Reposting: B.S. (Be Specific)

            B.S. is one of the abbreviations I pencil in the margin of prose I’m reviewing –my own or a client’s. It stands for Be Specific, though it evokes a different two-word expletive that means much the same thing.

The best way to be specific is to know what you want to say – and sometimes that takes several meandering drafts. Once you’ve figured out what you want to accomplish in a scene or a post, a chapter, a story or a report, you can guide your reader to understand you clearly with specific language – with words.

Words can be general, like the word food – the fuel that sustains life. A general word fails to give your reader much guidance, leaving her to imagine grapes when you imagined roast beef.

Words that are more specific are limited in scope, like the word snack – which is a small amount of food between meals. This narrows what your reader can imagine, though one reader might think carrot sticks and another chocolate chip cookies with milk.

Words that are concrete are even more specific, and tell your reader exactly what to imagine. Make the snack chips, and you’ve given your reader the kind of narrow direction that allows him to see just what you intended.

Of course, words don’t exist by themselves, and the more specific you can make them all, the clearer your reader will see. Here are two different examples.

George held the bag between his knees, pushing a steady stream of chips in his mouth as he sat in traffic.

            Jeremy set out blue corn chips in a yellow bowl to brighten the November afternoon.

Here are some other examples of general, specific and concrete words:

• Clothes, business casual, khakis
• Writing, poetry, sonnet
• Birds, raptors, eagle

You get the idea.

Adjectives are another opportunity to Be Specific. Here’s an example from My Writing Bible, The Harbrace College Handbook:

• Bad planks: rotten, warped, scorched, knotty, termite-eaten
• Bad children: rowdy, rude, ungrateful, selfish, perverse
• Bad meat: tough, tainted, overcooked, contaminated

Every time we use a general adjective, we miss an opportunity to guide our readers closer to what we mean. English is a rich language, so there’s no excuse for using small when you could say so much more with tiny, microscopic, sub-atomic, undeveloped; or big when you could say plump, hulking, towering, Herculean.

A thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms, and it’s a good place to find words. I find mine in The Original Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, originally published in 1852 and revised many times since. I love poking around in it, and find it much more complete and satisfying to use than the thesaurus in my word-processor.

It is a writer’s job to direct readers to reimagine for themselves what you mean. Since readers bring their own, varying, experiences and prejudices to your work, you must give specific instructions that narrow how your work can be understood. You must be authoritarian. And one of the best methods is to cut the BS and Be Specific with your words.

Deborah Lee Luskin

While I’m away, I’m rerunning some posts with writing advice worth repeating. This post originally appeared here on December 3, 2013.

When I’m not traveling, I live a rural and rooted life in Vermont, which I chronicle in my weekly blog, Living in Place. Look for replies to your comments in mid-July.

Please visit my website to learn more about my mission: advancing issues through narrative; telling stories to create change. Thanks!

Advice From Famous Writers: Less is More

I’ve just finished cutting 40,000 words from a 200,000-word novel that I’ve been working on for years – proving the following advice to be so true.

“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.”
— Blaise Pascal, mathematician and physicist.

“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.”
— Henry David Thoreau, writer and philosopher.

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”
— Marcus Tullius Cicero, philosopher and statesman.

“You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length.”
— Carl Friedrich Gauss, mathematician and scientist.

“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher.

“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”
— François Fénelon, writer & theologian.

“No one who has read official documents needs to be told how easy it is to conceal the essential truth under the apparently candid and all-disclosing phrases of a voluminous and particularizing report…”
— Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States.

“If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today.  If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.”
— Mark Twain, writer.

Writing is an act of discovery. I’ve been keeping a journal since I was a girl; it’s how I access my inner voice – and quiet my mind to hear my characters speak.

Deborah Lee Luskin is a novelist, public speaker and educator.

There are still a few spaces left for Women Walking & Writing Toward Wisdom with Deborah Lee Luskin and Kate Lampel Link on Saturday, November 4, in southern Vermont. In this WALKshop you’ll learn how to turn the everyday activities of walking and writing into listening posts through which you can hear and heed your inner voice. Learn more.

Kate Link Lampel and I are collaborating on Women Women Walking and Writing Toward Wisdom on 11/4/17

Making the Most of a Post

Renovation & Revision posted recently on Living in Place, the blog on my website. It could have just as easily been posted here, as it’s about craft. Specifically, it’s about revision, which is my current work.

This is not the first time that a post for one blog is appropriate for another, and that’s not surprising. I’ve spent most of my life writing, even while doing other things, like supporting and raising a family. Back then, it seemed as if I mostly wrote shopping lists. But perception can be as skewed as memory, and I have several book-length manuscripts to prove it.

