Month: February 2020

Grammar and Readability

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If you search the web for Writer’s Tools, you’ll find quite a few suggestions out there…mostly falling into a few major categories: Grammar and Readability, Keeping Writing, and Finding the Right Word. There are even more tool ideas that don’t fit into any of those groups, but we are going to just hit a few of the big ones. Today, we will look at a few places where you can check the grammar of your writing…and as a bonus, get an indication of how tough it is for a typical reader to get through it.

Be advised, none of the tools we are going to cover can give your writing the same attention that an actual human reader can, so we always recommend having someone familiar with publishing traditions give a close look at anything you want to share with the world. (We are always available for those tasks!)

Grammar Checkers

Besides the built-in spell and grammar checkers in most word processing programs, there are sites that are dedicated to checking your spelling, grammar, and style. Four big ones seem to come up in most lists: Hemingway, ProWritingAid, Readable, and Grammarly. Each has their high and low points, all come with both a free and a paid version, and some don’t even require that you have an account or a log in if all you need is a quick check via the web.

We recommend taking a few paragraphs of some of your writing and run them through all of them, just to get a feel for what they can do.

  • Hemingway is easy and straightforward…no fluff here.
  • ProWritingAid is a bit more exhaustive and comprehensive (though it takes a bit of sleuthing to find the free, web-based version).
  • Readable has a quick-check site that is easy to access, though they push the paid version quite thoroughly.
  • Grammarly is rather involved and complicated (and the only one that requires you to have an account and log in…even to use the free version).

Once you’ve tested them out and found your favourite, stick with it. Switching back and forth from one to another will just serve to drive you crazy as one will suggest changing A to B and the next will say to swap B to A. The bottom line is always your Target Reader, so keep in mind that these programs just give suggestions. If all they do is help you find places where you can improve your writing in general, then they’ve done their job well.

Readability Scoring

When it comes to getting an opinion on how readable your text is, the jury is still out. Apparently, every new study has created their own way to measure readability…including measuring sentence length, determining word complexity, and counting syllables. Some methods return a grade level…others a numeric score. Grade levels range from 5th grade (very easy for an 11 year old to understand) up to professional (difficult for university graduates to comprehend). Some of the numeric scores roughly correspond to a percent of the mainstream audience who will grasp the concepts involved…others are based on a different scale.

Generally, we want our writing to fall into the 7th to 9th grade level or 60–80 on the percentage scale. Anything more difficult than that may put off some readers…especially the ones who are reading as an escape from having to think. If they want to read something that is more challenging, there are plenty of text books available to them.

Here are some example scoring systems in use:

  • Grade Level (lower=easier)
    • Flesch-Kincaid
    • Gunning fog
    • Coleman-Liau
    • SMOG
    • Automated Readability
    • Fry
    • FORCAST
    • Powers Sumner Kearl
    • Rix
    • Raygor
    • CEFR
    • Spache
    • New Dale-Chall
  • Numeric Score (higher=easier)
    • Flesch Reading Ease
    • IELTS
    • Lix
    • Lensear

As you can see, there are way too many options out there, but most readability calculators include either or both of the Flesch scores, so that’s a good place to start.

What are Weasel Words?

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Some sites suggest that you avoid Weasel Words, but how can you steer clear of them if you don’t know what they are? That’s why we are going to consider them in this post. By definition, weasel words “suck the life” out of the words they are near, rendering them weak and lifeless…similar to the eggs left after the weasel has had dinner. (Apparently weasels don’t actually suck the eggs out, but they do tend to leave empty shells behind.) In trying to keep your piece strong, you certainly don’t want any dull or boring, lifeless words, so it might be a good idea to at least be aware of weasel words.

Why Weasel?

A multitude of explanations exist for why the term ‘weasel’ is used, but none of them are accepted as the true and correct account. In addition to Shakespeare’s mentioning the habit of weasels sucking eggs (twice), both Theodore Roosevelt and Stewart Chaplin used similar phrasings in the early 1900s when they described ‘weasel words’ in relation to political posturing. Roosevelt said that he preferred a particular platform because it contained no weasel words, and Chaplin wrote a short story where a politician said that his platform, as most, was full of weasel words. In both cases they were referring to positions that had lost their potency because of these weasel words.

