Today's Writing Tip Is on Realistic Dialogue

Some of you may know that I was raised in New Jersey, and when I get very tired or sloppy, I revert to Jersey speak. The other day I said to my mother, "Why you gotta get so upset?" This is a great sentence for many reasons.

First, often writers create stilted dialogue in their novels. Characters say things that they would never say in real life, such as "I am going out now. I will call you later. Thank you for understanding." Someone is much more likely to say, "Going out now. Call later. Bye." Note that credible dialogue often has sentence fragments; it's not composed of whole sentences or whole thoughts.

In my Jersey sentence, I make at least three grammatical mistakes, but they are believable in dialogue. You can create a character who talks that way, especially if it sounds right for him or her. Tony Soprano might say that; Tom Brokaw would not.

So, look carefully at the conversations you've created in print. Make sure that a grandmother's vocabulary sounds age-appropriate and a teenager sounds like a kid. And don't forget to add contractions. Say I am or I've instead of I am or I have. The best way to write plausible dialogue is to listen to people when they talk. And it's the polite thing to do anyway!

Happy writing
Sigridmac

Today's Writing Tip Is on When to Use He, His or Him

Most of the time it's a no-brainer as to when to use he or his. "He opened the car door to get his groceries." Simple. But what about this?


"Mark and his wife were excited about their evening; the president of the college provided theater tickets for he and his family."

Right or wrong? Wrong.

The president provided tickets for him and his family. Whenever you're confused about using a pronoun because of a second pronoun, just omit the second clause – “the president provided tickets for he” sounds bad. If you're still unsure, say it out loud. What throws people off balance in this example is the combination of referring to two different people.

Read more about punctuation in my third book, Be Your Own Editor, available in print (http://tinyurl.com/3xkoths) and now a bestseller on Kindle (http://tinyurl.com/3y3nuzb). Or get 20% off the regular price by writing directly to me.

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Today's Writing Tip Is on Grammar-Free Zones

Writing properly can be exhausting. There are times when we don’t want to check for every typo, misplaced modifier or dangling participle. Sometimes we’re just plain off duty.

I usually consider myself to be off duty in social e-mail, in text messages, and on Facebook, but that’s because I don’t use Facebook for work. If you use social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter to promote your business or products, including books, by all means take time to write properly. By definition, LinkedIn is a professional networking group and you want to present yourself well there. And if you have a blog that you use to promote your most recent book, or a product or service, and you have followers, you’re still on duty.

But if you are chatting back and forth with your friends in e-mail or on Facebook, you don’t always have to take the time to proof everything. Discussion threads on Facebook can be long, and the forum itself may interfere with productivity. That’s why some workplaces have completely blocked access.

When it comes to proofreading and writing well, use your own judgment. And it doesn’t hurt to automatically configure your spell-check to proof every e-mail before it goes out, so that people aren’t scratching their heads wondering what you meant by the word “hur” (her, hurt, hurry?).

Happy writing, and take some time off from the grammar world

Sigrid


Author of Be Your Own Editor
http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/

Today's Writing Tip Is Take a Listen

Over the last year or two, I’ve heard a number of newscasters use the expression, "take a listen." I don't know where that came from. Why do we need two verbs? Why not just say, "Listen"?


There are other instances where people routinely use two or even three verbs. "Alejandro was going to go see his mother." A cleaner version of that sentence would be: "Alejandro was going to see his mother.”

Be aware when you're using more words than necessary. Simplicity allows your message to come through clearly without any distractions.

The Art and the Gift of the Review by Nanci Arvizu

Guest post for Sigrid Macdonald

Page Readers
Nanci Arvizu
The Art and the Gift of the Review.

Writers and Reviewers

As a reviewer at Page Readers, I am open to reading just about any kind of genre. Of course I have some that I like more than others, and some I shy away from completely, but if a title catches my eye and the description of the book sounds good I will read it regardless of the genre.

But what happens when a book I’ve agreed to read and write a review for turns out, in my opinion, to be less than “breathtaking,” “mesmerizing,” or “one I couldn’t put down?” Do I only share the positives that I can find in the work to create my review? Or do I put it all out there, the good, the bad and even the ugly for the world to see?

Tough questions. When I’ve received a book from an author, especially when they’ve gone to the trouble and expense of sending me a print book, I feel as though I owe them my honest opinion. If the work turns out to be something that totally saddles my horse, I post it everywhere knowing the author will appreciate the accolades. When the saddle doesn’t fit, am I required to lie and say it’s fine? Ever ridden in a saddle that doesn’t fit you or your horse? Let’s just say it doesn’t work. Your hide will be chapped for days.

There has been much buzz lately about a certain author (who shall remain nameless) who badmouthed a reviewer on the reviewers’ blog, because he stated a fact: the book was filled with editing errors. He admitted to enjoying the story. The author accused the reviewer for not downloading the correct version of her book from her sales site on Smashwords. The comment thread was probably one of the longest I’ve ever seen - and I read every comment right up to where the owner of the blog stopped allowing comments altogether.

The author blamed the reviewer not downloading an updated version of her work. Since when is it the readers’ responsibility to make sure they have a final draft of a book?

As a writer myself, of course I want the words I put down on paper to mean something. Will they mean the same thing to every person who reads them? Wouldn’t it be something if every time I shared a story, an article or opinion about anything that the world clamored to read it and shot from roof tops screaming, “this was the best thing I’ve ever read!”

When we put pen to paper weaving our imaginations into tales, or even retell a much-repeated tale in our own words, not everyone is going to “get it.” Authors need to have a thick skin and understand their work will not appeal to every single person -- even if only a single person reads it.

Be brave. Write it anyway. Get feedback. Know that with honest input (you don’t even have to call it criticism) your skills as an author will only improve. Believe in yourself.

But never ever lose your temper over a bad review of your work. If you can’t handle the ride, don’t get the horse out of the barn.


Nanci Arvizu
Host of Page Readers on Blog Talk Radio
Reviewer at Page Readers blog
V.P. Promotion a la Carte
http://promotionalacarte.com/

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