical appearance, age, origins, personal history, personality, relationships, occupation, educational level, and motivations. While some writers have a clear picture in mind of their character before they even begin their story, others let the character develop organically as they write. Either method, of course, is fine. Every writer has their own process that works well for them.
Once your character has been created, how believable will they be to your readers? In other words, whether your character is a present-day bank executive, a disembodied spirit, an intelligent multidimensional being from another universe, or a medieval serf, do they make sense in their own setting and circumstance? One factor in creating a believable character is how well you portray their spoken words (if applicable) and thoughts.
I recently came across an example of a character whose dialogue and thoughts did not mesh with the traits he was portrayed to have. The character—let’s call him Owen—was a seventeen-year-old boy in the mid-1800s. His father was a laborer, and his mother had died. Owen was portrayed as also being a simple farm laborer in his small, rural village. At one point in the tale, Owen was visiting a particular cottage, the home of his girlfriend, for the first time. The author had Owen giving a lengthy internal discourse on the appearance of the foliage surrounding the cottage. Owen’s descriptive phrases were full of college-level vocabulary and artistic appreciation. And while these painted a wonderful picture of the cottage’s surroundings, I suddenly thought, “Is this really the way Owen would think about some trees?” Nowhere in the story did it say Owen had an artistic bent, was an avid reader, or wanted to be anything other than a farm laborer. So would he have an advanced vocabulary and think in flowery, poetic phrases? It’s certainly not impossible, but there would have to be something in the story to make it believable—for instance, there could have been an old school teacher in his village who had taken him under her wing and given him a love of literature.
Otherwise, Owen would most likely speak in—and think in—more simplistic terms and in ways that related to his own frame of reference. When he saw the trees around the cottage, then, it might have been more feasible for him to think about them in terms of whether their fruit was ripe or maybe some of their dead branches needed to be trimmed. And as he was going there to see his girlfriend, would a teenage boy even notice the trees at all or instead, be completely caught up in anticipation of soon being near his beautiful love interest? As this example shows, it is so important to try to get into your character’s being. Think about how they would communicate and yes, even what their internal dialogue would sound like. Your result will be a character who comes to life for your readers.
October 2, 2021
Welcome to
the third installment of my three-part series on literary point of view (POV). This
time, appropriately enough, I will discuss third-person point of view, which
can be broken into three types: omniscient, limited, and objective.
When you
write in any form of third-person POV, you will use pronouns such as he,
she, it, they, his, hers...and so on. The
story is told via an unknown narrator who is not a character in the story. And
the primary difference between the three types is whether the narrator can
access the characters’ thoughts and to what extent.
So, let’s
begin with the type that can be a bit unwieldy if not carefully crafted. When a
story is written in third-person omniscient, the narrator can tell the reader
what any character is thinking or feeling. The narrator, in this case, is an
all-seeing, all-knowing being. The tricky part, then, is knowing how much the
narrator should impart to the reader. If you, as the writer, attempt to let the
reader know what absolutely every character is doing and thinking throughout
your story, it may become somewhat tiresome or confusing for the reader.
Here is an
example:
The four
friends sat in the computer lab at Northwest High School. Each stared fixedly
at the flatscreen in front of them. But their minds were not at all on the task
their teacher had assigned.
As her
fingers deftly pressed the correct keys to complete the advanced programming,
Amanda stole a glance at Chad, the lead guitarist for the most popular garage
band in their school. She adored Chad, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell
him. What if he
thinks I’m a geek? she thought.
Chad did
think Amanda was kind of geeky with her thick glasses and habit of wearing
black hoodies nearly every day. But he also thought it was cool the way she knew
her way around a computer. He figured she could hack into just about anything
she wanted to. Man,
I wish I could hack into Mr. Nolan’s computer and change my biology grade. I’ll
bet Amanda could do it.
To Chad’s
right sat Xavier, the French foreign-exchange student all the girls swooned
over. All the girls, that is, except Amanda. Xavier did his best to catch her
attention every chance he got, but she never took the bait. He could not figure
out why she wasn’t captivated by his enticing accent and his suave manner.
Do you think
the above excerpt holds the reader’s interest? What if an entire book was
written in this manner, switching constantly back and forth between various
characters’ thoughts and feelings?
The next
form, limited (sometimes called limited omniscient), instead limits the
narrator to focusing on one character’s thoughts or perspective at a time. The
reader can only experience what that particular character is privy to or
thinking.
