Are You A Rule Breaker?

Some writers intentionally want to rebel and break the rules to produce something different which stands out in the market. I understand this feeling but to break the rules, you have to know and understand them in the first place.

From my many years in publishing, I've worked hard to continually grow and learn about the market—and give the reader (and the editor or agent), what they want. Every magazine and publishing company has expectations and a target market. For example, last night a publishing colleague introduced me to a published author who has written his first novel. I learned this novel is edited and completed yet I haven't seen it yet (but I did request that the author to send it to me). From the beginning I spotted something outside of the lines. The novel is 134,000 words—and our fiction guidelines say we have a 100,000 word limit. Until I see the novel and speak with the author, I have no idea if it will be a fit or not. 

Maybe our publishing team will love the concept and publish a little larger novel. Or possibly the author will know how he can cut it to the 100,000 limit. Anything and everything is possible in the publishing process but first things first, the author has to send me his material.

Last week another author sent me her nonfiction book manuscript. She told me the bulk of this book had been sitting on her computer for three years and she finally got it out to someone. I'm honored with these submissions and will be exploring if it is the right book for Morgan James to publish. So how do you learn the rules and where to send your material? In this article, I want to give you several methods of learning these rules.

First, get the guidelines for the magazine or the book publisher—and carefully study these instructions. if you follow these guidelines, you will gain a “reading” or “hearing” from the editor or literary agent. It increases the possibilities if you follow these rules.

A second way to learn the rules is through studying how-to-write books. For years I've read and studied a how-to-write book every month (often more than one per month). Last week I finished reading Write With Excellence 201, A lighthearted guide to the serious matter of writing well—for Christian authors, editors and students by Joyce K. Ellis. For many years I've known Joyce as a magazine editor. Originally we met through our involvement in the Evangelical Press Association. What I didn't know about Joyce is that she has written a column about grammar for years for The Christian Communicator magazine and she has a passion for excellent writing. Write With Excellence 201 is a detailed examination of grammar rules.

How do you write strong engaging sentences? Some of that comes from experience but also understanding the difference between active and passive tense. Write With Excellence is a clarion call for writers to learn the rules then use them to improve their writing. Ellis engages her readers with vivid examples and insights. The chapters are short and each ends with a quiz to help you absorb the details on adverbs or the use of hyphens or italics versus quotation marks. The book has three main sections: Grammar and Related Matters, Punctuation and Related Matters, and Style, Usage and Other Considerations.

As Ellis writes, “Writers have a responsibility to communicate clearly. And excellent Christian writers strive for clarity, especially in the spiritual realm. We enrich the reader's takeaway value—if we vigilantly guard against being jargonauts.” (Page 246–-the chapter cautioning about use of jargon). Write With Excellence 201 is realistic and doesn't pull punches: “Yes, all this is a lot of work. No one said it was easy (How many times have I written that in this book?) But if you take the time to “sweat” your titles and subheads, you'll show editors you're a professional, right from the start.” (Page 264)  I've given you a small sample of the wisdom packed into these pages. I highly recommend this book.

Are you learning the rules before you break them? Let me know in the comments below.

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Everyone Who Writes (And That’s Most of Us) Needs This Book

As a journalism professor at the University of Delaware, Ben Yagoda has years of experience of reading student assignments. That experience is sifted and poured into HOW NOT TO WRITE BAD. This entertaining look at language is informative and everyone who reads it will profit from this book.

As he writes in the introduction, “Words are the building blocks of sentences, and sentences are the building blocks of any piece of writing; consequently, I focus on these basics. As far as I’m concerned, not writing badly consists of the ability, first, to craft sentences that are correct in terms of spelling, diction (that is, word choice), punctuation, and grammar, and that display clarity, precision, and grace. Once that’s mastered, there are a few more areas that have to be addressed in crafting a whole paragraph,: cadence, consistency of tone, word repetition, transitions between sentences, paragraph length. And that’s all there is to it! (I know, I know. That’s plenty.) I’ve mentioned students but this book isn’t just for classroom use. It’s for everyone who wants to improve his or her prose.” (Page 3)

You will want to keep your yellow highlighter handy as you read this book. I enjoyed Yagoda’s pointed look at different aspects of writing such as spelling: “Spell-check programs are great. Spell-check programs are a disaster. Let me explain…” (Page 59) or “The cliché is the poster child of bad writing. And that, my friends, is a cliché. Clichés are bad because they are tired, overdone, unoriginal, dull and mindless. They make you seem like everybody else, not like an individual with an interesting perspective and a voice that deserves to be listened to.” (Page 124)

HOW NOT TO WRITE BAD is a book that I recommend.

