Before I Get My Hands On It...

10 Quick Grammar Tips:) 

If you are going to submit anything to be edited by me, or anyone else, or simply wish to improve your writing, here are a few tips for you!!!  (Note: if you apply these quick grammar tips to your story before sending your book in to an editor, you will save the editor much time, which is especially important, if they charge by the hour! Plus, you will receive your book faster, and the editing will be done more quickly!)

1. There are 3 main ways to write dialogue, tagged with the phrase, "so-and-so said", "so-and-so yelled", etc.

"I can't believe that just happened!" Claire exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Jenny demanded.

"I don't know," Claire admitted.

There's the exclamation mark, the question mark, and then...a comma? Yes, that's right, a comma. How often, in published books, do you see this?

"I don't know." Claire said. 

That's because if you're going to tag the quoted phrase with a "so-and-so said", then you don't need to put a period at the end of your quote. Instead, put a comma... "I don't know," Claire said.

2. It's hard to remember the difference between "its" and "it's". :) But try and remind yourself of the reason that "it's" is a contraction. It's because "it's" is two words. "It is". So if you can't figure out what to use, just try out "it is" in your sentence. For example, "It's alive!" or "Its alive?" Is it also grammatically correct to say, "It is alive"? If so, you should use "it's" (a contraction). Use "its" when using a more possessive form, such as, "The dog bit its tail." The tail belongs to the dog. You wouldn't say, "The dog bit it is tail." 

3. You can use the same methods with "Who's" and "Whose". Just try saying the sentence using "Who is", and see if it fits. If not, use "Whose". If so, use "Who's".

4. You use an "apostrophe, s" if something belongs to someone. 

Example: Rachel's guitar

However you would not say, "Rachel's two guitar's", because you're not talking about anything that belongs to the guitars. You would simply say, "Rachel's two guitars". (And for the record, you would also not say "guitar's", you would say "guitar's"...)

5. Don't forget to make and indent your paragraphs!

6. To capitalize or not to capitalize...
If the word (example: "sonny") can be replaced with a proper name (example: "John"), then capitalize the word ("sonny").

"What are you doing there, sonny?"
Try it!

"What are you doing there, John?" works, so capitalize "sonny".

"Look at my dad!"
Try it!

"Look at my John!"
That does NOT work. In that case, then, do not capitalize "dad".

7. This something I learned recently... don't change tenses in the middle of a sentence!

8. Something ELSE I just learned... Comma and, a semicolon, and two complete sentences can all serve the same purpose. Sound confusing? Here's a handy example.

I don't like ice cream; I don't like cookies.
I don't like ice cream, and I don't like cookies.
I don't like ice cream. I don't like cookies.

All of the above should be correct. "I don't like ice cream" and "I don't like cookies" are complete sentences, so they can be separated by a semicolon, a comma and, or, they can be made into two sentences. However, you CANNOT have ONLY an "and". You must have a "comma/and"!

9. "There's" means "there is". "Is" can only refer to one object. "There's Tony!"
"There's potatoes" is not correct. One should say, "There are potatoes" because potatoes are plural. I don't actually see this mistake in books very often, but it's very common in every day speech! I'm trying to use correct grammar when I talk, but I still make many mistakes!

10. Okay, I need to think of another one...
If you change the subject or the person talking , you need to make a new paragraph. Example...

     "Where are we?" I wondered.
     "I don't know," Anna replied.

or

     I don't like potatoes, whether they be mashed, boiled, fried, or turned into French fries. My friends think I'm insane, but I enjoy my potato-free life.
     I also do not like calculators...

There you go - ten handy grammar tips! :) If you have any questions, please ask!
(By the way, I love French fries and potatoes. I also am very thankful for my calculator). 

-- Klara C.

Tenses...say what?

I just recently blog posted a story in the present tense. I can hardly believe I did that, since I don't enjoy reading or writing in the present tense. But as I always say, writing is the ONE (and I think ONLY) activity where I occasionally say it's okay to "do what you feel like doing"... because when a writer has the urge to write something, in some way, it generally has to happen.

Anywaywhoo, it was quite interesting and I actually recommend it! Most books are written in the past tense (i.e. "I walked") and a few are written in the present tense ("I walk"). I don't know if "I will walk" (future tense) is ever used repeatedly for the entire book.

Obviously you can mix tense a bit...

"I ran to the store, breathing hard. I arrived in the doorway, stopping to catch my breath. I decide that I will walk home later..."

(That's only two tenses, sorry. :))

Anyway, it's an interesting exercise to write in the present tense if you don't do so normally. You can take a paragraph you've already written and re-write it. As I proof-read my blog post, I found several instances where I'd switched back to past tense! :)

I just thought I'd post about this before I became sidetracked and never posted about it before.

