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Sherzahd
15 hours ago
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0 miles · Cape Town
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Thank you for bringing up this topic, it is something of concern for all serious writers.
Here is one link that some of you might find useful. Courtesy of my good friend Alan, but since he isn't here right now, I will post it.
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/08/solicitation-alerts-justfiction-edition.html
Okay, so it's two links...
https://www.justfiction-edition.com/site/faq/32
Here is one link that some of you might find useful. Courtesy of my good friend Alan, but since he isn't here right now, I will post it.
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/08/solicitation-alerts-justfiction-edition.html
Okay, so it's two links...
https://www.justfiction-edition.com/site/faq/32
Administration
Quote by ladysharonQuote by DirtyMartiniQuote by ladysharon
Who's neck do i have to wring to get it?
Lol...that's the attitude...
I think you need to post a Playlist and at least one video...you really have to have everything...
that's bullshit. i have that on my profile. guess i have to be someone's special pet in order to get stuff done around here.
Well... that attitude is one way of NOT getting your name on the 'special pets list'.
Try messaging a moderator, like the rest of us does. If your profile is complete, then surely it must just be an oversight.
Administration
The Sixth Deadly Sin: Dangling Modifiers
Dangling modifiers are hard to explain, but they often create illogical, even confusing
sentences. The best way to describe it would be when a writer unintentionally says something he or she never intended to.
For example:
While still a boy, my Aunt Clara and I went hiking in the mountains.
Can you see the clumsiness of this sentence? It sounds like he is implying that his Aunt Clara was a boy when they went hiking in the mountains (yes, I know that in this day and age that is entirely plausible, but I am sure that you get what I mean).
Let me use another example:
Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the frisbee.
Did I just throw a dog into the air? Can you see how comical a dangling or misplaced modifier can sound?
And another:
Walking back from the carnival, my keys were lost.
As you can see, I’ve trained my keys to walk itself back from the carnival.
Now while I am certain that most of our readers are smart enough to figure out what we are trying to say, it isn’t their job to work things out, it is our task to keep our storylines clear and uncluttered. A story is about bringing across a message, sometimes the message can be serious, so if your reader gets a chuckle out of misplaced words, the overall effect is lost. Any time you draw attention to how you’ve said something instead of what you’ve said, the link between writer and reader is lost.
How do we avoid dangling or misplacing modifiers?
First you need to recognize your modifying phrase (it’s usually the first descriptive phrase in the sentence).
Then find the first noun after this phrase (it should be the noun you are trying to modify).
Make sure that your modifying phrase and your noun matches each other logically.
If it does not, rewrite the sentence so it makes sense.
Allow me to fix the examples:
While still a boy, I went hiking in the mountains with my Aunt Clara.
Having been thrown in the air, the frisbee was caught by the dog.
Walking back from the carnival, I lost my keys.
In conclusion, if your modifying phrase is describing or elaborating on a specific noun, place it immediately beside the word you are modifying.
Dangling modifiers are hard to explain, but they often create illogical, even confusing
sentences. The best way to describe it would be when a writer unintentionally says something he or she never intended to. For example:
While still a boy, my Aunt Clara and I went hiking in the mountains.
Can you see the clumsiness of this sentence? It sounds like he is implying that his Aunt Clara was a boy when they went hiking in the mountains (yes, I know that in this day and age that is entirely plausible, but I am sure that you get what I mean).
Let me use another example:
Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the frisbee.
Did I just throw a dog into the air? Can you see how comical a dangling or misplaced modifier can sound?
And another:
Walking back from the carnival, my keys were lost.
As you can see, I’ve trained my keys to walk itself back from the carnival.
Now while I am certain that most of our readers are smart enough to figure out what we are trying to say, it isn’t their job to work things out, it is our task to keep our storylines clear and uncluttered. A story is about bringing across a message, sometimes the message can be serious, so if your reader gets a chuckle out of misplaced words, the overall effect is lost. Any time you draw attention to how you’ve said something instead of what you’ve said, the link between writer and reader is lost.
How do we avoid dangling or misplacing modifiers?
First you need to recognize your modifying phrase (it’s usually the first descriptive phrase in the sentence).
Then find the first noun after this phrase (it should be the noun you are trying to modify).
Make sure that your modifying phrase and your noun matches each other logically.
If it does not, rewrite the sentence so it makes sense.
Allow me to fix the examples:
While still a boy, I went hiking in the mountains with my Aunt Clara.
Having been thrown in the air, the frisbee was caught by the dog.
