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One of the most useful tools to utilize during the revision phase of your first draft is the Find and Replace tool. The instructions here are for Word for Windows, but a similar function should be available for other word processing programs.
Within Word, you turn it on by simply clicking on [Control] and [F] at the same time (the letter F not the function key).
When revising, it is a good idea to save the draft as a new version each time in case you make a major mistake and need to go back to the previous version. You do this by selecting [Save As] and entering the Your Title Rev 1 (2,3,4,5,6,7, etc). When you have completely finished all editing and revising, save it as Your Title Final File.
1. If you do a quick rough draft you may have lots of blanks with placeholders **fill in here** or other placeholders (XXX) (#) for names, places, dates, locations, etc. Searching for ** or your placeholder cues will quickly take you from one placeholder to the next.
2. Develop a list of repetitive words. It may change and/or grow with every book you write.
3. Develop a list of adjectives. We all have personal favorites. You can use the starter list in Story Building Blocks III and add to it as you go.
4. Develop a list of adverbs or search for *.ly. This might take a while.
5. Develop a list of body language words and emotion words. Fill in your placeholders or make certain that your characters aren't yawning, grimacing, frowning, or sighing on every other page.
6. Search for passive language by looking for the word was. I guarantee this will take a long time. Make certain to enter a space before the word was followed by another space: [ was ], otherwise every word containing the letters was together (wash, swash, twas) will be highlighted.
7. Use [Find] and [Replace] to change the name of a place or character. Use [Find Next] rather than [Replace All]. Why? Here's an example.
Let's say you want to replace the word format with method. The program searches for all the places the combination of letters appears. It may change words you never intended: information becomes inmethodion.
If your character's name is May and you decide to change her name to Sally, you end up with, “I sally not want to,” instead of “I may not want to.” The word maybe becomes sallybe. You see the problem.
8. Don't mass delete.
A quick way of deleting a word is to use [Find], but never [Delete All] or you could end up with gibberish.Let's say you want to remove all the "could have"s. Go to each one individually. You may have to reword the sentence so it still makes sense.
9. If you make a mistake, [Control] [Z] or [Undo] is your best friend. It can, however, take you back further than intended. Which leads us to ...
10. Save frequently with [Control] [S].
Saving after every change slows you down too much, so I don't advise it. You should save the file frequently enough, perhaps at the end of each page, to mitigate heartache if your computer goes haywire, turns off in the middle, or you unintentionally select [Undo] and an entire paragraph disappears. Weird things happen.
There is an art to narrative summary. Ideally the information should be related through the point of view character's lens, not an info dump, like this:
The city was founded in 1779 by tea and sugar plantation owners who commissioned elaborate mansions on top of the hill with a view of the inlet that was large enough to dock their ships. Small villages soon cropped up along the periphery to house the tradesmen needed to service their needs. Over the centuries, the spaces between were filled until it became a crowded, mish-mash of squalor and grandeur.
This passage provides the information, but dully and through the prism of the writer, not the character.
Info dumps are often found in prologues, epilogues, summaries of what happened in previous books, long dialogue passages,as you knowdialogue, long explanations of how things work, and extensive backstory.
Here are a few examples of how to use narrative summary effectively.
1. Narrative summary helps you skip ahead.
Sometimes you have to provide important background, condense time, and relate events that don't deserve a lot of page time through narrative summary.
The call came at five o'clock on a Saturday. Dick never forgot the pitch of the sun through the pines or the way his boots sank in the mud as he arrived at a scene to view his first corpse. After fifteen years, he'd seen so many bodies, in myriad locations,and every season.He no longer got the shakes, or the sicks, or the rapid pulse, but the scent of pine, dirt, and dying heat still filled his nostrils when he received a summons. Funny how some things stuck. He snapped on gloves and booties before ducking under the yellow tape blocking a snow-drenched alleyway in the heart of downtown Chicago. "What've we got?"
Narrative skips over the boring bits. Shift it into real-time when possible, particularly if you find paragraphs of it. Use specific details and strong word choices.
1) Narrative summary can offer new information or recap necessary information.
It should support, extend, or refute the information given through dialogue and action. It can add context in a timely fashion and set up expectation. It uses a few words that work hard and lead into or trail action and dialogue. If narrative runs on for paragraphs or pages, you have some editing to do.
The carpet fibers were a dead end: could have come from any low-rent apartment anywhere in town. The call-ins were a bunch of attention-seeking loonies. No legitimate suspects. No obvious motive. No one seemed to know anything about Jane. That was the problem these days: everyone had bloody telephones and computers and social media but never talked to their neighbors. Jane worked from home and played games with virtual friends. She ordered everything online or shopped at big box stores where everyone was strange and a stranger. There were no angles to grab hold of. Who would kill a girl who never seemed to leave her flat? But girls didn't just drag themselves into the woods, cover themselves with debris, and choke themselves with their own pantyhose. 2. Narrative transitions between scenes. Dick skipped the shower and shave and was at the crime scene by nine thirty. He stood next to the corpse lying on the ground who obviously hadn’t shaved in days either and the bath in the river hadn’t done him any favors.
3. Narrative wrinkles time.
Four days sped by in a series of dead leads and dull conversations. Dick tackled the stacks of paperwork he had successfully ignored for a month, drank gallons of coffee, and smoked endless packs of cigarettes. His anxiety grew like a bonfire as he waited for the DNA results.
Revision Tips
?Read through your manuscript. Highlight areas that contain narrative. Decide whether you should turn narrative into action and dialogue. If not, is it serving a distinct purpose? Does it support, extend, add to, or refute a proposition? Does it condense time or provide important background?
?Does it involve tertiary characters or actions that are of lesser importance?
?Does it involve clichés?
?Have you told the reader what someone thinks or feels instead of showing it?
For more revision tips on revision and narrative summary check out.
Interjections are exclamations or parenthetical words that add color to your dialogue or internal dialogue. They are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or set of commas. They can be followed by an exclamation point. However, if the sentence is doing its job, you shouldn't need it.
Interjections express a gamut of emotions: surprise, doubt, fear, anger, hate, happiness, joy, glee, disgust, or sarcasm. They insult, incite, and ignite.
Here are a few examples (minus profanity, which is another topic).
All right
Cool
Far out
As if
Yeh, right
Dig it
Yo
Fair enough
Ouch
Dang it
For real?
Duh
No way
Sure
Yay
Whoot
Hilarious
Screw it
Drat
Yes
Lord have mercy
Meh
Cheers
Ciao
Oops
Oy
Touche
Big whoop
Nope
Nada
My YA series Mythikas Island was set in pre-written-history Greece. Not being able to reach for any of the usual curse words, insults, etc. felt like wearing a straight jacket. I ended up typing *insert insult/curse here* and developing a list of options later. Here are a few tips when revising:
1. As you go through your rough draft, it is okay to insert placeholders and fill them in later. You may want to put some thought into the types of insults and interjections you characters will use.
2. It is important that the interjections fit the time and place in a historical novel. Look up the first time your word or phrase was used. Nitpickers love to point out errors.
3. When you write fantasy or science fiction, developing unique interjections helps your story world come alive.
4. Avoid overuse. Strings of expletives or exclamation points are annoying. As you read through your rough draft, highlight the interjections. If you have too many packed together, space them out.
