The Passive Voice is to be Avoided

A writer is said to be using passive voice when the subject of the sentence is who it happens to, rather than who dun it. Very occasionally this may be a good way to build up tension in the story, but as a general rule, it slows the story down and lifts the reader out of the action. Therefore it’s best to avoid using it.

The door was opened by the hero as he entered the room.

Seriously, that’s a pretty boring sentence. It’s passive.

The hero opened the door and entered the room.

That’s better.

Better still would be actions showing us how the hero entered the room. Most people open the door first. That's not exactly newsworthy. Did he kick it down? Slam it open? Peek around the corner first to see if the heroine was inside? Any of those would not only be active voice, but much more interesting to read.

Also they show us what happens instead of telling us, which is what the author should be aiming for.

The hero opened the door. He was angry.

Yes, so what.

The hero kicked the door open and raced into the room, fists clenched.

Ah, now we’re with him, wanting to read on.

 

Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

 

 

Beware fake reviews

Beware fake reviews.

And beware faking reviews lest you be caught out. 

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/socking-it-to-the-puppets-of-reviewerland-20120905-25dsq.html 

 

Helen

Plurals

To make a word plural, mostly you just add s. NEVER 's. The apostrophe indicates possessives.

If you're confused about apostrophes, check out my previous post (http://helenwoodallfreelanceediting.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/apostrophes.html )

 Grammar Monster explains how to form a plural very well.

http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/plurals_forming_table.htm

Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

How to write a really good book

 

 

“Shattered Magic” by Rebecca York

This book is a must-read for every aspiring and published author wishing to improve their craft.

This is not a new plot. You’ve read it a thousand times before. But the characters and world are so good, the book is alive, fresh and enticing.

My review of the book is here:

http://loveromancesandmore.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/shattered-magic-by-rebecca-york.html

 

Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

 

Everyone needs a good editor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A noun is a naming word

 

I overheard a group of young women trying to answer some questions the other day. Some of them were quite confused about what a noun, a verb, an adjective etc actually was.

Here in Australia, grammar was pretty much not taught in schools for almost twenty years, as it was thought to be too constricting, preventing young people from being creative and attempting to write. So now we have a generation of highly creative people who can’t spell and have no idea of grammar, so their creativity is still stifled.

And yes, the government has had a rethink on that plan and now spelling and grammar is taught once again in government schools.

Meanwhile, for those who may be confused, here’s the simplest way of looking at it. Please understand, to get your grammar really right there are all sorts of exceptions to the rules, but this should be enough to get you started.

A noun is a naming word. It can be a common noun—frog, door, rock—or a proper noun, which usually has a capital letter: Africa, English, John.

A verb is a doing word. Run, think, play. It gets a little trickier as tenses get involved. Run/running/ran. Think/thinking/thought. Play/playing/played. But that gives you an idea of how it goes.

An adjective is a describing word. It tells you something more about the noun. A green frog, a closed door, a shiny rock.

And an adverb tells you more about the verb. Thinking carefully, running slowly, excitingly played.

As I said earlier, words can be used in all sorts of other ways but for now, that should help you get started.

 

Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

 

Weather

 

 

This may seem dead obvious, but it’s surprising how many authors don’t get it. The weather around the world is different. And not only that, people’s perceptions of it differ too.

Every year the Americans laugh at me when I start wearing two sweaters and wooly socks as soon as the temperature drops below 21C (70F). Most of them are still in t-shirts and shorts. But I live in a temperate climate, where hot, dry weather is common and it never snows. People who live in areas with snow for several months of the year, would not appreciate a nice summer here, where the temperature may stay over 100F for a week or ten days straight.

So when you are writing about the weather, either use terms that people can make fit their own preconceptions, “it was cold but sunny”, or be sure you have your facts correct. Remember blogs and Wikipedia aren’t always accurate, and are tainted by personal bias. Someone from far northern Australia complaining about the heat probably means 100% humidity and 40C (104F) but to someone from the central Australian desert, 40C is hardly even midsummer weather, but the humidity is very, very low. Anyone from Ireland however, would be in hospital from heat exhaustion about then. Their temperatures seldom rise about the mid80s.

A good, factual reference for the weather around the world is: http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/

 Helen Woodall

helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.