Month: August 2019

Correlative Conjunctions

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As we have seen before, conjunctions connect things (con=with, junction=to join). We had previously discussed Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions, but now we are going to address a third conjunction: Correlative (co=together, relative=connected). Very similar to Coordinating conjunctions connecting ideas that are equal in emphasis, but whereas Coordinating conjunctions are a single word, Correlative ones come in pairs, and one part of each pair goes with each idea being considered.

As with Coordinating Conjunctions the ideas being connected can be as simple as a single word (noun, verb, etc.), as involved as a phrase, or as complicated as a whole clause (sentence). As complicated as conjunctions can be, we really want to use them to connect ideas, establishing relationships between them.

Examples

  • Both/and
    • Both Amy and Bill are going to the store. (connecting subjects)
    • Amy is going to both the store and the library. (connecting objects)
  • Either/or
    • You are going to either do your homework, or fail maths. (connecting phrases)
    • Either you are going to stop singing or I am going to go insane. (connecting clauses)
  • Neither/nor
    • I will neither join your group nor follow you on FB. (connecting phrases)
    • You will neither have your cake, nor eat it, too. (connecting phrases)
  • Not only/but also
    • Not only will I play chess, but I will also eat crisps all day. (connecting clauses, note the inverted sub/verb and split “but also”)
    • You are not only dumb, but also (connecting objects)
  • Whether/or
    • Whether it is raining or snowing, I care not. (connecting complete clause to incomplete)
    • I will care for you whether you care for me or not. (connecting complete clause to incomplete)

As you can see, using conjunctions makes it clear how ideas are connected, and it improves the flow, one idea leading into another with a specific relationship.

From First Idea to Printed Book

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It’s well past time to address this topic…after all, we put the graphic below on our Home page, hinting at the process, so we really should explain how it all works. It starts off with an idea—someone somewhere has to have an idea…not even a fully formed idea yet…just a glimmer, but that’s enough to get started. Thinking about the idea is good, but trying to tell the story to someone else is better (writing it down will come later). You don’t even have to tell it to anyone in particular…some of my earliest stories were told at bedtime…to children. We can’t edit a blank page, so having an idea is just the start.

Tell It, then Write It

For non-fiction, this is when you’d hire a Developmental Editor, but for fiction, hold off on that for now. Just work on getting the basic details refined. This is the step where you are allowed to paint yourself into a corner, in fact, encouraged to do so…then, in a panic, retreat and rewrite (or retell) that section to fix it.

Once you have the basic story in mind, it’s time to commit it to paper. If you can find a group of fellow writers, they can help identify some of the less obvious problems you might encounter, and if you’re lucky enough to join a Critique Group, as they read your story—chapter by chapter—you’ll be reading theirs, learning by finding problems in their stories (which you can then avoid!).

Ready for Edit

After a few back and forths (sometimes quite a few) with your mini-audience, you should now have a complete story…on paper—that’s your manuscript. You are now ready for your first edit: the Line Edit. The story is done, but it needs a bit of polishing. At this point the written and spoken versions should be identical…you are just getting the flow smoothed out. Then it’s back to the author to do final clean up, and it’s ready for the second level edit: Copy Edit. This is a more in-depth look at the mechanics, the grammar, the usage…if you have a particular style, here is where it will become obvious.

The author doesn’t sit back and wait whilst the ms is being edited either…now is when the Front and Back Matter should be created—all the stuff that isn’t the story. Finding a good cover artist is important, too. (We can recommend a few…ask us.)

Put it together

After the Copy Edit is done, the formatting and layout steps are done and a temporary cover is slapped on, so Advance Reader Copies can be printed. Marketing should have started already, but now you have something physical to hand out to reviewers. The final edit step is now upon us: Proofreading—actually reading the proof copy of the book. Involving yet another set of editing standards, we are now building an experience for the reader to enjoy.

The last step is to add the final cover and have a release party. Be certain to invite us! We love a good release party.