But the protocol is not to cross post. That is, not post the identical essay on different blogs. For the six years I’ve been writing for Live to Write – Write to Live, I’ve only cross-posted once, when I wrote about my Writing Buddy a few weeks ago.

The post I wrote last Wednesday on Living in Place is about my two current preoccupations: overseeing a kitchen renovation and revising a novel. “Obsessions” might be more accurate.

I invite you to wander over to my website and read for yourself how the seemingly unrelated activity of a kitchen renovation supports my work as a writer, revising a novel.

And I’m always happy to discover what you think in your thoughtful comments.

Deborah Lee Luskin is an award-winning novelist and radio commentator, a public speaker, and a long-time educator. She lives in southern Vermont, where she spends a great deal of time outdoors gardening, sculling and hiking in the summer. The local bears have put an end to her beekeeping.

 

Personal Becomes Universal Through Research

Guest Post by Novelist Donna D. Vitucci

Donna Vitucci’s new novel, Salt of Patriots, published on Earth Day 2017.

The answer to my question, How long does it take to write a book? is fifteen for the novelist Donna Vitucci, who has just published Salt of Patriots after fifteen years of research, writing and revision. In this guest post, Vitucci describes what motivated her – and kept her going.

Origin of Salt

At my mother’s wake in the summer of 1999, the reminiscences we’d heard through the years got dragged out and enlivened by re-telling. The time all Uncle Bobby’s hair fell out when he was working at Fernald. The spills and inherent danger of any other kind of factory, but Fernald was processing uranium. A different kind of plant, in the early atomic days, in the 1950s.

Fernald closed after dust collectors failed in the 1980s and leaks into the Miami Aquifer hit the press. A class action lawsuit helped shutter the plant and place it on the Superfund Cleanup List. A Public Information Center was established as an aspect of remediation activities—eureka! I’d write my family Fernald stories infused with true and accessible information.

Research

To write it, I needed to understand it, and I’m no scientist. I dashed daily to the Information Center, reading and trying to understand what Fernald workers did. What were their jobs? What might Uncle Bob have done once he clocked in for 2^nd shift? What made his hair fall out?

I read The Atomizers, the Fernald company newsletter. I studied processes the Fernald scientists developed, and the chemistry and metallurgy that had men in various buildings turn out uranium ingots or rods. I sought the secrets and security, the rumors in the community, how everybody had a relative or friend who worked there, or lost their acreage, or got sick or died. Newspaper articles on microfiche announced the building of the “new plant” and how it was going to bring hundreds of jobs—which it did. The nuclear industry was in its infancy. They were playing with dice and hoping for the best in beating the Russians.

Interviews

Uncle Bobby was my eyewitness, my conduit to the past, to the plant, to the human aspect. At the time, I’d envisioned the book completed and published to celebrate Fernald’s 50^th anniversary—2001. I really had no idea.

I questioned Uncle Bob: “What about losing your hair?”

“That was nothing.” Same closed-mouth attitude from interviewees and others beholden to their government, their employer, and their own promises.

“Loose lips sink ships”—caution right there in The Atomizer. I don’t believe the workers were afraid. I believe they were patriotic. I believe they believed the government wouldn’t ask them to enter a dangerous work situation. And as long as a man was working he was doing the right best thing–echoing Uncle Bob and dozens of Fernald employees in their interview transcripts.

Striving for Authenticity

What did Uncle Bob do at Fernald, what it was like, what were his buddies like, did they understand the danger, and did they care? I took notes; I had a binder of industry and government papers I’d copied. I studied these like I’d be tested. Above all, I wanted to write with authenticity, and I knew it would be so hard. Till then, I’d only written stories that emerged from inside me. This story would have to be, on many counts, outside of me. I would immerse myself in research until I was busting with the Fernaldia I ingested.

Writing, Revisitng, Revising

A year and half later, nowhere near finished mourning my mother, and now her brother, Uncle Bob, was dying. Feed Materials, as I called the book, was where I poured this loss, revisiting my loved ones, revising them, and being among them, seeing them so clearly in memory and then freshly relevant in the stories where I cast them. No wonder it took me 15 years to complete. Writing this book kept them alive, and I didn’t want to lose them twice.

Donna D. Vitucci is a life-long writer, and was a finalist for the Bellwether Prize in 2010. Her second novel, SALT OF PATRIOTS, shines light on the nuclear industry’s early days at the Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC) by focusing on ground level workers in this rural Ohio uranium processing plant. Characters and events are inspired by her uncles, who worked at the FMPC, and imagined from hundreds of true interviews conducted as part of lawsuit remediation activities in the 1990’s. Donna lives, works, and shares the best of urban living with her partner in the Historic Licking Riverside District of Covington, Kentucky.

