Virginia S. Anderson's Blog, page 3
December 12, 2020
Bad Publishing Contracts?
Here’s an entry in a useful series from The Passive Voice, in this case that “out-of-print” clause that can prevent authors from ever recovering their rights to their own work. The discussion is complicated, but worth storing somewhere when the … Continue reading →
December 1, 2020
Firearms In Fiction: What Authors Need to Know – by Dave Chesson…
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog:
on Fiction University: Having characters use firearms in a book can be common practice. There are some genres that use them extensively like science fiction, thrillers, crime novels, and more.…
on Fiction University: Having characters use firearms in a book can be common practice. There are some genres that use them extensively like science fiction, thrillers, crime novels, and more.…
November 26, 2020
Pet Peeve No. 2146: Bad Advice about the Progressive Tense
No, I don’t really have that many pet peeves about the writing advice I find on so many excellent blogs. Maybe only 2145. Or maybe it’s just that I see this one so often that it feels like I’ve seen … Continue reading →
November 14, 2020
Hyphen, Em Dash, En Dash (revisited) #amwritng
Originally posted on Life in the Realm of Fantasy:
We’re halfway through week 2 of National Novel Writing Month. Today we’re continuing our review the rules for common punctuation. This essay first posted on Feb 6, 2019. As always, if…
We’re halfway through week 2 of National Novel Writing Month. Today we’re continuing our review the rules for common punctuation. This essay first posted on Feb 6, 2019. As always, if…
November 5, 2020
Hyphens and Compound Words #amwriting
Originally posted on Life in the Realm of Fantasy:
National Novel Writing Month is in full swing. I am busy writing incomprehensible words that will require a great deal of revising and editing. But all that aside, this perfectly good…
National Novel Writing Month is in full swing. I am busy writing incomprehensible words that will require a great deal of revising and editing. But all that aside, this perfectly good…
October 29, 2020
Why “Start With the Action” Messes Up So Many Writers – by Janice Hardy…
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog:
on Fiction University: Sometimes really great advice is anything but helpful. If I took a poll for the most common writing advice, “start with the action” would make the list.…
on Fiction University: Sometimes really great advice is anything but helpful. If I took a poll for the most common writing advice, “start with the action” would make the list.…
October 17, 2020
For the Amusement of My Writer Friends
I’ve been AWOL recently because I’ve been busy writing! I’m trying to slide Book 3 of my mystery trilogy into a channel where it will start floating right along (I suspect you get that metaphor), and I’ve been keyboarding the … Continue reading →
September 24, 2020
A Unsung Use for that Humble Verb, “Said”
Here’s a topic I’ve never seen discussed: a service the lowly verb “said” can perform. We get showered with advice about dialogue tags. E.g., if you must use them, use only plain ol’ “said.” If at all possible, don’t use … Continue reading →
August 29, 2020
Power Cutting II: Quick Line- Edit Tricks to Streamline Your Prose
I cut a 107,000-word manuscript to 90,000 words; a 106,000-word ms. to under 100,000. Was there pain involved? A little, I guess. But why give an agent a reason to reject a query right in the first line? Querying a … Continue reading →
July 31, 2020
Verb Tenses You’ve Never Heard of But Use Everyday
I am unable to resist posting this. Sorry. Ignore at will. And oh, yeah, “lie/lay/lain” is CORRECT here. If you are interested, you should be able to find the group “Society for the Preservation of Irregular Verbs” in your social … Continue reading →
