Nobody's Perfect

Grammar's a pretty picky subject, and I'm sure some of my Monday posts make me seem condescending. Believe it or not, I'm softer hearted than I seem. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt (sometimes to a fault) and I try very hard not to be harsh, especially when it comes to not-yet-published works.

A work in progress is exactly that, a work in progress, and none of us are perfect.

I've critiqued single subs for countless writers, and I've line-by-lined entire novels for a handful of folks. One thing I've learned from the longer-term relationships is that every writer has at least one grammar weak spot—myself included!

And that's perfectly normal. 

The goal shouldn't be perfection. If you strive for that, you'll never succeed. Focus instead on improving what you can, and then trust your critters and editors to help you with the rest.

A former CP of mine frequently mixed up the words then and than. I marked it repeatedly. When that didn't work, I gave him a link to a page that explained the difference and suggested he do a document search for the two words, so he could examine each usage and make sure it was correct. That, too, was ignored. 

I eventually grew tired of correcting the same thing over and over when it was something he could fix himself. I didn't look down on him for the then/than grammar weakness, but he was breaking a critter code of conduct: Don't keep sending the same mistakes in your work if you have the means to correct them. That's critter abuse.

(In case you're wondering, that's not the reason we parted ways. Gimme a little credit here. :P)

Another CP was a chronic comma splice committer, especially when writing dialogue. She improved over time as she processed more and more of my crits, but she still wrote the occasional splice. I had boundless patience with CP#2, though. Want to know why? 

Not only was she trying to improve (and she was improving), she had no way to catch and correct the error. If she'd done a document search for commas, her word processor would've exploded! 

A comma splice is not something one can reasonably search and correct. You just have to learn the grammar rule and apply it to your writing. 

So what's a writer to do? 

Well, first you must acknowledge your weaknesses and make note of them. 

If you are prone to certain usage errors, make a list and search your WIPs for the words. Unless you're writing a book about heroin trafficking or pharmaceuticals, doing a document search for the word 'drug' so you can change any past tense verb uses of it to 'dragged' won't take a decade to complete. 

If you know you tend to punctuate action beats like dialogue tags, then be mindful of that when you do your editing passes. You might not catch every single one, but I bet you'll catch the majority.

Most of all, listen to that little voice inside. If something is giving you pause, look it up. 

I'm currently making a list of things to search for in my work. 
(Yes, drug/dragged is one of them. :P)

What writing errors do you struggle with?
What tricks have you discovered to make finding them and correcting them easier?

Grammar Police Monday - Working Girls

I came across an error while reading a published novel the other day, and (after I quit chuckling) I decided it was time to do a grammar post on hyphens.

I had avoided this topic in the past because it is so complex. So, instead of trying to teach you every rule, I'm going to touch on a few, and then give you links to resources that will tackle the rest.

I'm sure you've heard the joke: Commas save lives (Let's eat, Grandma. vs Let's eat Grandma.). Silly as it is, it impresses upon us how much a simple mark of punctuation can drastically alter the meaning of a sentence. The same goes for hyphens.

The error that had me chuckling was this:
"[You're] smart, pretty, funny, sweet, and the hardest working girl I've ever met[.]"

Oh really?  0_o

The line was meant as a compliment, but without a hyphen, it's an insult.

As you've probably deduced, without the hyphen, hard modifies working girl. With the hyphen, hard-working modifies girl.

Though there are exceptions (such as when the first word ends in -ly), the general rule of thumb is: hyphenate two adjectives when they come before the noun they modify and act as a single idea.

Now, if we write That girl is very hard working, we don't need a hyphen, because the adjectives come after the noun they modify.

Compound nouns often use hyphens, too. To determine whether a compound noun is written as one word, two words, or is hyphenated, consult a dictionary. They aren't always written as you think. The examples given by GrammarBook.com are eyewitness, eye shadow, and eye-opener.

The form compound words take can also depend on their function in the sentence. Ex: Break+down is written as one word when used as a noun, but it is written as two words when used as a verb.

Engines break down; they will eventually suffer a breakdown.