Deborah Lee Luskin http://www.kellyfletcherphotography.com/

Deborah Lee Luskin has been a regular contributor to Live to Write – Write to Live since 2011. She blogs weekly about Living in Place, Lessons from the Long Trail, Middle Age, and Vermonters By Choice at www.deborahleeluskin.com. Hope to see you there!

Revision Resources

I will tell you from the get go that this post is a little self-serving. See I’m working on a novel. It’s a work of contemporary romantic fiction set in a small town in New Hampshire. Earlier this year, I completed my sh*tty first draft (h/t to Anne Lamott and Bird by Bird).

I’ve been working on my second draft for a while now. In April, I mapped out a plan that would have me completing my 2^nd revision mid-September.  Unfortunately, there was an extensive break during back to back to back family emergencies over the summer. My life has returned (mostly) to its regularly scheduled chaos and I’ve rolled up my sleeves, hunkered down and am truly focused on getting through this revision. I have a few resources and techniques I’ve been using, but since I’m a long time writer, first time novelist, I really want this to be as strong as it can be before I take the next step. I’m going to share my list in the hopes you’ll share your resource list.

K.M. Weiland

K.M Weiland is an award winning author of historical and fantasy fiction. She is also has several well respected writing how-to books along with an entire website devoted to helping writers. I’ve worked through her How to Outline Your Story Workbook and am most of the way through the workbook for How to Structure Your Story. Plotters would probably have completed these books and THEN written the story, but I’m usually possessed by an idea that MUST COME OUT NOW then I go back and clean it up.  This is true of my non-fiction writing as well. I guess this makes me a pantser

Jami Gold

Jami Gold writes award winning paranormal romance and urban fantasy. On her web site, she provides some fabulous insight on using story planning worksheets a.k.a beat sheets to strengthen your story. Again these could be used prior to typing a single word, but they are very helpful for those writing and revising in genre fiction where word count is a factor. Her worksheets are based on the teachings of well-known writing gurus like Larry Brooks, Blake Snyder and Michael Hauge. She’s taken their principles and formatted them into a practical spreadsheet. She offers free, downloadable templates in Excel and a few are even available in Scrivener format.

Dwight Swain and Scene & Sequel

This past weekend was the monthly meeting of the New Hampshire Chapter of Romance Writer’s of America and our President, the fabulous Christyne Butler gave a great refresher (for me anyway) Scene & Sequel presentation. Scene & Sequel, is concept developed by Dwight Swain and refers to the idea of having something happen in your story (a scene). Then giving your hero/heroine or protagonist a chance to react to what happened, ponder the meaning and make a decision based on this new information or feelings (sequel). This need not be a lengthy occurrence. It might only be a paragraph, or it might be whole chapter, it depends on your story. Scene & Sequel is another tool for adjusting your structure to insure you pacing isn’t too fast or too slow.

Angela James

And of course, I have all of the slides and my notes from Angela James’ workshop Before You Hit Send. 

I’m kind of a perfectionist, and while I am aware, that it is possible to over edit one’s own work, I’m not there yet. Frankly, I ain’t even CLOSE. So, dear reader, here is where the post takes a turn towards the self serving. I need YOU. I need your help.

What techniques do you utilize when revising your fiction?

Do you have an tips you’d like to share?

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Lee Laughlin is a writer, marketer, social media consumer and producer, wife, and mom, frequently all of those things at once. She blogs at Livefearlesslee.com. She writes for the Concord Monitor and her words have also appeared in a broad range of publications from community newspapers to the Boston Globe. She is currently writing her first novel, a work of contemporary, romantic fiction.

Grammar-ease: ‘That’ vs ‘Which’

It’s a common trouble spot for a lot of people — creating a story or document and the words are flowing easily, but then the conundrum of ‘that’ or ‘which’ arises.

Do you rewrite the sentence to avoid the confusion all together? Do you flip a coin to decide? Or maybe you just go with what sounds the best. After reading this grammar-ease tip, I hope the confusion will be removed.

It can be simple: If a restrictive clause, use that. If an unrestrictive clause, us which.

What does that mean?

A restrictive clause is part of a sentence you can’t get rid of; it’s necessary for the meaning.

