Common Problems (Part 23 of 50)

Who speaks is usually less important than what the person says, especially if there are only two people present. 

• Paps began. “At the beginning of time, when the Great One created all that. . ."
• Rose asked, "Why are you here?"

Neither of the above is wrong, but it would be better to place the emphasis on what the speaker says by putting the quote first. We often don't need to designate the speaker each time. Once we know that two people are involved, we could add beats instead of speaker's names. Or, as you see below, we know the identity of the second speaker.

      Suppose Hubert comes to Rose's door.

      "Why are you here?" Rose asked.

      "I've missed you," Hubert said. "Every day."

      "You expect me to believe that?" She started to close the door.

 &nbrp;    "Just listen to me. Please."

When I write dialog, I ask myself,

"What is the most important to emphasize?"

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Common Problems (Part 22 of 50)

Watch your use of toward/towards and backward/backwards. With the "s" is British; American is without the "s." 

• She limped towards her bedroom door.
• I remember only one occasion when I showed anger towards a friend.
• Count backwards from ten before you speak.

This isn't what I call a serious error, but it's one of those little things that serious, skilled writers try to avoid.

In the same way is the spelling of words such as gray. The Brits use grey and Americans write gray (unless it's a surname). Except in older poems and hymns, we don't read Saviour, although they still do in the UK.

Even small things are important 

if I want to become an excellent writer.

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Common Problems (Part 21 of 50)

 Identify it in your sentences.  Writers get so caught up in their writing they don't always make it clear to readers.

·         A train whistle blows as it rocks past and I look up. (Grammatically, it is the whistle that rocks.)

·         Good health begins with daily exercise. Watch for the ways it will change you. (What will change you? health or exercise?)

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Common Problems (Part 20 of 50)

 Use italics for the titles of books, movies, TV programs, and magazines.

• "Gone With the Wind" served as the theme for those five weekends.
• In the movie, "The Dark Knight. . ."
• Growing up, my favorite TV series was "Eight Is Enough."

All three are incorrect. It's Gone With the Wind. In pre-computer days, we underlined because typewriters wouldn't make italics. Editors understood the underlinings.

When we refer to chapters, poems, segments of a TV series, we use quotation marks.

My favorite poem is "Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe.

            Weekends with Larry aired a piece called, "Five Good Movies to Watch."

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Common Problems (Part 19 of 50)

Avoid comic-book writing. We also call it sound-effects writing. Even though some writers use sound effects, it shows lack of care about the craft. Such sentences say, "It's good enough and I don't need to work hard." It takes more effort (and creativity) to show, but it's also better writing.

• Snap. Crackle. Pop. [These 3 words are also a cliché.] 
• The gun went bang. 
• Slap! Her faced burned from the print of his hand. 

Not only does comic-book writing show sloth, but writers assume that everyone understands what bang or Slap means. For readers to connect with the prose, we need clarity. We can express the noise of a fired gun in many ways. Our word choice guides readers to interpret the intended meaning.

Just as bad is that some writers WRITE IN ALL CAPS.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" he screamed.

"GET OUT OF MY LIFE!"

I assume this is again the mark of the unsure writer who wants to make certain that readers get the emphasis. All caps insults readers by saying, "Because you aren't clever enough to understand, I'll write in all caps."

Readers are as bright (or brighter) than we are; 

we write in clear language so they can visualize what we mean.

* * * * *

Cec's new book, Unleash the Writer Within, is now available. 

Common Problems (Part 18 of 50)

In English, adjectives modify only nouns and pronouns. To get beyond that rule of grammar, we use the hyphen, which makes both words function as a single adjective.

• He walked along the wrought-iron fences. Without the hyphen, it properly reads, He walked along wrought, iron fences. 
• His oft-spoken words echoed through my head. 
• He held his four-by-six-inch device. All four words modify device. 
• He whispered a soft-but-fervent prayer. By hyphenating, all three words function as a single adjective to modify prayer. 

Serious writers make reading easier by 

remembering simple punctuation tips.

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Cec's new book, Unleash the Writer Within, is now available.

Common Problems (Part 17 of 50)

Watch those dialog attributes. Creative writing teachers tend to urge their students to avoid using the boring word said. Professional writers, however, give exactly the opposite advice.

We do it for two reasons and the first is because said is invisible. So are asked, answered, and replied. Because they are so common, readers scarcely notice.

The second reason to avoid strong attributes is because they take the emphasis off what and put it on how.

• "You will never take me alive!" he yelled.
• "You must never do that again," Ellen remonstrated. 
• "I want my money," he demanded. 

If we write dialog well, readers don't need an attribution to know how to interpret the words.

If you want to emphasize how someone speaks, you do need the right attribute: "I hate you," she purred.

Said is a good dialog attribute; 

it's good because it's invisible.

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Cec's new book, Unleash the Writer Within, is now available.