Writing Tools

As If Subordinating Conjunctions Can Be Confusing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Did you know if you want to spend a lifetime learning something, punctuation and grammar can give you the opportunity.

This week while proofreading my  novel, I noticed I wasn’t using ‘as if’ consistently. Sometimes I put a comma before the words and sometimes I didn’t.

I noticed this while I was reading on my Kindle. Last week I blogged about How To Avoid Errors In E-books, and here is one more instance where the new addition to my process helped me. As if!

I looked up ‘as if’ and found out it’s a subordinating conjunction. I knew this but had forgotten. Now I know the rules for comma use with ‘if’, another subordinating conjunction, so all I had to do was apply the rule to sentence containing ‘as if.’

The rule, you ask?

A subordinating conjunction joins two clauses of unequal importance. If the clause containing the subordination conjunction comes before the main clause then follow the clause with a comma. If it doesn’t, don’t.

  • As if he could stop the bleeding with his eyes, he stared at the knife impaling his calf. (subordinating conjunction before main clause)
  • He stared at the knife impaling his calf as if he could stop the bleeding with his eyes. (subordinating conjunction after main clause)

Attention to detail is a must when writing a novel, but how can you do that if you don’t know the rules? This brings me back to the lifetime of studying idea.

Keep on the look out for areas in your writing where you’re not consistent and you might find areas where you don’t know the rules. Grammar: How to Learn What You Don’t Know gives another idea on learning grammar.

How do you figure out what you don’t know?

Thanks for reading . . .

Can Writing a Novel Help Your Career?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

I believe the answer is yes.

Without clear communication it’s hard to get things done in our world of team work, offices in different locations, cities or countries, partners working time zones hours away, and the multicultural workplace.

Much of our communication happens via the internet or intranet, making written communication extremely important.

Using interesting, concise and clear communication will help you get your job done, convince others to work on your project, and highlight your intelligence.

Think of the time you save if you only have to send a memo once and not answer questions about it.

Over the last few years, I’ve improved my writing skills by writing several novels. The more time I spend writing, the better I get at it. As they say, whoever they are, practice makes perfect.

So if you think spending time writing a novel that might never get published is a waste of time, think again. Writing a novel will improve how you communicate by the written word.

Have you found this to be true, too?

Thanks for reading.

Do you want to improve your grammar?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Here’s one method on how to become more confident with your grammar skills.

Scientific America Mind (October 2013) has an article called What Works, What Doesn’t that discusses techniques that work or don’t work for learning. The second item in the article discusses the importance of self testing. The article makes the point that before reading a chapter the student should take a test to see how much they know on the subject. The theory is we learn by our mistakes.

Each year I read a different book on grammar in an effort to keep my skills strong. As a writer, I consider grammar knowledge an important tool for creating a novel.

Thinking I should test the theory put forward by Scientific America Mind, I set out on the search for a grammar book laid out with an introductory test, study information and an end of chapter test.

I found Sharp Grammar: Build Better Grammar Skills by Kaplan  follows this process.

I’m now working my way though the book, surprising myself by what I know and don’t know. If I only learn one new thing, I think it’s worth the effort. I also believe that continual practice will keep me at the top of my game in the sport of grammar. Can you ever practice too much?

What do you do to keep improving  your grammar and punctuation skills?

Crime Writers Of Canada Mentorship Program

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Two years have passes since I participated in the CWC mentorship program. I can’t stress enough what a valuable experience having Garry Ryan (writer for the Detective Lane Mysteries and at the time  President of the CWC) work with me on my manuscript.

Here are the rules  from the CWC newsletter.

If you’re an Associate Member with two or more years in good standing with the Crime Writers of Canada and you’re interested in partnering with one of our wonderful volunteers, please contact the CWC (Address in newsletter). They’ll send you all the information you need to get started, and when you agree to the guidelines, they’ll match you up with the mentor best able to help you out. 

If you’re not a member and are Canadian, why not join?  I think I’m a better writer because of it.

Thanks for reading . . .

 

How to Keep Track of Time in a Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Time and dates can be straight forward or complicated.

  • Are you writing a novel that happens in order of events?
  • Do you jump back and forth in time?
  • Are you writing a time travel novel?

The farther down the list you go, the more complicated keeping track of timing becomes. My novels are in the order the events occur, and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to keep track of a time travel novel.

On a basic level, I use a calendar on my computer. I put key events on a day. This helps me make sure I didn’t make an error.

Things I check include:

  • day of week in a scene
  • scenes are in order
  • an event isn’t happening on a day off, a statutory holiday etc. when a person wouldn’t be at work
  • clues aren’t referenced before they happen
  • when villain is introduced
I also use a spreadsheet to keep track of the details of a scene and combined with the calendar I hope I find any errors in timing before the novel goes to my literary agent.
As an added bonus, when you complete the calendar, you should have the key elements you need to write a synopsis. Anything that helps write the dreaded synopsis has to be good. Right?

What tools to you use?

I made a calendar in Excel but is there anything better out there. I’d really like to know.

Thanks for reading . . .

Offline Blogging Software

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

There is always something new to try or learn. This month, I decided to try the 30 day free trial of MarsEdit.

Why? I work offline most of the time. Living on a sailboat means I don’t have regular internet access, hence I need to write my blogs and upload when I have access.