For other hyphen uses, see C.S. Lakin's post, in which she gives a link to the Chicago Manual of Style's hyphen rules chart (a downloadable PDF).

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That's all for today.

Thanks for visiting. :)

Where Do You Draw The Line?

My recent post about author-editor Nicole Steinhaus drew a LOT of attention. Just 36 hours after launch, it became the most-visited post on my blog, of all time.

I want to thank those of you who offered your support. Save a few remarks from Nicole and her Twitter followers (who likely didn't have all the facts), not a single person chided me for my post. In fact, the supportive comments you see are but a fraction of the ones I got. Many members of the writing community were not in a position to comment publicly, and I understand.

Not only do I lean toward self-publishing, I already have a career. Writing is not my bread and butter, so I'm freer than most to speak up about stuff like this and risk the political hit. 

In the words of Carol Kilgore's character Maxie Lamar, "I'm just old and no longer afraid to say what I believe."  :)

What I want to put up for discussion today is publishing industry ethics in general. I hope more of you will feel comfortable joining in, since we're not singling out any one person or publisher.

The Secret To Making It Big

Stop that senseless querying. Don't bother finding an agent. The secret to making it big in publishing is hiding right under your nose. 

Just get a job in the publishing industry, jump on the NA bandwagon, and self-publish under a pen name. Heck—promote your alter ego as if you’re two separate people and write a review for your own book if you feel so inclined. Before you know it, you'll be raking in thousands!

I'm sure you've all heard that the author behind the pen name Cora Carmack (Losing It) is really literary agent Brittany Howard. You can read her confession here.

Well, guess what? It's happened again.

Grammar Police Monday - Oh. No. They. Didn't! (Oh yes, they did.)

The following examples of bad writing came (believe it or not) from a publisher’s website. Their FAQ page was written in a conversational tone, but it had glaring errors that shouldn’t be there. Especially if the goal is to attract authors. And readers!

Two mistakes involved ending sentences with a preposition. And, before you ask, I’m not going to name the site. Bashing them is not my purpose. Teaching proper grammar is.

The statement: You should never end a sentence with a preposition is false. There are instances when it’s okay to do so. But most of the time, such construction IS incorrect, so we should view 'caboose' prepositions as red flags and consider each one individually.

Excerpt #1...

What format will my book be available in?

This one isn’t horrible, but it sounds a tad unprofessional, especially considering the venue. A correct alternative is: In which format(s) will my book be available?

Excerpt #2...

Where will my book be available at?

I’m sorry, but that sounds like something a high school dropout would say.  I literally cringed when I read it.

In this sentence, the word at isn’t only misplaced, it’s unnecessary. The sentence already has a preposition in the proper location—the word where. The correct way is: Where will my book be available?

The rule this illustrates is: If you can remove the preposition at the end of a sentence and doing so doesn't change the meaning, you don't need it.

Excerpt #3...

What genres are you looking for?

This phrasing is acceptable. Technically, the correct version is: For which genres are you looking? But that is so ultra-formal, it isn’t used much anymore.

Another time we’re allowed to end a sentence with a preposition is when it’s part of a phrasal verb. Phrasal verbs are things like cheer up and run off. 
Go over to the computer and log on.

There’s one thing that needs good editing worse than a soon-to-be-published book—the publisher’s website.

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That’s all for today.

Thanks for visiting. :)

IWSG - Best Laid Plans

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for June.  

IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. 

We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list. 

One thing about being a writer that makes me anxious is meeting deadlines. I'm a responsible person, and I'm usually very organized, but not everything is within my control. The fear of getting involved with a publisher and then being unable to turn out a finished product fast enough sends my sympathetic nervous system into overdrive. It's one reason I lean toward self-publishing.

I recently went on hiatus to write, and I got quite a lot done. Then life happened. Suddenly my box of meticulously laid plans was ripped from my hands and dumped upside down. 

I was nearly done with the first draft of my current WIP. The end was in sight. I could practically taste it. For weeks, I walked around with a perpetual smile on my face, happy. Heck—ecstatic. 

