writingforyourlife

As I’ve mentioned in recent posts, I’m attempting to devise a better system for submitting writing.

In doing so, I needed to revise some short stories I wrote last year.  Yesterday I finished polishing a piece and sent it to a literary magazine (see Big List of Literary Magazines ).

During the revising process, I recognized how much more concise I’ve become in the past year.  I was able to cut more than 1000 words from a story that was originally 4500 words.  That’s nearly 1/4 of the entire piece!  The amazing thing is the plot didn’t change; in fact, I was able to add a few essential details.

So, what did I cut, you ask?  Simply this:  any words that didn’t need to be there.  That, the, out, off, up, a bit, very…  These are all useful words, but they are often abused.

For example:

• “When I edit, I cut out unnecessary words,”  becomes, “When I edit, I cut unnecessary words.”
• “Polish up your drafts before submitting them,” becomes, “Polish your drafts before submitting them.”
• “Rework pieces that you have written previously,” becomes,”Rework pieces you have written previously.”

You will notice a vast difference in the quality of your writing when you take time to de-clutter.  You’ll also identify particular offenders you overuse.  Once you make a habit of writing in a concise manner, you’ll find yourself doing a lot less editing after the fact.

Here I am again, posting on the dilemma between writing a novel in the present vs. the past tense.

My blog is still getting quite a few hits on my former posts about the same topic, so I assume there are many other writers who share this concern.

When I started my novel, I found myself unconsciously drifting toward present tense narrative.  However, at about 10,000 words in, I recognized that it was bad, bad, bad.  There was simply no reason to use present tense in this case.  It’s a bad habit, a hold-over from the time when present tense was new and experimental, when it set a work apart from the masses.

Now, it’s become so commonplace, editors and readers are getting sick of seeing it.  People don’t want an ordinary story packaged up as something extraordinary on account of the verb tense.

For a while, I thought I could do some parts of my story in past tense and some in present tense, because it time-jumps quite a bit.  I realized that wasn’t necessary either, and I was only trying to rationalize the use of present tense because I didn’t want to give it up.

So, with all these thoughts in my head, I made the decision to write the entire novel in past tense.  It was a good choice, and I haven’t been tempted to switch back again.

Thoughts?  Please share.  I hope you’re not all as confused as I am.

“Proofread carefully to see if you any words out” 

~ Author Unknown

I have always been a grammar snob.  It’s one of my greatest failings as an English Literature major.

During university, my grammar was impeccable.  Rarely did I misplace a comma, and even rarer still was I guilty of misusing an apostrophe.

I haven’t been a student for several years now, and recently I noticed that my natural flair for proper grammar has diminished.  In fact, when I posted comments on other people’s blogs this week, I only saw my mistakes once I’d hit ’send.’

Oh, the shame of getting a dose of my own medicine!

My problem is three-fold:

1. I haven’t been actively writing formal papers and essays for a long time, so I’m rusty.
2. Grammar usage has relaxed with all the informal ‘writing’ we do these days (emails, text messages), and contemporary literature often bends grammar rules.
3. I haven’t been diligent enough with my proofreading.

How many times have you send a cover letter to a potential employer, or an email to someone important, and then discovered you made some dreadful grammatical error?

I know I cringe when I see other people’s mistakes, so I should be taking better care to practice what I preach.

Before you send it, proofread it!