Editing Excellence

Try and Make Me......

2011-03-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

I hope somebody can answer this question --- it has been bothering me off and on for quite a while.

The question is: Why do people say/write the following: "Try and make me."

Now, it's my thinking that the person is really saying, "If you try, you will make me..." do something, etc.

So, Try And? Or Try to make me?

I'm just sayin'.....

Editing

Hanging It Up.........

2011-02-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

It was a tough decision, but I had to do it because of my health. I can no longer take on any editing jobs.
Nothing caused me to make this decision, other than I realized editing manuscripts is one of the most stressful jobs around, and my poor lupus body won't take much more stress without sending me into a huge flare.
So, now that I'm out of the editing business, I feel like I can unload on a few issues I've encountered over the years.....
Some authors think I hung the moon, and are profusely grateful, sending me gushing emails and even putting me in the acknowledgement sections of their books. They have taken my critiques in the spirit in which they were intended, that of taking an ordinary manuscript and making it shine. These authors agree with my "slash and burn" editing, where I eliminate redundancies, unnecessary "stage directions" (i.e. "he got up from his chair, crossed the room, turned the doorknob and exited the room.") Sheesh. That may be what the author envisions, but it's so much simpler to state, "he left the room." Or just not mention his departure at all, unless it's integral to the plot.
Other authors --- well, let's just say they don't take criticism well. I changed one author's line from "He asked loudly?!" to "he asked." No apostrophe. No exclamation mark. I realize when we were in elementary school, the exclamation mark heralded something momentous, exciting, or dangerous. "It was the missing man!" But for today's adults, it is more effective to be sublte, letting the reader feel the astonishment instead of being ordered to feel a certain way...."It was the missing man." And, looking back on the phrase, " He asked loudly" I'm reminded of a fellow in a writing group years ago, who stated emphatically that the first thing he would do to a manuscript is go through and remove all the "ly" words: Quickly, Silently, Hastily, Mournfully.... you get the idea.
And that reminds me of another boo-boo many writers make, completely unaware they are doing it...."He sauntered rapidly." You can't do both. You can either saunter, or you can walk rapidly.
Well, that's all I have for today. More later, I'm sure. I have reams of manuscripts I could quote from. Maybe that will help somebody out there who wants to become a published author, but who knows his writing needs some help. Now, that's a writer!

Aloud; Allowed. Throes, Throws

2010-11-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

Aloud: A measure of speech. He spoke aloud.

Allowed: He was not allowed to speak aloud.

Throws: A person throws a ball.

Throes: A struggle. In the throes of passion.

Thrown: Past tense of threw. He had thrown the ball.

Threw: He threw the ball.

Throne: Where a person of royalty sits.

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A Dave Barry Take on Proper English....

2010-11-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

I wanted to copy and paste this column of Dave Barry's, but copyright law prohibits that. Trust me, this is great!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/03/1845203/tips-for-writers.html

Serve. Severe, Sever

2010-11-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

Sever: To cut. Sev' er. Verb

Serve: To wait upon someone, as a waiter serves a meal.

Severe: Harsh, drastic, Severe tax cuts (In an alternate reality!)

Bread, Breed, Bred

2010-11-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Bread: A food substance. Bread and butter.. Accent on ea as eh

Breed: To propogate; a genus, or type of animal/plant, etc. The dog's breed is Pomeranian.

Bred: Past tense of Breed. The dog was bred to a poodle. She was a well-bred young woman.

Editing

Waddle, Wattle'; Weight, Wait

2010-11-02T12:35:00.001-07:00

I may be wrong on the spelling, but I think that the thing that hangs down from the turkey's neck is called a wattle. Chickens could have them, too, I believe.

So there is a difference between wattle and waddle.

A turkey has a wattle. That's a noun.
A person who walks with his/her legs spread apart due to excess weight or a pregnancy, waddles. A verb.

A person who has a weight problem probably waddles.
But, wait, there's more.....Don't wait any more to solve your weight problem.

Editing

The Importance of Punctuation Marks....

