Don’t waste a sentence’s key part.
As I edited a manuscript for busy moms, I thought of birds and binoculars.
Specifically, I thought of an illustration that taught me how the words a writer places at the end of a sentence stick in a reader’s mind.
Here’s the illustration, by Robert Elmer in the former Christian Writers Guild’s course for pre-teen writers:
Do your first lines establish these three, key points?
Because I was unfamiliar with the surroundings, I took a wrong turn. My only recourse was to go back, check things more carefully, and start afresh.
That’s disconcerting if you’re driving a car, but also while reading a novel — finding yourself lost as you try to negotiate a new scene.
Besides keeping … Continue reading
You’re judged by your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
In their Facebook posts one week, several authors took issue with people they called grammar-shamers. They wanted to be judged by their online substance, not their delivery.
They’re missing the point.
If an error — of any kind — distracts a reader from your message, then you’ve failed to communicate clearly. Authors are … Continue reading