Good Start for 2011 #5

Clean up your Desktop

Ever notice how things pile up and when you really want something, you can't find it with out a lot of searching, moving piles, or checking in several files? If this happens to you it's time to clean up your desktop. Your computer's Desktop!

Every new computer has a desktop filled with little icons of Internet sites the manufacturer assumed you would want to be involved in. Many people never use these—and they never take them off the desktop. These are only shortcuts, and if you delete them, you aren't deleting the program, those are still in the Program or App file, but now you more easily see the icons you do use.

Now think of what you need to get to quickly: you WIP, your research, your household accounts...and so on. These are what should be on your desktop in their own little shortcut folders. No scrolling through the "My Documents" to find your WIP (was it in My Page Manager?) or checking the desktop/documents and settings/administrator/, no clicking through many lists to find that last research note you gathered online that might be buried in that hard-to-find Temporary download file.

Right click on the desktop, hit "new" and make a folder. Or go to your WIP folder, right click it and make a shortcut you can then move to your desktop. To be certain you don't lose track of documents, start them in the folder you want to keep them in. Open the folder, THEN click "new." That way when you save it, it automatically stays in that folder. If you download afrom the Internet, save the item to your desktop, and then file it later in the folder or your choice.

What programs do you use the most? I have two graphics programs that I use at least three or four times each day. I've added shortcuts to them in the "Start" bar so I don't have to click start and scroll along the program files to find them. I have a desktop folder named "work" that isn't a shortcut. But the shortcuts are within it. I open "Work" and then have instant access to my current projects, which are in other locations and folders (such as Kindle books, Nook books, Covers, or Blog Articles). Once I've completed a project, I delete the shortcut from the WORK file.

These same principles can be applied to your Internet browser. Be certain your "home page" is something you really use, and not just the generic Yahoo, Google or MSN start page. It could be your local newspaper, a weather channel or the social networking site you maintain or frequent most often. Cleaning up the folders in the bookmark or favorite tab can be helpful, and again, get rid of those generic links you don't use. They waste space and your time.

These might seem like nitpicky considerations, but when you do them, your priorities become more evident, and the organization will carry over into your writing life.

Good Start for 2011 #3

Exercise Your Brain

It's all well and good to have plans and ideas for your 2011 writing projects, but if you aren't really in shape, they won't come off too well. Physical exercise is proven to stimulate brain activity—the increased oxygen firing synapses and so on—but even that isn't enough. Your brain needs exercise, too.

Suppose you decide to knit a sweater for your favorite pooch; you even have a pattern. But if you haven't done any knitting in a while, taking up yarn and long plastic needles won't produce satisfactory results. As with any discipline, exercise is critical, whether it's knitting or playing golf, or writing. An idea will be in your head, but getting it to even a first draft can be a struggle if your brain is at a loss of how to go about it.

A good initial brain exercise is to read with a purpose. Read a portion of a piece, by an author whose writing you appreciate, and take notice of how this author has used words and sentence structure, developed pace and characters. Now try your hand at it. Create a scene that has the same type of flow. It might take several tries, but that's what exercise is all about.

Using a "What if" is also a good exercise. "What if Joanne Fosbeck, a happily married conscientious first-time mom, believes her 6-year-old daughter Shawna has become a chef extraordinaire from watching the FOOD Network." Or "What if Barry Cranston, 46-yr-old rancher, has to hunt down the cause of his stock getting killed in order to keep his newly established genetics program from going under." Develop the characters for these, write the paragraph that is Joanne's moment of revelation, or Barry's acute consternation. These particular what ifs might really seem off the mark for what you like to write. That makes it all the better. Work your brain beyond its comfort zone.

These examples can be augmented with many brain teasers, including vocabulary building and even jigsaw puzzles, which make the brain think about the logic and structure of things. Exercising your brain a few times each week will increase your writing ability, and result in more comfort when you work on your project.

All right, Alright

According to Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, the phrase ALL RIGHT predates ALRIGHT by sixty-some years (1819 vs. 1887).ALL RIGHT, as an adverb to express agreement, began usage in 1837.

Today, more than 100 years from ALRIGHT's beginning, the single word is often considered poor style. But the use of ALRIGHT persists, most often found in journalistic and business writing, as well as in fiction dialogue.

Find answers to other word dilemmas at Confusing Words.

Good Start for 2011 #1

With the coming change in the calendar year, it might be a good time to think about a few changes in your writing life. Making New Year's Resolutions appeals to some people, but it's a proven fact that fewer than ten percent of resolutions are fulfilled, and most people drop away from them before January has ended. Here are suggestions to start the New Year to set up a productive 2011. Ideas coming in the next two weeks: Freshen your Library, Clean up your Desktop, Plan Marketing, Internet Info, and Exercise Your Brain.