• Dogs that bark are disruptive. (Without ‘that bark’, you’d have “Dogs are disruptive.” Unless you want to say that all dogs are disruptive, you need ‘that bark’ in the sentence.)
• The vase that you dropped was a priceless antique. (You can see how ‘that you dropped’ clarifies the meaning.)
• He refused to sit in the chair that his wife put together.  (he might trust a chair that he put together himself!)
• Gifts that keep on giving are her favorite. (not all gifts are her favorite)
• Vehicles that have hybrid technology get great gas mileage.  (in other words, not all vehicles get great gas mileage)

A non-restrictive clause is a phrase that can be removed from a sentence without losing the meaning (if you take out the ‘which’ phrase in any of the next examples, the remaining part of the sentence hasn’t changed its meaning). A non-restrictive clause adds non-defining details.

• His new running shoes, which were expensive, wore out after only five miles of use. (you don’t really need to know the running shoes were expensive)
• There was a landslide at the resort yesterday, which is bad news for vacationers. (one can infer a landslide is bad news)
• Cats, which are great pets, can be quite destructive at times. (not just cats can be great pets)
• She signed up for the continuing education class, which is free for all town residents. (the details about the class being free aren’t necessary — they can be useful, but not required in regard to knowing she simply signed up for a class)
• Your task, which is to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders, will be a never-ending chore.
• The book, which I had at the lake, is the one I wanted you to check out.

Tip: when using ‘which’ it’s common to offset the non-description phrase with commas; you won’t find restrictive clauses offset with commas (in most cases).

Of course, there are always exceptions, and you may simply prefer to use ‘which’ instead of ‘that’ at times. These examples were to give a straightforward, clean way of looking at the two words.

I don’t use ‘which’ all that often. I find that I can write tighter when not using it.

Did these examples help clarify the differences?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Being a Contest Judge Brings New Perspective to Submitting Work

On the flip side of being a contestant in a writing contest, I’ve also been a contest judge. I realized many of the challenges that those who run contests (and publishers) run into consistently.

First off, I admire anyone who takes the time to write and submit for a contest or publication. Whether it’s a short entry or novel-length, submitting work to be read (and judged) by someone else forces a big leap out of your comfort zone. Kudos for pushing yourself to submit!

My best advice for submitting to anyone at any time is: Make the most of your effort by following submission guidelines.

You’ve put a lot of effort into your story — you don’t want your story disqualified before anyone reads it, do you?  Of course not!

We writers are a creative sort, but one area not to express our creativity is in tweaking the physical appearance of the submission.

• Submitting in a font other than Courier or Times New Roman; a font size larger than 12 or smaller than 10; or pages with margins smaller than 1″ all around, doesn’t work (unless explicitly asked for). Don’t do it. Always always always submit in standard format – for publication, for contests, for inquiries, for queries, for anything, really.
• If guidelines say ‘no more than 800 words,’ make sure your submission is not more than 800 words. If in doubt, word count more often than not, does not include the title; however if you have any doubt at all, include the title in your word count!
• If submitting a piece that requires specific words to include, or a theme to write to, make sure to include the words, or write to the theme in an obvious way.
• If submission guidelines say to submit as text in an e-mail (versus as an attachment), then, by all that’s holy, submit in an e-mail and not as an attachment!
• Seldom, if ever, do you want to do a special header on a submission that includes all your contact information. Name, e-mail, postal address, phone number, and other such information should be sent within an e-mail or simply typed at the top of your submission (again, depending on guidelines).

Make the most of your effort to push yourself out of your comfort zone to submit to a contest (or publisher) — make your submission count — follow the guidelines, every single time.

I’ll have a follow up post on how to handle feedback from an editor about your piece.

I wish you a great week and hope you’re thinking about submitting to a contest or publisher (if you weren’t already!)

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Grammar-ease: Proved vs Proven

Today is for those times when you’re not quite sure if you want to use ‘proved’ or ‘proven.’

Both prove and proven are formed from the verb prove. Here are the usage variations:

• Present tense: prove
• Simple past tense: proved
• Past participle: proved
• Irregular past participle: proven

Correct usage examples:

• He has proven his case.
• He proved his case.
• She proved he was wrong.
• She proved she can beat the competition.
• She has proven she can beat the competition.
• The competition proved they weren’t quite a challenge after all.
• That band has proven to be a crowd favorite.
• That band proved to be a crowd favorite.
• The attendees proved their love for the acoustic group.
• My parents have proven they can’t be trusted to remember to lock the door.
• My parents proved they can’t be trusted to remember to lock the door.

As you can see, either variation can be used. However, (there’s always, a ‘but’, right?) two well-used style guides – AP Stylebook and Chicago Manual of Style, recommend avoiding “proven” as a verb, but it’s one of those cases where the line is becoming blurry and both variations are becoming mainstream.