Shaun shifted
his bike down to third gear but still struggled to reach the top of the hill.
He felt the sweat pouring down his back into his bike shorts and took another
sip from his hydration pack. He took a quick glance over his shoulder. Austin
was right behind him.
No way! he
thought. How did he catch up? I was so far ahead of him. He can’t win. I
can’t let him win. Push, push, push!
He pulled
the last bit of strength from the depths of his being and pedaled harder,
desperate to keep his lead in the race.
If limiting
the narrative to only one character’s viewpoint seems a bit too
limiting, and you want to give the reader insight into more than one character
but not all, you can switch from one character’s perspective to another,
separating the narrative by section or by chapter.
But what if
you want the narrator to be an observer who merely reports what they see with
no access to any of the character’s thoughts? This, then, would be third-person
objective. Think of it as a good journalist reporting what they witness or learn
without interjecting any of their own thoughts or feelings into the narrative.
“Just the facts, ma’am.”
Isabella
pulled her magenta Ferrari to the curb. The valet ran to the driver’s side and
opened her door. Isabella stepped out, handed the valet her keys without
looking at him, grabbed her pink Gucci bag from the back seat, and strode
quickly to the posh hotel’s front entrance.
Even without
knowing the characters’ thoughts, the reader of this passage can begin to know
something about the nature of the character simply from the observations given
in the narration. If the character’s actions, mannerisms, and dialogue are
portrayed well, their motivations, thoughts, and feelings become apparent. The
reader begins to analyze the character without being told exactly what the
character thinks.
As a writer,
you probably have a preferred POV you feel most comfortable with. However, I
would challenge you to write one short story or even a passage in each of the
different POVs. It is a wonderful way to practice conveying your characterizations
and action in various ways. You may find that a POV you don’t normally employ
is perfect for a particular story and for the impact you want to have on your
readers.
Scribbler: Thank you for the explanations of POV, Karin.
Authors: What POV do you write in? Let us know in the comments section below.
September 2, 2021
Just How
Awkward Is It to Write in the Second-Person Point of View?
Continuing
with our look at literary point of view, let’s delve right into the rather rare
fictional device known as second-person POV. While second-person is very common
in certain nonfiction genres—self-help, educational, travel guides, how-to—and
other forms of writing, such as advertising and speeches, it is less likely to
be employed by novelists.
However, when authors choose to write in this POV, they often do so to truly immerse their audience in the story. With second-person POV, the writer uses the pronouns you and your, and the reader essentially becomes the protagonist.
But the
narrator does not exist as a character in the story. We never see the narrator
use I, my, we, etc. The narrator merely describes what is
happening around you, what you are thinking, doing, saying. The
story unfolds through your eyes and only via your perspective.
Therefore, as
when utilizing first-person POV, the writer must be careful to only convey what
the protagonist can personally experience.
So how does
the reader learn about the character of the protagonist? The writer can, of
course, show this through the protagonist’s (your) thoughts, dialogue,
feelings, and actions. But to create a more in-depth characterization, the
writer can also give clues via other characters’ dialogue with and actions
toward the protagonist—without slipping into omniscience! Remember: the protagonist
cannot know how other characters truly feel, think, and so on. (See my August blog article below for more information on this.)
Example:
You open
your eyes and realize you are in the hay loft of your neighbor’s barn, huddled
under a blanket and shivering uncontrollably. Shafts of sunlight enter through
the gaps between the vertical-board siding, illuminating the otherwise-unseen
dust particles floating through the crisp morning air.
“Blast,
it’s cold,” you mutter, your warm breath flowing from your mouth in a cloud as
you speak.
You stand
and wrap the scratchy woolen blanket more tightly around your shoulders. The layers
of loose hay chaff beneath your feet are springy. You wish you could bound and
roll in it like you used to as a kid. But your sore, stiff, bony knees remind
you of just how long ago that was.
This short
excerpt already gives some clues about you, the protagonist. Now, let’s
add interaction with another character to get a bit more information:
You climb
down the ladder, carefully placing the sole of each well-worn boot on the
frosted rungs. You really don’t need to add a cracked skull to your list of
ailments.
“Harry!
What on earth are you doing? Get down from there!”
The sound
of Charlie’s voice startles you, and you miss the last rung.
“Charlie,
just leave me be. I’ll do what I want. And I’ll be outta your hair before you
can spit sideways.”