Walking back from the carnival, I lost my keys.
In conclusion, if your modifying phrase is describing or elaborating on a specific noun, place it immediately beside the word you are modifying.
Administration
Fifth Deadly Sin: Ambiguous Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Personal Pronouns: I, me, she, he, it, you, her, him, we, they, them
Possessive Pronouns: Its, his, hers, yours, ours, theirs
Relative Pronouns: That, who, whose, which, whoever, whichever
Reflexive Pronouns: Himself, herself, myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves
The above list is merely to demonstrate what a pronoun is, as well as to refer back to once my explanations become too confusing.
A poorly chosen pronoun can obscure the meaning of a sentence, so always be sure that your chosen pronoun refers to a specific noun, as ambiguous use of a pronoun creates confusion.
For example:
The cakes delivered by the caterers were damaged, so I sent them back to the confectioner.
This is a classic example of an ambiguous pronoun. What am I talking about? Did I send the cakes back? Or did I send the caterers back? Are you confused? Good. You should be.
The cakes delivered by the caterers were damaged, so I sent the cakes back to the confectioner. Better?
Let us try that again… (trust me, I have seen this line in a story… names have been changed to protect the identity of the owner of said tarts)
Katie told Mary that her tarts were delicious.
Once again, who are we talking about? Does Katie or Mary have delicious tarts?
Katie told Mary that Mary’s tarts were delicious.
Alternately, you can use dialogue…
Katie says, “Mary, your tarts are delicious.”
Is the ambiguity clear or do I need better examples?
Point I am trying to make? If even a hint of ambiguity exists, use a noun instead.
While we are on the subject of pronouns, please indulge me while I touch on something we call “Agreement error”.
A pronoun agreement error refers to instances where the pronoun doesn’t match the noun it refers to.
I can see you scratching your head; let me use an example…
If every politician avoided this in their speeches . . .
Can you see the error here? It is okay if you do not, I will explain.
“Every politician” (the noun) is a singular noun
BUT…. “their” (the pronoun) refers to a plural noun
If every politician avoided this in his/her speeches . . . (both singular)
If all politicians avoided this in their speeches . . . (both plural)
How do we fix this? First thing you do is identify all the pronouns in your sentence. Next you find the nouns they represent. A singular noun requires a singular pronoun; a plural noun requires a plural pronoun. The same rule applies for gender pronouns.
And just when you thought I was done… I just remembered, there is one more thing I need to mention.
Reflexive pronouns can be very tricky to get right. Reflexive pronouns should only be used when referring back to the subject, and will always end in self (singular) or selves (plural).
Examples explain things much better than I do, so…
My sister and myself went shopping.
My sister and I went shopping.
Can you tell which example is correct? In the first example, “myself “ is not referring back to any particular noun, therefore this is incorrect. The second example would thus be correct.
Let me demonstrate where reflexive pronouns may be used.
She called me herself. Or She herself called me. – herself refers back to the word “She”, which is a noun.
You yourselves are responsible for the trouble you are in. Once again, “yourselves' refers back to the noun “You”.
I baked it myself. Or I myself baked it. – Once again… can you see the pattern forming?
I think I have said more than I should have, probably guilty of verbosity, so I will let it rest here.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Personal Pronouns: I, me, she, he, it, you, her, him, we, they, them
Possessive Pronouns: Its, his, hers, yours, ours, theirs
Relative Pronouns: That, who, whose, which, whoever, whichever
Reflexive Pronouns: Himself, herself, myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves
The above list is merely to demonstrate what a pronoun is, as well as to refer back to once my explanations become too confusing.
A poorly chosen pronoun can obscure the meaning of a sentence, so always be sure that your chosen pronoun refers to a specific noun, as ambiguous use of a pronoun creates confusion.
For example:
The cakes delivered by the caterers were damaged, so I sent them back to the confectioner.
This is a classic example of an ambiguous pronoun. What am I talking about? Did I send the cakes back? Or did I send the caterers back? Are you confused? Good. You should be.
The cakes delivered by the caterers were damaged, so I sent the cakes back to the confectioner. Better?
Let us try that again… (trust me, I have seen this line in a story… names have been changed to protect the identity of the owner of said tarts)
Katie told Mary that her tarts were delicious.
Once again, who are we talking about? Does Katie or Mary have delicious tarts?
Katie told Mary that Mary’s tarts were delicious.
Alternately, you can use dialogue…
Katie says, “Mary, your tarts are delicious.”