5. You can make them character specific. People living in the same place and time with little exposure to the outside world tend to use the same vocabulary. However, each character can have their favorites or quirks.
6. If you have a diverse cast, each can have their own set of interjections, perhaps in different langauges. Avoid stereotypes.
7. Avoid clichés. You can twist existing interjections in new ways. 8. Interjections change as time passes. There is no way to avoid dating your book with them. 9. You can't cut them all. Your story would be lackluster without a few strategically placed verbal punches. 10. They can be used for comic relief. Sometimes after a tense moment, you need a little levity.
If you invent unique injterjections, they may become part of our language or at least the language of your fans. They may even be added to the dictionary. You could be the author of a new catchphrase.
For more information on revision, pick up a copy of:
Over the past few weeks, we have explored an exotic array of language spices starting with A. This week, we complete the collection with Z.
Simile compares two different things that are similar to each other using like and as. They often border on cliché. A hidden simile does not use like or as.
Jane curled up on the couch like a satisfied cat licking her lips.
Jane curled up on the couch, a satisfied cat licking her lips. (hidden)
Symploce uses anaphora and epistrophe in the same sentence or paragraph. It should appear once or twice in a manuscript for maximum impact and emotion.
Dick should have walked away. He should have put the diary down. He should never have read the shocking words. Jane had charmed him, confused him, and consumed him.
Synecdoche uses part of something to refer to the whole, a whole thing to refer to a part, a specific thing to refer to a generality, or a generality to refer to a specific thing. It is referring to a car as wheels, workers as hands, eyewear as glasses, and bandages as Band-Aids.
When it came to books, Jane preferred paper over plastic.
Tricolon repeats phrases, clauses, or sentences three times. If the phrases, clauses, or sentences increase in length with each repetition, it is called a tricolon crescendo.
It was a dark, dark, darkmoment for them both.
The book was old, oldand faded, old enough to be dangerous.
Zeugma ends a sentence with a last word or clause that doesn't fit in with the proposition. It offers a twist. It should end a paragraph for maximum effect.
Jane left with her book, her suitcase, and her pride.
Jane needed him and wantedhim and wished him dead.
Next week, we will talk about how to use them and revise for them.
For the complete list of spices and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
This week, we continue to add to our collection of rhetorical devices.
Parallelismuses balance and three beats following a sentence or clause with a phrase that starts with a similar kind of word (adjective, adverb or noun).
The book was damaged1, damaged beyond all hope of repair2. (balance)
Jane loved him more for it1, more than she loved her books2, more than she loved herself3. (3 beats)
Personification attributes an animal or inanimate object with human characteristics.
The bookhid its secrets from her.
Phatics are used to begin or interrupt the flow of a sentence without adding meaning to it and act as speed bumps. They are used to strengthen the connection to the reader and can impart a confidential tone. It can raise or lower the dramatic potential of a clause, it can emphasize an important claim, certify content, or negate content. Be sure they are not used to preface an information dump. They include, but are not limited to:
after a fashion
after all
after all is said and done
almost inevitably
amazingly enough
and I agree that it is
and whatnot
as a matter of fact
as everybody knows
as I believe is the case
as is widely known
as it happens
as it turns out
as I’ve pointed out
as unlikely as it may seem
as we can see
as you can see
at any rate
believe it or not
curiously enough
fittingly enough
for God’s sake
for some reason
for that matter
hi
how are you
I am reminded
I can’t help but wonder
I might add
I suppose
if conditions are favorable
if I may call it that
if time permits
if truth be known
if you get right down to it
if you know what I mean
if you must know
in a way
in a sense
in my mind
in point of fact
in spite of everything
in the final analysis
it goes without saying
it is important to note
it is important to remember
it occurs to me
it seems to me
it turns out
just between us
just between you and me
let’s face it
let me tell you
make no mistake
my Lord
not to mention
of course
one might ask
or as unlikely as it may seem
shall we say
strangely enough
to a certain extent
to be honest
to my dismay
to everyone’s surprise
to no one’s surprise
to my relief
to my way of thinking
to some extent
what's up
we should remember
when all is said and done
you know
you know what
Next week, we will contine to stock your prose shelf.
For the complete list of spices and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Here are more delicious rhetorical devices to add to your prose spice shelf.
Epizeuxis repeats a word in a sentence or clause for emphasis.
It was a long, long night for them both.
Hyperbole uses deliberate exaggeration. It can be funny or sarcastic. Use it sparingly.
Jane was so tired she could have slept for a year, maybe four.
Hypophora is similar to a rhetorical question, only the question is answered. Often the base clause or sentence poses the question and the modifying phrases answer it. In dialogue, it can be provocative if the character asks the question then answers it for the other person.
Jane turned to Dick. "So you want to slay the ghost, by yourself? No, no, I get it. You're strong; I'm weak. You're fast; I'm slow. I'd just get in your way. Fine, see if I care."
Isocolon stresses corresponding words, phrases, or clauses of equal length and similar structure.
Never had Dick promised so much, to appease so many, to benefit so few.
Litotes is an understatement that denies the opposite of the word the reader expects. It can use no or not. It creates confusion.
Jane was not a little angry with Dick for leaving her.
Metaphors can add richness and texture if used wisely. Metaphors compare two different things without using like or as in sentences and paragraphs. Not every simile is a metaphor, but every metaphor implies a simile. Dead metaphors and similes are often cliché, so it's important to cut them or change them up when possible. The biggest offender is the mixed metaphor in which the second proposition is inconsistent with the first.
Dick was able to shed some light on the text. (light = understanding)
Jane stared through the window at the black velvet sky. (sky = black velvet)
Oxymorons connect contradictory terms. You can find extensive lists on the internet. If you look for them, kill them whenever possible. They are hard to spot because they are so frequently used. Most readers won't recognize them as such.
A few examples include:
act naturally
active retirement
almost exactly
approximately equal
blind eye
born dead
clearly confused
controlled chaos
deafening silence
exact estimate
found missing
larger half
old news
open secret
original copy
seriously funny
unbiased opinion
virtual reality
Next week, we will contine adding spices to your prose shelf.
For the complete list of spices and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Variety is the spice of life and these rhetorical devices sound like exotic spices. We know how they taste but have forgotten the names.
These spices should be sprinkled in carefully. They enrich a sentence or paragraph when you want a little punch. You shouldn't overwhelm the reader with them and should be mindful of clichés. You earn a gold star for using them effectively. You earn two gold stars if you remember their names.
Abstraction advances a proposition from generic to specific.
Jane opened the book1, a thick tome2, a collection of poetry3.
Alliteration repeats initial consonants in consecutive or grammatically corresponding words.
Jane opened the diary, the wild, wishful, window to its owner's soul.
Amplification repeats a word or phrase, adding more detail to emphasize a point.
Jane wanted to deny the truth, the truth about the diary1, the truth about the ghost2, the truth about herself3.
Anadiplosis repeats a word that ends a phrase, clause, or sentence at the start of the next.
Jane opened a book. The book was a collection of poetry, poetry that made her blush.
Analogy compares two things that are alike and is more clinical than a simile. It can use: also, and so on, and the like, as if, and like.
Jane was drawn to Dick1like a humming bird to nectar2.
