Proof it!

I am at the tail end of my edits for my latest novel. It's taking forever, but I think it is shaping up well. For a while there it all seemed like one big hot mess. However, words have fallen into place, the plot has come together, all the pieces of the puzzle that make up a novel seem to be fitting for now. Today, in my quest for any editing help, I came across this great blog post:http://tammysalyer.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/how-to-avoid-the-red-pen-of-death/ It is a wonderful post on proofreading effectively. Hope it helps!

Go Ahead! Build Your World!

So, I have been very busy writing lately. I am on the tail end of completing my latest novel, which really required me to create an entirely different reality and world. It was a long, arduous process filled with many hours of thinking and sleepless nights imagining what this world and these characters would be like. Therefore, it would seem that this link, http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/, referred to me by one of my favorite blog sites now, the steampunk blog STEAMED at http://ageofsteam.wordpress.com/, has come a bit too late. Still, it is always beneficial to check yourself against the experts' idea of how a world should be built, just in case you forgot those tiny little things, like whether your characters sweeten their drinks or if their buttons are glass or metal or what their favorite curse word is. What I've learned most of all in this process is that the details matter. A lot.

If you are building your own world now, good luck, good writing, and I hope this link helps!

New Post at YA Fusion and a Chance to Win $500!

Check out the latest post on YA Fusion. If you are handy with a video camera and have the inclination to whip together a book trailer, $500 could be yours!

http://yafusion.blogspot.com/

Win an advanced copy of ARTICLE 5!

One of my fellow bloggers, Kristen Simmons, is giving away an advanced copy of her soon-to-be-released novel, ARTICLE 5. To win a copy, go to her latest blog post on YA Fusion:

http://yafusion.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

My Award-Winning Young Adult Story is Now Live!

My YA short story in verse, "Him," which won the HUNGER MOUNTAIN Katherine Paterson Prize, is now up on the Vermont College of Fine Arts HUNGER MOUNTAIN site. I'm proud of what the judge had to say about my very edgy (yes, that's a warning), contemporary piece.




“From the start, Him took me to a different world. The writer is one of those rare talents who can create a realistic setting and characters with few words. Aside from those attributes, I felt an instant compassion for the flawed main character, despite her bad choices. That is no easy task. Bravo!” —Kimberly Willis Holt, 2011 judge



If you'd like to take a read, here's the link:

http://www.hungermtn.org/him/

Laurie Halse Anderson Shakes Her Literary Stick at The Wall Street Journal

http://madwomanintheforest.com/stuck-between-rage-and-compassion/

So the link above is Halse Anderson's response to The Wall Street Journal's article on how YA is corrupting teens. Though she wants to come out with claws out and teeth bared, she maintains composure and offers up validation for current, contemporary YA writing that delves deep into kids' issues. Love her!

Dear Editor "First Twenty Pages Critique" Give-away!!

Dear Editor is doing it's darnedest to helping out us writers by giving away another critique. Here's the link, folks:



Use it and spread it on!http://deareditor.com/2011/10/17/re-%e2%80%9cfree-first-chapter-critique%e2%80%9d-giveaway/

"Plethora" doesn't mean "a lot"

Good article from Writer's Digest.

http://blog.writersdigest.com/qq/Plethora+Doesnt+Mean+A+Lot.aspx?et_mid=509531&rid=3189027

Does this mean I'm famous?

I finally made it onto the Publisher's Weekly website... but only my photo. The fabulous Barbara Vey, editor and blogger for PW, visited our Romance Writers of America chapter here in Detroit. She blogged about us all.

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/beyondherbook/?p=3841

Fighting the Fear

If we had to say what writing is, we would define it essentially as an act of courage.
                                                                                                          --Cynthia Ozick
 
Cant' get enough of this quote!