Is the ambiguity clear or do I need better examples?
Point I am trying to make? If even a hint of ambiguity exists, use a noun instead.
While we are on the subject of pronouns, please indulge me while I touch on something we call “Agreement error”.
A pronoun agreement error refers to instances where the pronoun doesn’t match the noun it refers to.
I can see you scratching your head; let me use an example…
If every politician avoided this in their speeches . . .
Can you see the error here? It is okay if you do not, I will explain.
“Every politician” (the noun) is a singular noun
BUT…. “their” (the pronoun) refers to a plural noun
If every politician avoided this in his/her speeches . . . (both singular)
If all politicians avoided this in their speeches . . . (both plural)
How do we fix this? First thing you do is identify all the pronouns in your sentence. Next you find the nouns they represent. A singular noun requires a singular pronoun; a plural noun requires a plural pronoun. The same rule applies for gender pronouns.
And just when you thought I was done… I just remembered, there is one more thing I need to mention.
Reflexive pronouns can be very tricky to get right. Reflexive pronouns should only be used when referring back to the subject, and will always end in self (singular) or selves (plural).
Examples explain things much better than I do, so…
My sister and myself went shopping.
My sister and I went shopping.
Can you tell which example is correct? In the first example, “myself “ is not referring back to any particular noun, therefore this is incorrect. The second example would thus be correct.
Let me demonstrate where reflexive pronouns may be used.
She called me herself. Or She herself called me. – herself refers back to the word “She”, which is a noun.
You yourselves are responsible for the trouble you are in. Once again, “yourselves' refers back to the noun “You”.
I baked it myself. Or I myself baked it. – Once again… can you see the pattern forming?
I think I have said more than I should have, probably guilty of verbosity, so I will let it rest here.
Administration
Quote by Louise
I was looking at Dr Suess quotes and this jumped out - funny
So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
Dr. Seuss
I love that. I am a huge Dr Suess fan, funny that I've never read that one before. Thank you, I will be using it in the classroom. =d>
Administration
Quote by ladysharon
Yas, I was thinking about adding to your deadly sins list. Wanna discuss it later?
Golly! Looks like this might end up being a list longer than 7..... would love to discuss it, Sharon.
I was inspired by the 7 Deadly Sins you posted, thought it would be a good idea to remind myself of the 7 worst 'sins' I commit when writing. As I worked on these initial 7, I found myself thinking of all the mistakes I've seen other writers make as well. Hmm.... the end is definitely NOT in sight....
Administration
I would like to think that I have progressed. I have come a long way from being the 12 year old writing rhyming verses about butterflies and fluffy clouds. Although, when I speak of progressing, I am not talking about grammar and fancy words, I am talking about my confidence as a writer. I have grown in many ways, so even though I still make the silliest mistakes with grammar and spelling and structure, my images are a lot stronger. I think that is important in writing, to allow your readers to grasp your images with all of their senses.
Oh and to not bore them to tears....
Oh and to not bore them to tears....
Administration
I do apologise for how long it is taking me to complete this, I've had little free time and this is a lot more time consuming than I expected it would be.
I am writing this mostly to remind myself of the countless
mistakes I make when writing. Each of these are 'sins' I have been guilty of, so I hope it can help others as well.
I am writing this mostly to remind myself of the countless
mistakes I make when writing. Each of these are 'sins' I have been guilty of, so I hope it can help others as well. Administration
Fourth Deadly Sin: Incorrect Punctuation of Two Independent Clauses
We all know that proper punctuation is the cornerstone of good writing, but very few of us truly know how to use it. It’s a lot simpler than most of our teachers made it sound, once we learn how to recognise a clause.
A clause is basically words strung together that forms a complete thought, which means that it contains at least one subject and one verb. There are more than one type of clause, but for the purpose here, I will only focus on one type.
An independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a sentence.
For example:
I despise lofty women. They often amuse me.
The above clauses each have a subject and a verb and they stand alone, thus they are independent clauses.
Sometimes we combine clauses in a single sentence to emphasize the relationship between ideas, but many of us battle when trying to get the punctuation right. Here are a few simple rules to follow:
Separate independent clauses with a comma when using a coordinating conjunction (but, or, yet, nor, and, etc).
For example:
I despise lofty women, yet they often amuse me.
Separate independent clauses with a semi-colon when no coordinating conjunction is present.
For example:
I despise lofty women; they often amuse me.
Separate independent clauses with a semi-colon when using a conjunctive adverb (also, however, thus, hence, therefore, nevertheless, etc).