2010-10-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

A professor once gave his students the following:

Woman without her man is nothing.

He got the following results:

Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Woman. Without her, man is nothing.

That's how important it is to use the correct punctuation marks.

Likewise, I once found this lead-in for a spam email.....of course, I ignored it:

Are you ready to sell Marilyn?

Heh. Who is going to sell me? Me?

I think what the writer intended to do was ask Marilyn, "Are you ready to sell?"
If so, he should have put a comma in the sentence: "Are you ready to sell, Marilyn?"

'Cause nobody sells Marilyn!

A question is a question.....

2010-08-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have a question. Why do so many authors not punctuate questions with a question mark? I mean, if the character asks, "Why did you do that?" the sentence begs for a question mark, don't you agree?
Yet I see it written: "Why did you do that," he said. I mean, when you ask the question aloud, don't you kind of raise your voice, your inflection, a little bit? Of course you do. Then why not punctuate it that way -- with a question mark, which denotes a question?
I don't get it.
Do you think maybe our education system is responsible? Don't English teachers teach grammar and punctuation any more?
I saw on television the other day that college entry students don't know how to write in cursive. And many papers are typed using the shorthand kids have developed for this modern age communication: Whr u at. Meaning, I suspect, Where are you? I got an email the other day that began, Hi Ev1. Huh? Oh, I guess that means, Hi, Everyone. How touching and personal that felt. How r u. More of the same.
Okay, I think this rant is done. For now.
But the next time I see a question that doesn't have a question mark, I think I'll cry. Really? You ask. Really.
See the difference?

Sore; Soar

2010-07-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sore: Indicates something is hurting: "My arm is sore where I broke it."

Soar: Indicates flight, as a bird or a plane: The eagle can soar on air currents....

I wonder if an eagle's wings get sore when he soars?

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Knew, new; Hear, here

2010-06-27T11:22:00.001-07:00

Knew: Refers to knowledge: I knew that was true.

New: Refers to a time period, as in New Age, or brand new.

Hear: Refers to one of the senses, using one's ears: I hear you.

Here: Refers to a place: Put the chair here.

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Sweet, Sweat; Feet, Feat

2010-06-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sweet: We all know what "sweet" is....like chocolate, sugar, it tastes great.

Sweat: On the other hand, "sweat" does not smell "sweet."

Don't know why I see that so many times in manuscripts, but there you have it.

Feet: Our lower appendages, what we walk with/on. Also a unit of measure. 12 feet, for instance.

Feat: An accomplishment, a great feat of endurance.

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Stage Directions

2010-06-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

A small tip, here, about "stage directions." I'm editing a ms. where a character does the following: "He stood up, crossed the room, tossed a look at the woman, opened the door and departed."

Fer cryin' out loud, just have him LEAVE THE ROOM.

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Using Foreign Phrases.....

2010-06-19T12:25:00.001-07:00

Man, I'm lucky I took French in high school. I am editing a manuscript where the characters are supposedly using French phrases, but oh, my, has that author ever missed class!!
I'm thinking of changing all the French phrases to their English counterparts, but that would ruin the flavor of the character's speaking pattern. So I'll just have to look them up and change them, or rely on my 50 year-old French class.
I think I'll look them up.

N'est ce pas? (The author has it as ness se pa)
ALORS!

Au revoir, mon amis.

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Scene, Seen; Bizarre, Bazaar

2010-05-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Scene: A vista, or a term in a play, as in Act 1, Scene 1.

Seen: The past tense of saw.
Please note: The word "Seen" absolutely requires a "helper verb" -- as: I had seen that play before. NOT: I seen that play before.
Every tornado season, it seems the television crews rush to the scene and interview a local yokel, who reports: "I seen it comin' over yonder...." ARRRGGH.

Bizarre: Unusual. As "His conduct was rather bizarre."

Bazaar: A marketplace.

Question: Can a person be seen acting out a scene in a bizarre manner in a bazaar?

Wear, ware; Polls, poles

2010-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

wear: as in "to wear a garment"

ware: as in "hardware or other goods."

