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You are probably familiar with animal learning and conditioning. You probably know that certain behaviours in your pet can be encouraged by reward, for example. You may also know something of the science behind animal conditioning: you may have heard about Pavlov’s drooling dogs, Skinner’s peckish pigeons or Thorndike’s cunning cats. However, what you may not know is that the scientific study of animal conditioning has provided psychologists with an armoury of principles about how training can be most effective.

The post Conditioning in the classroom: 8 tips for teaching and learning appeared first on OUPblog.

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3 bloggers are taking part today on our PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel in a Month blog tour. Hop on over. Comment to enter and win an observation spot in an upcoming Office Hours.

(Remember to use #PlotWriMo in your tweets about the event.)

(To learn more about PlotWriMo and for some "ah ha" moments from writers using the video series to revise their novels, click here.)

Laurie Edwards Author, Artist, Dreamer
Mikey Brooks My Keys on Writing, Illustrating and more
Deb Atwood Pen in Her Hand

For plot help and resources throughout the year: 

1)  The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories
2)  The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
3)  The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.
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For as little as $10 a month, watch the videos as often as you wish for an entire year (and, lots of writers are finding PlotWriMo the exact right resource to help pre-plot for a powerful first draft. Knowing what to look for in a revision helps create a tighter first draft):

•  
• PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel in a Month

 ~~ View your story in an entirely new light. Recharge your energy and enthusiasm for your writing. 8 videos (5.5 hours)+ 30 exercises

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Hello again! Jersey Farm Scribe here on…

PATIENCE: Working out the Details

Speaking from my own personal situation, I just did a major revision on my chapter book. It brought my story a bit more full circle, drawing some of the ending and pulling piece of it into the beginning.

Exciting stuff and I love the way it’s reading now.

But that was a pretty major revision for me, and I’m realizing that in some ways, it’s set me back a good bit. There are parts that don’t flow as well now, character reactions that don’t make sense and redundancies that are just plain annoying.

While I knew it would happen, to be honest, it’s quite frustrating.

Grumble, grumble… I JUST went over all this stuff…

There is a part of me that instinctively desires to push things back the way they were so I can make certain scenes read through properly again.

Plus, I have this crazy voice in the back of my head. It keeps thinking about the SCBWI conference I attended at the end of June, the people I talked to, the editors and agents who showed interest and who I have this amazing opportunity to submit to. And the voice says:

YOU MUST SUBMIT IT NOW!! 

Voice absolutely hates the idea of letting too much time go by. It thinks that the agents and editors will wonder… what took so darn long???

And while you may get different opinions from different people, the logical side of my brain knows that Voice is simply wrong. They knew I had revisions to do, and I’m talking an extra month or two, not years.

Agents and editors, of all people, KNOW how long revisions can take. All the ones I spoke to, not only understood, but respected writers for taking the time to do revisions correctly and present the absolute BEST manuscript possible.

Now, don’t get me wrong, deadlines are important, and being realistic is important. In this case, there is no “deadline”. But still, I don’t want the agents and editors who were open to seeing my work to wait an entire year to see it. Largely because the chances of them still remembering who I am drop pretty dramatically. And if at all possible, I definitely want that little light to go on.

But revisions often lead to more revisions, and I think it’s important to ride that train until it naturally evens out and becomes the story that it’s meant to be.

So whenever making a major revision, keep in mind that you may end up producing more necessary changes than you expect. And don’t be afraid to change things that may cause large re-writes or entire character redevelopment.

After every major revision, I remind myself that I need to take the time to do what I call domino revisions. 

How did my revision affect the arc and rhythm of the story? Is there too little or too much action at any particular point now? Does a chapter break or mini climax need to be altered?

How did it affect the characters? Experiences shape our interpretation of everything around us. If a character’s experience changed at in my revision, their reactions to things later on may need to change as well.

Did my revision involve the scene, timeline, family dynamics… anything where I need to check for congruence throughout the rest of the manuscript.

The list goes on.

Manuscripts develop like the people created on their pages. Growing up can take much longer than we’d like, and the stage before we become adults can be the most frustrating part.

Who hasn’t met a teenager who makes dramatic changes? It’s not easy. But whether they stick with those changes or not, they are often a big part of what shapes them as an adult.

Our manuscripts need a lot of patience, as they are becoming the living beings they are meant to be. But you know what…. they’re worth it!

