5 Quick Fix Grammar Resources

Happy Friday!

It’s time again for another Fast Five. This week I decided on a topic that keeps many of us up late at night, causes haunting nightmares for newbie writers, and strikes fear in the hearts of small children and adults everywhere. What am I blathering about? Grammar. Horrid stuff, I  know.

Maaaybe I’m exaggerating a bit on the fear in small children part. But it’s definitely there for some adults. At least, it is for me. It’s been a long time since I hit the books in middle school (no, I’m not telling you how long!) and studied prepositions, conjunctions, and appropriate comma usage. When I was ready to write my first book, I dove in and just wrote. I didn’t pay much attention to grammar. Six months later, I handed the horrible, grammar abused mess to my editor. I still send her frequent packages of chocolates as an apology.

I’m just starting my writing journey, and it’s a work in progress. Hopefully, one day my grammar will be gloriously error free. For now, I have to work at it. Listed below are five great resources for grammar tips.

1. The Elements of Style Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White:  Ok, Ok. Most of you will know this one and have at least one edition. It’s the grammar bible for all new writers. At just under a hundred pages, this little nugget of grammar goodness offers chapters on correct comma usage, using active voice, words and expressions commonly misused, and avoiding the use of qualifiers. It gives easy to understand definitions and examples. The first edition is FREE on Amazon if you want to take a look: http://amzn.com/B005IT0V8O. And since I promised some cat pics from time to time, I included one above with my edition. The little gray cutie is Freya.

2. Grammar Girl- Quick and Dirty Tips:  A website that offers quick grammar tips (PG rated, of course). At the top of the web page you’ll find a search box where you can plug in your question. Let’s say you want to know about semicolon usage. I typed semicolon in the search box and got a handful of posts. I picked the one that explained how to use semicolons. It gave simple explanations and examples. If I wanted to learn more, I could have kept clicking. Who knew there was so much to learn about semicolons? http://www.quickanddirtytips.com

3. Chomp Chomp (Grammar Bytes!):  A recent discovery and new fave. A website that, again, offers quick grammar tips. But, it also has some fun interactive games to test your grammar skills. To enter the site, you have to click on the shark. Once inside, you’ll find categories like the Daily Grammar Workout where you can hop on twitter and test your super-duper grammar skills. Today’s sentence: Shawana found the empty doughnut box__on the floor and her dog farting on the sofa. Your choices are laying or lying. Click on your choice to see the correct answer. Did you get it right? Another snazzy exercise involves answering questions by choosing whats behind door number one or two. Today I won a “cool cyber car” for a question about comma splices. Pure awesomenss. http://www.chompchomp.com

4. Grammar Monster: Another cool website that will help you with your grammar woes. Instead of a shark mascot you’ll find a Homer Simpson lookalike with… horns? Anyhoo, it’s a quick and easy site to look up grammar rules and find examples of do’s and dont’s. http://www.grammar-monster.com

5. Writing Class:  You’ve heard me say this before: Get thee to a writing class ASAP! Well, maybe not exactly like that. In a previous post about local resources for authors, I mentioned the benefits of joining a writing class. Not only will you become a better writer, you will learn how to polish your manuscript. The class I attended had several sessions devoted to editing that focused on grammar and punctuation. We received extensive notes to help get our manuscripts shipshape.I kept everything and still pull out the handouts from time to time.

BONUS:  Grammar Software for your PC:  I  know I’m only supposed to mention five resources, but I couldn’t resist adding a bonus today. Although I’ve heard about a few of these programs, I don’t have much experience with them. I believe you can do a free trial for most, which is a good thing. They  will cost you a pretty penny after the free trial. The ones I found are Grammarly, Ginger, and After the Deadline. Basically, they are grammar checkers that focus on finding text errors. Some offer synonym suggestions and even claim to check for plagiarism. Feel free to drop me a comment if you’ve used any of these. http://www.grammarly.com, http://www.gingersoftware.com, http://www.afterthedeadline

And in keeping with the bonus goodies, I’ve added an extra cat pic. Because there aren’t enough cat pictures on the internet : )

 

Thanks for stopping by! Check back next week for another Fast Five writing tips.

 

Query Update

 

Good afternoon fellow writers!

Thought I would do a quick update on my query adventure. I’m pretty sure all responses for book one are in at this point.  I sent out twenty-five queries January first and heard back from eight agents. One request for a partial and seven rejections. The partial was a no go. Wah, wah, wah. What about the other seventeen agents? Sorry, but I’m not wasting anymore time on people that may never respond. And since I queried a few of these agents before, I have a good idea of which ones are notorious for not responding.

So, now what?