Anaphora repeats the same word or words at the beginning of each successive clause or sentence. There are at least three or four beats. You can separate the beats with other sentences but they should be in the same paragraph. The last beat should be in the last sentence of the paragraph.
She should have ignored the diary. The truth was too horrible to acknowledge. She should have burned it. She should have escaped while she still had the chance.
Antithesis connects two contrasting propositions, usually in parallel clauses or sentences.
Jane knew he loved her and she knew he hated her.
Assonance repeats similar vowel sounds in successive clauses or sentences. The rain on the plain drove Jane completely insane.
Next week, we will continue to add spices to your prose shelf.
For the complete list of spices and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Redundant words are so common they are hard to recognize. Redundancies use two words when one will do. They are found in newspapers, broadcasts, and magazine articles.
A character would use redundancies in conversation. Few speak that formally.
Search for them all. Choose which ones to keep and which to kill.
Cutting some of them feels like amputating a limb.
Yes, this rule is frequently broken. You will find redundancies everywhere. You decide.
Here is a short list to get you started:
absolutely essential
absolutely perfect
absolutely positive
actual fact
advance forward
advance planning
advance preview
advance reservations
advance warning
add an additional
add up
added bonus
affirmative yes
aid and abet
all-time record
alternative choice
A.M. in the morning
and etc.
anonymous stranger
annual anniversary
armed gunman
artificial prosthesis
ascend up
ask the question
assemble together
attach together
ATM machine
autobiography of his/her own life
REVISION TIPS
? Do a search using [Control] [F] for redundant words. Eliminate one of the redundant words.
? If you keep a redundancy, use it sparingly and for effect.
? If you disagree with this rule, ignore it. Make sure your editor and agent feel the same way.
For a larger list of some common redundancies and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Oh, the hellish question! Dare you use profanity in your writing?
1) It depends on your target audience.
Will they be offended? Do you care? The more explicit terms should be left out of cozy mysteries.
2) Does it fit the context of the plot?
If you are writing about nuns in England in 1300, I doubt they used the F-bomb. You might have a salty old nun who muttered the occasional "bloody hell" but only after the reign of Bloody Mary I (queen regent from 1553 to 1558).
I wrote a series set in 3500 BC. Trying to write without some form of expletive, insult, or curse word was painful. I had to resort to them calling each other names of animals etc. Some form of exclamation is needed, but not every other paragraph. I had to stringently edit it.
3) Is it appropriate for your target audience?
If you write children's picture books or Christian romance, I'd leave it out.
4) Are you using it to define character?
Some characters swear like sailors. Others never would. Do your space aliens have potty mouths? Are your characters living in the ghettos of New York City? If so, drop the F-bomb a few times. Don't use it for shock value. The F-bomb has lost its impact by overuse. It isn't shocking anymore. The F-word is versatile. It is a noun, adjective, and verb, even though it stands for "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and did not exist prior to England adopting the acronym in roughly the 1400s. Modern television and film scripts overuse it and it becomes redundant.
5) Are you using it effectively?
A rare profanity inserted for effect is better than twenty in a row. Profanity offends many. They are red words and imply anger, even if the person isn't angry. It may limit your audience. It's important to ask how your agent or editor feels about it. If she hates it, she might insist you take it out. If you stand your ground, you may have to find another agent or editor, or publish it yourself.
If profanity is inserted into every sentence, it feels abusive. No one likes listening to abusive people rant, even in fiction.
6) Can you make up new ones?
This is a serious challenge for fantasy and science fiction writers. Come up with a few, carefully selective, highly descriptive swear words for your characters. We'll love you for it. It may even get included in the English lexicon. For historical fiction writers, make sure the word was used in the era you describe. Make sure the word is something your character would have come into contact with. If you don't do this well, it is a speed bump.
REVISION TIPS
? Do a search and kill for all swear words, especially the ones you make up. How many times have you used them? Can you minimize them for better effect?
? Have you committed profanity abuse? Should you trim them?
? Does the profanity fit the time and place?
? Does the profanity fit the background and personality of the character uttering it?
For a list of other editing and revision tips, pick up a copy of:
Jargon consists of words that relate to a specific group, profession, or event.
actionable intelligence
bait and switch
behind the eight ball
best practice
bounced check
brain trust
bull market
circular file
core competency
face time
fall guy
file thirteen
food chain
free lunch
game changer
head count
hired gun
in the loop
in the red/black
in the running
out of pocket
push back
put to bed
time frame
value added
Medicine is full of Latin words that sound intimidating but mean relatively little.
Thyroiditis (root word thyroid + itis meaning inflammation)
Myeloma (root word myelo=marrow+ oma meaning growth)
Endocrinology (root word endocrine + ology meaning study of)
Although it is Latin, it is also their jargon. Medical terminology is full of acronyms. If you've ever listened to a professional conversation and been unable to follow the acronyms, you've listened to jargon.
CT scan (computed topography)
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
BMP (basic metabolic panel)
CBC (complete blood count)
PET scan (positron emission topography).
Jargon is used as short-hand to refer to things common to people’s understanding. The art of texting has inspired an entirely new acronym vocabulary.
BTW - By The Way
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
MOTD - Message Of The Day
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
CYA - See You Around
HTH - Hope This Helps
FYI - For Your Information
LOL - Laugh Out Loud
PFA - Please Find Atached
The field of computing has spawned many jargon words:
blog
Byte
CD-Rom
disk drive
email
hard drive
hyperlink
internet
RAM
vlog
For fantasy and science fiction writers, building a new world can be enriched by adding a few - I stress few - new words and phrases. Make certain you clarify their meaning to the reader. Adding a dash of unique jargon brings your world to life. Too many obscure references, and you risk losing a reader's interest. For historical writers, you have nitpicky fans. Look up when a term was first used. They love to point out your errors.
REVISION TIPS
? Turn on the Clichés, Colloquialisms, and Jargon option in the toolbox. They will be marked for you. As you read through your draft, decide which to keep and which to kill. Have you used the jargon intentionally?
? Does it mean what you think it means?
? Have you committed jargon abuse? Should you trim it?
? Does the jargon fit the time and place?
? Does the jargon fit the background and personality of the character uttering it?
For a list of some common clichés and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Colloquialisms are words or phrases that we use in conversation or informal situations. An example would be the different ways people refer to carbonated beverages: cola, soda, soda pop, and pop. Another example is cooked batter: pancake, griddle cake, flap jack, Johnny cake, and short stack.
They can be words (gonna), phrases (hang on), or aphorisms (when the going gets tough, the tough get going).
A few examples of colloquialisms include:
bat out of hell
beating a dead horse
bigger than a barn
bump on a log
couldn't care less
crazy as a loon
deader than a doornail
dumb as stump
drunk as a monkey
happy as a pig in shit
hell for leather
hotter than hell
knocked into next week
like flies on shit
like white on rice
meaner than a snake
neat as a pin
not the brightest crayon
older than dirt
one fry short of a happy meal
piece of cake
shut your pie hole
slow as molasses
tighter than a banjo string
Colloquialism, clichés, and slang are close cousins and hard to differentiate. In general, colloquialisms are limited to a specific geographic location (the southern states) and slang is more widespread (America).
It isn't important for the sake of revision to worry about the finer points of distinction. We aren't in English class anymore. The important point is to use them wisely.