E-readers Are Changing Everything...

including submission formatting. Here's a great article on how to format so an editor or agent can read it well on his/her e-reader:
http://navigatingtheslushpile.blogspot.com/2011/04/formatting-your-ms.html

Hunger Mountain YA/Children's Writing Contest

Here's an upcoming writing contest.

http://www.hungermtn.org/katherine-paterson-prize-for-young-adult-and-childrens-writing/

An interview with the editor of this writing journal can be found at:

http://wordcrushes.wordpress.com/

Good writing!

Flash Fiction and Less vs. Fewer

Before I launch into my next grammar tirade, let me tout how cool my latest example is. Hint Fiction, An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer by editor Robert Swartwood is a book of flash fiction, and if you've never tried to write a story this short before, try it. You'll find it's hard as hell. With so few words, every word has to count. Here's a beautiful example from page 85 of Hint Fiction by contributor Jason Jordan:

Take It Off

Without her knowing, Mark

posted the video. A million views meant he

had to show it to her before someone else did.

Intense stuff. Truly. So much packed into so few words.

Alright, now, having gotten my literary fix for the moment, on to the grammatical point. Note how Swartwood uses the word "fewer" in the title of the book. If you go to the grocery store, you'll notice the sign for the express lane says, "15 Items or Less." Well, sorry, Kroger, Meijer, and Mom-and-Pop Mart, but that's just plain wrong. Grammatically, it should read, "15 Items or Fewer."

The rule behind this is simple. It deals with count and noncount nouns. If a noun can be counted, you can put a number in front of it. Therefore, I can say "1 item," "2 items," "3 items," etc. If a noun is countable, the adjective that goes in front of it or modifies it is "fewer." More examples include "fewer beds," "fewer people," or "fewer headaches." I can count beds, people, and headaches, so I use "fewer" as my modifier.

In contrast, "less" is used for nouns that can't be counted. These nouns are often called "mass nouns" because the components of the noun are too small to be separated individually or the noun can't be divided at all. Mass nouns include liquids, metals, feelings, languages, and educational disciplines among other areas. Here is a short list of some mass nouns:

wood

cloth

ice
plastic
wool
steel
aluminum
metal
glass
leather
porcelain
hair
dust
air
oxygen
water
milk
wine
beer
cake
sugar
rice
meat
cheese
flour
reading
boating
smoking
dancing
soccer
hockey
weather
heat
sunshine
electricity
biology
history
mathematics
economics
poetry
Chinese
Spanish
English
luggage
equipment
furniture
experience
applause
photography
traffic
harm
publicity
homework
advice

A good example for using "less" with a mass noun comes from The Joy of Less by Francine Jay.
 

Chapter 3 of this book is titled, "Less Stuff = Less Stress." "Stuff" and "stress" are both mass nouns. They cannot be counted or divided. Therefore, I'd never say "fewer stuff" or "fewer stress." I need to use "less."
 
Hope this helps with your own editing! And now, for my own attempt at flash fiction in 25 words or less.
 

Her Biggest Fear

 

Her blog became wildly popular.

Online fame befell her until

a fellow grammarian commented on

the thirteen grammatical mistakes strewn

throughout her work.

 

Send me yours if you write one!

Can I Get a Comma with that Clause?

"What is a zombie? How are they created? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their needs, their desires? Why are they hostile to humanity? Before discussing any survival techniques, you must first learn what you are trying to survive."

This lovely quote comes from Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead, one of my husband's all-time favorite reads (yeah, don't ask). While it is clearly not certain whether any of us will survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse, what is certain is that Mr. Brooks (or his copy editor) has a keen sense of comma usage.

When I was in high school, my English teacher told me that if you paused during a sentence, you put a comma there. That seems like rational advice, but now I know it is completely wrong. Commas have definite homes, and it is not always where we take a breath or end a mini-thought.

One of their homes is after an adverbial clause when it comes at the beginning of a sentence, such as in "Before discussing any survival techniques, you must first learn what you are trying to survive." I've notice many of my fellow writers fail to include this comma, so let's look at the rule.