Let's start with Freshen Your Library

The new Writers Market directories have been out for a few months. If you don't have the one appropriate for your writing agenda, you should look into it. Novels and Short Stories, Children's Markets, Photographer's markets are all good additions to your library. Editors and publications needs have changed in the six to eight months it took to compile and publish these books. Always check the masthead of a current magazine to be certain you're addressing your queries and articles to the proper person. Many magazines have online sites that will list their current needs.

How old is your dictionary? If it's more than three years old, you might want to upgrade. The eleventh edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary was published in 2004, revised in 2006, and again in 2008 (it's available on CD, and is automatically on all Kindles) with hundreds of new words added. Websters is also in it's eleventh edition. Do you have Chicago Manual of Style, or Strunks The Elements of Style? Recommended for serious writers.

Remember, your library can be virtual—with the myriad ebooks and downloads for you computer, you can have volumes at your fingertips.

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Dos and Don'ts of an E-query

Although e-mail has generally been used for casual communication, an increasing numbers of editors, agents and publishers are now accepting queries by e-mail. Treat the opportunity in much the same way you would a query sent by snail mail.

• DO Address the appropriate editor formally and format the query in the e-mail as you would in a regular letter.
• DON'T send multiple submissions. E-mail is too easy to create. Personalize each query.
• DO proof your letter and use the spellchecker.
• DON'T send attachments unless the listed requirement encourages that.
• DO use the word "query" in the SUBJECT line, e.g., "Query for your How-To section."
• DO provide adequate contact information (under your signature): Along with your name, list your e-mail, and any land-line numbers you have, as well as your ground mail address. If you have a personal web site, that could also be listed.
• DON'T expect an immediate answer. As with any type communication, your query will be put in a stack, maybe even ignored or deleted.
• DO save a copy of your e-queries. Not only will this give you a list of contacts you've attempted, but it allows you to update an old query for a new market and send it again.

Compound Words

© 2008 Kae Cheatham (Previous published on a Goodreads Blog)

When I proofread or copyedit, I am always on the lookout for those compound and combined words (such as lookout, copyedit and proofread) that can be so troublesome. Improper forms of these English language anomalies occur even in published books. When do you use the hyphen? When are the words combined or separated? There are no reliable rules.

Single-word combinations and compound words can have different meanings, such as workout (n) or work out (v); freehand or free hand, wind bag or windbag. It is important to use the proper spelling to be certain readers know what you're talking about.

Here are examples that show the variations:
• You can go to the courthouse, but not to the highschool;
• use a coffeemaker, but not a coffeecup;
• Drink from a wineglass, but for the plain stuff, use a water glass;
• Houses can have a backyard (adj. & n.), and courtyard (n), yet front yard is never compound.
• Then there is bedroom, while livingroom and diningroom are incorrect (space between words, no hyphen), yet bathroom is okay and so is mudroom and workroom.
• Spell the word teenage, yes; but middle age is not compound, while middle-aged (adj.) has a hyphen.
• Snow plus another word is almost always compound: snowfall, snowshoe, snowplow, snowmobile, snowblower. Same with foot and door.
• But take special care with words beginning with half, variations are abundant.

If you type a word as compound, and the spellchecker (not spell checker, although spell check (v) is correct) gives it a red line (not to be confused with redline, which refers to the upper limit of acceptability), go to the real traditionally-bound, turn-the-page dictionary to see which spelling gives the meaning you want. Check, then double-check those pesky words to get your manuscript in the best possible form.

The following are correctly spelled, although they are often misspelled in publications. Do you see a pattern?
(Not)

airship, air force, airhead, air conditioner (n), air-conditioning (n), breakeven (n), break-even (adj), cutback, doorjamb, dark-haired, shorthaired, fair-haired, longhaired, long-sleeved, long johns, chuck wagon, street-smart (the same meaning as streetwise), longtime (adj.), long-term (adj.), long-standing (adj.), anklebone, cheekbone, hip bone, wellborn, well-bred, well built, cross-legged, crossover, crosscut, cross section, nerve-racking (also spelled nerve-wracking), landgrab (n), land-grabber (n), windowsill, windowpane, window shade, workday, pent-up, streetlight, majordomo, major general, searchlight, shoreline, workpeople, townspeople, firsthand, neckband, make-believe, make-do, makeover, make way, pinprick, wingspan, midday, midyear, mid-afternoon, day-to-day, show-and-tell, short-circuit (v), short circuit (n), wide-eyed, openmouthed.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg (not ice berg).