Both colloquialisms and slang can be used as a dialogue plant and payoff: a phrase repeated two or three times at critical points in the story between two characters. Creating unique colloquialisms and slang for your fantasy world can add a dash of spice. Don't over do it. Getting the historical slang wrong will earn you e-mails pointing out that the phrase was not used until _____. Nitpickers love this stuff.
Both can add color to your prose and dialogue. Sprinkled throughout a manuscript, they are fine. A few sprinkled in a paragraph is considered overdoing it.
Revision Tips
? Turn on the Clichés, Colloquialisms, and Jargon option in the toolbox in Word. These items will be marked for you. As you read through your draft, decide which to keep and which to kill. Have you used the cliché intentionally?
? Can you twist it or make it fresh?
? Have you committed colloquialism abuse? Should you trim them?
? Does the languge fit the time and place?
? Does the languge fit the background and personality of the character uttering it?
For all of the revision tips on colloquialisms and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Purple prose consists of passages so cloying, over the top, or dramatic that they create speed bumps for the reader. It employs an abundance of adjectives and dense descriptive detail.
Purple prose should be weeded out when found, unless that is your preferred writing style. In which case, you may deter some readers and agents.
The worst offenders are romantic scenes, because writers try to avoid clinical terms for the acts of love and body parts. A lot of slang words are too crude and don't fit the mood of the piece.
Purple prose can be a product of weak description writing. Some writers stuff so many descriptions in a paragraph the reader forgets the topic.
1) Avoid using annoying phrases:
bated breath (not baited!)
cupid lips,
framed by
heart-shaped face
limped pools
manly chin
revealed
set off by
steely eyes
heaving or swelling bosom,
tumescent member
twirling lock of hair
wriggling eyebrows
2) Avoid melodramatic descriptions:
Her ample bosom heaved as he slowly untied her frilled, satin night dress. His caress made her tremble like a delicate blossom in the breeze as he nibbled on the petals of her ears.
3) Avoid descriptions that go on ... and on ... and on.
She stood there, like a pale lilly, swaying in the wind, her corn silk hair floating around her heart-shaped face like golden cloud, obscuring her sky-blue eyes. The flyaway strands parted as her rosebud lips pursed and blew them aside. Her gauzy white gown clung to her voluptuous curves. She was the absolute embodiment of a seductive angel.
An effective cumulative sentence (base clause plus two or three descriptive phrases) is a master craft. Stuffing as many fluffy descriptions as you can think of into a sentence is not masterful.
REVISION TIPS
? Have you used melodrama intentionally, such as in dialogue or poking fun of a situation?
? Can you tone it down?
? Have you committed purple prose abuse?
? Does the language fit the background and personality of the character uttering it?
For all of the revision tips on purple prose and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Clichés are overused metaphors and often employ the words like and as.
Agents and editors hate clichés. However, clichés are so deeply imbedded in our language, we don't know we are using them. Personally, I applaud all those creative people who came up with the phrases that give our language its biting wit, sappy compliments, colorful swear words, and delightful put downs. Our world would be boring without such gems as:
Dead as a doornail
Like a cat on a hot tin roof
Hot as snot
Sure as shootin'
Detractors call clichés predictable, annoying, a symptom of lazy writing, and bordering on purple prose. The main concern is cliché abuse.
The key to using clichés well is to use them sparingly and twist them to make them original. They can be placed strategically to add a comic punch or to define a single character, not the entire cast.
Cliché: Dick won’t rock the boat.
Twist: Dick won’t rock the rescue dinghy.
Cliché: Not for all the tea in China.
Twist: Not for all the fortune cookies in China.
There are too many clichés to list them all. Some are so ingrained in our language, it would sound stilted to avoid them. Make artistic choices.
REVISION TIPS
?Turn on the Clichés, Colloquialisms, and Jargon option in the toolbox. They will be marked for you. As you read through your draft, decide which to keep and which to kill. Have you used the cliché intentionally?
?Can you twist it or make it fresh?
?Have you committed cliché abuse? Should you trim them?
?Does the cliché fit the time and place?
?Does the cliché fit the background and personality of the character uttering it?
For a list of some common clichés and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
Let's review a verb's purpose and explain what a verb phrase is. A verb tells the reader what happens. The action can be modified by an object, assisted with a helper, or modified by a verb phrase. Verb phrases are often used in idioms, colloquialisms, or slang.
1) A verb object is the item upon which the action is committed.
Jane drove (subject/verb) the car (object).
Dick threw (subject/verb) the ball (object).
2) A verb can be modified with a helping verb:
Forms of to be: am, are, be, been, is, was, were.
Forms of to do: did, do, does.
Forms of to have: had, has, have.
Qualifiers: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would. Qualifiers can be red flags and often need to be cut. Search for them. Kill them unless they are absolutely essential to the point. Jane could see Dick edging around the corner, weapons out. In distant third or omniscient: Jane saw Dick edge around the corner, weapons out. First person or close third in Jane's POV: Dick edged around the corner, weapons out. 3) A verb can be modified by a verb phrase. A verb phrase contains a verb and a helping verb that act as one word. The helping word always precedes the verb. The words never, not, and the contraction n't are negation words and are not part of the verb.
Dick could have been willing (verb) to fly (modifier).
Dick might not have wanted (verb) to fly (modifier)
We have become (verb) world travelers (object).
4) The helping verb can be separated from the verb in certain situations.
When asking a question, the helping verb comes before the actual verb.
Have you ever been to Spain?
Do you know the way to San Jose?
No, I've never been there.
Dick should never (negation) have gone (verb) there (modifier).
Revision Tips
?Make sure the verb phrases are used correctly. You should search for these verb phrase key words by selecting [Control] [F] or [Find]and entering the word. Make sure you avoid clichés.
?Evaluate all verb phrases. Are they used correctly?
?Do they constitute clichés? Can you change it or cut it?
For all of the revision tips on verbs and other revision layers, pick up a copy of:
I've written about this before, but it requires reinforcement.
I hate it when a writer doesn't know the difference between writing in present and past tense (I like both if done correctly). Lately I've picked up several books that have both tenses in the same paragraph, sometimes the same sentence. Those books quickly end up on my discard pile even if I genuinely enjoyed the premise. I can forgive one or two lapses, but not an entire book.
Verb tense cues the reader in to when an action took place. Verb tenses should change only when there is a change in time.
In terms of story structure, there are only two specific tenses to worry about: present and past.
It most commercial fiction, the stories are written in what is considered past tense. That doesn’t mean a sentence cannot use a different tense if required. Rather, the story is related as if it had already happened and the reader is only now learning about it from the point of view character.
Stories written in present tense are less common and relate the story as if it is happening right at that very moment to the point of view character. Writing an entire novel in present tense is tricky.
The rest of the complex verb forms are marked by words called auxiliaries. Grasping the six basic tenses allows a writer to control the timeframe of the scenes through the sentence structure.
Problems in sequencing tenses tend to occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding words to the past participles: had, have, will, and will have. The most common add-ons are: be, can, do, has, have, had, may, must, ought, shall, will, and would.
Verb tense alerts you to narrator intrusions.
Sally didn’t understand yet that her life would never be the same.
Aside from poor foreshadowing, if you’ve been using past tense, you just launched the reader into a future timeframe.
Let’s review verb tenses in detail.
