We Still Need to Show, not Tell

While one of the most important principles about writing is keep your writing succinct, another important principle says to show your reader what you’re saying instead of telling  him or her.

It’s hard to grasp this concept sometimes because we think of storytelling as telling a story, when, in reality, the best storytellers are those who show us the story.

How many times have you read a book, then seen the movie, and come away disappointed because the main character didn’t look right? When you read the book, you “saw” the character in your mind and that worked for you. When your image didn’t match the image on the movie screen, you didn’t relate as well to the character (or maybe even to the storyline).

Your readers create images in their minds when they read your writing too. You can help the reader see your point, see your character, see your setting, see your vision, etc. by using a few extra words to help create image.

Here’s an example of tell: Sherry is a wonderful friend. She’s smart and caring. She’s always there when I need her.

Here’s an example of show: Sherry came over yesterday after I called her. She sensed I was feeling a bit down and offered to bring lunch so we could spend the time talking rather than cooking. She let me vent and we ended up laughing before she went home.

Which example creates image as you read? Granted, showing requires more words than telling, but they are words well worth the effort.  Whether you’re writing books, stories, or even letters, show, don’t tell.

Happy writing!

Bad Advice from English Teachers

Over the years, my students have asked a lot of questions about writing and most of the questions are based on bad advice they got from English teachers.

For example, they wonder if it’s okay to end a sentence with a preposition. My reply is not my own, but rather comes from Winston Churchill. “Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” HUH? But at least Churchill shows us how ridiculous our writing can become if we follow the rule of never ending a sentence with a preposition. For me, that’s just not a rule I’ll put up with.

Another question deals with writing complete sentences (those containing a subject and a verb).  There are times your writing can include incomplete sentences and be very effective. Really. Like just this. Honest.

Now, don’t misunderstand my point. You should write in complete sentences as much as possible. I’m just saying the advice from English teachers that says you must always write in complete sentences is bad advice.

Use partial sentences sparingly, but use them when they make your writing better. Once in a great while it’s okay to have a partial sentence in your writing.  And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Period.

Happy writing!

If it Quacks, is it a Duck or a Recording?

Lately at Expert Publishing, we’ve had a plethora of offerings  announcing all sorts of ways to “help authors sell books.”

Here are just a few:

• Email blasts to libraries–sell your book to hundreds, if not thousands, of libraries.
• Book awards of various flavors–regional, self-published books, independently published books, etc.
• Public relations–get in the media and get rich selling books.
• Book reviews–people need to be told what to read.

Email blasts are about as cutting edge as fax blasts. Add the declining budgets of libraries and spending money to promote your book to them via email doesn’t make a lot of financial sense. You’re better off using those several hundred dollars to create a self-directed book tour where you create events in libraries or in stores where your book will stand out from the rest of the merchandise (hint: not a bookstore).

Book awards serve one purpose–they make money for the organization putting them on. We chaired a book awards program for three years for an association and the whole purpose was to add money to the organization’s  treasury. I can’t say that I know of any increased sales because a book won an award, but I guess it could happen. What winning an award does do for a book, however, is allow the author a fresh perspective for marketing the book, and that’s a good thing.

Public relations is one of the most expensive things you can do to sell your book. And the results are typically disappointing. Why? How often do you hear someone on the radio or television talk about his or her book and you run out or go online and buy it? Most of us don’t even have a pen and paper handy to write down the name of the book. Then, when the segment is over, we’re moving on to other things. When a public relations person can justify his/her fee by showing me sales connected to PR, I’ll see the value.

Book reviews serve a purpose, I’m sure. I’ve seldom seen a book get a bad review. Have the book reviews you’ve read enticed you to buy the book as soon as possible? If so, the review worked. Some reviews you pay for; others are free. Either way, the reviewer gets the book free and tends to skim through it, pick up some highlights to mention, then write a few paragraphs.  I’ve done book reviews for years and I’ve learned that, as with anything else, there are good reviewers while others just like the free books. If you’re sending your book out for review, make sure you know where and when the review will be published.

Authors don’t like to hear it, but the bottom line is authors, not publishers, are responsible for creating the buzz about their books. Do you know who publishes Stephen King? Dan Brown? J. K Rowling? Dr. Phil? I rest my case.

When you, as author, are bombarded with quacking offers–email blasts, book awards, PR people, book reviews–take a hard look. Are they offering you a duck (the real thing that will help you market your book) or a recording (duplication of tired marketing that doesn’t work)?

Don’t fall for the quacks. You’ll just put money in their pockets, not your own.

Happy writing!

 

Ellipsis is Usually the Wrong Choice

Those of us who give much thought to words and writing realize English is a living language. And, as with all living things, it changes over time. People age. Plants wither. English evolves.

It’s a lot of work to keep up with the evolution and that probably explains why so many of us make up our own rules as we go.

For example, since the birth of electronic mail (yes, e-mail, or is it email?), many of us use ellipsis daily to indicate a fading away into the sunset, as it were. For example, one may email a friend about plans for the holidays and write something like, “We’re hoping to spend some time with Jeff and Jennifer…” The writer wouldn’t use quotes as I just did because the writer isn’t writing dialogue.

