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Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:39 pm
by glorybee
It's been a while since I did an "ask me" lesson, and since I was too busy this week to write a new lesson, this is a good time for another one. So go ahead--ask away. These are the hats I've worn that might lead to a question or two:

1. I wrote for the Writing Challenge for almost six years, and won many ECs and even placed in a few Best of the Best competitions.

2. I've been a judge for the Writing Challenge many, many times.

3. I taught high school English for thirty years--mostly as a teacher of learning disabled students, but also for several years in regular high school English classes.

4. I've been a free-lance editor for almost five years.

5. I'm an amateur grammarian and language-lover.

6. I'm a wife, mother, and grandmother with experience with children and grandchildren with disabilities. I have experience with depression, both my own and that of family members. I've been a Christian for over 50 years.

I'd love to answer your questions in any of those areas. If I don't know an answer, I'll find it for you, or refer you to someone who does.

I can't answer questions about agents or publishers or self-publishing; those are areas where I'm blissfully ignorant.

ALSO--This would be a good time to suggest ideas for future lessons, please.

ANOTHER ALSO--Don't forget to put new items in the critique circle for detailed critique. Here's a link: http://www.faithwriters.com/critique-circle.php

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:18 pm
by WriterFearNot
I have an idea for a future lesson, or future lessons: Tips for self-editing. (Reduce adjectives, adverbs, and passive phrasing, and read your draft out loud for sound and rhythm, etcetera). I've come up with my own list of self-editing tasks, but my list is quite long and realistically unattainable, and it's been a painstaking process to create that list.

So I'm wondering what you would recommend. What are the most important things to check for, say before you hand a Challenge draft over to a critique buddy, and then before submitting the final document.

Theresa

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:32 pm
by glorybee
Thanks for the idea, Theresa! It's a good one. (I'd also be very interested in seeing your list!)

j

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 12:20 am
by WriterFearNot
Jan, I'll send you the list. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

And I have a question about capitalization. If I'm writing about the Word, would I always capitalize "Word." If I said, "I love the Word of God," for example. Or is it only capitalized if I phrased it like, "I love the Word," Or "His Word."

Theresa

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:47 am
by glorybee
WriterFearNot wrote:Jan, I'll send you the list. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

And I have a question about capitalization. If I'm writing about the Word, would I always capitalize "Word." If I said, "I love the Word of God," for example. Or is it only capitalized if I phrased it like, "I love the Word," Or "His Word."

Theresa
I've never seen a rule on this, but I think I'd capitalize it in every case where it is a synonym for "Bible." So all of your examples were correct.

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:21 pm
by Cinnamon Bear
Speaking of self editing, I am running my entry through Pro Writing Aid (http://prowritingaid.com/) before sending it to my Challenge buddy. All the editing is done by a computer of course, so I am not always sure how to interpret the results.

For example:

1) If a certain word or phrase is used twice in 750 words is that too often? For example if the phrase "I took the train...." appears twice, should I modify one of the phrases?

2) Pro Writing Aid found six adverbs. Is that too many for 750 words?

Thanks. :)

Cinnamon Bear

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:42 pm
by glorybee
Cinnamon Bear wrote:Speaking of self editing, I am running my entry through Pro Writing Aid (http://prowritingaid.com/) before sending it to my Challenge buddy. All the editing is done by a computer of course, so I am not always sure how to interpret the results.

For example:

1) If a certain word or phrase is used twice in 750 words is that too often? For example if the phrase "I took the train...." appears twice, should I modify one of the phrases?

2) Pro Writing Aid found six adverbs. Is that too many for 750 words?

Thanks. :)

Cinnamon Bear
Well, I'm not a big fan of computer editing, nor am I a big fan of setting numerical rules. However...When I edit a MS, there are times when I notice that there are certain words or phrases that the writer is too fond of. For example, in my current MS (not by a FaithWriter), the writer used "kindred spirit" three times in one chapter. That's a pretty distinctive phrase, and definitely calls for a substitute phrase for at least one of those occurrences. On the other hand, a fairly common phrase would be fine repeated a time or two.