On to plan B! I told myself that if there wasn’t much interest in the first book, I would query book two. Although I wrote them as a series, each book can be a standalone. I’m working on the query for book two today. I’ll do a test run of ten queries. No bites, then I’ll tweak the query and send it out again. If there isn’t much interest from agents, then it’s full steam ahead for self-publishing!

I wish I could be one of those people that can wait things out. But that’s not me. If agents can’t see my potential, then I have to make things happen for myself. My editor formatted both books. They are ready to upload as soon a I send her the covers. So, I’m ready for self-publishing in that respect. But I’m still leery of taking the leap into the world of Kindle and iBooks.

I would love to hear some stories about your queries. Did you get bites right away? Did you have to revise? How long before you landed an agent? And if you chose self-publishing, how is it working out for you?

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

5 Tips to Keep You Writing

 

Good Morning!

Today’s Fast Five are 5 quick tips to keep you writing. These are the things I’ve found that work for me. Maybe they’ll work for you too!

1. Write somewhere other than where you sleep or relax. At home, I need a designated work space for writing. This way, I can have a “work area” and “relax area.” I think it’s important to separate the two so you can have a place to go switch off your brain and enjoy some down time.

2. Have a designated time to write. For me, I find I need to write at about the same time each day. If I don’t, I start to procrastinate and find other things to do. Some people are able to write whenever, wherever. This does not work for me.

3. Make outlines. Some writers are totally against this method. They like to let the words flow and just write. To keep myself on track, I write a loose outline of the book I’m working on and smaller outlines of each chapter. This way, if I’m working on a chapter, I already know the major points I want to make. If I don’t do this, I can spend hours staring at my computer trying to figure out what I want to write.

4. Have a word count goal each day. Let’s say I want to write about 1,000 words a day, or four pages. I’ll double that amount so that if I reach 1,000, I’ve met my goal. But if I go over, YIPPEEE! Even better. Silly games, I know. But if it helps to keep me writing, I’m all for it.

5. Take a break from your electronics. Yes, you read that right. Turn off your iPhones, TV’s, and iPads. Since high school, I’ve always had a TV blasting in the background while I work. Lately, I’ve found myself paying too much attention to what’s on TV rather than writing. I’ll get sucked into a news story and before I know it, an hours gone by. Same thing when it comes to my phone. I tell myself I’m just checking email and then stroll over to Amazon. Two hours later, I’m behind on my word count and a hundred dollars out of pocket for those perfect shoes I just had to buy.

I’m sure you guys have have some great tips, too. Let’s hear them!

Emily : )

Community Resources for New Authors

 

Happy Saturday!

Today’s Fast Fives are all about the resources available for authors in their communities. Whether it’s a writing course or free critique class at your local library, there is something for everyone! Below are my top five community resources in my neck of the woods.

1. The Library:  When the paid critique group I joined took a summer break, I wanted to find another one–preferably free. Although the class was worth every penny, my wallet needed a break. I was lucky to find my current critique group when I saw a flyer for them at my local library. We meet once a month and sometimes at Barnes and Noble when our schedules allow. Sometimes, you have to go to a few critique classes to find the one that’s right for you. For me, this one fit the bill–and it’s FREE!

2. Local High Schools:  During the spring and summer months, I always get flyers from our local high schools offering inexpensive writing courses like How to Write a Novel in 8 Weeks, or Build Your Author Platform. They usually last 4-8 weeks and seem like an inexpensive way to add a little oomph to your writing skills. I have yet to attend a class, but I’m always on the lookout for something interesting.

3. Local Playhouse:  When I first started writing, I knew I would need some help to tweak my manuscript. I remembered there was a playhouse nearby that offered various courses in photography and art. When I researched them online, I was pleased to see they had a few writing workshops. I went to three different classes and they were all great!

4. Local Meetups:  Every November I try to join NaNoWriMo, the month long write-a-thon that challenges you to write a book in 30 days. If you need an extra nudge, you can find local meetups where you can find all day writing sessions or just chat with other participants. The one I found was a bit far for me, but I’m hoping this year they offer one closer to my area. Let the count down to NaNoWriMo begin!

5. The Library (Again!):  Every month my library puts out a newsletter. There’s always an event or two that catch my eye. This month I hit the jackpot. My favorite resource at the moment is the Writers Live! series. It offers various events like author panel discussions and books signings from NYT bestsellers. The picture above is from a panel of debut thriller authors at a local playhouse. The hour long event allowed each author to discuss their new novels and get down to the nitty-gritty of their publishing journey. Next up: authors Tami Hoag and Eloisa James discuss their latest releases. Check out your local library for similar events.

Keep an eye out for similar writing resources in your towns. Happy writing!

Emily : )