My point is that writer completed the sentence/ thought and should have ended with a period after Jennifer, not an ellipsis.

Ellipsis is correct punctuation for omission–omitting something from quoted material.

The Chicago Manual of Style (the book publishing industry standard) defines ellipsis as “the omission of a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a quoted passage.”

Ellipsis is also used to show halting speech (dialogue), which is probably why we think we can combine the two uses in our writing. But, if we’re not writing dialogue, we aren’t writing halting speech and ellipsis becomes a wrong choice for punctuation.

The way you use punctuation says as much about you as a writer as the words you write. Get to know all the punctuation tools in your toolbox and use the right one for the right job. It’s worth the effort and when you practice using the correct punctuation, you really won’t get worse at it .

Happy writing!

 

Pay Attention to Sentence Length and Construction

You may look at the title of this post and think, DUH! I would think that too if I hadn’t seen so much writing that needs work over my thirty-some years in the writing/publishing business.

First, look at the length of your sentences.  Then, see if  your sentences are easily read.  If not, rewrite them to make them easy.   And make sure they are clear in meaning.  Readers can’t read your mind, so help them. If you don’t, they will read something else. Are you seeing how boring this has become? Each of the sentences above contains eight words.

Most writing textbooks encourage you to limit your sentences to the eight-word range because readers understand short sentences. There’s nothing wrong with writing short sentences unless short sentences are all you write. Same-length sentences are boring.

Use a variety of short, medium, and long sentences and your reader will keep reading.

Having said that, I want you to now think about the construction of your short, medium, and long sentences.

We learned early in our academic careers that sentences must have a subject, verb, and predicate,  and we should write sentences in that order.  Here are some examples: Dick ran to school. Jane played with Mary. The dog chased the cat. A man walked around the lake.

Granted, the sentence length varies (4 words, 4 words, 5 words, 6 words), but the construction is the same, which makes the writing just as boring as having the sentences all the same length.

Your primary goal in writing is to make your writing clear for the reader.  But you don’t have to use the same sentence construction to achieve that. Good writers move beyond the simple construction and employ a variety of sentence structures to create a writing masterpiece.

Sometimes you’ll begin with a introductory phrase. Other times, you’ll chose to insert a parethetical phrase in mid-sentence. And so it goes. (Did you notice I just used all three lengths?)

Here’s some homework for you. Who do you like to read? Pay attention to the sentence length and construction your favorite writers use. Then give yourself permission to use variety in your own writing. You’ll unleash your creativity and make your readers happy.

Happy writing!

I Write Like I Talk

Harry and I participated in an exciting business conference this past weekend. People came from the US and Canada. One man I met talked with me about his writing, and he said, “I write like I talk. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

Well, it’s neither good nor bad. It’s good if you write in your own voice. It’s bad if you write for ear and not the eye.

What do I mean by write for the eye? Listen to people and you’ll hear words said in ways that sound fine. Write those same words down exactly as said, and you’ll see gaps, mixed verb tenses, plural pronouns used with singular antecedents, etc. All of these are writing errors and you don’t want them published under your name.

Why do you think writers groups have someone read the writing out loud while the audience listens? Why do people attend readings by authors? We listen to writing to sample the writing. If the writing falters in beat, in word choice, in emotion, in visualization, chances are the reader will zone away from the writing and momentarily lose connection with it.

This happened to me in a writers group back in the 1980s. The author read aloud, but I lost connection and zoned away. During the oral critique of the writing, someone said, “I wasn’t terribly interested in your story until you mentioned the cook was naked.”

Well, I heard that! “What?” I said. “I didn’t hear anything about a naked cook in the story.”

Laughter.

The point was the author did lose me and almost lost another group member in the reading. That told the author to work some more on the story because readers weren’t engaged. Listening to the writing pointed that out.

It’s okay if you write like you talk, as long as your voice realizes the reader is reading with the eye and sometimes hearing your voice in the ear.

Happy writing!

 

A Question About Style

A couple weeks ago, one of my students asked what I meant by style. That gave me a good reminder that sometimes we just need to get back to basics before we attempt something advanced. (The class subject was about getting published in periodicals, and I asked students to analyze the style of the magazine they were approaching BEFORE they sent the query letter.)

So, what does style mean? Style pertains to how ideas are expressed. In case of periodicals, styles differ greatly across the spectrum. All you have to do is analyze Woman’s World Weekly, then Better Homes and  Garden, then Cosmopolitan. All are women’s magazines, but each has its own style.

Readers are attracted to a book because of the promised content (promised either by title or subtitle at a minimum). Too often, however, readers stop reading because of they don’t like the writer’s style.

What are some red flags that your style risks reader turn-off?

• Passive voice– Too many passive verbs–was, is, are, were, have, had, had, etc., which are all forms of “to be.”
• Sentences are pretty much the same length–If they’re all short, reader feels the staccato rhythm of a machine gun. If they all long or complex, reader has to work to hard to get your meaning. Mix it up!
• Starting every sentence the same way–Take a look at your writing and see how many sentences start with “the.”
• Overuse of cliche or trite phrases–Good writers express themselves in new ways to engage the reader.
• Overuse of favorite words–I edited a book last week and the favorite word was a–hole. Since this was a professional book written by an author showing expertise, I made a comment that not only was the word offensive, it implied a lack of vocabulary. Looking back, I could have been less direct, but at least the author understood and accepted my point.

