Rob Bignell's Blog, page 283

Rewrite if unclear about subject-verb agreement

Among the most common grammar mistakes that occur in English is subject-verb agreement. Because sentence structure is fundamental in ensuring a sentence makes sense in English, getting this agreement right is paramount. Even if readers get what you mean, lack of agreement can make you appear uneducated.

Subject-verb agreement starts with knowing whether your sentence is about one or more than one object. If it���s one person, place or object as in The parent is very upset, then your subject (parent) is singular. If it���s more than one as in The parents are very upset, then your subject (parents) is plural.

Next, the verb ��� which tells what the subject does ��� needs to match the subject. If you use a singular subject, then you must use a singular verb. For example, in The customer is very happy, both the subject (customer) and the verb (is) are singular. If you use a plural subject, then you must use a singular verb. To wit, in The customers are very happy, both the subject (customers) and the verb (are) are plural.

Usually agreement problems become an issue when the writer is confused as to whether a subject is singular or plural. For example, does everyone refer to a single body of people and so is singular or does it refer to several people and so is plural? If you���re uncertain, a simple solution to get the right answer is to replace the subject with a pronoun and then use it in a sentence with first a singular and then a plural verb. Everyone is present thus could become They is present or They are present. Replace the original sentence with the replacement sentence that is correct, so you could instead write They are present.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Tampa, Florida, or a small town like Deadhorse, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Prompt: Get your revenge

Suffering from writer���s block or need to add some spunk to your writing? The problem may be that you need to change up your routine.

To that end, try this tip: Fantasizing also can be cathartic. If the reason you feel grief or sadness is because another has wronged you, make a list of all of the things you���d like to do to get back at them but won���t because you don���t feel like spending the next few weeks in jail. That list isn���t off limits to your story���s characters, however!

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Madison, Wisconsin, or a small town like Possum Grape, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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Vary story structure with ���fate plot���

Another variation on the traditional five-part story structure is the fate plot.

In a fate plot, the climax occurs at the beginning of story. The rest of story is a traditional tale that essentially is a flashback, showing and explaining how the climax was reached. The end of the story is the resolution, which finally brings us back to ���real time��� or the moments after the climax/opening scene.

The main advantage of the fate plot is that it varies up the structure in an anthology of stories about a single character. It is particularly effective when the main character makes a decision that would be shockingly out of character. For that reason, television series often are able to use the fate plot to much better effect than short story writers or novelists.

When writing a fate plot, be sure to follow a couple of guidelines:
��� What happens in the climax/opening scene must be pertinent to the main character ��� Usually something bad happens to the main character, but it also could be an event that somehow involves that person.
��� Skim over the climax after you complete the rising action ��� Once the story arrives at the climax, that part often is quickly covered ��� as the reader already knows what will happen ��� and in short order enters the falling action/denouement.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Chicago, Illinois, or a small town like Humptulips, Washington, I can provide that second eye.

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Five Great Quotations about Literary Critics

���If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you.��� - Natalie Goldberg

���...I hate orthodox criticism. I don't mean great criticism, like that of Matthew Arnold and others, but the usual small niggling, fussy-mussy criticism, which thinks it can improve people by telling them where they are wrong, and results only in putting them in straitjackets of hesitancy and self-consciousness, and weazening all vision and bravery.��� - Brenda Ueland

���Your function as a critic is to show that it is really you yourself who should have written the book, if you had had the time, and since you hadn't you are glad that someone else had, although obviously it might have been done better.��� - Stephen Potter

���I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his works.��� - Samuel Johnson

���As for literary criticism in general: I have long felt that any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel or a play or a poem is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae or a banana split.��� - Kurt Vonnegut

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Los Angeles, California, or a small town like Hell, Michigan, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Be okay with imperfection

The quickest way to freeze yourself when writing is to expect perfection the first time around. Yet even the greatest paintings have sections that the artist reworked. Likewise, a writer must do the same with a story. When writing, don���t worry about being perfect the first time around. Instead, take your time and then revise those sections you���re unhappy with.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Boise, Idaho, or a small town like Cut n' Shoot, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Editing client publishes set of children���s books

A recent client of mine has published four children's books and a teachers guide to them. Jeanne Dinkel���s ���The Prairie Dog Triplets��� series follows the adventures of Rusty, Dusty and Nipper as they leave the burrow and explore the prairie around them. Written by a former teacher now residing in Cameron, Wis., the books help kids learn about nature and ecology. The tales are aimed at a third-grade reading level but can be enjoyed by kids from first through fourth grades. They are available for sale online in paperback.