Writing Groups

Ernst Hemingway said, “Writing is, at best, a lonely life.” But it doesn’t have to be. In this modern age, many writers organizations exist to address all areas of the profession, from getting started to understanding a contract and even book promotion. Check your local library, bookstores and colleges to find out the organizations in your area. Post notes on bulletin boards indicating your interest in starting a writers group. Attend conferences and workshops; not only will you broaden your knowledge, but you might also meet writers from your community.

Here are a few national organizations of interest.
• Authors Guild
• National Writers Union
• Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
• Historical Novel Society
• Travel Writers

A more extensive list can be found at Books and Writers.

Paint with Words

Paint With Words, © 2003. 2010 Get It Together Productions, All rights reserved

Writers are artists, and keeping that in mind will really improve what you write. When developing scenes, the image of the environment is evoked by the writing. The manuscript (soon to be book) is the canvas, sentences and phrasing are the brushes; your words give color. All this creates Sense of Place; Sense of Place is vital to fact and fiction; it's an element of writing most readers appreciate, even if not consciously. Readers want to feel as if they are in the scene.

Some writers overuse adjectives with the mistaken belief that this will offer sense of place. But saying "the elegant house" isn't enough. That abstraction has little substance. "The well-landscaped house set on a knoll overseeing the valley" might paint a better picture. Another attempt to set a scene is to list things.

Brenda looked around. The room had a brass coffee table, and a bright sofa flanked by two Queen Anne chairs. Three prints were on one wall, with the sheer curtains hanging at the wide window. Two ornate candlesticks set on the fireplace mantle.

Brenda has become a camera, with no emotion attached to the description. The above paragraph might work better:

Brenda liked cozy look of the bright sofa, flanked by Queen Anne chairs. She admired the three Monet prints, and fingered an ornate candlestick on the mantle. Scents of lilac wafted through the wide window, as a breeze billowed the curtains. The books on the brass coffee table caught her eye.

This second paragraph uses only nine more words than the first, yet inserts the character into the description of the room; hence, the reader learns about the room and the character.

Painting with words is not just a fiction element. Creating sense of place is important in nonfiction, too. A manual might read:

When managing a large office setting, it's important to develop good interaction between employees.

Large office setting is rather vague, and so is good interaction. To give this sentence sense of place, it could be written:

When faced with multiple workstations, harsh lighting and the continual background noises of telephones and copy machines, it's important to encourage dialogue with all employees.

* * *

But fiction is where this element of writing is most useful, and the sense of place in any scene becomes stronger when it is reinforced throughout a paragraph or section to enhance the story. Take a look at a scene of a man whose car has broken down on a stretch of Kansas back road; here are the basics: Robert stood in the July sun beside his useless car. He looked around, but didn't see any houses.

Not terribly interesting, is it? Perk it up a bit: The hot July sun bore down on Robert.
The time of year has been added! Now this must carry through the scene....beside his useless car.... can be painted: Robert wiped sweat from his forehead and squinted toward his useless car. Wiped sweat (it's hot) squinted (it's bright). He looked around, but didn't see any houses... would work better as: The surrounding fields of ripening wheat seemed unending, without a single roofline or driveway in sight.

Good sense of place also engages all five senses. Include colors, smells and textures in descriptions. Here is Robert revised:

The hot July sun bore down as Robert backed from his vehicle. Why now? he wondered. He wiped sweat from his forehead and squinted at his useless car. He could smell hot metal from the engine. A puddle of radiator fluid stained the gray asphalt a sickly green. His sigh was barely audible in the dry wind, and the surrounding fields of ripening wheat seemed unending, without a single roofline or driveway in sight.

* * *

Weather and nature also establish a sense of place. A story based in the tropics could be rife with descriptions of humidity, vivid sunsets, blown sand, myriad scents and colors from vegetation; on the negative, these areas also have hurricanes, riptides, mosquitoes, sink holes and sharks.

With a few well-placed phrases, a writer can provide a definite picture and sense of place. Doing this will strengthen characterizations and greatly add to a reader's enjoyment of the final product.

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A version of this article was first published online in 2004, and in 2005 was purchased by the Ontario [Canada] Knowledge Network for Learning for use in their online classes.

Metaphor vs. Simile

These two writing elements can be useful if used carefully.

• A SIMILE compares an event or object and usually provides a visual image: "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack." This example shows a simile that has become cliché. Best to avoid clichés.
  Here is a more original simile from a book I recently read: "maybe, like a dazzling supernova, I'll do something awesome one day."
• A METAPHOR replaces an occurrence or description with a figure of speech for which it is not literally applicable: e.g. nose to the grindstone, a cold fish feeling.

Problems can arise with both of these elements if they are overused or encompass too much of the text. The above-mentioned supernova simile was set up several paragraphs before the phrase with several space references intervening; by the time the "special" phrase arrived, the analogy seemed tired.