For example:
I despise lofty women; nevertheless, they often amuse me.
I have developed a fondness for semi-colons. With a period, the writer has said all he has to say, it’s a ‘read my thought and move along’ punctuation, whereas the semicolon offers a measure of expectancy.
Please note that this has nothing to do with grammar, just my personal view.
Semi-colons should be used sparingly though, and only when the two independent clauses involved are closely related and balanced in length.
We all know that proper punctuation is the cornerstone of good writing, but very few of us truly know how to use it. It’s a lot simpler than most of our teachers made it sound, once we learn how to recognise a clause.
A clause is basically words strung together that forms a complete thought, which means that it contains at least one subject and one verb. There are more than one type of clause, but for the purpose here, I will only focus on one type.
An independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a sentence.
For example:
I despise lofty women. They often amuse me.
The above clauses each have a subject and a verb and they stand alone, thus they are independent clauses.
Sometimes we combine clauses in a single sentence to emphasize the relationship between ideas, but many of us battle when trying to get the punctuation right. Here are a few simple rules to follow:
Separate independent clauses with a comma when using a coordinating conjunction (but, or, yet, nor, and, etc).
For example:
I despise lofty women, yet they often amuse me.
Separate independent clauses with a semi-colon when no coordinating conjunction is present.
For example:
I despise lofty women; they often amuse me.
Separate independent clauses with a semi-colon when using a conjunctive adverb (also, however, thus, hence, therefore, nevertheless, etc).
For example:
I despise lofty women; nevertheless, they often amuse me.
I have developed a fondness for semi-colons. With a period, the writer has said all he has to say, it’s a ‘read my thought and move along’ punctuation, whereas the semicolon offers a measure of expectancy.
Please note that this has nothing to do with grammar, just my personal view. Semi-colons should be used sparingly though, and only when the two independent clauses involved are closely related and balanced in length.
Administration
The first story I wrote just for the love of writing was when I was 12 years old. It wasn't really about anything, it was like taking a walk through a forest on a cool autumn day. It was three pages long, of course it was written in long hand, so I cannot be sure of the word count (word count never mattered back then).
The following year our local community paper was having a writing contest and one of my teachers submitted my story, I won second prize. I was chuffed, my parents were proud and my teacher encouraged me to start reading more poetry and prose, thus a writer was born. She mentored me in many ways. In fact, she gave me my very first Shakespeare book of sonnets, which I still treasure.
I have been writing ever since, I've lost count of the amount of poems I have written over the years, but that very first one, the fond memory of that one will always stay with me. I think I will post my very first poem here, even if it does sound like it was written by a child.
The following year our local community paper was having a writing contest and one of my teachers submitted my story, I won second prize. I was chuffed, my parents were proud and my teacher encouraged me to start reading more poetry and prose, thus a writer was born. She mentored me in many ways. In fact, she gave me my very first Shakespeare book of sonnets, which I still treasure.
I have been writing ever since, I've lost count of the amount of poems I have written over the years, but that very first one, the fond memory of that one will always stay with me. I think I will post my very first poem here, even if it does sound like it was written by a child.
Administration
Third Deadly Sin – Verbosity
This is one of the sins that I often find myself guilty of,
as I have proven with this rather wordy forum post. When I talk about verbosity or wordiness, I am not talking about word count; I am talking about when you are saying so much that you lose your readers.
Eliminating wordiness makes for a stronger, more concise writing style that is easier to read. In contrast, a wordy style obscures your ideas and leads to inattention; it may take the form of redundant expressions or phrases that needlessly distracts the reader.
When editing, try eliminating unnecessary words, you may find that your story will stand up without them, making it more concise. Once again, active voice comes into play, as it makes your point as succinctly as possible.
AVOID........................................... USE INSTEAD
For the purpose of............................. For
In spite of the fact that....................... In spite of
In order to.........................................To
Due to the fact that.............................Due to
Because of the fact that.......................Because
Until such time as...............................Until
The reason why is that........................The reason being
First and foremost...............................Firstly
In view of the fact that.........................Since
There are many phrases like these that can be cropped to avoid clumsy sentences.
This is one of the sins that I often find myself guilty of,
as I have proven with this rather wordy forum post. When I talk about verbosity or wordiness, I am not talking about word count; I am talking about when you are saying so much that you lose your readers. Eliminating wordiness makes for a stronger, more concise writing style that is easier to read. In contrast, a wordy style obscures your ideas and leads to inattention; it may take the form of redundant expressions or phrases that needlessly distracts the reader.