Can You Take Artistic License with Punctuation Rules?

Editor's Note: I'm thrilled to have this piece from Barbara McNichol. Hope you enjoy it. WTW

 

by Barbara McNichol

When I’m editing manuscripts, I sometimes wonder how much some authors struggle with their use of commas, dashes, and other punctuation. In many cases, I wonder whether they question it at all!

Now, at times, it’s fine to relax strict punctuation rules, especially when writing artistic pieces. But beware. Unconventional punctuation tends to create confusion. I faced this recently when editing a book of vignettes crafted to convey the author’s feelings about an experience more than the experience itself. She tackled the challenge with a great deal of artistry, breaking many punctuation rules in the process. I kept thinking, “Maybe it’s okay in this context.”

But when I changed the “artistic” punctuation to conventional, a clear answer emerged. As a reader, I didn’t have to struggle with her meaning; it came across easily. In fact, it guided the meaning. My conclusion: If authors don’t struggle a bit by questioning when to use commas, they’re likely forcing readers to struggle with “getting” what they mean. That’s when relying on the rules takes priority over artistic license.

This Comma Rule Especially Got My Attention

A fascinating article from a New York Times columnist adroitly addresses the correct use of a comma. I encourage you to read this article “The Most Comma Mistakes” and learn from a master, Ben Yagoda. He beautifully explains the tricky rules for using commas. For example:

I went to see the movie, “Midnight in Paris” with my friend, Jessie.

Do you put a comma after “movie,” a comma after “friend” and, sometimes, comma after “Paris” as well? None are correct—unless “Midnight in Paris” is the only movie in the world and Jessie is the writer’s only friend. Otherwise, the punctuation should be:

I went to see the movie “Midnight in Paris” with my friend Jessie.

If that seems wrong or weird or anything short of clearly right, bear with me a minute and take a look at another correct sentence:

I went to see Woody Allen’s latest movie, “Midnight in Paris,” with my oldest friend, Jessie.

Do you see how the correct punctuation set up clarity in the meaning? Subtle but important distinctions. 

This example got my attention, and I hope it gets yours, too. I’ve created a handout that simplifies punctuation rules—one that’s become part of my “How to Strengthen EVERYTHING You Write” workshop. Feel free to request this Punctuation Handout by emailing me at editor@barbaramcnichol.com.

Barbara McNichol, Barbara McNichol Editorial, edits articles, website copy, book proposals, and manuscripts for authors and entrepreneurs. She offers a writing workshop for improving anything you write. Find details about her upcoming workshops here.

Get A Fix On Grammar

Whatever your connection to the writing world, basic grammar skills are important to master. Many people have forgotten but I have a Masters degree in linguistics which means I've spent more hours than I'd like to recall in detailed study of grammar. I'm talking about way beyond simple English grammar but grammar patterns of other languages. For example, one of my courses for my Master's degree was called "The Sentence." Over an entire college semester, we studied various sentence patterns in a sweeping array of languages.

It's not that I am uninterested in grammar. Over the years since I've been in publishing, I've tried a variety of books geared to writers about grammar--and each one has landed in the boring category. Yes I read a few pages of each one then didn't complete them or use them. They sat on my shelf of writing books for a few years then were cleared off to make room for other books.

In my local newspaper, I found a great story about the wildly popular podcast, "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." It turns out Mignon Fogatry is starting her book tour here in Arizona this week for her first book--which naturally bears the same title as her well-known podcast.

I spent a few minutes looking around her podcast which includes transcripts. Also make sure you check out her other website called Behind the Grammar where she talks about other topics like marketing, business and writing.

One of Fogarty's most popular entries is about proofreading--which is an area that many writers can use some help. She's got some great tips that I recommend.

No matter what your skill level as a writer, it's a good idea to continually improve your grammar skills and these links might help you get a fix on grammar skill improvement.