Grammar is Sexy Saturday: Breaking The Rules

But I shouldn’t break the rules! Yet I really want to. And, sometimes, I do it just to be naughty.

See how I did that? I broke the don’t start a sentence with a conjunction rule three times. I also used some adverbs and passive phrasing, but it’s early in the a.m., so sue me.

Some grammar rules are okay to break, as long as it’s done in moderation. Using a conjunction to start a sentence…

• can add emphasis
• can eliminate a run-on
• can prevent a sentence from sounding too choppy

Examples:

Emphasis—

Esther sighed and grabbed her backpack from the table before slinging it over her shoulder. Class started in twenty minutes, and she promised her mom she wouldn’t skip again. Those backstabbing girls in homeroom broke promises all the time. But that wasn’t Esther. Unlike her former friends, she kept her word.

Eliminate a run-on—

A bus whizzed by as Esther started the fourteen-minute walk to her private school. Her uniform’s blazer offered little protection from the wind that whipped the lapels against her neck, but she instinctively pulled it tighter around her chest. There could’ve been a foot of snow on the ground, a blizzard, or temperatures reaching Antarctic lows and she still would’ve walked. Because the last week she rode the bus had been the worst of her life--those stupid girls! When she’d told them about the one bad thing she’d ever done, they’d promised not to tell.

Prevent choppiness—

Her backpack slipped from her shoulder and fell to the floor when she saw the awful word spray-painted in red across her locker. A nun approached, glanced at the accusation, then at Esther. The teacher shook her head and kept walking. Did everyone know? There had to be someone—other than her mom--who didn’t think she was a slut for making one mistake. But who? Certainly not that self-righteous nun or Esther’s so-called friends, that much was obvious.

So go ahead and break the rules--just don't make a habit out of it. Consider it a tool you can use a limited amount of times, and pick those times wisely.

Keep Writing!

Grammar Is Sexy Saturday: Working With Editors

Special Edition of Grammar Is Sexy Saturday!

I promised to blog about my own experience working with editors, and I'm making good on that promise today. I have worked with two editors from two different houses. There was a huge difference between these experiences because one book was written a year earlier than the other. This was an eye-opener for me--not to mention a major confidence boost-- to see how much my writing has improved over several months.

Most writers admit they have bad habits. I can compartmentalize my stupidity into a handful of themes.

Word misusage:I'm guilty of it. Frankly, I'm a bit paranoid now, too. How many words have I used incorrectly over the years in everyday speech? How often do I do it now, and how stupid do I appear to others? Eeek!

The good news is I am generally on the right track with these misused words and only manage to miss the mark by a centimeter (or two). The bad news is these were ALL words I didn't bother to look up or double check because they were common, which makes me feel that much more moronic.

Advice: Look up ALL the words.

More practical advice: Look up anything you're iffy on.

Slang/uncommon uses of normal words: I have a couple of examples.

I used feining/feening in my paranormal romance to describe a moment my MC experiences an unexplained strong craving. I'm not sure of the spelling because, apparently, feining/feening isn't a real word. Sure, Urban Dictionary says it is, but my editor was like, huh? I explained the meaning to her (probably making myself look like a crackhead in the process for being privy to such lingo) but ended up opting for "hankering."

Another example of me looking like a dumb-dumb was my use of "disappeared" as a transitive verb, as in "The mafia disappeared the bodies." <-- not an actual line from my book

I was ready to fight for this one because I've heard it used this way. But...eh. I wasn't "married to it" so why cause possible confusion for readers?

Advice: If your editor wants you to kill a word, just do it. It doesn't mean you have to go with his/her suggested replacement, but press delete and pick another option. You won't miss it. I promise.

Missing/extra words: This one bugs me me, and I'm not sure I've improved over over the past couple of years years. Maybe I need glasses.

I no advice.

Pathetic Fallacy: When I saw this in my contemporary manuscript not once, but twice, I have to admit my feelings were hurt. I thought I was being called a name or WAY harshly criticized! Oh, the brutality!

"Geez, that was mean. She could've just said she didn't like it."

