Writing tips
subject-verb agreement: Sometimes a phrase set off by commas can
"feel like" it is part of the subject.
For
example: Jill, along with her two karate
instructors, are highly disciplined.
This
is not correct. Since an additive phrase
does not add anything to the subject
and
the sentence can stand without it,
then disregard
it when thinking about subject-verb
agreement.
The correct form is: Jill, along with
her
two karate instructors, is highly disciplined.
Singular subject, singular verb.
Pronouns: Which is correct?
Hansel likes gingerbread more than me.
Hansel likes gingerbread more than I.
The second example is correct, the rule being
that a pronoun in a comparison is nominative
(in the subject case) if it is the
subject
of an understood verb. Which means
that the
entire sentence could be expanded to:
Hansel likes gingerbread more than I do,
or Hansel likes gingerbread more than
I like
gingerbread.
Hansel likes gingerbread more than me means
that he likes gingerbread more than
he likes
me.
Did you know: Names of kinship are in the lower case when preceded by modifiers; however, when used before a proper name or alone, in place of the name, they are usually capitalized.
My mother's birthday is tomorrow.
Don't forget that Mother loathes carnations.
They remind her of funerals, but Aunt Kathy thinks they're gorgeous.
My aunt wants all carnations for her birthday bouquet.
ampersand (&): Use the ampersand when it is part of
a company's formal name: Baltimore
& Ohio
Railroad, Lewis & Daggett Attorneys
at Law.
The ampersand should not otherwise
be used
in place of and.
A dash: It is used to set off an abrupt break or interruption, and to announce a summary. A dash is a mark of separation stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses. Examples: His first thought on getting out of bed - if he had any thought at all - was to get back in again. The rear axle began to make a noise - a grinding, chattering, teeth-gritting rasp.
Dialogue: Well-crafted dialogue is a very important tool, not just there to break up paragraphs, but, ideally, it adds to character development and moves the plot along. Each character should sound uniquely like himself. Many manuscripts get rejected because, if you take away the names of the characters, they all sound alike in their speech patterns. You also should not have dialogue repeat the narrative. "Did you hear that? Someone's at the door!" does not have to be preceded by "They heard a sound at the door."
Did you know: The names of seasons are never capitalized:
He said he'd be here in the spring. Canadian
winters are cold!
earth: It is generally lowercase; capitalize when
used as the proper name of the planet:
She is down to earth. He hopes to move heaven
and earth. How does that apply to Mars,
Jupiter,
Earth, the sun and the moon? The astronauts
returned to Earth.
alliteration: This word comes from Latin alliteratio
(putting the same letters together).
It happens
at the beginning of words that are
adjacent
or near each other: safe and sound;
thick
and thin; cool as a cucumber; fit as
a fiddle;
the grey-green grandeur of Grandfather
Mountain;
calm, cool and collected. Alliteration
is
thus the opposite of rhyme, by which
similar
sounds occur in the final syllables
of words:
near and dear; health and wealth; showers
and flowers. Alliteration is also found
in
tongue-twisters: She sells sea-shells
on
the seashore; Peter Piper picked a
peck of
pickled peppers. Alliteration is a
figure
of speech. Another figure of speech
is personification.
You may wish to click on this word
at the
bottom of our home page to learn more
about
it.
Show, don't tell: You will hear this again and again, whether you are talking about fiction, non-fiction or poetry. It is always true and one of the surest paths to good writing. Look at your manuscript in order to find sentences that tell the reader how a character felt (Sara was sad) and replace with sensory descriptions (Hot tears sprang to Sara's eyes and rolled down her cheeks.) For a more elaborate description on this subject, click on Strategies on the Writers' Group of the Triad Home Page and go down to the second subject.
Plurals of names Add -s to most nouns: Smith - the Smiths,
Kennedy - the Kennedys, Goodman - the
Goodmans.
But when a name ends in -ch, -s, -sh,
-x,
or -z, add -es. Example: Burch - the
Burches,
Weiss - the Weisses, Fox - the Foxes,
Perez
- the Perezes. The extra syllable that
results
should be pronounced.
Subordination: One very effective way of varying sentence
structure and laying emphasis where
you want
it is to use subordination.
Candace went to the candy store.
She had
no money.
She looked at the delicious
chocolates.
Her breath misted the window.
First, choose which of these sentences you
want to make your sentence base. Usually,
this will be the most important aspect,
and
will depend on the context of what
you're
writing. If I choose "Candace went
to the
candy store," I might write:
Although she had no money, Candace went to
the candy store, misting the window
with
her breath as she looked at the delicious
chocolates.
You can see that the "Candace went to the
candy store" part of the new sentence
is
an independent clause (it can stand
by itself
as a sentence), while the other sentences
in the first example have been turned
into
dependent clauses and subordinated
to the
main clause.
oceans The five, from the largest to the smallest:
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian
Ocean,
Antarctic Ocean, Arctic Ocean. Lowercase
ocean standing alone or in plural uses:
the
ocean, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Did you know: Titles of books and other works take a
singular verb even if they are plural
in
themselves.
The Brothers Karamazov is the greatest work
in the Russian language.
The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde contains
several typographical errors.
Be Precise: Use exact nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. This will make your writing come alive. Your early draft may say "Harry eats his food." (but if Harry gulps his food, you don't have to tell the reader that he's in a hurry). Adjectives like big, little, cold, hot are fine, but tremendous, tiny, frigid, scorching may add a new dimension to your sentence.
Did you know: A request disguised as a question should
not end in a question mark.
"Will you please pass the butter." Or --
"You have young legs; why don't you
run to
the store and get me a loaf of bread."
Farther, further: Farther refers to physical distance: He
walked farther into the woods.
Further refers to an extension of time or
degree: President Bush said he is ordering
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to
review
the military and look at how much further the nuclear arsenal could prudently be reduced.
Did you know: Religious, military, and other titles are
generally lower-cased when used alone
in
place of or after a personal name:
Captain Kirk; the captain
Pope John Paul II; the pope
Cardinal Newman; the cardinal
President Bush; the president
Queen Elizabeth; the queen
first lady: Not a formal title. Do not capitalize,
even when used before the name of a
chief
of state's wife:
first lady Laura Bush; the first lady
* * * * *
Capitalization: With non-specific references, all words
that are capitalized when part of a
proper
name should be lowercased when they
are used
in the plural or do not refer to a
specific,
existing body. Some examples:
All states except Nebraska have a state senate.
The town does not have a fire department.
The bill requires city councils to
provide
matching funds. The president will
address
the lower houses of the New York and
New
Jersey legislatures.
Looking for more writing tips? Click on Resources at the bottom of the
WGOT home page, then click on Writers.com, then click on Writing Tips.