Pole: a long cylindrical object, or a person from Poland.

Poll: a survey.

Can you take a poll of Poles?

Sever, Severe; Cite, Sight

2010-05-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Sever: Pronounced: Sev-er: To cut. "To sever the ties"

Severe: Pronounced: Sev-eer: Intense, "The pain was severe."

Cite: Pronounced: Cite: To refer to a certain passage: "Please cite the quote."

Sight: Same pronunciation: "Land was a welcome sight."

Site: Same pronunciation: A place. " The building site was crowded."

Hint: "Site" comes from the Latin in situ. (in place)

In referring to a web SITE: Not SIGHT, which refers to seeing.

He saw the Web SITE. It was a sight for sore eyes.

Breath, Breathe

2010-05-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Breathe: (Pronounced Bree-th) The lifeguard gave him treatment so the swimmer could breathe.

Breath: (Pronounced Breth) The patients suffered from shortness of breath.

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Lead, Read and More

2010-05-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Lead: (Pronounced "Leed.) As in: "Lead me into the room."

The past tense of "to lead" however, is not Lead, but "Led." "He led me into the room."

Lead (pronounced as "led") is a mineral.

Read: (Pronounced "Reed.") As in: "I can read."

Read: (Pronounced as "Red") As in: "I have read the book."

Thrown; Throne.

The ball was thrown out of bounds.

The king sat on his throne.

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Cloth Clothes

2010-05-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

Well, yeah, we usuall wear clothing (clothes) made out of cloth. There's the difference. Cloths are what I use for dusting. Sometimes, though, they are made of old clothes.

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Words for Today....

2010-05-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've read all these errors today and wanted to share them with you.

Decent, descent, and dissent. All different words, all different meanings.

Decent: (Dee-cent) Acceptable, honorable. He is a decent man.

Descent: (De-scent) Opposite of Ascent (climb) is to descend. (Go down.) They made the descent down the mountain.

Dissent: (Dis-sent) To disagree. I dissented regarding that proposition.

Advise, Advice. Two different words.

Advise: (Ad-vize) To give counsel. I advise you to reconsider.

Advice: (Ad-vice) Past tense of to advise, gave counsel. I gave you good advice.

Road: A thoroughfare, a lane, part of transportation. The road to town was crowded.

Rode: A method of transportation, as: He rode his horse down the road.

More tomorrow.

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Take an Antidote or Tell an Anecdote

2010-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

If you have taken sick with some kind of illness, your doctor might treat you with an antidote. That is, an "anti-" dote, anti meaning "against."

If you are at a party and someone tells a terrific story (or not!), you can say he had an anecdote. That word also is used in a scientific context, as "the treatment process was anecdotal, meaning that the process was told by word of mouth, or by the patients' stories about the treatment.

Be careful with your anecdotes at the next party you attend, or you might have to take an antidote for the host/hostess's poisoning you for being, once again, a boring guest.

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Since, Sense and Cents

2010-05-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Since has to do with time. Since you went away.....

Sense has to do with learning, or intelligence. She has no common sense....

Sense also has to do with a feeling.....He could sense that she was lying.

Cents deals with money. He gave her twenty-five cents.

Amazing. I see these used interchangably all over the place.

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Heal vs. Heel

2010-05-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

I see these words used interchangably, a lot. Remember:

Heel: A part of the foot. A command to a pet: Heel, or follow.

Heal: Having to do with health. Become well. Recover from an illness or injury.

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To, Two, and Too

2010-05-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

There are differences in the words To, Two, and Too. Yet all too often, writers will use them interchangably, as if it made no difference.
But there is a big difference in how the words are used.

"To" is a preposition. "He went TO church." Please don't use it at the end of a sentence, as in: "Where did he go to?" (Same as "Where is he at?"Just say, "Where is he?")

"Two" denotes a number. One, two, three, etc.

"Too" denotes another "something." He went, too. (Meaning also.)

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Then and Than; Woman and Women

2010-04-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

I see this often in writers' manuscripts, and in emails.

The difference in the words can, and does, make a difference.