“Come on,
Harry. Don’t be like that. Your Martha—she’s worried sick about you. Nobody’s
out to get you. You’re just bein’ all paranoid. Let’s get you into the house
and get you warmed up before you catch your death.”
You start
to protest, but a deep, rattling cough chokes the words back, and you
reluctantly shuffle along after Charlie to the warmth of the farmhouse kitchen.
But what if
we take one of those lines our protagonist speaks, above, and try to make it a
little more descriptive? How about:
“Charlie,
just leave me be. I’ll do what I want. And I’ll be outta your hair before you
can spit sideways,” you say as you look at him with fire in your eyes.
Do you know
the mistake here? Well, you can’t tell if you have “fire in your eyes” unless
you’re looking in a mirror, right? Instead, you could do this:
“Charlie,
just leave me be. I’ll do what I want. And I’ll be outta your hair before you
can spit sideways,” you say, doing your best to shoot a fiery glare at him.
See the
difference? It’s still getting the same point across, but now it’s conveyed via
the protagonist’s own perspective.
While most writers
do not favor second-person POV for their novels, some do use it in their poetry
or short stories. Here’s an example:
You
With your
sad, sorrowful glance
Spoke
silently
To the
soul
Of your
lover
Your arms
Wrapped
around his neck
Clinging
to his strength
As your
tears fell
On his
clean, pressed shirt
Have you written any fiction in second-person POV? If so, leave me a comment below; I would love to know why you chose that POV and whether you felt it was difficult to write in. And feel free to leave a link to your work, if you have one.
August 4, 2021.
First-Person?
Third-Person? How Do I Choose the Right Point of View?
As a fiction
writer, you determine the way your reader “sees” and “hears” what is going on
in your story. In other words, you tell your tale from a particular point of
view. But what point of view is best for your story? And how can you keep it
consistent throughout your work?
Literary
point of view (POV) is basically described as first-person, second-person, or
third-person, so it seems only right that we should begin with first-person,
doesn’t it? When telling a story from this perspective, the narrator uses
pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my.” Because everything is conveyed via the
narrator’s five senses and internal dialogue, this perspective can help the
reader feel a more intimate connection with the narrator and create a clearer
focus. It can also allow you, the author, to provide greater insight into the
narrator’s motivations, biases, past experiences, etc.
The more
challenging aspect of this POV, however, is that you must limit the action and
descriptions to only what the narrator can personally be aware of. The reader
will only get clues as to what another character is doing or saying via what
the narrator is seeing, hearing, and so on.
One of the most common corrections I make in first-person narratives is revising sections in which the narrator suddenly becomes a mind-reader and tells us what another character is thinking.
Here is an example:
I sat at
the bar, absentmindedly running my index finger through the condensation on my
glass. At the same time, I kept a watchful eye on Emma as she sidled up to the
guy in the grey suit. She could tell the watch he wore was a Rolex Mariner, saw
the telltale pale-skin line where his wedding band normally lived, and thought
he would be a fine catch for the evening.
In this
scene, the narrator would not know what Emma was actually thinking or seeing.
But there are a few ways to rewrite this in order to get the same information
across to the reader.
One of the
easiest ways would be this, although it’s a bit clunky:
I sat at
the bar, absentmindedly running my index finger through the condensation on my
glass. At the same time, I kept a watchful eye on Emma as she sidled up to the
guy in the grey suit. I knew Emma’s modus operandi pretty well, and I figured
she could tell the watch he wore was a Rolex Mariner and had seen the telltale
pale-skin line where a wedding band would normally reside. She probably thought
he would be a fine catch for the evening.
Another fix
could be achieved via dialogue:
I sat at
the bar, absentmindedly running my index finger through the condensation on my
glass. At the same time, I studied Emma as she eyed the guy in the grey suit.
“Hmm…nice
Rolex Mariner on his wrist and a little white line where his wedding band
should be. Looks like a fine catch for me, tonight.”
With a
wink at me and a too-obvious tug at the hem of her tight skirt as she stood,
she sidled over to her target.
Finally, the
narrator’s observations of Emma’s behavior and demeanor could also be
effective:
I sat at
the bar, absentmindedly running my index finger through the condensation on my
glass. At the same time, I kept a watchful eye on Emma as she sidled up to the
guy in the grey suit. From where I sat, I could clearly see her glance first at
the Rolex Mariner on his wrist and then the telltale pale-skin line where his
wedding band would normally reside. The wicked glint in her eyes told me what
she was probably thinking: this would be a fine catch for the evening.