*pouts*

*whines*

*gets the brilliant idea to Google it*

Aha! A pathetic fallacy is the use of weather to set the tone of a scene. I was doing this without realizing it and setting a tone inappropriate for the mood of my characters. It took some simple revising to fix the problem, and I wasn't being called a pathetic phallic-something. Yay!

Advice: Don't overreact to editor comments. Google it, get a second opinion, ask yourself if it really matters anyway. Writers are sensitive; we have to be. But try to keep your head in business mode when reviewing editor comments. It's not personal. They obviously like you and your writing because they offered you a contract.

Laziness: I love research. It's one of my favorite things about writing. I sometimes pick locations or topics I know nothing about to include in my stories just so I can research them. Call me a geek, but it's fun!

In one of my stories, I gave a character an antebellum home. That means the house was built before the Civil War. I'm not sure why I did this. I think it was to add personality to the house...maybe I just wanted to use the word antebellum. Who knows.

Problem was I failed to research antebellum structures and made some enormous errors when describing the exterior and interior layout of the home. Fortunately, my editor caught those errors and pointed them out to me. Easy fix. I simply deleted "antebellum" from one line and voilà! Miss Thang's house is old...but not that old.

Advice: Do your research, even if it's for something that seems relatively minor. The internet puts the whole world at your fingertips. Explore it and infuse your story with authentic details.

Misplaced Modifiers: Can you say ugh? When my editor pointed out this grammatical error to me over and over again, I freaked out. I rushed to open other manuscripts and scan for dangling modifiers (not as sexy as it sounds). I found none. Whew! This is a bad habit I'd unknowingly nipped in the bud.

Sadly, I failed to notice all the big, floppy dangling modifiers when editing the first MS, despite having overcome that bad habit. See how we miss things even when we know they're wrong?

Advice: Continue to brush up on the many rules of grammar. No one expects perfection--not even editors--but aim for it anyway. Utilize betas of all types--those who read and those who line-edit.

What are some of your bad habits?

Grammar is Sexy Saturday: Word Misusage

I slacked off last week and didn't upload a Grammar Is Sexy Saturday post. I know, lame. I was in the midst of editing two books and finishing up another.

The good news is I finished my manuscript(go, betas, go), finished edits for Dark Wolf Protector (novella coming soon from Cobblestone Press), and am done with the first round of edits for another(Bonded In Brazil coming soon from Camel Press). Which means I should have time for some extra cool blogging stuff for the next month or so.

Coming soon: My experiences with editors/editing. You won't want to miss this one because I'll share some of my own stupidity and make fun of myself. :)

Onto the grammar stuff!

Our English language is full of homonyms--words that sound alike. We use some of these words everyday in speech and, because they sound alike, we don't realize we're misusing them...until we actually write them down.

Below is a list of homonyms that are often misused and simple directions on how to use them correctly.

Accept/Except: Accept is to receive. You accept a gift. Except is to exclude. You like all flavors of ice cream except vanilla.

Affect/Effect: Affect is to influence. A cranky baby affects my mood. Effect is a result. The anti-depressant is working, but she has awful side effects. Effect can also be used as a verb, meaning to produce. The new manager plans to effect change in his department.

Emigrate/Immigrate: Emigrate is to leave one country and move to another. Immigrate means to leave one's country and reside in another. Ha. There's a fine line here, and you're probably shaking your head. Uh, what's the dif? Emigrate is to act of leaving a home country. Immigrate is the act of entering a new country in which you plan to reside. Em=out. Im=in.

Allowed/Aloud: Allowed means permitted. Aloud means spoken (out loud).

Ascent/Assent: Ascent refers to a climb. Assent is to agree.

Your/You're: Your is the possessive form; you're means you are.

Their/There/They're: Their is the possessive form; there indicates a place; they're means they are.

Bonus:

Might've/Must've: <-- Say these words aloud. I know they sound like might of and must of, but they're not. Might've is might have. Must've is must have.

There are many, many more examples, but the above are homonyms I see misused all the time--I've done it myself!

You don't have to memorize all their spellings/meanings, but be aware so that you can double check your usage of them while editing.

What words--homonyms or otherwise--do you commonly misuse?

Grammar Is Sexy Saturday: Find and Kill

This week's post isn't so much about what's grammatically correct, but what's considered correct when you're a writer. Writers understand that what would've earned you an A+ from your creative writing teacher will get you a big fat rejection from editors.