"Then" denotes time. As in, "He then sat down."

"Than" is a comparison. "More than" "Less than" "Rather than..."

Be careful when you're intending to denote time, rather than comparisons.....:)

I often encounter this oddity: "The women wore her shoes proudly.." This phrase makes me wonder how many women were wearing the woman's shoes, and how many pairs of shoes did she have?

"A women went into the store." Huh? A woman, singular, went into the store.

Be careful when you're intending to describe one woman or two women.

As an aside, I don't think I've ever seen the same confusion between man and men. Wonder why?

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Apostrophe Atrocities

2010-03-28T15:16:00.001-07:00

So I'm reading along, a fairly well-written manuscript, and I come to the following: The car's were jammed up on the Interstate.
So what's wrong with that sentence, you ask?
It's the fact that the plural of car is not car's. It's cars. Without the apostrophe.
Same thing with other plurals. Cats, dogs, humans, pencils, desks, you get the drift. No apostrophe.
An apostrophe added to a singular word means nothing except the writer doesn't know the rules. Whenever I see one of those little sign "shingles" hanging from a mailbox or at the front door of someone's house, that proclaims, The Smith's live there, I want to march right up to the door and grab that little apostrophe, choke it to death and throw it on the ground. Then I want to ask "The Smith did what?"
Look, an apostrophe takes the place of a letter -- as in "y'all" as they say in the Deep South. And in Texas, I might add. Takes the place of "you all." Not "ya'll" but "y apostrophe all", since the "ou" is left out and replaced with the apostrophe.
So let's get it right, okay?
Or the next time The Smith's hang up their shingle, they'll have to deal with me. Okay, y'all?

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Editing Excellence Has Begun

2010-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

You say you've got a perfect novel ready to go to the publisher? Not so fast there, pardner. You need an editor.
"But I ran spell-check," you protest. "It's all good."
Well, that may be, but spell check doesn't catch everything. It won't catch the difference between "they're," "their" and "there." If you don't use those words correctly, then spell check doesn't care.
There are many pitfalls when you write that Great American Novel. Spelling and grammar are just a couple of them. You also have to watch for other elements of a good story:
Setting
Plot
Pacing
Characterization
Dialogue
Viewpoint
Opening
Satisfactory Ending
Formatting and other technical issues

Today, we'll focus on the Formatting and Technical Issues. Thanks to the marvels of digital publishing, you've probably selected a publisher that accepts electronic submissions. That saves you the time and expense of printing out your masterpiece, bundling it into a large envelope, applying postage and treking to the post office. Just hit "attach" and "send" and you're done.
Or are you?
Are you absolutely sure you are following the publisher's submission guidelines? Really? If the publisher requests single-spaced manuscripts only, then why are you sending it double-spaced? Does the publisher require a Times New Roman, 12 point font? Then why is your manuscript fancied up with Courier symbols and other gimmicks?
Did you begin your novel with a cover page? Why not? How will they know who the author is? You need to put your name and the name of the novel on each page, as a header, and page numbers at the bottom. Or not. Look at the submission guidelines. They are very specific, and if you don't follow them to the letter, your work won't get a second look. Sad, but true.
Are you beginning each chapter with the first line at the edge of the margin? You should. I know, conventional wisdom says "indent" and you do, actually, indent each paragraph. Except for the first paragraph of each chapter. Don't indent. I know, it doesn't look right. But it is.
Indent each paragraph thereafter. Do not double space between paragraphs.
And, when one person speaks, he needs his own paragraph. I once edited a novel that gave me migraines. The author, for unknown reasons, had chosen to deliver each person's dialogue in the same paragraph. Oh, he had the quotation marks set correctly, but that was all. It made this editor's eyes hurt, trying to follow the story line between each person's dialogue.
It will greatly improve your chances of having your work taken seriously if you follow these simple rules.
If you'd like to submit your work to me for editing, post your message here, or email me at marilyncmorris@sbcglobal.net for full details. I offer competitive rates and prompt turn-around. A client list will be made available upon request, along with the names of publishing houses who use my freelance services.
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