Along with
not being able to know another character’s thoughts, the narrator would not
personally be aware of what another character was doing or saying in another
room or in a house down the street—unless something makes it possible for them
to do so (they listen at a door, see through a window…well, you get the idea).
To make the narrative less restrictive, then, some writers choose to employ
more than one narrator, each conveying the story within the constraints of
their own first-person POV in different chapters or sections of the text.
This, of
course, brings its own challenges, as now any overlapping action must be taken
into account. I think the writers who manage this option best are those who can
easily visualize where each character would be in a particular scene. But it
may also be helpful to actually sketch out character positioning on paper for
some tricky scenarios.
Check out my September blog for more on understanding and utilizing POV in your writing. And if you have a question about POV, please leave it in the comments below.
July 4 2021
We all know that deleting text in a manuscript is sometimes necessary to better achieve conciseness, clarity, and focus in nonfiction or to eliminate distracting, superfluous text (such as too many background details about tertiary characters) in fiction. However, when editors delete material because it does not coincide with their personal beliefs, morals, or biases, they are no longer editing: they are censoring.
One of my clients originally came to me because she’d had an unsatisfactory experience with her previous editor. Her first published work, a paranormal romance, initially contained several steamy sex scenes, which are not uncommon in that genre. But when she read through her edited manuscript, she realized something was missing. Apparently, the editor, a retired English teacher, had taken it upon herself to remove every sex scene she’d deemed inappropriate.
So how can you prevent this kind of undesired censorship?
Before you hire an editor for your project, find out if they are comfortable with your subject matter. For example, if your work contains explicit sexual situations, graphic violence or gore, hot-button political or religious topics, or other potentially offensive material, ask if the editor is willing to work with your text--without changing your intended meaning or effect. If the editor asks you to provide an excerpt from your book for a sample edit or to determine pricing, be sure to include some sections that might cause contention. It is much better to find out if the editor is a good fit before you get into the editorial process.
When authors ask me if I am okay with a particular genre or sensitive material, I try to be very honest and will turn down projects if necessary. However, I am not easily offended and am diligent about not injecting my own biases into any text I’m editing. For example, even when a particularly disturbing scene in a book I was editing triggered my gag reflex, I merely got up from my desk, took some deep breaths and a several-minute break, and got right back to work on it. (I did question the author about the appropriateness of this segment for his audience, but when he assured me it would be fine, I simply corrected the grammar and left it as he’d intended.)
Thus, it is important to hire a professional, experienced editor: we most likely have worked with many genres and understand that what one audience may find offensive, another will not. In fact, your audience may be buying your book because of those steamy sex scenes.
June 1, 2021
I’m No
Expert—Why Would Anyone Want to Read my Story?
Niggling
self-doubt. Many, if not most, writers experience it, especially when writing
about their own painful ordeals or challenges. “I don’t even know why I’m
writing this. I’m no expert. I don’t have a degree in psychology. Who would
want to read about my life?”
People write
about their own personal stories for many reasons: as a catharsis, to create
awareness, to help others, as part of their family history, or simply to record
that they have spent time on this planet—a literary planting of the flag.
But the key thing to remember is this: whatever your reason, it is valid.
Invariably,
my clients who had the most self-doubt about writing and publishing their autobiographical
works receive the most heartfelt thanks from readers. When one author wrote
about her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction in a very raw, honest, and
extremely personal account, she received this comment:
“Thank
you for telling your story. I always tried to be supportive, listened to all
the counselors, and really wanted to be sympathetic about my daughter’s battles
with addiction. But until I read your book, I never really understood. I sat
there crying as I read it, but now I honestly see my daughter through
empathetic eyes.”
Another
writer, who tells her story through poetry, not only doubted the validity of
her writing but also felt it was too private to share. However, she took the
leap to publish and has been surprised at the countless positive reviews she
receives. Many readers have stated they feel a connection with what the author
has expressed, find the words to be healing, and find it comforting to know
they are not alone in having similar experiences.
Readers of
other clients’ memoirs, anecdotal writings, or collections of journal entries
have commented on how the works have touched them, given them hope, or helped
them become more aware. But what their readers say most often is that it’s just
good to know there is someone else out there who has been through what they
have, someone who understands.
But are
readers the only ones who benefit from the writer’s personal accounts and
insight?