·Present tense: When using present tense, the verb choice reflects an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that exists in the present. Few stories are written in present tense.
I stroke his hair.
His hand slides down my arm, his thumb searching for a pulse.
·Present progressive tense describes an ongoing action that is happening at the same time the statement is written. This tense is formed by using am, is, are with the verb form ending in ing.
I am stroking his hair.
We are walking the dog.
The sun is shining.
·Present perfect tense refers to something that happened at an indefinite time in the past or that began in the past and continues into the present. It uses have or had in combination with the past participle of the verb, usually ending in ed. Irregular verbs have special past participles.
We have searched high and low and cannot find it.
We have been using this process for five years.
·Present perfect progressive tense describes an action that began in the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future. This tense is formed by using has and have been and the present participle of the verb ending in ing.
We have been considering the possibility of retiring to Florida.
·Past Tense
When using past tense, the verb choice expresses an action or situation that started and finished in the past and usually ends in ed. Irregular verbs have special past tense forms. Most commercial fiction is written in past tense.
Sally reached for the knife.
Dick raced down the stairs.
I led the charge into the building.
·Past progressive tense is used to describe a past action which was happening when another action occurred and uses was and were with a verb ending in ing.
I was reaching for his knife.
Dick was racing down the stairs when the alarm sounded.
This tense is considered passive and writers are encouraged to do a search and kill for sentences using was plus ing. Try searching for the word wasin your draft. It will take hours, but do it. Get rid of as many as you can.
·Past perfect tense is used for an action that took place in the past before another past action. This tense is formed by using had with the past participle of the verb.
By the time we arrived, the fight had ended.
·Past perfect progressive tense references a past but ongoing action that was completed before some other past action. This tense is formed by using had been and the present perfect form of the verb ending in ing.
Before the alarm rang, the firemen had been cooking dinner and playing poker.
·Future Tense
Future tense expresses a situation that has not yet occurred. It uses will or shall.
Dick will go the store on Monday.
Jane shall meet the deadline.
·Progressive future tense describes an ongoing or continuous action that will take place in the future. This tense is formed by using will be or shall be with a verb ending in ing.
Jane will be singing with the choir on July fourth.
·Future perfect tense refers to an action that will occur in the future before some other action. This tense is formed by using will have with the past participle of the verb.
By the time we arrive in London, the tour bus will have been waiting there for several days.
·Future perfect progressive tense refers to a future, ongoing action that will occur before some specified future time, using will have been and the present participle of verbs ending in ing.
By this time next year, we will have been publishing and selling more books than we ever imagined.
Shifting viewpoint does not mean shifting tense. If you are attributing thoughts to a character, you do not shift into the present tense to express them unless you are writing the piece in present tense.
Incorrect: “I really hate them,” she thinks.
Correct: “I really hate them,” she thought.
Shifting tense and misuse of tense are plot holes. They are hard to ignore and interrupt the flow. It forces the reader to re-read a sentence or paragraph. Subtle, unintended time shifts create confusion. A reader might have to stop and ask, “Did he or will he?”
Perfecting verb tense is a rudinmentary skill every writer needs in their writing toolkit.
0 Comments on Verb Tension as of 5/2/2014 9:51:00 AM
I recently took a full-time position as a proofreader for an accounting firm. Proofreading financial reports differs from the type of proofreading I’ve done in the past, but I’m learning a lot and enjoying it.
Over my writing career, I’ve discovered the importance of remaining flexible to making a living from writing. The writer who has diversified talents is better able to weather changes in the economy and workforce than a one-skill wonder.
Some writers choose to work a full-time job outside the writing field for better financial security. They may find a nonwriting job drains their creativity less than a writing job does, giving them the energy and enthusiasm to write in their spare time.
Proofreading work is a good fit for me because it draws little from my creativity but keeps me current and my writing mechanics sharp.
0 Comments on Proofreading as of 5/20/2013 10:15:00 PM
When signing the first contract, authors will always ask what's next, what's the next step in the publishing process, and usually it's edits. While certainly every publisher and every editor is different, here's what you can typically expect.
Revisions: These usually come from your acquisitions editor, the editor who made the offer and "bought" your book. Revisions can be as intense or as simple as the editor feels is needed, and how revisions come can differ from editor to editor. Some might print out a copy of the manuscript and make marks all over the page, while others could send a simple two-paragraph email explaining what needs to be done. Personally, I always fear the shorter revisions, they usually contain the most work. Things like "The entire second half of the book isn't working," instead of specifics like "Tone down the character in this scene."
Line Edits: Once revisions are turned in, and the editor finds them acceptable, she'll do line edits. This is where she scrolls through the manuscript to make sure there are no other problems or inconsistencies. She'll look for things like a change in dress color and make sure that a plot change is carried through. Sometimes line edits will be sent back to the author, but more often they'll simply be made and sent to the copyeditor so that you can look at line edits and copyedits at one time.
Copyedits: These are done by a freelance copyeditor. This is when the nitty-gritty of the book is taken care of. The copyeditor's job is to check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency. If you have a lot of odd spellings or characters in your book, I would always recommend a style sheet be submitted with your manuscript to the copyeditor so that she knows the spelling of names, or the spelling you choose, and can keep things consistent from book to book.
Proofreading: This is when the book has been taken to the printer and designed into final pages. You have one final chance to review the book, to proofread, and make sure no errors were made in the printing, layout, and design. At this point you cannot make major plot changes, but simply correct small, minor errors.
Jessica
16 Comments on The Stages of an Edit, last added: 11/12/2011
Very good to know! I always put revisions and line edits in the same round, so it's interesting to see them separated out (and explains why people always seem to be in edits. LOL). In fact, it might be good to do my own edits in this sequence.
How long are authors usually given to complete each stage of revisions? When you suggest/request revisions from your authors, who long do they usually take to return them? Thanks again!
This is awesome, I wish I'd had it a few months ago! LOL! Having gone through all but the proofreading part now, it's interesting to see the order. And now I know what the style sheet was for. lol...I got that with my copyedits and was like what the heck is this for? This is one of those highly needed posts that new authors will soak up! Thank you!
Thanks so much for this! I'm ramping up to enter this part of the writing world for the first time, and this answered a lot of questions I had. Very straightforward and informative.
Thanks for this useful information about what to expect. The short revision letters, I imagine, are nerve-wracking for the author, because they can either mean everything's fine or, more likely, the book needs so much work overall that it wasn't worth listing a lot of individual points. Yeesh.
Good advice about the style sheet! I've got a few intentional oddities in my books, and kind of worried somebody would try to change them out of ignorance or stubbornness or something.
I enjoy reading the new blogs from LLC and also everyone's comments-I shudder when I think of sending in my book and having an editor or whomever see all of the things I don't know-and those that I know I don't know etc-lol-A sense of humor will sustain me I guess--Thanks for these blogs-
I enjoy reading the new blogs from LLC and also everyone's comments-I shudder when I think of sending in my book and having an editor or whomever see all of the things I don't know-and those that I know I don't know etc-lol-A sense of humor will sustain me I guess--Thanks for these blogs-
Excellent and useful information. Thanks for posting.
It's really a good idea to go through this same process before submitting your work. An experienced 'beta' or writing partner can help you work through revisions as well as offer another perspective on plot holes, character development and theme arcs.