An earlier tale referencing weasels is when Hercules was born. As his mother was about to give birth, her servant Galanthis announced his birth early…foiling the conspiracy of the goddess Lucina to prevent his birth. In retribution, Lucina transformed Galanthis into a weasel, because “her lying mouth helped in childbirth”. From that we get the idea that weasels are tricky, dishonest, or deceitful. Weasel words are also misleading, giving meaning where none should be.

Whatever the source, and despite the fact that weasels don’t actually suck eggs, the term seems to have stuck, so we’ll deal with it when we see it.

Examples of Weasel Words

Weasel words can be grouped into a few main types: numerical, passive, or adverbs that weaken. All of these often appear in copy that is intended to influence decision making, such as adverts and political rhetoric. Frequently you’ll hear about “some people” who believe or support something…but who are they? Do you trust them? Just how many of them are there?? What about claims that “many experts recommend” this item? Does that have any power to influence you? Again, how many, who are they, and what exactly do they recommend? Consider something that is “up to 50% off”…well, if it is only ONE percent off, then it is “up to” 50%, so that phrase doesn’t really mean much, yet it may cause you to consider a purchase.

We’ve seen Passive Voice being used when we don’t know who the actor in a statement is, but it is also used to avoid responsibility. Instead of saying, “We made a mistake”, you’ll hear, “A mistake was made.” No one is admitting fault, so there can be no punishment. Would you buy something that “experience shows that” it is good? Whose experience? What did they experience? How does their experience connect to the product? And if “common sense insists” you should do it, should you? Are we to make decisions based on what “everyone else” thinks or does? “No product is better” would be true even if no product were worse.

Good Claims Don’t Have Weasel Words

Now that you know what weasel words are, you can strengthen your assertions as you write. Say what you mean, and say it with conviction. Don’t be wishy-washy or wimpy. State your case and stand behind it.

First Steps to Marketing (Mailing Lists and Author Profiles)

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Marketing is not one of the things most authors look forward to doing…after all, if they really enjoyed marketing, then they’d probably be doing that instead of writing. Everyone says that the first thing a new author needs is a website, but creating a good one can be a daunting task. Once you’ve started on that task, is there anything else you can be doing? Of course, but be warned…it’s going to take some time…expect to work on marketing your book for a few months before it is released…at least four to six months ahead, so don’t wait too long to start.

It’s also going to take time away from your writing, so you have a choice…either write another book or publicise the one you have out. Both are important, so we recommend that you split your time, devoting equal amounts to writing and marketing. It has been said that the best way to get your book to sell is to write another one, so don’t stop writing.

Mailing Lists

We’ll go into more detail about to create and work with Mailing Lists in a later post, but what you need to know now is that they are an important part of your marketing strategy. Collecting contact info from loyal fans gives you opportunities to let the faithful know about your doings, whether it be a new book being released soon, a signing, or just a visit to another town. They want to know these things.

What you need to know now is that it takes time to build up a proper list, so you should start working on it as soon as possible…even if your book isn’t quite finished yet. The best way is to include a Sign Up button in whatever marketing plan you use. Give readers an opportunity…but don’t make it bigger than the message. You can include some kind of gift for signing up…such as an unpublished short story that ties into your next novel or a worksheet for your non-fiction book. Include the links in a variety of places, so readers can easily sign up: your About the Author pages, your business cards and bookmarks, any fliers you’ve created, etc. The more you spread it around, the better.

Once you have a decent list built up, use it only a few times a year. You want to keep your Target Readers active and interested…not annoyed. These folks have an exclusive connection with you, so use it to share exclusive deals, such as specials on your books (a temporary low price on a new release or a boxed set). You can even share with them new short stories related to your next upcoming novel.

Author Profiles

An easy option is to create profiles on multiple sites. You create them, then ignore them, updating them only when a new book is about to be released. Besides Amazon and Goodreads, author pages are available on a variety of sites such as Smashwords, Author’s Den, Authorsdb, and Poets&Writers.