Copy and Pasting (text only)

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Most folks already know how to use the Word commands Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-V to paste, and Ctrl-X to cut content out (for later pasting), but many times I find that when I paste, the text arrives not quite as expected…it has all the original formatting it had from the other location. For example, if I’m copying some text from the heading of a section that I want to paste into the middle of a paragraph, it is still big, bold, underlined, whatever it was in the heading, not the way the rest of the pgph appears.

As this is a discussion of shortcuts, I’m not going to go through the click-on-the-ribbon option, but it is available if you’re a mouse kinda person. I’m going to show you how to do it without taking your hands off the keyboard! As I’ve said before, if I have to let go of the keyboard, grab the mouse, wiggle it around, push it to where I want, click on something, then go back to the keyboard, I’ve wasted too much time that could be better spent on creating something wonderful.

As you edit in Word, you’ll find that many of the clicks on the ribbon can be replaced by typing, and if you watch as you do the ribbon click, you’ll see little boxes pop up that show the keypresses needed to do that same function, BUT there are more keyboard commands that aren’t listed—ones from the older versions of Word.

Shortcut:

Here’s one that I often use: after you Copy (or Cut) some text, move the cursor to where you want it to be, then tap Alt, E, S, U, U. (Holding Alt will sometimes give a different set of commands, so be certain to only TAP the Alt key, down and up, THEN type the other keys.) That key sequence will bring up the old Paste Special dialogue box and select the Unformatted Text option. Hit the Enter key, and the text is pasted in, conforming to the format of the surrounding text. That’s it!

Once you start using this shortcut, you’ll find it extremely helpful, in fact I use this method almost every time I’m pasting…just to avoid getting strange stuff included. It even works if copying from some other program…such as a web browser. There are some really bizarre formatting things going on out there, and this method will help you get around them.

Update:

After this was posted, a reader pointed out another method for pasting text only. After copying and positioning the cursor, hit the Menu key, T, and Enter. Even shorter! Try it out.

Story Elements (Theme)

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There are some ideas that are especially useful to fiction writers, but many can also make a non-fiction book an enjoyable read, and that’s important if you want the reader to glean the valuable information you have to share. In this post, we are going to cover one of the elements of a story: Theme. We’ll give due diligence to the other elements in other posts.

Yes, the destination is important (so is the ending of your story), but as is often said, the process of getting there is paramount, so as vital as your ending is, you need to remember that your story is all about the Journey to the Transformation of the Hero. When you are writing your story, you need to keep in mind why you are writing it: the Theme, or the Focus of the Story, or the Most Important Point. Whatever term you use, the concept has to run through the entire story.

You may hear folks tossing the term “Theme” about as if it’s something complicated, but it’s really nothing more than a technique of approaching the Transformation, allowing the Hero to be fundamentally changed and resolving the problem in a predictable manner. To understand it better, take a look at the list below.

Theme Examples

  • In the Rags to Riches theme, the Hero has to pull himself up by the bootstraps, and is transformed by his hard work.
  • In the Underdog story, the Hero is portrayed as being gutsy and good, being transformed through spirit, hope, and belief.
  • The Accidental Hero (my favourite) is thrust into his role by accident or circumstance and is transformed through realisation.
  • Often used is the Lesson Learned theme, where the Hero faces many challenges in life, discovering that it is true that only fools refuse to learn and is finally transformed via self-discovery.
  • Rather intense is the Failure and Redemption theme, forcing the Hero to respond to failures, showing his true character as he finds that coming back from failure is powerful, transforming with fire.
  • Finally, there is the Hero’s Quest (the most talked about), common to all societies, all countries, all time. In this theme, the Hero develops the internal strength to conquer all obstacles, no matter how seemingly impossible. This is the theme of many epic tales as the Hero is transformed by triumph.

There are plenty of other themes (including Forgiveness, Success, and Honesty), but these few are enough to give you an idea of what you’re aiming for.

To help you stay directed, you may want to print the Theme out (in big letters) to hang over your monitors. That way, if you come across a scene that doesn’t support that Theme, then just toss it (not completely, of course…save it elsewhere, because that scene may just belong in the next story). Keeping your theme in sight will give your story a feeling of intent, a cohesiveness, a raison d’être as they say.

Keep plugging away at it, and you’ll only get better!