Thank you Erika for another great article to help all of us improve our skills.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Filed under: Advice, article, authors and illustrators, Process, revisions, Writing Tips Tagged: Erika Wassell, Jersey Farm Scribe, Revision Tips

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So it’s Groundhog Day. And though lots of folks will be keeping an eye on Punxsutawney Phil and that whole shadow thing, I’ll be writing—and hoping to keep Groundhog Day time loops far away from my manuscript.

Do you know what I mean, about the Groundhog Day time loop? It’s from the 1993 movie with Bill Murray. The actor plays a journalist caught in a time loop who’s forced to relive the same day—February 2nd—over and over again. Basically, the poor guy is stuck until he figures out what he’s supposed to figure out.

It’s a very funny movie. But getting stuck in a time loop is not that amusing in real life. And now you’re re-reading that line, because you think time loops don’t happen in real life.

But they do, my writer friends. Only we call them…(dum, dum, dum) rewrites.

Now, sometimes a rewrite or two can make the difference between a so-so story and a scathingly brilliant story. But other times, when a writer gets stuck in the same manuscript, over and over and over again, it can drive one right over the edge and into the abyss of…well, I don’t want to think what might be in the abyss.

I have thought about the problem of endless rewrites, however, and I can tell you why I get stuck in a manuscript: I keep trying to make a story (or an article) work without really figuring out what I want to say. And so in my rewrite loop, I move a paragraph here or a chunk of text there. I revise the opening fifteen times or obsess over a sentence until every individual word shines. But when I read what I've (re)written, it still doesn't work. Because moving words around doesn't help me figure out what I want to say.

It’s awful, getting stuck in that rewrite loop. And it’s even more awful when it’s a 60,000-word novel manuscript rather than a 2,000-word article or a 500-word essay. But the way to get unstuck is the same, no matter how many words are on the page.

Step back from the words and think. Think about the point you want to make, the theme you’re trying to convey. Strip away the pretty phrases, the chunks of subtext, and get down on the page the very basic idea you started with when you began to write.

Then go back to your work and craft the words into sentences, the sentences into paragraphs, the paragraphs into story. Your rewrite might be a completely different manuscript than the twenty that have come before, but at last you will have figured it out. Birds will sing, the sun will shine, and you and Bill Murray and yes, even Punxsutawney Phil, can finally move on.

~Cathy C. Hall

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D Sharon Pruitt | flickr.com

The first draft is done and you are ready to start revising. Sure, you've heard about using active verbs, but how do you review your manuscript to make your writing crackle on the page?

I once had an elementary school teacher who crossed out the word "very" whenever I used it in my writing. That is a word that gives me pause even today. It is now very unlikely that you will find that I've used very in a sentence.

One of the tricks I use in reviewing my writing to make it more active is to look for the words that end in -ly.
Here's an example:

Our protagonist is John and he is notorious for jingling his change in his pocket. It is one of his ticks that will arise when he's nervous.

He quietly walked down the street.

But what does that tell me about him? Not as much as it could. Walked is a bland verb. If we can snazz it up a little to really show our audience how he is moving and add the jingling...or not, this sentence can expand and bring the reader in.

Pull out the thesaurus. Really.

One of my favorite books is the Rodale's The Synonym Finder. This blog post on CoolTools gives a comparison of how many synonyms can be found using each thesaurus resource. Needless to say, Rodale's is the winner.

When we write, often we are trying to just get the flow and the words. But when you revise, take the time to find the perfect word that conveys the image you are looking for.

So, let's get back to John and his walking. Aren't there specific words that can tell us so much more about John? We all walk. John is your specific character and he has specific actions.

Rodale's has suggestions that are packed with all sorts of meanings that add dimension along with your character. Instead of walking will John

• tiptoe
• pace
• stroll
• stagger
• slog
• ramble
• hike or 
• march? 

 If he's not jingling his change, we know he's not nervous, so how do you suggest he walked, since we know he did it quietly?

What are your thoughts on revising to removing -ly words and finding synonyms to make your sentences crackle?


Elizabeth King Humphrey, a writer and editor, lives in Wilmington, N.C. She is always looking for good books on writing.

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After I queried publishers, an editor from a large publishing house requested my manuscript. Soon after submitting it, I received a letter noting her recommendations for revising. She also stated that I may resubmit. What are the steps to resubmitting? Also, it’s been a year since she sent the letter. Has too much time passed? —Joan K.