First understand that a clause is not a phrase, and a phrase is not a clause. A clause contains a subject and a verb. A phrase does not. An adverbial clause begins with an adverb that is often called a subordinating conjuction, and while this moniker sounds offensive, it is appropriate if you consider that "subordinating" means "lessening" or "making something below something else." An adverbial clause begins with a subordinating conjunction because it can never stand on its own; it is reliant on another, more independent clause for meaning.

Therefore, I could never say, "Before discussing any survival techniques," and then stop. You'd ask me, "And?" while waiting for the rest of my thought. An adverbial clause is a dependent clause, and when it comes first, before the independent clause, it is always followed by a comma as in this example with "even if" as my subordinating conjunction ... and a bit more wisdom from Max Brooks.

Even if dependent clause, independent clause (sentence). =
Even if a zombie's body is severely damaged, it will continue to attack until nothing remains.


Here is a trunkated list of subordinating conjunctions that begin adverbial clauses:

After
Although
Even though
Though
As
As if
As though
As long as
Because
Before
If
So that
Since
Unless
Until
Whatever
When
Whenever
Where
Wherever
Whether
While


I can also flip this sentence around and keep the meaning. When these subordinating conjunctions are found in an adverbial clause that comes at the end of a sentence, DO NOT use a comma to separate the dependent and independent clauses.

Independent clause (sentence) even if dependent clause. =
It will continue to attack until nothing remains even if a zombie's body is severely damaged.

Having said all of that, understand that publishing houses often have their own editing rules based on how much they want to pay in ink during production. I've read several very successful books recently whose editors chose to drop the comma from the initial adverbial clause. However, when soliciting editors and agents, it's important to show them you know the rules. Otherwise, your novel excerpt, picture book manuscript, article or query letter will often be thrown into the trash -- and for a writer, that is a demise uglier and more vicious than any apocalyptic zombie attack.

Bring on the Grammar!

I've noticed in my critique groups that grammar is still an Achilles heel with many of the group members. Even the most seasoned writers who I'm lucky to work with sometimes question where that comma should go or if their adjective clause is modifying the correct noun. If you just said, "What the...?" then you are in luck! Since I taught grammar to international students for thirteen years, I thought I'd throw out some of my knowledge to the blogosphere before it shrivels into nothing and disintegrates with the rest of my brain cells. I'll be posting some grammar rules to help my fellow writers find their way along the dark, often murky sentential path. So check in periodically, check it out, and get grammar-savvy!

My latest work-for-hire picture book project is complete. You can find it at cubbiethebear.com, and we'll be selling it on Mackinac Island as soon as the tourist season starts up again this year.

What's Ahead In 2011

What's Ahead In 2011

The Brilliance of Twain...or is it Swain??

Mark Twain's autobiography was released in October, 100 years after his death, as he requested. A brilliant move on his part since, as we come into December, it is now a best-seller and readers worldwide are rediscovering the genius of a man who pulled no punches and offered nothing but stark truth when he could get away with it. And that is the point of a delayed publication... getting away with it, saying whatever he wanted with no reservations.

What I find most interesting as I dig into the text of this first volume (Volume 2 has yet to be released), is that Twain, like all writers, went through the ups and downs of the nasty business that is publishing just like all writers do. He says:

"In those early days I had already published one little thing in an eastern paper, but I did not consider that that counted. In my view, a person who published things in a mere newspaper could not properly claim recognition as a Literary Person: he must rise away above that; he must appear in a Magazine. He would then be a Literary Person; also he would be famous -- right away. These two ambitions were strong upon me. This was in 1866. I prepared my contribution, and then looked around for the best magazine to go up to glory in. I selected Harper's Monthly. The contribution was accepted. I signed it "Mark Twain," for that name had some currency on the Pacific Coast, and it was my idea to spread it all over the world, now, at this one jump. The article appeared in the December number, and I sat up a month waiting for the January number -- for that one would contain the year's list of contributor's, my name would be in it, and I should be famous and could give the banquet I was meditating.

