Before I start eating my nominative cases, I'd like to recommend two more grammar websites. This one from my BFF Rose Mary: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx which, you can tell from the title, is quite as user friendly as http://www.grammarbook.com/. Moreover, it has direct applications for authors.
Next is for you technical types. It's from Mary Sell -my editor, as you might guess: http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=grammar+%22as+him%22&sig=cBx1pFlnFy618RoiJf-ONJejoSw&ei=iitvSqrhKJLmM-rC5NYI&ct=result&id=IrfUf5nE4VUC&ots=fZc2VFyUok&output=text. That came about when I went into a panic over a sentence I loved, but GrammarCheck didn't. She finally hauled out the big guns over the issue. Oddly enough, it still remains a judgement call. But there it is.
Now, then. After all this angst over perfecting my product, here comes Geraldine Sutton Stith. We met online when she was seeking info on my publisher. Since she had already published a couple of novels, I went to her website and became intrigued. Alien Legacy, a true story of her family's experiences, looked familiar. It was a case I'd discovered when researching UFO sightings for a formal debate. (I drew 2nd affirmative.) I immediately ordered it.
It was August 21, 1955 in Kelly, Kentucky; a night burned forever into the memory of the Sutton family. This poignant tale of terror - and the resultant, enduring ridicule - could only be told exactly the way Geraldine told it - in the words of her salt-of-the-earth, God-fearing family. How else could she have communicated their thoughts and feelings in those extraordinary events?
It felt as real as listening to her tell it over the kitchen table. I could hear her soft accent, see the steep, wooded hills of Kentucky that enfold you like a mother's embrace; yet understand fully the stark horror of strange lights and unhuman beings curiously exploring the grounds and peering through windows.
Yes, Geraldine Sutton Stith told it like it was, and grammar be hanged. If my publisher accepts her, I hope they accept her completely.
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Take every opportunity to sharpen your skills
There's a reason I haven't been posting lately: namely, Ammanon Book Three, The Deliverance.
After it had been competently edited (thanks again, Mary!) I submitted it. And OMG. My publisher's manuscript reviewer, hereinafter referred to as the MR, about tore me a new one. She preferred the old school use of commas, for one thing. No real argument there. Then there's my writing style. If you've ever read my Ammanon books, you know I have adopted a sort of Old Testament narrative style to immerse the story in it's ancient setting. And you know that Biblical authors and translators quite frequently begin sentences with "and". Total no-no.
Worse, the format in which I had submitted it was all wrong. Again, I certainly can't argue. Publishers should demand that an author meet their requirements in order to facilitate review and production. Obviously this is no excuse, but the only rules I ever saw were 12 pt. Times New Roman, double spaced. And that was Book Two. Book One was 12 pt. Courier. Double spaced, of course. I was horrified that I'd made such an errors like indented paragraphs and page numbers when they weren't allowed, but I swear I never saw these specifications. Honest. Not in the contract; not on their website. Not that I'm the best searcher of sites...
The point is, I should have asked at the outset.
Anyway, bottom line, I've been slogging through the manuscript virtually letter-by-letter to correct such things. Invariably, one also finds many, many things to improve when one does this. Which brings me to the title subject.
For heaven's sake, stay sharp on the rules of grammar. I don't care how unconventional your chosen style, if the verb doesn't agree with the subject you're not saying what you want to say. A misused adverb can confuse or change the meaning entirely. Trust me, you don't want to confuse either your editor OR your MR. Know what you're doing! Even the automatic grammar prompts on your Word program can throw you if you don't know the mechanics of your language. It's especially important to know when the prompts are wrong!
I got caught once before when I discovered my grammar skills had become antiquated. In the process of updating, I discovered this online goldmine: www.grammarbook.com. Just using the free services can be a huge help. Pic your bugaboo (apostrophes, commas, etc.) read the rules, and take the quizzes. I took them all. I was amazed at the way colloquial usage can erode your recognition of proper form.
Check out other authors. Many use their blogs to help writers sharpen their skills. My favorite at the moment is Aaron Paul Lazar. He's turned me around on several points. But there are many others. Google topics like "Writing Essentials" and you'll find them.
Meanwhile, I'm truly indebted to both my editor and MR for forcing me to look again at my writing - this time with all the critical fervor necessary for perfection.
Okay. I've gotta get back to work.
After it had been competently edited (thanks again, Mary!) I submitted it. And OMG. My publisher's manuscript reviewer, hereinafter referred to as the MR, about tore me a new one. She preferred the old school use of commas, for one thing. No real argument there. Then there's my writing style. If you've ever read my Ammanon books, you know I have adopted a sort of Old Testament narrative style to immerse the story in it's ancient setting. And you know that Biblical authors and translators quite frequently begin sentences with "and". Total no-no.
Worse, the format in which I had submitted it was all wrong. Again, I certainly can't argue. Publishers should demand that an author meet their requirements in order to facilitate review and production. Obviously this is no excuse, but the only rules I ever saw were 12 pt. Times New Roman, double spaced. And that was Book Two. Book One was 12 pt. Courier. Double spaced, of course. I was horrified that I'd made such an errors like indented paragraphs and page numbers when they weren't allowed, but I swear I never saw these specifications. Honest. Not in the contract; not on their website. Not that I'm the best searcher of sites...
The point is, I should have asked at the outset.
Anyway, bottom line, I've been slogging through the manuscript virtually letter-by-letter to correct such things. Invariably, one also finds many, many things to improve when one does this. Which brings me to the title subject.
For heaven's sake, stay sharp on the rules of grammar. I don't care how unconventional your chosen style, if the verb doesn't agree with the subject you're not saying what you want to say. A misused adverb can confuse or change the meaning entirely. Trust me, you don't want to confuse either your editor OR your MR. Know what you're doing! Even the automatic grammar prompts on your Word program can throw you if you don't know the mechanics of your language. It's especially important to know when the prompts are wrong!
I got caught once before when I discovered my grammar skills had become antiquated. In the process of updating, I discovered this online goldmine: www.grammarbook.com. Just using the free services can be a huge help. Pic your bugaboo (apostrophes, commas, etc.) read the rules, and take the quizzes. I took them all. I was amazed at the way colloquial usage can erode your recognition of proper form.
Check out other authors. Many use their blogs to help writers sharpen their skills. My favorite at the moment is Aaron Paul Lazar. He's turned me around on several points. But there are many others. Google topics like "Writing Essentials" and you'll find them.
Meanwhile, I'm truly indebted to both my editor and MR for forcing me to look again at my writing - this time with all the critical fervor necessary for perfection.
Okay. I've gotta get back to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)