Another client of mine who writes about animals, Alaskan Jana Meador, has published her ebook ���Seven Lucky Stars��� in paperback. The novel, which easily can be followed by middle grade readers, tells the true story of a sled dog left to defend for himself only to find his second chance in life. Sveinn���s incredible story began in the middle of the forested mountains, where he was eventually found. His journey takes him on an unexpected adventure, where he meets his seven lucky stars. The novella is available for sale online.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like San Antonio, Texas, or a small town like Toad Suck, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: What will be your legacy?

What is the legacy you wish to leave? Each of us has a limited time on Earth. How in that short time ��� through your writing ��� might you make the world a better place for future generations?

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Colorado Springs, Colorado, or a small town like Big Chimney, West Virginia, I can provide that second eye.

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No apostrophe needed with possessive pronouns

Does overkill annoy you? Then fight back by saying NO to apostrophes after possessive pronouns.

Such pronouns are words like his, hers, its, my, mine, our, ours, their and theirs. They indicate something belongs to the person or persons that the pronoun refers to, as in Her cabin is several hours north of Chicago. In this sentence, the cabin belongs to whoever her is.

Apostrophes are used to show possession. For example, San Diego���s top problem is where to get fresh water for a growing population. The apostrophe tells the reader that the top problem belongs to San Diego.

Using an apostrophe with a possessive pronoun, however, is stating the obvious. A possessive pronoun by definition shows possession, so an apostrophe isn���t needed.

WRONG: Her��� flight went through Dallas to Los Angeles.
RIGHT: Her flight went through Denver to San Francisco.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Charleston, West Virginia, or a small town like Frog Eye, Alabama, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: What are your intentions?

What are your individual intentions? That is, what do you most deeply hope to accomplish in life? To live true to your values? To be at peace with the person you are? To inspire others to find serenity and happiness in their lives? List at least three of your individual intentions. How can you incorporate these intentions into your writing?

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Little Rock, Arkansas, or a small town like No Name, Colorado, I can provide that second eye.

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Consider diary form as structural option

One alternative to the traditional novel structure of scenes and chapters is diary form. In such a story, diary entries are tied together into a tale. This also is known as an epistolary novel; note that diary form, though, also can be used in short stories. 

Popular in the 1700s, the form still is used today. ���Go Ask Alice��� by Anonymous, ���Bridget Jones's Diary��� by Helen Fielding, and ���Flowers for Algernon��� by Daniel Keyes are examples of a diary form novel from modern times. 

There are several advantages to using diary form. The main one is creating a strong connection between the story���s narrator and the reader. That���s because the reader gains intimate knowledge about the narrator/diarist. The form also is useful when you want the story to focus on a portrayal of everyday life. This occurs because the story emphasizes the daily goings-on of a character to make its message or entertain with its plot. Further, diary entries can be as short as a single paragraph, sentence or word, which gives you the opportunity to be more creative. Such a short chapter would look out of place in a traditional novel. Finally, diary form is one of the few ways that the narrator actually can be dead. After all, the reader could be looking at a diary that the narrator wrote when alive.

If choosing to use a diary form, follow these few guidelines:
��� Tell the story in first-person from the narrator/diarist���s viewpoint ��� You absolutely cannot break this point of view, as there���s no way the narrator/diarist can get inside other people���s heads like an omniscient narrator could.
��� Move the plot forward at all times ��� The narrator/diarist needs to recount events, not just her thoughts on them, though the latter is how most people actually write their diaries. Instead, the story essentially a series of flashbacks as each entry is the narrator/diarist���s recollections of events that happened to them earlier in the day rather than long paragraphs of exposition about their inner turmoil.
��� Skip the days when nothing of significance happens ��� Just as a traditional novel skips those events in the characters��� lives that don���t move the plot forward, so you would do the same in a diary form. The narrator also should refrain from referring these non-presented entries.
��� Avoid creating a self-absorbed character ��� This easily can happen in a book full of ���I���s��� and ���me���s���. The challenge is to keep such pronouns and expository thoughts about events at a minimum.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Salt Lake City, Utah, or a small town like Zzyzx, California, I can provide that second eye.

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