The rules of resubmitting a revised manuscript are pretty simple: Make the changes suggested by the editor and then resubmit ASAP. Be sure to reply to the email that includes her original invitation to resubmit. This serves to remind her that she prompted you to do so, and will also refresh her memory of the relationship (no matter how small) the two of you had developed, and her interest in your story. (If your correspondence occurred via snail mail, then include a copy of the letter in which she welcomes you to resend the revised copy.)

The key is to make sure she realizes she had a previous relationship with you and your manuscript. She’s probably read thousands of proposals and hundreds of manuscripts since then, so her memory of your project could be shaky. The more you can remind her that you once wined and dined her and that she expressed an interest in a second date with your book (after a little grooming, of course), the better your chances are.

But I’m not going to lie to you: It probably doesn’t help that it’s taken you a year to get back to that editor. It’s possible that she is no longer seeking the type of work you pitched, and is instead looking to fill her list in other ways. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow through. If the editor took the time to give you notes, she must believe there is something special about your manuscript. The sooner you can get the revised version back to her, the better.

************

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Read my parent humor blog: The Life Of Dad
Sign up for my free weekly eNewsletter: WD Newsletter

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Today’s tip of the day comes from Grammatically Correct and describes some techniques for improving your writing style and for assessing how well your efforts are succeeding. Not all these strategies will be right for everyone, but it can’t hurt to at least consider them.

Focus on the whole as well as the parts

Any time you add or revise some words, reread what surrounds them to ensure that everything else still fits. Often, a change in one place will necessitate a change in another. Naturally you must focus on each line as you create it, but as soon as you have the first draft in place, back up a few lines and read through the earlier text again. You will sometimes find that the latest addition doesn’t fit in quite as it should—perhaps it restates a point already made, or doesn’t make a smooth enough transition from what came before.

As you form each new sentence, keep going back and rereading it from the start to ensure that all its elements mesh together. As you form each new paragraph, keep rereading it from its first line to see how its sentences fit together: perhaps the topic shifts enough that the paragraph should be broken up, or perhaps a particular word now is repeated too many times within a short space.

Put your work aside for a while and then come back to it

You may be confident that you have polished your words into their final form, only to find that when you look at them a little later, problems jump out: illogical connections, clumsy sentence structures, a strained-sounding tone, subtle grammatical errors. A lapse of time enables you to come back to your work with a more objective eye. A day or more away is ideal, but even a few hours can make a difference.

Have someone else look your work over

Any writer, no matter how skilled, can benefit from getting a second opinion, because by definition one is always too close to one’s own work. Given that any writing is ultimately intended for other people’s consumption, it only makes sense to find out how other people perceive it. The individual whose opinion you seek need not be a better writer than you, since the goal is not necessarily to have this person correct or revise what you have done. Rather, it is to provide you with feedback on how your points and your tone are coming across. If your critic doesn’t get your jokes, or finds a character you meant to be funny and sympathetic merely irritating, or can’t follow some instruction because you left out a step you thought would be perfectly obvious to anybody—at least consider the possibility of making changes (and do your best to remain on speaking terms afterward). A professional editor is ideal, but if this is not practical or affordable, select someone whose opinion you respect and who represents your intended readership as nearly as possible.

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No matter what type of writing you do–fiction, nonfiction, or freelance–you should expect to revise your work. Learn four essential tips for revising your work from Christina Katz, author of The Writer’s Workout.

When you are a professional writer, you spend at least half of your time rewriting, likely even more time than you spend drafting new work. But the process of rewriting needn’t be tedious and nitpicky. So go ahead, draft, cut, rearrange, review, tweak, tighten, and then work your way down this list.

4 Key Revision Tips For Writers

Here are some general tips to getting to your best drafts quickly.

1. Use your spell-check, grammar check, and check your spacing. Run all three of these checks a couple of times, once right after your first draft and once right before you turn your work in.

2. Keep your format simple. Single space. No all-bold or all-italic. Justified left. Put your title and byline in bold. Use Times New Roman, Times, or Helvetica as your font. Never use tabs or insert manual spacing. Forget any fancy formatting. Sidebars go at the bottom with the subhead, “Sidebar.” That’s it. No box or special bullet points. Remember that you will often submit in an e-mail, which would mess up any formatting anyway.

3. Read your draft out loud once or twice before you turn it in. The places where your tongue trips and your voice doesn’t flow indicate that you need a few more tweaks before your draft is really done.