Every author has his or her own style. I hope you’ll review your writing and tweak your style to keep your reader reading.

Happy writing!

Too Many Words Risk Reader Confusion

Last Friday morning, I had the honor of talking about editing to the Minnesota Chapter of the National Speakers Association. We did an editing exercise I’ve used in my classes for the past fourteen years. The exercise directions were to “cross out every unnecessary word and when you are finished, count the words remaining.”

Then I polled the audience asking for the number of words that remained. The original paragraph had 78 words and poll revealed the number of words remaining ranged from 45 to 5.

As I asked each speaker to read the paragraph he or she edited, it became clear some totally missed the point (main idea) of the paragraph (for they had crossed out the words that pertained to it).

That created a learning opportunity. Even though we love words, we need to be mindful that they can confuse our readers if we use more than we need to make our point.

Some in the audience claimed the answer (which is four words, so one speaker was close) lacked style and embellishment. But my response was the directions were to cross out every unnecesary word in that paragraph.

When you decide embellishment will make your writing more interesting, use it. But that’s another assignment.

I trust you’ll read your own writing with an increased awareness of whether or not any given word is necessary to conveying your point to your reader.  Don’t risk losing your reader. Instead give your reader your best effort. It’s much harder to write tight than to write verbose. Try it and see.

Happy writing!

Are you squandering your writing ability?

I’ve been teaching my “Writing for Fun and Profit” series at two different colleges this fall. As often happens, students take the series to help them decide if they really want to write as much as they think they do.

I’ve been doing this series since 1996 and have watched hundreds of students blossom as they realize they not only want to write, but they want to write in a variety of venues–from short pieces to full-length books.

One of the underlying issues many students bring to class is the discounting of what they have to offer–the squandering of their writing ability. Notice I didn’t say talent (although talent is a nice thing to have). Writing is both art and skill and skills can be learned, given ability.

Writers set high standards regarding what counts as writing–what personal experiences should be drawn upon, what emotions can be shared, and what thoughts deserve deeper exploration.

My response: human experiences should be drawn upon–when your reader can relate to what you’re writing about, you create fans who want to read more from you.

Emotions aren’t good or bad, they just are. It’s the behavior the emotions motivate that determines good from bad. Anger is often thought of as a negative emotion, but it got the founders of MADD to do something positive–work on reducing drunk driving fatalities. Love is often thought of a positive emotion, but when someone’s murdered, among the first people authorities look toward  is those who loved the person–spouse, lover, etc.

Thoughts create possibilites. If no one thought of word processing software, we’d still be creating manuscripts on typewriters. Before dismissing a thought too quickly, give it some time to ruminate,  then consider capturing it in your writing.

My point is don’t squander your writing ability by thinking everything you write has to be profound, world-shattering, or the next literary masterpiece. Write so your readers can relate to your words.  The old saying, “Writers are observers of life,” still holds true. Live your life, observe life around you, and capture what you experience, feel, and think in your writing!

Happy writing!

Advice from a Literary Agent

I was cleaning out old files this week and came across a tip sheet from a literary agent. Some of the tips are so obvious (use quality paper, write a clear letter, enclose SASE–self addressed, stamped envelope), but others are a bit less elementary.

When approaching a literary agent, do:

• Present one project at a time.
• Submit in standard manuscript format (double-spaced, one-inch margins, Times New Roman font, your name and page number on each page).
• Provide your project’s word count.
• List your published works.
• Provide pertinent information about yourself–experience, for example.
• Expect to wait up to 120 days for a response.

When approaching a literary agent, don’t:

• Offer an unprofessional presentation (no typos, spelling or puncutation or grammatical errors please).
• Send your only copy of your proposal.
• Use cliche characters when writing fiction–instead make them memorable.
• Use exclamation points or unusual fonts–let your writing create the excitement instead.
• Claim to be better than best-selling authors.
• Act paranoid that everyone’s out to steal your work.
• Use the opinions of those who love you (family and friends) as confirmation of your work.

Here are some things I’ll add to help you increase your chances of success.

• Follow the conventions of the kind of work you’re proposing (genre fiction is formulatic, so follow the formula).
• Do your research (both fiction and nonfiction writing require research). You also want to research your marketplace and find a literary agent who represents what you write.
• Read as much as you can in your field.
• Realize that publishing is business and if anyone says it’s about fulfilling your dream, run as fast as you can. There’s something not quite right going on.
• Join writers groups. Be mindful that any critiques you get aren’t very helpful unless the one giving them regularly reads the type of writing you do. For example, a critique on a romance isn’t worth much from someone who doesn’t read romances.
• Don’t take rejection personally. Publishing is business and rejection only means that what you’re offering isn’t a good match for what they’re needing.

You might want to print these tips off and keep them handy for future use.

Happy writing!