(Using proven as an adjective preceding a noun is acceptable all around. For example, a proven theory; proven right; proven innocent; proven track record; and so on.)

If either can work and you just can’t decide, read it out loud and select the variation that sounds best  — unless there is a specific style guide to follow, then, as always, follow the client’s wishes and follow the style guide!

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Grammar-ease: ‘Used to’ vs ‘Use to’

Today’s topic is one that I found curious, and think you might, too.

When do you use used to and when is it use to? Both statements are used when speaking about something done in the past and both are followed by an infinitive in a sentence.

It’s amazingly simple!

When used in a positive sentence, it’s used to; when used in a negative sentence (with didn’t), or as part of a question, it’s use to.

What do I mean by that?

Positive sentence examples:

• The dog used to bark at every person passing by.
• We used to go camping for two weeks every year.
• I used to candlepin bowl every weekend.
• He knows there used to be a convenient store on the corner.
• She used to love living in the city.

Negative and question-form sentence examples:

• The cat didn’t use to scratch the furniture.
• We didn’t use to walk on the beach.
• What beach did you use to go to?
• I didn’t use to grow my own vegetables.
• There didn’t use to be a donut shop on the corner.
• What color house use to be on the corner?
• He didn’t use to hate commuting to work.
• Where did you use to commute from?

With “didn’t” (a ‘d’ word) or as part of a question, it’s use to (without a ‘d’); otherwise, it’s use to.

What other grammar topics would you like to see covered?

Lisa J. Jackson is an independent writer and editor who enjoys working with manufacturing, software, and technology businesses of all sizes. She loves researching topics, interviewing experts, and helping companies tell their stories. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Short and Sweet Advice for Writers – Think of Drafts as Rehearsals

Writing a first draft can be scary. Even though we’ve all been told that first drafts are supposed to be shitty, it’s tough to shake off the pressure of feeling like you have to get it right the first time.

But, what if you thought of your initial drafts as rehearsals?

I heard this brilliant piece of advice recently (I think it was a side comment from one of the co-hosts of the excellent Writing Excuses podcast), and it put draft writing in a whole new light for me.  Thinking of each draft as a successively more polished performance not only takes the pressure off that first draft (Who would expect a drama company to be perfect at their first rehearsal?), it also helps illustrate why having multiple drafts of a story is not a bad thing.

The initial rehearsals for any kind of performance are a hot mess. The costumes and sets aren’t designed (never mind made), the actors are still learning their lines (and how to work well with each other), and all the technical details (lights, sound, etc.) are only rough ideas. In short, you’ve got a bunch of people who want to tell a great story, but they just aren’t ready yet.

But, as rehearsals continue, the pieces begin to fall into place as the cast and crew find their groove. With each rehearsal, additional elements of the story are layered onto that initial intention to tell a great story – sets and lighting, costumes and makeup, and – more importantly – the actors’ performances. The actors start to really understand and inhabit their characters, and are therefore better equipped to bring them to life. As they go over the lines and stage direction of each scene over and over again, they discover the nuances they can exploit to make the final, live performance incredible.

With writing, your initial drafts can feel a little clunky and awkward. They are like those actors reading the lines for the first time. Like rehearsals without full sets or costumes, your initial drafts may seem like they aren’t fully formed. Details are missing. That’s okay. You can fill in more of the gaps each time you revise and redraft. And –  just like in a play – sometimes you might need to change the story a little or recast someone. It’s all part of the process.

A related but simpler way to think about this idea is to consider the stories you already tell over and over. You know – those family yarns that you pull out each holiday to embarrass the relatives. How many times have you told those same stories, and how have they changed (and improved) with the multiple tellings? Over time, you have learned which bits to focus on and which bits to leave out. You’ve found the perfect words, tempo, and delivery style to make the story the best it can be. You have, in essence, been rehearsing these stories over and over.

So, go ahead – fumble through your first draft like you’re an actor just trying to figure out where to stand on the stage. Don’t worry about it. Things may look a mess now, but by the time the curtain goes up on opening night, you’re going to have this story down like nobody’s business, and you’re going to earn a standing ovation from your readers.
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Jamie Lee Wallace Hi. I’m Jamie. I am a content marketer and branding consultant, columnist, sometime feature writer, prolific blogger, and aspiring fiction writer. I’m a mom, a student of equestrian and aerial arts (not at the same time), and a nature lover. I believe in small kindnesses, daily chocolate, and happy endings. Join me each Saturday for the Weekend Edition (a fun post and great community of commenters on the writing life, random musings, writing tips, and good reads), or introduce yourself on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. I don’t bite … usually.
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Photo Credit: william couch via Compfight cc