Now I've had to give up on finishing before the kids get out of school and publishing before the end of the year. I'm more depressed than when I killed off a beloved character in my second book.

And I'm nervous. I'm not beholden to anyone's time line but my own, and yet the thought haunts me: What if I'd had a book deal already? What if I'd made promises to someone other than myself? Legally binding promises?

Does anyone else feel this way?

How do you deal with it?

Did it affect which publishing option you chose?

Announcements, etc...

Mark your calendars.
Lisa Regan's book Aberration releases tomorrow.

For more info, go to her blog.

Natasha Hanova's debut, Edge of Truth, releases tomorrow, too!

You can find her website here.





One last thing...

Are you a 'noreply-comment' blog visitor?
Can people reply to you via email when you leave a comment on their blog?

To find out, leave a reply on your own blog. When the email notification comes, if the email address it shows for you is noreply-comment@blogger.com, then you are one of them.

How do you change this setting?
I found a great blog post about it here, complete with screen shots and instructions for both Blogger and Google+.

Thanks for visiting. :)

Grammar Police Monday - Carol Kilgore Visits

I'm guest posting for Carol Kilgore, Under The Tiki Hut today. And she's guest posting for me. It's a blog swap!

Here's Carol...

When Melissa and I decided to switch blogs for a day, she asked if I would do a top ten grammar list, since Mondays are her normal Grammar Police days. I said sure.

This was back in January. Remember that.

Cherry Dump Dessert

...as opposed to Cherry Dump Desert, which would be rather gritty. Blek. 

There—you got a little grammar to tide you over. :)

My hiatus is almost over. (Were those cheers or boos I heard? ...maybe a mixture of both. o_0) 

I'm launching another pre-written post to let you know I'm still around, and to give you a heads-up. 
The fun and talented Carol Kilgore will be visiting Monday with a guest post. She's got something really special planned. You won't want to miss it. ;)

Today, I'm letting you in on an easy-but-yummy recipe the whole family loves.  *I* love it because everything but the butter is shelf stable, making this a recipe I can throw together on short notice.

To make Cherry Dump Dessert, you'll need:

Still Hiding Out

If you're here for IWSG, sorry I missed you. I'm still on blog hiatus, working on my WIP. 

See you next month. :)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm still on hiatus, busy drafting and polishing my WIP, but I'm posting a recipe today so you'll know I'm still alive (and to prove I do cook from scratch sometimes. LOL). 

Today I'm sharing one of my most coveted recipes. My mom found this cookie recipe in our local paper many years ago. We tweaked it a little, and it became a favorite. 

I'm going to post two sets of ingredients. You can choose which one to follow, according to how big a batch you want to make.

Grammar Police Monday - Crazy For You

I'm still on blog hiatus. I'm just giving you wordsmiths a (pre-scheduled) fix of GPM to hold you over.

...That, and love is an appropriate theme for today. It may be tax day, but it's also my wedding anniversary. The hubster and I have been filing jointly for 18 years. :)


Feelings for vs Feelings about

If someone says they have feelings for you, they're basically saying they are falling in love with you.

Feelings about something or someone can vary and be either positive or negative in nature. I have a bad feeling about this.

Enamored of vs Enamored by

Do you ever find yourself unsure of the proper preposition to use?  I do.

IWSG - Self-publishing, Pride & One Writer's Confessions

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for April.  

IWSG is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It's a monthly bloghop that offers a safe haven for writers to express their feelings and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. It's also a venue for offering support, both in the form of comments and positive posts. Writers of all kinds are welcome. 

We 'meet' the first Wednesday of every month. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above. And don't be intimidated by the size of the group. We're not expected to visit everyone on the list. 

I make blank place-holder posts for IWSG, and this one sat empty for a long time. I kept waiting for a flash of inspiration about what to write. In light of my impending blog hiatus, I decided to address the semi-scathing article I posted last week.

In it, I took a strong stand against careless self-publishing. The post generated many cries of support from people who praised my boldness and said they felt the same way, but it no doubt ruffled some feathers. Today I’m going to try to soften the blow.