In a recent
article in Sun and Surf Magazine, “Share Your Story: It Heals,” empowerment
coach and motivational speaker Dede Lyons discussed how sharing your personal
story can, along with helping others, benefit you emotionally and even
physically.
She stated, “This
therapeutic process can actually reduce tension and stress and even lower blood
pressure and heart rate.”
So if you
want to write about your struggles, your heartbreak, your long-suppressed
emotions, don’t let doubt stop you. Chances are your words will resonate with
others as well.
May 1, 2021
Should We
Embrace the Evolution of English?
Maybe it’s
just an editor thing, but I tend to have a hard time embracing changes in the
English language. I want words and phrases to have some kind of correctness, to
be seen as “right” and “wrong.”
The word that triggered this thought was “backyard.” In my clients’ manuscripts, I always revise “backyard” when used as a noun to “back yard.” As an adjective, I’m fine with the compound word form: “She had a lovely backyard picnic.” But when it is used as a noun, it gets my red slash every time: “The swingset sat in his backyard,” vs. “The swingset sat in his back yard.”
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Photo by MJ LaBeff. |
And I
thought, “There must be other words and phrases writers use incorrectly, ones
that seem to be changing in the vernacular, that I could call out in this
month’s blog.”
But what I
found instead was this bit of wisdom:
“The fact
that language is always changing doesn’t mean it’s getting worse; it’s just
becoming different.”
Hmm…maybe I’ve been thinking about this in the wrong way.
I’ve always
thought that if you are writing dialogue, whatever fits the character is fine—incorrect
English, odd colloquial phrases, etc.
But in the narrative text, shouldn’t we be picky about the grammar?
Now, what if
we view this another way. Hasn’t English undergone countless alterations over
the centuries? Who are we to say that particular words and phrases currently in
flux shouldn’t be allowed to metamorphose into their next incarnation?
In an
article for the Linguistic Society of America (see the link below), Betty
Birner writes:
“Language
will never stop changing; it will continue to respond to the needs of the
people who use it. So the next time you hear a new phrase that grates on your
ears, remember that, like everything else in nature, the English language is a
work in progress.”
So, what are some things that bring about these changes?
New
technology certainly brings new words into our everyday vocabulary all the
time. Why, fifty years ago, for example, no one would ever have heard the words
“fax,” “email,” or “smartphone.” And yet, they are now so commonplace as to
appear even in business letters and other more formal pieces of communication.
Another
instigator of new phrases is the teenager. As we reach middle age, our
clothing, music, and yes, even language are no longer hip…uh, groovy…or dope…or
sick…to the younger generation. They want to have their own style, their own
lingo.
Birney
states: “…[N]ew words and phrases are used in spoken or informal language
sooner than in formal, written language, so it’s true that the phrases you hear
teenagers using may not yet be appropriate for business letters. But that
doesn’t mean they’re worse—just newer.”
For those English purists like me, this is quite a revolutionary idea.
And then
there are those words that trickle into our language from—you guessed it—other
languages. Long before people knew what a “global society” was, words from
other countries and cultures slipped ever so stealthily into our common
knowledge. Words like “curry,” “yoga,” and “zen” regularly appear in our
English-speaking society, for example, and can probably be traced back to Colonial
times.
Of course,
you may be wondering whether this all means I will be less picky in my editing
process. Will I let all those pesky grammar rules fly upon the wind and embrace
the transient nature of our language?
Well…no.
I’m still
going to red-line it if it’s clearly incorrect, especially if it just doesn’t
make sense. But when I see certain words or phrases I know to be in transition,
I may give them a second thought. And why not? Language of bygone days is in
good company. Think of the challenges we of a modern age face when we attempt
to read Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, or the works of
Shakespeare.
Who knows?
In another hundred years, “backyard” could be just another compound word.
Link to
article:
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/english-changing
“Is English
Changing?” by Betty Birner for the Linguistic Society of America
April 1, 2021
Once Upon
a Time…
The
Challenges of Writing about Other Eras
If you are a
historical-fiction writer, you already know how much research is necessary to
create successful story elements against the backdrop of a time period other
than the present.
But what if
you’re writing for another fiction genre and want to incorporate a character’s flashback
to the Great Depression, time travel to ancient Sumer, or maybe a past life
in medieval Wales?
If the time
period you choose to write about actually occurred in Earth’s past, thorough
research is essential to writing a believable story. Never take the chance that
your readers will not notice discrepancies!
