Back to Basics: The Pre-Writing Checklist That Will Save You Time and Money
By Gail Tagarro / 18 November 2022 / 6 minutes of reading
This week saw the release of Writer's Connect newsletter 70, which cautioned our lovely readers against making an ass (out of) u (and) me. You might think you know how to string a sentence together ... but it's been [a flattering number of years] since primary school, and that's [frankly, more than enough time] to forget a thing or two.
Grab those Texas Instruments calculators, type in 5318008, and turn 'em upside down, 'cause we're going ...
"Well, here goes nothin'..."
Thank you to Tyrone Couch for contributing this blog.
Use Commas Correctly
If someone asked how to do this on the ELI5 (Explain Like I'm Five) subreddit, here's how I'd respond:
A comma is used to show a break or pause. They are basically a way of putting a breath or beat taken while speaking down on paper. They guide almost everything about the way sentences sound when you read them, from speed, to emphasis, and even volume.
By now, most of us have seen those amusing memes highlighting the importance of grammar:
I like cooking, my family, and my pets.
versus
I like cooking my family and my pets.
As you can see, even aside from butchering the sound and flow of a sentence, an absent or misplaced comma can drastically alter its meaning.
Making sure you're using commas effectively is among the most important reasons to read your writing aloud. If it just doesn't sound right no matter how many times you read it, odds are that adding (or removing) a comma is the solution to your troubles.
When writers don't consider the placement of their commas or how their writing sounds, they end up with a whole lot of sentences that need to be broken into two or otherwise rewritten in the editing phase. This is incredibly time consuming (and expensive in the case of a professional editor), so use those commas wisely!
Just Say 'Said'
Your characters don't need to capitulate, retort, quip, snarl, or acquiesce—just saying the words is perfectly fine.
Consider:
"That will not be necessary," he asserted.
versus
"That will not be necessary," he said.
or, better yet,
"That will not be necessary."
The choice of words here makes the statement assertive enough on its own that you don't need to highlight that the speaker is being firm. And, as is the case with all writings, if you don't need to, then you probably shouldn't.
"But I'm a sophisticated writer with a wide vocabulary!" you say. "That's just how I write!"
Unfortunately, sophisticated is the last thing a savvy reader will think of a writer who uses anything and everything except 'said' for their attributions. If anything, it'll come across more like a fourth grader trying to impress a seventh grader after flipping through a thesaurus.
Put simply, your words need to convey things like tone and intent without having to rely on a litany of alternatives to the word 'said'. These things should be obvious from the context of what's going on in the story.
It's understandable that it might feel repetitive or lazy to just say 'said', but the reality is that nobody really notices attributions; your brain mostly just filters them out in favour of the meatier bits, so don't waste your time agonising over which word to use.
Disregard Adverbs
Adverbs are those heinous little words like 'very' and 'quickly' that are supposed to provide clarity and additional meaning, but usually just end up stating the obvious and making the writer look lazy.
Consider:
The circus is coming soon.
He was extremely malnourished.
Time was quickly running out.
An adverb's sole purpose is to provide a built-in answer to a question of how, why, what, when, or where ... but if you remove the adverbs from the above examples, no real meaning is lost.
Soon is implied, and brings little clarity to when the circus is coming; anyone who is malnourished is already in an extreme state of deficiency; and time running out is already heavily associated with a sense of urgency, so saying that it's doing so quickly adds nothing of value.
Before you use an adverb, make sure you haven't already answered these questions elsewhere in the sentence. Even if you haven't, you're better off finding a more creative or informative way of communicating it:
Just three more sleeps, and the circus will be here.
He was so malnourished that his ribs were visible through his shirt.
Time was slipping away like air escaping from a ruptured balloon.
Adverbs do have their place ... but in most cases you don't need 'em, so avoid 'em where you can!
Extra Credit
A bit late for a 'pre-writing' checklist? Already three quarters of the way through your manuscript?
When someone is bold, gutsy, or takes the initiative, they can be said to have (or be displaying) gumption. It is often used in the negative, i.e., to indicate that someone lacks these qualities, and is therefore unable to do what's necessary.
With a little gumption and persistence, she was able to win the day. He didn't have the gumption to stand up to his manager, and so the harassment only got worse.
Quotidian Quote
“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” ~ Samuel Johnson
Get Competitive!
A selection of current writing competitions YOU can enter!
Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition
Format: Poetry Theme: Any Word Count: max. 40 lines Entry Fee: €7 Prize: €2,000 plus publication Closes: 30/11/2022
Look over the fine print to make sure that your submission qualifies and you're happy with the terms of engagement.
The Australian Society of Authors has a highly informative post on their website called 'What to look for in a writing competition's T&Cs' . To locate the article, click on 'Home', then 'News'.
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