Thank God for Grace in Editing!

This is an unofficial blog hop challenge makeup post for #MFRW. 

This is officially the Week 2 assignment – Sorry Editor! My Common Writing Mistakes.

For my first book – Red Wine & Roses,  my editor had just graduated from Oxford and was between jobs. Since then she has landed a prestigious position with Elsevier and has been dealing with some major health issues between herself and her boyfriend.

Enter GRACE! My editor is Grace Augustine, author of the Acorn Hills Series.  Do any of you believe in divine connections? The day I met Grace seemed to be one of those connections. We were attending Romance Rendezvous in Cedar Falls Iowa. I gambled on being able to arrive in plenty of time by driving there and not staying over. It was close,  but we arrived in time. It was very close! Since then, we’ve become good friends.

Friends aside, Grace is a tough editor. I would expect nothing less! I wonder how much it would cost to have some muffins delivered to her each morning . . . . it might soften the task. If you find yourself in need of an editor, aside from myself because I do have slots available to edit next month and through the summer, I can strongly recommend Grace over at edits with a touch of grace.

Anyway, moving on to my mistakes. There are times when I really hate these prompts and this is one of them. Why is it necessary to air my dirty laundry???  Seriously, this is why we have editors because we all have common mistakes. *SIGH*

Misspelled words: Please let me clarify,  I know how to spell, but my fingers have a different plan when I’m typing.

• Becasue =because
• friend=freind
• teh=the
• nad=and

The use of semicolons –   it’s like someone spilled a bucket full of them all over my computer files.

Switching tense – one of my pet peeves as an author and as an editor. Yet, I do it myself.

Sentence fragments. We don’t think in complete sentences,  but when writing, we have to at least know the rules before breaking them. If the author is adding a bit for emphasis, sometimes it’s acceptable to use a sentence fragment but not when you are in the middle of a descriptive narrative. Recently, I sent the first part of Roxy to Grace,  she commented: this sentence makes no sense!  NO, it didn’t because I  didn’t complete it. I left off the subject of the sentence.

Recently, I sent the first part of Roxy to Grace,  she commented: this sentence makes no sense!  NO, it didn’t because I  didn’t complete it. I left off the subject of the sentence. I do this a lot, which is one of many reasons why I need an editor! Don’t laugh, you’ll need one too.

I remember getting so upset when my then social media coach read my completed manuscript for Faere Warrior: Passion’s Price and gave it back to me with a few comments. “Well, it doesn’t suck.  Where is the rest of the story? The reader doesn’t know the world you have inside your head. You need to write it down, showing them   everything else that is going on.”

I have loads of details inside my head of my characters, their worlds, the settings, their backstory, their pet peeves, quirks – but I sometimes am so anxious to get them down that I forget to write parts.

Sorry Grace, you’ve really got your work cut out for you! What issues do you have when writing your drafts?

You can catch the previous posts from this series here:

1. Raindrops on Roses
2. They’ll Survive – I Guess
3. Binge Watching #MFRWauthor

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

 

 

 

JK – I’m not ‘Just Kidding’! #AtoZChallenge

 

My A to Z challenge theme is writing terms.

Yesterday was a difficult day. I was scheduled for additional medical tests and delivered not so good news. I have to wait until after the further testing to have a definite answer. I’m sure you can see how my mind was not in a place to write a blog post. I hope you can forgive me.

Wednesday, April 12 – J.

Jargon – Potentially confusing words and phrases used in an occupation, trade, or field of study. We might speak of medical jargon, sports jargon, police jargon, or military jargon.  In some writing,  a  bit of jargon is acceptable and actually expected. But, I guarantee that if you fill your medical drama with volumes of medical jargon the vast majority of your readers are going to stop reading. They want fiction, not a medical journal! Be careful in including jargon in your story. It’s kind of like seasoning – a little goes a long way. If you add a dash of cayenne pepper to your chicken for fajitas, it enhances the flavor but if you douse it, covering the chicken so that it appears red only those individuals with a high tolerance for spiciness will be able to ingest it.

Journal: A diary or record of events, feelings, and thoughts usually recorded by date. You knew it was coming and I’m sure that you are surprised that it didn’t appear under B, . . .  but my bullet journal is a lifesaver! Yes, there are places that I have lengthy journal entries.  There are also days that I only have a daily to-do list. It is the perfect balance for me. I can’t recommend it enough!

 

 

Kenning: a form of compounding in Old English, Norse, and Germanic poetry. In its poetic device, the poet creates a new compound word or phrase to describe an object or activity. It uses mixed imagery to describe the properties o the object in indirect, imaginative, or enigmatic ways. They are designed to be somewhat like a riddle since the reader must stop and think or a minute. Vikings used kennings on their petroglyph markers that they left behind to guide and direct the wise Vikings to follow their footsteps.

 

Some examples are:

• hwal-rade = whale road – a reference to the sea
• thor-weapon= smith’s hammer
• shield tester=warrior
• banhus (bone house)= body

Modern examples:

• beer goggles=skewed vision from the effects of alcohol
• rug-rats = children
• Bible thumper =  intolerant Christian

I  referenced kennings in Valkyrie’s Curse. Once I finish Roxy Sings the Blues, I will dust that one off and give it a final once over.

Kicker: In journalism – a sudden, surprising turn of events or ending; a twist. Just when you think the antagonsit is going to triumph, the author will throw in a kicker to  block their victory. Or another example of a kicker at the ending is one that resolves the plot of the current book but creates an entirely new dilemma that must be solved in – you guessed it – the next book!

Kill Fee: Compensatory payment made for an assigned article which was completed but not used or published. Kill fee can also be used as the  cost of getting out of a contract that is not satisfying the author’s needs. 

Kindle –  the current mode of reading ebooks. How could I cover K without mentioning a Kindle? Seriously!
Write on my friends, write on!

Till next time,

Ellie