I think (Lordwilling) I'll put a poll on the side about this...

In the mean time...

Happy writing (or editing!?)!

-- Klara C.

A Hero's Not a Hero Unless...

I once read in a book about writing a novel that a hero's not a hero unless he's given a chance to turn back, or in other words, say, "No. I'm not going to do such-and-such. I'm not going to do to that place (fill in the blank)" etc.

Think about it.

I'll introduce you to some heroes from my favorite books / movies...

Frodo (Lord of the Rings) - chose to go take the ring to Mordor when he could've gone back to the Shire.

Peter Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia. Not my favorite guy, but the first one that worked really well for the analogy I'm making here) - chooses to help save Narnia at Aslan's request.

Can you think of one?

Okay, so those are pretty easy to figure out.  What about a book / movie like Pride and Prejudice? That's a little harder. It's not a fantasy or a book about a quest. It's a book where the characters build on themselves and you get to know Mr. Darcy's true character as Elizabeth discovers it, too.  Maybe the choice is when Elizabeth begins to realize that she has acted out of prejudice, and Mr. D realizes he has acted out or pride. Thoughts?

You see, if you force your character to do exactly what you want him to, and stick him (or her, but we'll stick with "him" so I don't have to keep saying "him or her") in circumstances where he has no choice in any matter or throw him in places where there's only one escape route, he won't exactly be a hero.

Sure, you can make it tough for him. You can make it seem like there's only a few choices.  You can make it seem like he's trapped and there's no way out.  But at some point in your novel, he has to choose to be a hero. He has to choose to do the right thing. Give him the choice: his answer determines whether or not he's a hero.

-- Klara C.

Characters or Besties?

Characters - they're the people that hold your book together.  Without them, your reader has no reason or interest in reading your story.  Without characters, I think readers are pretty helpless.

When I was younger, I based my characters off some of my toys - a plush dog, a flocked horse, a plastic figure.  Others simply popped into my mind and I developed them as I wrote.  Recently, I get to know my characters and flesh them out as I write.  Occasionally they are based off friends but some are inspired by other book or movie characters combined with my own ideas.

At first I had no idea how attached I could become to one of those characters.  I mean, they're just characters!  How could I possibly become so involved?  But when you really create a main character, and give them a personality, mannerisms, habits, speech, likes, dislikes, passions, as well as some of your own personality in too, you'll soon find yourself caring about the three-dimensional characters you've thought up.  They soon become your friends, if you spend a lot of time writing or thinking about them.

Recently I've learned a little more about aspects of writing.  I always thought of writing as something creative, not restricted by a set of rules.  I could use simile or personification without knowing what it's called - I learned about grammar and writing styles from reading various books.  Although I still believe writing is a creative process, it does help to learn about different writing tips and helps.

A couple months ago I became interested in studying people.  I would listen to voices and see how everyone's voices were unique - some people spoke in matter-of-fact tones; others enunciated and were interesting to listen to; others spoke in more of a monotone.  Although your reader doesn't need to know everything about your main character(s), you should know quite a bit about them.

I'm thinking about doing a series of articles about characters.  I might call it a "Character Study", although this usage of "character" will of course refer to, "a person portrayed in an artistic piece, such as a drama or a novel" (according to the Free Dictionary).

Although I adore hanging out with people in the "real" world, I enjoy hanging' with my characters too.  :)

-- Klara C. 

Writing Advice From C.S. Lewis

I am often asked, "What is your favorite book?"  I usually reply with, "That's a hard question - I have so many favorites!  But The Chronicles of Narnia and A Tale of Two Cities are certainly at the top of the list" (or something like that).  So naturally, I greatly admire C.S. Lewis' writing style, creativity and ideas, as well as the ability to express important truths in an exciting and wonderful children's series.

Several weeks ago I received an update from NarniaFans concerning a letter C.S. Lewis wrote to a girl named Joan.  I love to write my own favorite authors, so enjoy reading C.S. Lewis wrote in reply to his fans.  In this letter to Joan, he sent her writing advice!  I've pasted the letter here.

The Kilns,
Headington Quarry,
Oxford
26 June 1956

Dear Joan–

Thanks for your letter of the 3rd. You describe your Wonderful Night v. well. That is, you describe the place and the people and the night and the feeling of it all, very well — but not the thing itself — the setting but not the jewel. And no wonder! Wordsworth often does just the same. His Prelude (you’re bound to read it about 10 years hence. Don’t try it now, or you’ll only spoil it for later reading) is full of moments in which everything except thething itself is described. If you become a writer you’ll be trying to describe the thing all your life: and lucky if, out of dozens of books, one or two sentences, just for a moment, come near to getting it across.