Here are a
few tips about what to consider once you’ve determined what era you will write
about:
1. Try to
narrow your time period as much as possible. Even if you never mention exact
dates in your story, this will give you important parameters when doing your
research.
2. Find out
important details about the era’s modes of travel. For example, you might
assume that if chariots were used, they were pulled by horses. However, in some
ancient civilizations, donkeys were used instead.
3. Next,
find out about the clothing. Did people make their own? Did they buy it in
stores? What types of fabrics were available (for example, manmade or natural)?
What kinds of footwear were common? What were the differences between clothing
items for males and females? How about for different ages?
For
instance, did you know that young boys (babies and toddlers) wore dresses in
the early 1900s? I first knew this because a great debate in my family arose as
to whether a particular unmarked photograph was of my great-grandmother or
great-grandfather because the toddler pictured was in a dress and could have
been of either sex.
4. This
brings us to what authors sometimes overlook or fail to obtain an understanding
of when creating and developing characters from other eras (during which the
author did not live): What were the social mores of the time period? Were there
well-defined class structures? How did the behaviors vary from one class to
another? What about the behaviors of women vs. men?
Because we
live in such an open and relaxed modern society, we tend to forget just how
rigid social rules were in certain situations and cultures throughout history. These
details are extremely important because they would influence your character’s
actions, dialogue, and even thoughts.
5. Consider
what other elements you will be incorporating into your story and research
those accordingly. These might include things such as food, religion,
technology, government, medical care, art, music, and so on.
Does this
seem like a lot of background work to do? Yes, it is. But I always tell my
writing students and clients it is better to do too much research than not
enough. Even if you use only a portion of the details you learn about your
desired era, you will gain a better understanding of your character’s attitudes
and motivations and be able to confidently portray the aspects of a time period
other than your own.
****Thank you, Karin, for this insightful post.
March 1, 2021
Is the Road
to Hell Paved with Adverbs?
“The adverb
is not your friend,” states Stephen King in On Writing: A Memoir of the
Craft (New York: Scribner, 2000), a book described as a “tough-love lesson
for aspiring novelists.” Skeptical of such a bold claim, I wondered why he would
view this helpful part of speech with such disdain, and I prepared to scoff.
However, as
I read on, no scoffing ensued. King warns us that a more-than-minimal use of
adverbs, like the use of passive voice, creates a weak tone in writing. Thus, if
we rely on adverbs, we are most likely doing too much “telling” and not enough
“showing.” For example, compare these two sentences:
He viciously
told her to leave.
“Get
out!” he snarled.
The second
sentence is more powerful and creates an emotional response in the reader.
Another example:
The tree
was really tall.
The
tree’s topmost branches scratched against the seventh-floor windows.
The first
sentence uses the overused adverb “really,” while the second gives the reader a
clear visual.
King’s
discussion also made me think of one of Russian playwright Anton Chekov’s
famous quotes: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light
on broken glass.” In other words, why use a weak, boring description when you
can, instead, evoke an image or scene in your reader’s mind?
Now, how about you? Do you try to avoid overusing adverbs in your writing? Do you use them more in one style of writing than another (i.e., fiction vs. nonfiction)? Or do you absolutely love adverbs and feel they are an integral part of writing in your own voice?
Let us know in the Comments section below.
February 1, 2021
What Do You Get When You Cross a Period with a Comma?
A Semicolon!
The poor,
misunderstood semicolon. Writers often either misuse it or avoid it altogether
because they are not quite sure what it is. Is it like a colon? A comma? A
period?
Well, let me
try to clear up some of the confusion with a few examples.
1) When I
pore through manuscript drafts, I often see incorrect sentences like this:
“The boy
shivered as he walked along the river, however, he decided he would not turn back.”
Here, the
writer has attempted to form a compound sentence with two independent clauses,
i.e., each could function as a complete sentence on its own. If these two clauses
were joined with a conjunction (and, but, so, etc.), the
first comma would be correct and the second would be eliminated. But instead,
the second independent clause in our example begins with a conjunctive adverb (however,
therefore, otherwise, meanwhile, etc.). So now what do we
do?
In cases
like this, we have two choices. First, we can simply form two sentences:
“The boy
shivered as he walked along the river. However, he decided he would not turn
back.”
But the two
sentences are closely related. The reader needs to understand that despite the
boy being cold, he has decided to press on. So rather than making a solid break
by using a period, our second option would be to separate the two clauses with
a semicolon:
“The boy
shivered as he walked along the river; however, he decided he would not turn
back.”