When editing, try eliminating unnecessary words, you may find that your story will stand up without them, making it more concise. Once again, active voice comes into play, as it makes your point as succinctly as possible.
AVOID........................................... USE INSTEAD
For the purpose of............................. For
In spite of the fact that....................... In spite of
In order to.........................................To
Due to the fact that.............................Due to
Because of the fact that.......................Because
Until such time as...............................Until
The reason why is that........................The reason being
First and foremost...............................Firstly
In view of the fact that.........................Since
There are many phrases like these that can be cropped to avoid clumsy sentences.
Administration
Second Deadly Sin – Improper Use of Apostrophes
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I know that personally I get very annoyed when I see writers using the apostrophe where it does not belong. I can overlook this when reading chat messages from friends who have English as a second language, I can even overlook this when I find it while grading a 5th grader’s essay, but I think that it is inexcusable when an adult writer uses it. We should know better.
Basically, you use an apostrophe in two cases.
To show possession. For example:
Helen’s car broke down.
Grammar is everyone’s friend.
One has to choose one’s words carefully.
Here you are quite simply showing possession.
Bear in mind though, this does not indicate plural. The examples as shown above apply only to the singular form of a noun. If however, the noun is in its plural form, which likely will have the word ending in an s, use the apostrophe after the s.
For example:
We visited his sister’s house. (this indicates one sister)
We visited his sisters’ house. (whereas this indicates more than one sister)
Is this clear? I trust that it isn’t too confusing.
There are also exceptions to this rule, which may seem confusing. Nevertheless I will attempt to explain it as simply as possible.
This rule never applies to personal pronouns (words like I, you, she, he, we, they, it). These words indicate possession by becoming a whole new word, therefore they don’t require an apostrophe.
Here are some examples :
The teacher said the book was hers.
The dog shook its head.
The choir claimed it was theirs.
But really it was ours.
The other purpose of the apostrophe would be to mark omitted letters in contractions.
Some examples of contraction are:
Don’t – Do not
Aren’t – Are not
Can’t – Can not
They’ve – They have
I need to mention that it’s/its are two of the most commonly confused words, so be sure that you are using the correct form in the proper context.
It’s is a contraction for it is. It’s is NEVER a possessive.
Its is the possessive for it.
For example: It’s a brave cat that shakes its tail at a dog.
Enough said? I think so.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I know that personally I get very annoyed when I see writers using the apostrophe where it does not belong. I can overlook this when reading chat messages from friends who have English as a second language, I can even overlook this when I find it while grading a 5th grader’s essay, but I think that it is inexcusable when an adult writer uses it. We should know better.
Basically, you use an apostrophe in two cases.
To show possession. For example:
Helen’s car broke down.
Grammar is everyone’s friend.
One has to choose one’s words carefully.
Here you are quite simply showing possession.
Bear in mind though, this does not indicate plural. The examples as shown above apply only to the singular form of a noun. If however, the noun is in its plural form, which likely will have the word ending in an s, use the apostrophe after the s.
For example:
We visited his sister’s house. (this indicates one sister)
We visited his sisters’ house. (whereas this indicates more than one sister)
Is this clear? I trust that it isn’t too confusing.
There are also exceptions to this rule, which may seem confusing. Nevertheless I will attempt to explain it as simply as possible.
This rule never applies to personal pronouns (words like I, you, she, he, we, they, it). These words indicate possession by becoming a whole new word, therefore they don’t require an apostrophe.
Here are some examples :
The teacher said the book was hers.
The dog shook its head.
The choir claimed it was theirs.
But really it was ours.
The other purpose of the apostrophe would be to mark omitted letters in contractions.
Some examples of contraction are:
Don’t – Do not
Aren’t – Are not
Can’t – Can not
They’ve – They have
I need to mention that it’s/its are two of the most commonly confused words, so be sure that you are using the correct form in the proper context.
It’s is a contraction for it is. It’s is NEVER a possessive.
Its is the possessive for it.
For example: It’s a brave cat that shakes its tail at a dog.
Enough said? I think so.
Administration
First Deadly Sin – Passive Voice
For the benefit of those of us who do not know the difference between active voice and passive voice, I will explain it in terms that are hopefully easy to understand.
I will start with active voice, as it is the simpler form of writing. In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action.
For example, “Jessica wrote the letter.”
“Jessica” is the subject of that sentence, and she is the one doing the action, or “acting upon the verb”, so this sentence is said to be in the active voice.