I credit my mother and her dedication to reading for planting the seed that grew into my love of books. From babyhood, she read to me and my siblings, introducing us to a myriad of fables and stories and fairytales. One of the first books she gave me to read on my own was L M Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. I have read this series countless times from childhood to adulthood and as familiar as I am with the tapestry of stories woven by the author’s richly imaginative mind, each time I read it over, I discover a new quirk, a delightful charm that had somehow passed unnoticed the previous reading. She always makes it so worthwhile to repeat the experience of reading her words: falling in love with Gilbert anew, feeling Anne’s anger and pain, hurting over the sadnesses, sobbing over the joys, all as if it were for the first time.
I couldn’t imagine a life without books. My most treasured possessions are the titles stacked on my desk, crammed into my bookshelf and lined up along the top of my dresser. Books themselves form bookends to their book friends. Coffee table books I display like others would artwork, giving them pride of place at eye level. When I close the lid to my laptop, I am greeted with images of the Paris metro. They form the cover of an over-sized book of photographs of the city’s metro system[1] and instantly transport me to the bowels of the capital: the squeal of the rubber tires grinding to a halt, the heady stink of hundreds of people crammed together in a dank dark cavern, the squeezing of one’s body in amongst those of the citizenry on an always interesting ride.
Trawling through second-hand bookshops has become an addiction to which I feel no shame in admitting. Even anticipating such an outing brings me joy; the smell of the musty, dusty yellowed pages captures me every time. I cherish every one of my pre-loved books and take comfort from knowing that many others before me shared intimate moments with this story, with those characters, and their lives were enriched for it.
On a trip to the country to visit my mother last Easter, I stumbled upon a book sale as part of a nearby county fair. After half an hour of rummaging, I found a gem – a book from 1915 and in beautiful condition. I took my duty seriously to continue to give it the care it deserves. It’s called A Heroine Of France, a story of Jeanne d’Arc, by Evelyn Everett-Green,[2] and, as the careful handwriting penned on the first page tells, was awarded to a Miss Dobson in her Sunday school class just after the turn of the last century. I couldn’t have been happier had I discovered a pot of gold! Imagine the thrill it would have been for the small child to have received this book as a reward for her studies! The pride she must have felt would have been forever linked with the book I now held in my hands almost one hundred years on.
When the love of reading grabs you, you are set up for a life of travel, adventure and learning, of being exposed to ideas and cultures vastly different to your own and through it all, grow to be tolerant and compassionate of others and equipped to stand in someone else’s shoes. You understand that our Universe is filled with magic. Your vocabulary broadens. Your ability to communicate with others grows in
In Monday's post we covered Steps 1-5 of Final Stages of Editing; today we'll finish up and focus on the remaining points.
Final Stages of Self-Editing Steps 6-10:
6. Check formatting Now it’s time to check the formatting of the manuscript.
Are your paragraphs all indented with proper punctuation?
Did you use the Show/Hide function in your word processor to check the inner workings. For instance, years ago the proper spacing between sentences was two spaces. Now, the protocol is one space between sentences. The Show/Hide function displays a dot for each space.
Is your manuscript double spaced?
Did you use the correct formatting for dialogue?
7. Get your manuscript edited When you think it’s perfect, have it edited before you start submitting it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, you think this step is overkill, and it will cost money. You’re right on the second part, it will cost money, but it will be money well spent.
No matter how many times you self-edit, and how many times your critique group goes over your manuscript, there will be errors. Ask around for a reputable editor.
8. Create a log line
A log line or pitch line is a one sentence description or your manuscript. This may take a bit of trial and error.
9. Create a synopsis
A synopsis is a short description of your story. Your writing should be tight and focused--leave out the fluff. The content should be self-edited and proofread before sending it off to an agent or publisher. You are trying to grab the reader's attention and let the reader know that you are grammar literate.
Basically, the synopsis should briefly let the editor know what the book is about: the beginning of your story, your main character/s needs or wants, how he strives to reach his goals, the obstacles/conflicts in his way, and how he overcomes the conflicts moving forward to the final outcome.
I read an interesting article recommending that your synopsis should be created using your detailed outline.
10. Create a query letter or proposal
A query is a sales pitch. It should be three paragraphs and only one page long. The first paragraph quickly and interestingly describes the story; it’s the hook. The second paragraph tells a bit about you, your qualifications for writing the book. And, it’s a good idea to include a bit on how you intend to help market the book. The third paragraph is the conclusion; keep it short.
11. Final Step: Submissions
Okay, your manuscript is polished and shiny, now it’s time to submit. But, hold on . . . check each publisher’s guidelines before you submit.
In fact, don’t just check the guidelines, you need to study them, and follow them implicitly. If a publisher asks for submission by mail only, don’t email your submission. If the word count on an article or story is up to 1000 words, don’t submit a story with 1150 words.
There is just so much involved with self-editing, and as I keep learning new tricks I'll pass them along.
Hi Karen, thank you for sharing part 2 of the Final Stages of Self-Editing. Thanks for the reminder in #6 of one space in between sentences. I always seem to forget that one.
8 Essential Steps Before Submitting Your Manuscript
Writing is a personal experience. Each writer faces his or her own obstacles and processes. But, one common aspect of writing is it always starts with an idea. You may take that idea and turn it into an outline. You then take your outline and sprinkle it with letters and words and watch it grow. Words turn into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into chapters. The journey can take months and even years. But, the love of writing, the love of your story, and the hope of publication keep you dedicated.
Then, the day finally arrives. Your manuscript is complete. The envelopes are ready. All you have to do is submit, submit, and submit again. But, hold on a minute. Have you gone over all the necessary steps to ensure your manuscript is actually ready to be submitted to a publisher or agent?
The writing journey can take months and even years. But, the love of writing, the love of your story, and the hope of publication keep you dedicated.
Time passes, and finally your manuscript is complete. The envelopes are ready. All you have to do is submit, submit, and submit again. But, hold on a minute. Have you gone over all the necessary steps to ensure your manuscript is actually ready to be submitted to a publisher or agent?
Here are eight steps that every writer, especially those new to the business of writing, should follow before submitting a manuscript:
Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Then self-edit your story until it’s the best you can do.
Make sure you belong to a critique group in your genre. Submit your ms for critique.
Revise your story again taking into account the critiques you received. Here you want to use common sense in regard to which critiques you listen to. If all your critique group members tell you a particular section of your children’s story is age inappropriate, listen. If one member tells you he/she doesn’t like the protagonist’s name, use your own discretion.
Resubmit the manuscript to the critique group again. See if you’ve revised or removed all the problem areas.
Proofread and self-edit the manuscript until you think it’s perfect.
Print the manuscript and check it again. You’ll be surprised at the different types of errors that will be found in this format. You should use a colored pen or pencil for these corrections so they’ll be easy to spot later on.
Now, it’s time for the final corrections. Give it another go over.
Have your manuscript professionally edited.
Yes, You Need an Editor.
If you’re questioning why you need to have your manuscript professionally edited after going to the trouble of having it critiqued and worked on it meticulously and endlessly, the answer is simple: An author and a critique group are not a match for the expert eyes of a professional editor.
Did you and your critiq
0 Comments on Is Your Manuscript Ready for Submission? as of 1/1/1900
This was such a great question and so different from what I usually get that, obviously, I was excited . . .