About amn’t I, aren’t I and am I not, of course there are no right or wrong answers about language in the sense in which there are right and wrong answers in Arithmetic. “Good English” is whatever educated people talk; so that what is good in one place or time would not be so in another. Amn’t I was good 50 years ago in the North of Ireland where I was brought up, but bad in Southern England. Aren’t I would have been hideously bad in Ireland but very good in England. And of course I just don’t know which (if either) is good in modern Florida. Don’t take any notice of teachers and textbooks in such matters. Nor of logic. It is good to say “more than one passenger was hurt,” although more than one equals at least two and therefore logically the verb ought to be plural were not singular was!

What really matters is:–

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”

4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

Thanks for the photos. You and Aslan both look v. well. I hope you’ll like your new home.

With love
yours
C.S. Lewis

From: this amazing website

That's some great advice!  

-- Klara C. 

Be Interesting!

Hey, I'm back!  I've been busy with school and also, working on my latest novel.  As I was working on it just now, I decided to post an article!  :)

Writing should be interesting.

When I was 7 or so, a certain series of easy-read books enthralled me.  I loved the books, and made my mom read all my favorite ones.  She, however, wasn't so intrigued, considering they were written for young children and also lacking interesting words and varying sentence structure.  For seven-year-olds, that's somewhat acceptable.  But if you're writing for older children, teens or adults, then your writing needs to be interesting.  I'm not necessarily referring to the story line, although that should be captivating, too!

How can you make your writing interesting?

1. Vary sentence lengths 

Hannah walked to the store.  She looked at the purses.  She bought a red purse.  Hannah walked home.  Hannah was happy.  She liked the purse.

Boring, right?  How about...

Hannah walked into the store.  An hour passed as she looked at all the different purses - the store had all kinds, from leather, crochet, or fur!  She finally bought a plaid red purse.  Then, she walked home smiling - she'd found the perfect purse!

I read a book recently made up mostly of fragments, or short sentences.  This book happened to be an action / adventure book, so the quick fragments fit the style.  However, I still enjoy reading varying sentence lengths...

2. Be Specific

How did Hannah walk?  Did she stroll?  Waltz?  Skip?  Run?  Race?  The above paragraph could be improved by specifying how she walked.  Also, how did she look at the purses?  Did she rifle through them, examine each purse carefully, or simply scan over the selection with her eyes and immediately make a choice?

3. Use Interesting Words

Some people don't like to read older books (take Dickens or Austen for example) because "they don't understand what the authors are saying".  This could be simply because sentences were much longer in "those days"...  or because the words are now archaic, or the story line moves slowly.  (Honestly I don't believe any of these points are satisfactory reasons why not to read Dickens or Austen, but I'll devote that subject to another article.  :))  As writers, we want our readers to understand our book...  but I believe we should also challenge readers.  One way we can do this is to use interesting words.

Now, if you throw the word "sadistic" or "indefatigable" into a children's novel, your reader might be a little daunted.  If you inserted one of those words into a historical fiction novel, written in 1800's times, in the style of Jane Austen or another similar author, it might not seem so out of place.

But, you can still challenge your reader by using new words that fit the style of your story.  You can subtly explain the meaning of the word, like this:

The unstoppable, indefatigable man continued on his journey, despite the rain.

What do you think the word "indefatigable" means, judging from this sentence?

To find out the answer, use your mouse to highlight the following:

Indefatigable means "unwavering" or "unstoppable".

Can you figure out an interesting word to add into the story about Hannah and her purse?

When you are reading and come across a word you don't know, then write it down so you can look it up in the dictionary later.

Tip: Start collecting interesting words.  Here are a few that can "spice up" (pardon the pun) your writing...

Verbs

Flittered

Shimmered

Adjectives

Impecunious

Sardonic

Replete

Ostensible

Conspicuous

Parsimonious

Nouns

Audacity

Poinard

Langour

Wainscoat

Looks like my list is a little lacking...let me know if you can find some interesting words!!!

-- Klara C.

...Again!?

You're probably contemplating my sanity.

I already have 4 blogs...  why would I desire to add another?

I attempted to warn you I might open a writing blog...and here it is!  These pages will be dedicated solely to the art of writing.  I've had so many ideas for writing articles waltzing around in my head that I decided it would be impolite to shove them all into my personal blog.  Instead, I'll insert them here!  

Writing advice, tips, or even writing randomness - read them here!

What's going on in my life / what I've been reading, watching or doing lately - check out www.klarabellecandy.blogspot.com

If you're interested in writing or learning more about writing a novel, please subscribe to this blog (that is, if you feel so inclined).  Thanks again for your support.  I hope my future articles will be beneficial to you!!!

Klara C.