Similarly, I don't think I could set the "proper" ratio of adverbs to total words. A general rule would be to use adverbs sparingly. If you're sold on using a computer editor, use it as a starting point: if it seems to be telling you that six adverbs are too many, take a look at them and see if there are any that could be replaced with a stronger verb.

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:01 pm
by Cinnamon Bear
Jan, thanks for your reply.

I see what you mean about repetition of distinctive phrases. The phrases in my entry are common phrases.

I checked back and noticed that two of the six words that Pro Writing Aid was identifying as adverbs are actually adjectives. I know adjectives should be used sparingly too.

I know that computer editing should be taken with a grain of salt. But sometimes I find it helpful in bringing my attention to things like overused words, usage inconsistencies, and the like.

Cinnamon Bear

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:05 am
by RachelM
WriterFearNot wrote:I have an idea for a future lesson, or future lessons: Tips for self-editing. (Reduce adjectives, adverbs, and passive phrasing, and read your draft out loud for sound and rhythm, etcetera). I've come up with my own list of self-editing tasks, but my list is quite long and realistically unattainable, and it's been a painstaking process to create that list.

So I'm wondering what you would recommend. What are the most important things to check for, say before you hand a Challenge draft over to a critique buddy, and then before submitting the final document.

Theresa
Great idea Theresa! I'm looking forward to that lesson, and I know it will be one to look back on as a reference too. :D

Jan, would you do a lesson on querying an editor (magazine) and sending a manuscript? What are the do's and don'ts? How should the manuscript be formatted, etc.?

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:50 am
by glorybee
Rachel, I know absolutely nothing about querying, I'm sorry to say. I'll do some research, though, and see what I can come up with.

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:17 pm
by WriterFearNot
Though I don't have experience with queries, I've found a few resources that look good:

The Steve Laube Agency (at: http://stevelaube.com/) At this website, you can find many great blog articles about writing queries and a great many other writing subjects. I signed up for their daily emails which I find informative and helpful.

Writing Fiction for Dummies, by Randy Ingermanson. This book has a lot of great information for fiction writing, including how to write a query. (This book was recommended to me by author Leslie Gould when I met her at the FW conference in Portland. I found this book very helpful for writing the synopsis I wrote for my Page Turner entry).

I also like The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman. There's nothing about query letter in here, but the book has a lot of good information on how to make your manuscript presentable and appealing.

Theresa

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:19 pm
by WriterFearNot
As a side note, this is my 296th forum post, and I'm looking forward to seeing a larger pencil beneath my avatar soon...

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:45 am
by oursilverstrands
Now I can ask my question. :D The title for my Challenge article did not look right, and no matter where I checked I couldn't find the word spelled the way I thought it should be spelled. Perhaps that should have given me a clue that the word does not exist and used another like servitude. But I went with it... more than likely a wrong choice.

There is priesthood, parenthood, etc. What about servant hood? :sofa

Thanks,
Lillian

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:03 am
by glorybee
lish1936 wrote:Now I can ask my question. :D The title for my Challenge article did not look right, and no matter where I checked I couldn't find the word spelled the way I thought it should be spelled. Perhaps that should have given me a clue that the word does not exist and used another like servitude. But I went with it... more than likely a wrong choice.

There is priesthood, parenthood, etc. What about servant hood? :sofa

Thanks,
Lillian
Servanthood (one word) is indeed a word. With a space, it might seem to have a different meaning: a hood meant for a servant.

Re: Be A Better Writer--ASK ME ANYTHING

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:36 am
by oursilverstrands
I should have followed my instincts and ignored Microsoft's spell check, my Thesaurus, and my dictionary. Oh well...Why isn't it listed as such?


Lillian