Yes, I'm talking about adverbs.


Some of you are whining. "Why does everyone hate adverbs? Come on."

The rest of you have already whipped out switchblades. "Adverb? Kill!"

Books could be written on this subject (maybe have been?), but I'm going to touch on a few examples, give a couple tips, and leave it at that.

I like adverbs. They sound pretty and, in my opinion, can be a great asset if used properly. But how does one know when the adverb they've used should stay or not? Here's how:

Click FIND in your Word.doc. Type in "ly" and click next. Every word that has the "ly" combination will pop up.

When an "ly" word is highlighted, examine the sentence closely.

Example: He whispered softly in her ear.

Using the above example, ask yourself if the adverb is telling us something we don't already know. Softly. Well, how else does one whisper? Sure, someone can whisper harshly, I suppose, but most people expect a whisper to be soft. Softly should be deleted. If it had been: He whispered harshly in her ear, we might need to keep the adverb because the reader wouldn't expect a harsh whisper. Harshly actually adds meaning to the verb.

Example: She was completely lost.

Completely is one I almost always erase. Same with probably. In the above sentence, completely seems redundant and, when you think about, dumb. Completely lost is like saying completely pregnant. You're either pregnant or not pregnant, lost or not lost. There's not a lot of room for gray area here. Again, by adding completely, you're not telling the reader anything more than if you had said: She was lost.

Once you've gone over your manuscript for "ly" words, you'll need to run individual searches on other pesky adverbs, like just.

Just is one of those words that get tricky. Again, examine the context and decide if it's needed.

Example: He stood just an inch away.

This is an actual line from one of my manuscripts. Upon careful examination, I realized "just" was redundant. An inch tells the readers how close he stands. It doesn't need help from "just" to make that clear.

Remember, adverbs should enhance the verb and tell the reader something new about the verb. A dimly lit room is an example of an adverb well-used because there are various ways which a room can be lit.

Final helpful hint: Commonly used adverbs that can almost always be eliminated are completely, probably, just, suddenly, and sometimes especially.

Grammar is Sexy Saturday: Apostrophe

Grammar is Sexy Saturday is a new weekly feature here at Whispers. Every Saturday I'll share tips/rules that will, perhaps, help you when writing/polishing your manuscript. Despite the title, this isn't solely about grammar. Matter of fact, today's post is about punctuation.

Apostrophe

1-- Use an apostrophe to form a contraction. Remember: The apostrophe in a contraction replaces the missing letter in the word.

Example: Don't is the contraction for do not. An apostrophe was put in place of the missing letter o.

Example: She's nice. She's is the contraction for she is. An apostrophe was put in place of the missing letter i.

2--Use an apostrophe to show possession. Remember: If the subject in question ends in s and is not plural, you will likely need an apostrophe.

Example: That is the dog's ball. Without the apostrophe in dog's the subject would be plural (dogs). Which brings me to the rule for plural possessive...

3--If the subject is plural and you're trying to show possession, place the apostrophe after the s.

Example: That is the dogs' ball. This shows there is more than one dog, and the ball belongs to both/all of them.

4--Special cases require a singular subject ending in "s" to have an apostrophe and an additional "s."

Example: This is Rhiannon Ellis's blog.

5--Names that do not end in "s" can do without the apostrophe when plural.

Example: We're hanging out with the Smiths.

6--Showing ownership with multiple people can be tricky. Use an apostrophe to show possession on the second person's name when two people own the same item.

Example: Mike and Susan's cars are fast. This shows Mike and Susan own the same fast cars. They own these cars together.

Example: Mike's and Susan's cars are fast. This indicates Mike and Susan own fast cars but not the same cars. Susan has her own fast car, and Mike has his own.

7--Some words already show possession and therefore do not need an apostrophe. His, hers, its, theirs, whose, ours and yours.

Example: It's actually means it is.

8--Use an apostrophe to replace missing numbers.

Example: I was born in the '80s. The apostrophe replaces the 19 in 1980s.

Notice I didn't add an apostrophe to '80s (like this--'80's). You also wouldn't add an apostrophe to these examples: I am working on multiple MSs. My son knows his ABCs.