About the post on typos and errors after publication: you say the author is responsible for handing in a MS that is polished and ready to publish, and the editors are responsible for cleaning up typos, grammar, and a few other things.
What if you're Canadian and you've used all the spellings you're used to in your book, like colour, centre, and cheque. If the publisher you end up with is US-ian, will the editors change all those spellings thinking they're incorrect? I like my Canadian spellings, especially when my stories take place in Canada.
Also, I've read many recently published books that use myself/yourself/ourselves incorrectly in the place of I/me/you/our etc. All the grammar books I've checked agree on this rule, so I'm always wondering why book editors aren't catching the mistake. If they're checking grammar, shouldn't they be really awesome at grammar? I know you're not an editor at a publishing house, but I'm wondering if you have an idea about this?
Does the author get to see what corrections the editors have made before the book goes to print?
Before I answer the real question let me clarify a few things. The editorial process is complicated and involves a number of people with a number of levels of expertise. I go into more detail on exactly what you can expect and what your role is in the process in this post. I also want to clarify that I did spend more than five years as an editor in major publishing houses so my answer to this question does come from experience.
If you’re Canadian, or any non-American English speaker/writer, feel free to use the spellings you’re most comfortable with when submitting your book to agents. I suspect most of us will know where you’re coming from and not assume that you can’t spell (although I do suspect that an agent or two will disagree with me on this and suggest you use American spellings). However, what a publisher does with the grammar and spellings in a book is almost entirely up to the publisher. In fact, there is typically a clause in the contract that states that the publisher will edit the book to conform to that publisher’s style and I believe most use Chicago Manual of Style. That being said, you certainly get a say in how the final product looks. If, for example, you would rather have your book maintain the Canadian spellings that’s something you should talk over with your editor early on in the process. She may have her own reasons for saying no (often based on marketing and sales), but the conversation is worth having.
As for the errors you often see in books, you’ll definitely have the ability to “stet” these if they are made by the copyeditor. In some cases (the ones you site, for example) it might be the author’s choice to write that way, even if the copyeditor changes them. Either way, you do see the editing at every stage in the process so you will know how the final product looks before anyone else sees it.
One suggestion for those who have specific grammar/style opinions, for example those who write a series or paranormal, don’t be afraid to send along a style sheet of your own. For example, do you have a new species with a specific spelling? A style sheet will help editors know what you intend so they can help keep it consistent throughout, and it will probably save you a lot of stetting later on.
Jessica
26 Comments on Grammar in Books, last added: 5/18/2009
Hmm, I always figured the spellings and grammar used would be the ones most understood and appealing to the largest target readership. If it's Canadian, then keep it. If it's American, then change it. The point is not to please ourselves but to please the readers who have the money to buy our books and enjoy them. The way I see it, when it comes to my book, the plot, the theme, and the characterization stay, but everything else is negotiable.
Well done on the deliberate mistake ("site" for "cite")to exercise your readers' inner copy-editor.
The problem, in the UK at least, is that a lot of books make it through to publication with absolute howlers in - "The doctor invited my brother and I to dinner" - and not just of grammar but vocabulary: the confusion of "flaunt" and "flout" is a common example.
The copy-editor has to be spot-on about grammar and often they just aren't. Or the publishing house outsources the task to a company that just isn't up to it.
That was a good question. I am married to a Canadian so I'm used to seeing the variance in spellings. But this came up in a writer's critique board and I was at an impasse. The writer was Canadian but writing the book as if he was American in New York. So I told him it may be better to change the spellings to what Americans are used to in order for it to seem more believable. He also wrote things such as "Department for Transportation" and I suggested correcting to "of" rather than "for". However, I do prefer Canadian spellings but it just isn't what we're taught in school.
I think American readers generally don't have an issue with reading the various spellings unless it is written from the viewpoint of an American. I actually have a medical book written by different doctors and the spellings vary from chapter to chapter...it is very interesting. I like it.
But thanks for the advice! Now I know what I can at least tell fellow writers since I was unsure in the past.
One thing to add: I've been known to use the "British" spelling of a word without realizing it. I blame it on a combination of things including, but not limited to, a Canadian husband, taking Brit-literature,and having British professors in school.
STET brings me joy. I had a really bad copyeditor once who *inserted* four misspellings and a grammar error. Oh, and tried changing my voice. I wielded my power of STET rather ferociously on that ms.
As an avid reader who lives in the U.S, it doesn't bother me at all to read books with spelling and grammar different than ours, especially if the characters are say, living in Canada. I actually think it would be wrong for the writing to be changed in that case.
As far as grammatical errors go, though, it's always been my understanding that when you're writing fiction, you write the way people talk. It's hard for me to really get into a book if the writing sounds stiff and formal. Especially when it comes to dialog.
This was very informative, thank you. I'm looking forward to the days when I can recount my own first person experiences with the editing process.
terri said, on 4/27/2009 8:04:00 AM
My preference is that you use the spelling and grammar conventions of where the story is taking place and reflect the nationality of the characters.
I recently read a book set in American written by an Australian. The copyeditors had done a good job of catching the variations in spelling, but let a few slip through. They caught my eye (I did a stint as a copyeditor on a small town rag of a newspaper) and spoiled the mood of the tale.
However, I wouldn't want to read Harry Potter books with all of the spelling, jargon and grammar Americanized, it would have been wrong!
So, I guess, in a nutshell, my rule is, when in Rome . . .
As a reader, I sort of resent it when books from English authors are modified to fit an American style. Not only do I resent the fact that they don't think I can figure them out, but I think they lose some charm.
So, as an editor, I don't change them.
I am concerned, should I ever make it into print, that I'll get to have a look at things before they print thousands of them.
As for grammar, I love English for its adaptability and fluidity. Grammar can be subjective in fiction. I've found myself changings things to be "grammatically correct" and it just killed it.
I agree with the posters who say that it depends on the specific setting of your story; if it's set in Britain or Canada or Australia, then those conventions should prevail. After having waded through a lot of "British-ese" in reading Harlequin novels, I can say that in context, even the most unfamiliar or "inside" reference will at least be comprehensible, if you give it a little thought. The ones that aren't, and for which you have no American equivalent...you just let go. They're usually details that are good for scene setting or the like, but usually a key story element doesn't depend on how a certain word is spelled or a certain term is used.
That being said, I have NO patience with stories written for an American audience in which British usage is allowed to stand--as in a novel years ago that was supposedly set in Kansas City (don't remember which one, but I think it was Kansas) in which the heroine cashed her cheque to go put "petrol" in her car. That, to me, was absolutely indefensible. No one in Kansas City's going to talk or think that way, and if you're writing an American scene and you're not American...try to trust us that certain words just are different. :-)
Also, I am amazed at how the Word grammar and spell-checker, nine times out of ten, tells a writer to put in something grammatically INCORRECT...usually something that doesn't even make sense in the context of the sentence. Does anyone know how in the world THAT happened?
This is a great question, because it's true in Spanish as well. Puerto Ricans for example cut words. If the speaker was from PR they'd say for example: " 'ta bueno? " instead of " Esta Bueno " when asking if something is good. ( Either food or work or whatever.) The technical name for this phenomenon is "Nation Language" and it is a hotly contested subject in academia. English departments tend to loathe it, while typically Comparative Literature departments adore it. (*Which makes sense considering they're looking at a global view of literature.*) One of those "Coke V. Pepsi" debates, no joke.