2) A
semicolon would also be appropriate if we have two closely related independent
clauses without any conjunction or conjunctive adverb:
“During the
night, her mind raced wildly; during the day, her mind barely sauntered along.”
Note that
each independent clause in this sentence is equally weighted. If we think of
the semicolon as being somewhere between a period and a comma, we can use it to
effectively show the relationship between two complete ideas.
3) Another
appropriate application tends to appear more in nonfiction (how-to books,
business materials, travel books, and so on). When we show items in a series,
but at least one of those items includes a comma, we can use a semicolon to
avoid confusion:
“There were
three new board members: Bob Jones from Gateway, Florida; Sue Barnhart from
Green Cove, Alabama; and John Roberts from Butler, Idaho.”
4) Sometimes
writers confuse a semicolon with a colon. Whereas the semicolon is used (as in
examples 1 and 2, above) to separate related ideas that have basically equal
importance, the text before a colon has a different function than what comes
after. To me, the colon says, “Pay attention to what I’m showing you next.”
Here are a couple of examples:
“The décor
incorporated three of my favorite colors: turquoise, rust, and taupe.”
“Her
admiration for the man was clear in her speech’s opening line: 'His integrity
and professionalism were beyond reproach.'”
Note that
the text leading up to the colon clearly sets the stage for the information following
it—usually an example, a list, or an explanation.
I hope these examples have helped you become better acquainted with the sometimes-subtle semicolon.
If you have a question about this topic or something you would like
me to discuss in another post, please leave it in the comments below.
January 1, 2021.
Help! I
Can’t Turn Off Editor Mode
When people learn I am an editor, they often ask if I’ve read this bestseller or that inspirational book. And my answer for a long time has been, “Well, no…I read manuscripts and research materials all day for work, so I hardly ever read for pleasure anymore.” I would also add that it is difficult for me to just read a book (or magazine article, website text, business communication, etc.) without editing it in my mind.
But
recently, I was going through some things in a closet and came across a stack
of books—one of those “when I have time” stacks we book lovers like to populate
our homes and offices with. I picked up a paperback, read the intriguing back-cover
text, then turned to Chapter One. As I pored through that chapter and the next,
I suddenly realized I was (gasp!) reading for fun. I was getting into the
characters and anxiously turning the pages to see what happened next. Now, does
that mean I didn’t notice the occasional typo, awkward phrasing, or redundancy?
Of course not. But I wasn’t getting bogged down by them, either. The sheer joy
of being immersed in the story was propelling me through it all.
Therefore, I
have realized that I absolutely should read for enjoyment much more often.
After all, my love of reading is what got me into this profession in the first
place. Whether it’s a fantasy novel, a paranormal mystery, or a tome on the odd
creatures of the ocean’s depths, books can still produce excitement, wonder, and
joy, even for me—no, especially for me.
As long as I remember to turn off my Editor Mode.
***Scribbler - Is there an editing subject you'd like to hear about? Ask Karin.
I'm definitely not an editor, but I find that discovering several typos or even formatting issues will put me off enjoying a book. I find this happens more with self-published books.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and your comment. The odd error has never stopped me from enjoying a novel but warns us that we must do our best to present the best copy we can.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And many times, clients have hired me to edit a previously released book after having received positive comments on the story itself and negative comments on readability due to distracting typos, grammatical errors, or even awkward sentence structure.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know more about hyphens. Is two-thirty the same as two thirty?
ReplyDeleteGreat question!
DeleteAccording to the Chicago Manual of Style, two thirty would not be hyphenated in the following example: I will meet you at two thirty.
However, if the phrase comes before a noun, it should be hyphenated: You have a two-thirty appointment with the doctor.
Thank you Anonymous for the neat question and I wondered about that as well. Thanks Karin for pointing the proper usage.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this informative post. I keep a grammar reference book by my desk. I use semicolons as necessary for two related sentences. I happen to like them, though I don't overuse them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Kathy. It's always nice to learn new things about parts of grammar I've usually taken for granted.
DeleteThank you for your comment, Kathy! I'm glad you found useful information in the post. And which grammar reference book do you use the most?
DeleteFascinating post, thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and leaving the nice comment, Jane.
DeleteGlad you're back! 😃
ReplyDeleteThank you! I’m glad to be back. I hope you found the article informative.
DeleteThanks for visiting.
Delete