I did not give the banquet. I had not written the "Mark Twain" distinctly; it was a fresh name to Harper's printers, and they put it Mike Swain or MacSwain, I do not remember which. At any rate I not celebrated, and I did not give the banquet. I was a Literary Person, but that was all -- a buried one; buried alive. "

Funny how Twain equates a writer's life to death. It absolutely feels like it a lot of the time. And just like life and death, there is a cycle to writing. It looks something like this:

write something you think is brillaint---} send it in to the place you believe is a perfect fit for your brilliance ---} pump yourself up with precious and overly exaggerated hope that you will be famous once the brilliant piece of writing hits the market ----} experience the let-down of little or no success that is most always inevitable in this scenario ----} write something you think is brilliant and start over...

For the new writer, the writer just starting out in his/her career or the one who has yet to publish, that "death," that experiencing of little or no success for each submission, occurs more frequently than sometimes is tolerable. It's truly enough to make a writer consider giving up. On a daily basis, I ask myself, "Why the hell am I doing this?" But then, as with all things cyclical, I come around again. Because if you ask a biologist or a physician what the meaning of life is, they will most likely tell you, "To make more life," and I suppose the meaning of a writer's life needs to be similar: "To make more writing... despite the let-downs."

It's been a long time...

It's been a heck of a long time since I've posted. But in honor of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's so fondly known, I'm throwing out a post to say... what a great idea to devote a whole month to producing in a non-stop, throw-caution-to-the-wind way. That's my biggest problem really. My inner editor, or That Bitch, as I call her, tends to be a total nag most of the time. With her around, I usually get a great first twenty pages written in a flash, and then she interjects and makes me rewrite those first twenty pages about five thousand times until I can't stand the story anymore and just have to move on to my next novel - which of course will only ever contain the first twenty pages edited to death. So NaNoWriMo is a fabulous time and tool for me. Don't expect to write a National Book Award winner (and those winners for 2010 were announced this morning, BTW), but do expect to get beyond that point where That Bitch, Miss Inner Editor, always tries to take control. And do expect to find a whole slew of support. One of my oldest acquaintences but one of my newest writing friends and avid NaNoWriMo participant (Congrats on 30,000 words, Pete!!) has so kindly sent his own message to That Bitch. He said, "I told her to come back in a month." Fair enough.

If you are writing for NaNoWriMo, I'm on your side. And if you aren't, try. The lessen I've learned this month: it's worth it emotionally and mentally to, once in a while, strive for quantity over quality.

A-vacationing We Go!

So I've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks. It's been draining to try to keep up with a good writing schedule while slamming down martini's in Chicago bars and shaking hands with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. Yet, during my travels, I made a fabulous observation -- about ten percent of the airport clientele were carrying their e-book device around with them, be it Kindle or iPad. So I started asking all about them. "Can you take them on the beach where it's bright and sunny?" "Can you see full-color illustrations if, say, I want to read my five year old a picture book?" "What if you accidentally drop it in the toilet?" (Hey, it could happen!) The responses were interesting and varied. A lot of people were telling me that they had just gotten their e-book device and were getting used to it. I understand editors and journalists can't live without it. But for the layperson, there's definitely a mental switch-over that needs to be made from holding a book with its chunky cover and crinkly pages and, let's face it, that awesome book smell to holding this cold, anesthetic, digital form. I get that one day children will laugh at the prospect of reading a paper book, but for right now, I want my kids to enjoy that sensory pleasure.

Still, intrigued by the whole digital publishing craze, I when I got home from being a jet-setter, I found this great article one of my friends in my critique group had sent me from The New Yorker, which shows the impact of e-books on the industry and compares iPad to Kindle. www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta Interesting stuff and certainly reminds me that when I'm 80, I'll be saying those oft-uttered words, "When I was young,..."

If you've got one of these e-book dealies, tell me what you think of it. I'd rather get my info from friends than from strangers in the airport anyway! Glad to be home!

H