I agree with the 'when in rome' perspective. although i do admit that when i read words like 'realized' or 'color' it trips me up a bit and pulls me out of the story, because i think 'oh its American spelling' and then proceed to read the page trying to spot the other words lol.
Anonymous said, on 4/27/2009 1:47:00 PM
Use of a distinctive narrative voice aside (which, of course, can include grammatical errors)I have to admit I'm appalled at the number of typos and grammatical mistakes I see in books. This should be caught by both the publisher and the author.
DH's hubby worked for Scholastic for years (and other publishers over a long 30+ year career), and as he explained it most publishers choose to Americanize books - which can sometimes go beyond spelling (check, cheque), and word choice (lorry, truck), but will sometimes change cultural references. When we discussed this at some family dinner years ago, I was aghast that some publishers don't think books about something other than Texas (or something equally US focused) will/can sell in the US. I was taught at an early age that you can learn a lot from books, and this smacks in the face of that. That said, it can happen, so an author for whom this is important would be wise to discuss this up front.
Oh, I'm glad to hear that sometimes spelling won't be Americanised. I'm from NZ, and as I've never been to the States I've never written a book that happens in the States, or from an American's point of view - but my books could potentially be sold to an American market, so it's good to hear that my British/NZ spelling and ways wouldn't necessarily be changed!
It does bug me when I read a non-American book (not set in the US, not written by an American author) which is full of American spelling. I guess I always thought that if republishing a book in a different country, an editor should look over that and give us the correct spelling for that country (rather than teaching a lot of NZers American rather than NZ spelling).
The USA already controls our media, our entertainment, our technology - I don't want it controlling our language as well!
Also, that "site" bugged the heck outta me :P I was trying to figure if there was a different usage of "site" that I wasn't aware of - I don't think there is!
I recently read an article by an editor that encouraged fiction writers to use language the way it is spoken, i.e. not everything is in complete sentences or grammatically correct. He said that it works in dialogue because that's the way people really do talk.
Any comments?
Anonymous said, on 4/27/2009 10:27:00 PM
Well, recently I looked up "peak your interest" (a saying I have used in speaking but hadn't used in writing before) and found it considered correct–in that spelling for that use– only to later discover (after I had used peak) that the "accepted" spelling is "pique."
You just can't trust the internet.
(This has happened to me on several words and sayings recently.I feel so embarrassed when I mess up especially when I thought I did my research.)
Nicola said, on 4/27/2009 11:54:00 PM
Terri, if you read versions of the Harry Potter books that were published in the US then they were in fact heavily 'Americanised'. I once saw a list of all the variations to words made solely for the American readership (as opposed to other English-speaking countries) and it was several pages long. This of course even went as far as changing the title of the first book just for American audiences.
Nicola said, on 4/27/2009 11:58:00 PM
Also, as someone who edits the spoken word for a living (yes, it's an obscure field), I can promise you that there is a great deal of difference between the spoken word and the written word. Good dialogue in a book does not resemble real life conversations. Good dialogue in a book does not include the false starts, grammatical mistakes, verbal tics and hand gestures that real conversation is full of.
I write in US and Australian/UK for blog sites. I use two spellcheckers and even use both European metric, US metric and US imperial measures and conversions.
It's a new world out there, and I could write or convert an MS in any (english) lanugage that the publisher preferred. Some of the more obscure US idiom might trick me up a little, otherwise, no problem.
I think spellings could be based on the setting or audience, whereas word choices should reflect the setting but keep the audience in mind. It's like a sci-fi or fantasy work with coined words; a good one will use the lingo but in such a way that you can figure out what each one is even if it doesn't have a point-blank explanation.
I actually just read this post while taking a breather from the novel I'm working on. I've known I have a few little ways I use grammar that I would be downright furious if a copyeditor insisted on changing them. (Yes, I'm that nitpicky over nuances in meaning even though I'm writing urban fantasy.)
I've also worked as a proofreader/copyeditor, so I liked the suggestion of making your own style guide. I started with the novel I'm currently working on, and I keep finding things to add to it. Grammar preferences, coined words, preferred spellings for mythical beings, character names, foreign words and phrases I'm using (with languages of origin and meanings)…
The more I add to it, the more I'm realizing how much I need it. Thank you for that suggestion!
This is an actual recently published book from a big name author at a BIG name publisher. I wonder what this First Edition With an Egregious Typo will be worth in a hundred years? (Note to self: Amend will, so that great-great-grandchildren do not put book on charity pile after I kick the bucket. Just in case.)
Did the proofreader miss this? And the author, and the editor? It's true that the eye usually sees what it wants to see, rather than what's actually there. Or did Big Publisher decide to save a few bucks and skip the proofreader? Either way, I'd be willing to bet that at least three pairs of eyes missed a (literally) big error.
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This is helpful information, informative reading as all your posts are.
Very good to know! I always put revisions and line edits in the same round, so it's interesting to see them separated out (and explains why people always seem to be in edits. LOL). In fact, it might be good to do my own edits in this sequence.
Thank you for this!
Thanks for this! That was very helpful.
How long are authors usually given to complete each stage of revisions? When you suggest/request revisions from your authors, who long do they usually take to return them? Thanks again!
I'm in the midst of editing now. This is very helpful.
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Thanks for lining this out so simply. Always love your info.
This is awesome, I wish I'd had it a few months ago! LOL! Having gone through all but the proofreading part now, it's interesting to see the order. And now I know what the style sheet was for. lol...I got that with my copyedits and was like what the heck is this for? This is one of those highly needed posts that new authors will soak up! Thank you!
Thanks so much for this! I'm ramping up to enter this part of the writing world for the first time, and this answered a lot of questions I had. Very straightforward and informative.
Wonderful post. Very accurate and helpful, too!
amamzing post! i am so thankful to you! quite informative and interesting as well... appreciate your efforts!
Thank you. This is very helpful.
Thanks for this useful information about what to expect. The short revision letters, I imagine, are nerve-wracking for the author, because they can either mean everything's fine or, more likely, the book needs so much work overall that it wasn't worth listing a lot of individual points. Yeesh.
Good advice about the style sheet! I've got a few intentional oddities in my books, and kind of worried somebody would try to change them out of ignorance or stubbornness or something.
I enjoy reading the new blogs from LLC and also everyone's comments-I shudder when I think of sending in my book and having an editor or whomever see all of the things I don't know-and those that I know I don't know etc-lol-A sense of humor will sustain me I guess--Thanks for these blogs-
I enjoy reading the new blogs from LLC and also everyone's comments-I shudder when I think of sending in my book and having an editor or whomever see all of the things I don't know-and those that I know I don't know etc-lol-A sense of humor will sustain me I guess--Thanks for these blogs-
I have already subscribed to the RSS feed of your weblog and look forward to reading more of your blog posts in the future.
Excellent and useful information. Thanks for posting.
It's really a good idea to go through this same process before submitting your work. An experienced 'beta' or writing partner can help you work through revisions as well as offer another perspective on plot holes, character development and theme arcs.
Not having gone through this process yet, I have wondered about it. I had a rough idea but this info was specific and helpful. Thanks.