4. Have someone else read your piece before you turn it in. Ask them if the article is clear and error free. Ask them if they have any questions after reading it. (Your article should answer questions, not prompt them.) If the reader’s concerns are irrelevant, that’s okay. Jot them down if they spark any ideas for you. Get in the habit of thanking others for their help, whether you agree with their suggestions or not. A good standard response is, “Thanks, I’ll think that over.” When you are ready to edit, revisit the notes or suggestions and decide which ones you want to incorporate.

No matter how many drafts it takes you to get to crisp, clear writing, don’t judge yourself. You will improve with time and practice. Who cares how many drafts it takes? Just get the job done. You’ll get faster over time and with practice.

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Want to learn more about revising? Discover more writing tips from The Writer’s Workout and learn how to:

• Improve your writing skills to make your writing as strong and powerful as possible
• Pitch and sell your work to editors and agents
• Deal with rejection and how to come back better than ever
• Build an author platform and develop an audience
• Balance your creative life with your daily life

Buy The Writer’s Workout now!

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Is your manuscript stuck? Take a break from completing your fiction project and diagnose it. Here's how to take your manuscript into its next phase: completion. Read more

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Maybe I'm a nerd, but I love the editing process. I love recasting sentences to make them stronger, choosing specific words to make dialogue sing, correcting grammar until it's fit to print and drawing little squibblies all over the page (mainly because I like the way squibblies look). Honestly, I use editing marks so much that sometimes I get bored with the usual suspects and make up my own. Read more

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Tonight we have another special teleclass for members of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club. Children’s historical fantasy writer, Simon Rose will lead a 55-minute workshop about how to revise and edit your manuscript.

This teleclass will take place at 7:00 central time this evening. For an email invitation to this event - as well as links to all the recorded teleclasses for August - join the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club HERE.

Childrens Writers Coaching Club, editing your manuscript, revision tips, Simon Rose

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In the Los Angeles Times "Discoveries" column, Susan Salter Reynolds takes note of The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard du Boucheron, translated from the French by Hester Velmans: "The the cardinal-archbishop sends a fledgling Bishop on a mission to New Thule to save the colonists from heathendom: "You will ferret out and punish heresy, apostasy, infidelity, neglect of religious practice, perjury, gluttony, lusts both simple and sodomitic." But nothing prepares the bishop or his crew for the voyage through ice, the hunger that forces them to eat the corpses of their shipmates, the devastation and desperation they find. "To describe the poverty of these wretches is to wish to share it," the bishop reports back. And nothing prepares him for his own heresy. The settlers have mixed with the Inuit, and the bishop is hordfled by the local sexual practices — fornication in public, sharing of wives, trading of women for supplies. It is not long before he fathers a child (although he denies it) and is punished by the settlers for his hypocrisy. The Voyage ofthe Short Serpent is more than a story of survival in the frozen north; it's a parable on the perils of excessive morality, colonization and religious tyranny."

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Check out what Publishers Weekly has to say about The Voyage of the Short Serpent by Bernard du Bucheron, due out in January 2oo8.

"A spare, cunningly ironic novel set in the wilds of medieval Iceland.

While Iceland has been nominally Christianized, hibernal adversity and distance from the mainland have conspired to turn the native population toward a more primitive, primeval (read "debauched, pagan") existence. The novel begins with an archbishop's official directive to Bishop Insulomontanus in which he lays out what the bishop must do: to "investigate the Christian folk…and to offer them the comfort of the Word, while not neglecting to castigate sin, if need be, by sword or by fire." The bishop takes this advice literally, and much of the rest of the novel consists of his report back to the archbishop about what he has done to reassert Christian order and hegemony. After an arduous journey through ice and snow, the bishop arrives at Gardar in New Thule to discover ten recently slaughtered corpses. The local chieftain, Einar Sokkason, is of no help, nor is the one remaining priest, a "porcine monster" living openly with a "scarce-pubescent female." The bishop wastes no time with his first decision: to have the priest burned at the stake for "heresy, apostasy, sacrilege and sodomy." In his continual struggle against heresy amongst these primordial people, the bishop resorts to increasingly desperate and even sadistic strategies to maintain his ecclesiastical authority, including having ears torn off and eyes gouged out as punishment for apostates. (He also resorts to beheading, which, considering the alternatives, is something of a blessing.) Eventually the bishop develops a sexual relationship with a local woman, Avarana, although he disingenuously hints in his report to the archbishop that she is a liar and thus not to be trusted. The occasional intervention of a third-person narrative puts the bishop's growing derangement and hypocrisy into perspective.

Sparse, rawboned and fascinating."

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