Be certain to use a professional-looking photo…no outdoor pictures with your dog…unless your books are about dogs, of course! Fill in your bio with relevant info that will attract readers. Including references to other authors that you admire in your genre will make connections for the readers. You can also use LinkedIn to connect to those other authors.

Once your profiles are set up, move on. Advertising on these sites isn’t often worth the effort (or money), so just get your name out there…then wait. Revisit them occasionally to respond to comments, but don’t waste too much of your writing time there.

Many of these sites will allow you to link your blog (from your personal website), so when you make a new posting, it will be automatically posted there, too. Trying to maintain multiple sites separately will drain too much of your writing time, so don’t spend too much time figuring it out. It’s fine if you’re not certain how to link your blog…you’re an author, not an IT geek. Just as you would seek the expertise of an editor, find a techie who will work with you to automate your postings. Don’t forget to mention (and link) to your various profiles from your personal website for more exposure.

Info Dump

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There are basically two kinds of Info Dumps: relevant and irrelevant—both are bad, but one is worse. We’ll discuss both, then see if we can help you with the one you might actually be able to use. Don’t get me wrong here…information is important, but how you reveal it to your readers makes the difference between a satisfied reader and one who drops your book in frustration…never to pick it up again. Readers who never finish reading your book aren’t likely to mention it to any of their friends…at least not in a good light. Remember, you don’t have time to tell everyone how wonderful your book it…you have to depend on a few readers telling others who then go on to tell even more.

Irrelevant Info

A lot of research usually goes into just about any writing you do…even for a short story (though maybe not for Flash Fiction). The problem is that many authors, once they’ve found some interesting knowledge, want to share all of it with their readers, but that just won’t do. Most of the acquired facts may play a part in creating the story, but they aren’t part of the story. Those facts need to be left on the author’s desk…in the back corner…the far back corner.

One of the problems some authors have is in descriptions…extraneous descriptions. Do we really need to know what colour the walls of the kitchen are? Do we need to know what kind of shirt the MC is wearing? Do we care? That’s the first question you should ask yourself: Does the reader care about this info? If it’s only so you can picture the scene in your head, then it may not be important. Let the reader picture it the way he wants…as long as it fits into the story.

If those unimportant descriptions get to be pervasive, we call them Purple Prose, but even a smaller amount of description that doesn’t move the story along can be distracting, and you don’t want a distracted reader. Keep him interested, keep him involved, keep him reading…all the way to the end.

I’ve heard some authors of historical fiction complain that the info is needed…to set the time period. The problem often is that they make those details more important than the story itself. Overwhelming your readers with historical facts doesn’t make for happy readers.

Relevant Info

Description is necessary for the reader to visualise things, but just some…such as beginning each chapter by setting the scene—only enough info to get things going. If the chapter continues from the previous, then only a minimal reminder may be needed. Just make certain that the description is enriching the story…not leaving it in the dust, taking over, being more important. Remember that even if the details are important, you still can’t just dump them on the reader.

So how do you get these descriptions into the story…without dumping? We’ve all heard the rule to ‘sprinkle’ the info throughout the story. So how do you do that? Easy, just remember that the story is why the reader has even picked up your book, so keep it front and center. Keep the action going and let the description add to what’s happening.

Interrupting the flow, the action, the dialogue, with too much description can bring your story to a grinding halt, pulling the reader out. Instead of experiencing the story, they are now standing next to it, on the outside, looking in. That’s not saying to avoid description completely. The scenes do need to be set, the characters depicted, the action explained, but not instead of seeing the characters doing something.

A few authors have tried to avoid narrative interruption by having the characters talk about the action, explaining what’s happening. When characters break the fourth wall and start telling the reader anything, even indirectly, we call that As You Know, Bob. Another place where characters talk too much is when they tell the reader exactly what they’re thinking, known as On The Nose Writing. If the reader can’t figure out motivations from characters’ actions, then interrupting the story to tell certainly isn’t going to help.

Describe…But Judiciously

Use as much description as necessary…but no more. Avoid excess, especially if it doesn’t add. Don’t let the characters talk about anything they normally wouldn’t discuss. Keep the action going, keep the reader interested…and most especially, keep writing.