Thus it stands to reason that in passive voice the subject of your sentence receives an action.
For example, “The letter was written by Jessica.”
“The letter” now gets promoted to being the subject, yet isn’t “doing” anything in the sentence, instead it is being “acted upon”, so this sentence is said to be in passive voice.
Most editors advise that you avoid writing in passive voice if you are writing a creative piece. I am not saying that the use of passive voice is wrong, as there will be times when it is entirely acceptable, but generally when writing a story, it is best to avoid it. Passive voice comes across as unclear and oftentimes confusing or vague, whereas active voice tends to be more concise.
Classic examples of passive voice can be found when listening to politicians speak. Have you ever noticed how they can talk for hours without really saying anything at all? Or without taking any real responsibility for their actions? Lawyers use it as well, it helps them to intentionally hide intent and keep all references to the subject vague.
There are times when passive voice would be the more effective option though, for example when you are writing a mystery novel or any other piece that requires suspense and an element of ambiguity or vagueness.
For example, “The editor was murdered by a writer.” And “A writer murdered the editor.”
The first sentence is in passive form, which makes “The editor” your subject, whereas the second sentence is in the active form, which now promotes “The writer” into being the subject. While neither sentence is incorrect, the sentence in passive form would be best suited to a mystery novel, as it draws your focus to the crime that was committed, rather than to the perpetrator of the crime, which would be what you need in the initial stages of your story.
I feel like I will be drifting too far off my intended point if I continue, so I will rest here for now. I trust that this will help at least one person in writing more effectively.
For the benefit of those of us who do not know the difference between active voice and passive voice, I will explain it in terms that are hopefully easy to understand.
I will start with active voice, as it is the simpler form of writing. In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action.
For example, “Jessica wrote the letter.”
“Jessica” is the subject of that sentence, and she is the one doing the action, or “acting upon the verb”, so this sentence is said to be in the active voice.
Thus it stands to reason that in passive voice the subject of your sentence receives an action.
For example, “The letter was written by Jessica.”
“The letter” now gets promoted to being the subject, yet isn’t “doing” anything in the sentence, instead it is being “acted upon”, so this sentence is said to be in passive voice.
Most editors advise that you avoid writing in passive voice if you are writing a creative piece. I am not saying that the use of passive voice is wrong, as there will be times when it is entirely acceptable, but generally when writing a story, it is best to avoid it. Passive voice comes across as unclear and oftentimes confusing or vague, whereas active voice tends to be more concise.
Classic examples of passive voice can be found when listening to politicians speak. Have you ever noticed how they can talk for hours without really saying anything at all? Or without taking any real responsibility for their actions? Lawyers use it as well, it helps them to intentionally hide intent and keep all references to the subject vague.
There are times when passive voice would be the more effective option though, for example when you are writing a mystery novel or any other piece that requires suspense and an element of ambiguity or vagueness.
For example, “The editor was murdered by a writer.” And “A writer murdered the editor.”
The first sentence is in passive form, which makes “The editor” your subject, whereas the second sentence is in the active form, which now promotes “The writer” into being the subject. While neither sentence is incorrect, the sentence in passive form would be best suited to a mystery novel, as it draws your focus to the crime that was committed, rather than to the perpetrator of the crime, which would be what you need in the initial stages of your story.
I feel like I will be drifting too far off my intended point if I continue, so I will rest here for now. I trust that this will help at least one person in writing more effectively.
Administration
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF WRITING (in my humble opinion)
At the risk of sounding pompous or arrogant; I’ve compiled a list of things that I have found to be the seven most common mistakes made by us amateur writers. I am in no way saying that I am a good writer; in fact I will be the first to admit that I myself am guilty of committing most of these sins, but I do feel that the first step to improving your writing is to know what to avoid doing.
I promise to try and be as brief as possible and to keep it relatively painless.
At the risk of sounding pompous or arrogant; I’ve compiled a list of things that I have found to be the seven most common mistakes made by us amateur writers. I am in no way saying that I am a good writer; in fact I will be the first to admit that I myself am guilty of committing most of these sins, but I do feel that the first step to improving your writing is to know what to avoid doing.
I promise to try and be as brief as possible and to keep it relatively painless.
Administration
Yes, book shepherds are quite useful if you are self-publishing. They are good at guiding you through the process and a lot cheaper than getting a publisher. In my opinion you only need them the first time, once you know the process you can do it by yourself. They have wonderful resources though.