I downloaded the free trial – I love a free trial. The free trial gives me time to decide if I want to spend my money on the software without taking the risk that I won’t like it.

My advice on first use: Once you download the free trial, check how many blogs you’ve written and set the refresh limit to this number. The first time in the software all of your blogs will download to your computer. After that’s done. reset the button to a lower number to speed up the process.

My likes:

  • When you write a scheduled post, the date columns lists the date the post is scheduled for so you can see your upcoming posts without having to go online. Sometimes I forget how far in advance I’ve written posts.
  • Easy addition of photos.
  • Adding categories and tags offline.
  • Works with WordPress – since that’s what I use for a blog platform.
  • Any time an idea strikes me for a blog and I happen to be working on my computer, I can pop over to MarsEdit and store the idea.
  • Free Trial.
  • MarEdit will download the latest version of a post when you hit the refresh button. This is helpful as I often write the blog but make changes when I see it online. These changes get sent back to my computer and then I have the latest version of the post.

Where I would like to see improvements:

  • Help file could be better. For example I couldn’t find an explanation of the Refresh vs. Refresh All command. I didn’t  try the community forum or the support function. Since I work mostly off line these are not features I would use.
  • I’d like to create folders so I can organize my blogs and couldn’t figure out how to do this.
  • I’d like to be able to add a link but I guess that’s not a reasonable expectation from software what is meant to be used offline. To do this, I underlined the text to remind myself to add the link once I was online. Then I submitted the post in draft status so it wouldn’t go public on my blog. There is a link function, but you have to know the URL, and if you’re offline . . .
  • If you do add a link offline, and you want to the linked URL to open in another page, you need to go online and set this feature
  • Even though I set the post date to a later date and left the Post Status button as published I thought the post would be published on the date I chose. Instead the post published immediately. This is fine, except that I have a schedule I like to keep. I thought If I set the date, then it would post on that date. I learned I had to set the Post Status to draft and the go online and set accordingly.
  • Not all of my pages downloaded to my computer.

I think the software is a little over priced. After the thirty day trial I’m not sure I’ll buy the software. I’m still very positive about it, but I think I’ll look around and see what else it out there. If the price was $29 or lower, I think I’d buy in now.

These are just my views on trialling the software. If you’ve had a different experience I’d love to hear about it.

Are there any programs you use to help you write or blog? I’d like to try something else before I make my final purchase decision.

Thanks for reading . . .

 

Nicknames for Characters

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

It is okay to refer to a character using more than one name?

In life, we’re often referred to by a nick name, a family name or a full name depending on who is talking to us.

I call my niece, MoMo. She calls me TiTi. She’s the only person who does that.

At work or formal situations, I go by Kristina.

My family and close friends call me Tina.

But no one calls me Kris. It’s not a short form of my name I like. If a person uses it, my brain doesn’t even register I’m being addressed.

But in a novel, is all this fair game?

I think it depends on the writing.

In the last case, a character could refer to another by a name they don’t like. This would tell you something about the character. Maybe he is socially inept. Maybe he is trying to be irritating.

Short forms make characters close to each other. There is an intimating between them that wouldn’t be there without the endearing name.

A character insisting that others use her full name could be giving a message. Maybe she doesn’t like the person she’s talking to so insists that person be formal and kept at a distance. Or maybe she is  trying to appear professional.

My only caution is the nickname must be clear. The reader needs to know who is speaking or being spoken too. If too many forms are used too often, the reader may become confused or annoyed and stop reading.

And none of us want that.

Do you have any tips on using more than one name for a character and is it worth the risk?

Thanks for reading . . .

Top Ten Reasons to Blog . . .

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

If you are an Author, published or unpublished, here are 10 reasons to create a blog and stick with it.

  1. Build an audience for when you’re ready to sell your novel (or continue to sell an already published one).
  2. Practice writing.
  3. Practice proofreading.
  4. Develop your voice.
  5. Learn about social media.
  6. Share your knowledge with others.
  7. Connect with others world wide who have similar interests to you.
  8. Promote the work of authors whose work you admire.
  9. Get motivated to write: any kind of positive feedback encourages me to keep trying.
  10. Prove to a publisher that you can build and maintain a platform.

Why to you blog?

What motivates you to comment on other blogs?

Thanks for reading . . .

Top 5 Reasons to Write with Pen and Paper

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Summer is here, and I love to be outside. Even, or maybe especially, when I’m writing. I don’t want to take the beautiful days for granted. Now some of my friends laugh when I say that because I spend winters in the Bahamas, but I grew up as a Canadian conditioned that summer days are precious and not to be wasted. Do we ever forget lessons drilled into us when we were children?

The computer is usually my place of writing. The words may work their way onto a piece of paper, but somehow the scene doesn’t seem written until I type it in. Maybe that’s weird, but hey, everyone should be allowed a little weirdness now and then.

Top 5 reasons to write with paper and pen:

  1. Practice spelling – no cheating with spell checker.
  2. Create scene descriptions through doodling and drawing.
  3. Make notes in side margins when an idea strikes.
  4. Don’t get interrupted by social media – no announcements of email, FB messages, etc to distract you.
  5. Burn paper if writing is really terrible – this is particularly satisfying.

Does your imagination get sparked by using a new medium?

Thanks for reading . . .