Category Archives: A blog about writing

A blog about writing, Writing ways

How is your grammar? :For the record, I use an editor

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How good is your grammar as it pertains to writing? I have done better over the years due to my editor, Nancy. Without Nancy, my books and short stories would not shine as brightly as they do now.

There are programs out there that are free and with a price that helps with commas, spelling, spacing, and more.

But I don’t rely just on the programs.

Some writers I have seen use their writing groups to pick out the errors as they critique them. It does help with your piece having more eyes on it. A few writers have stated that is all they need to get their books edited.

I have heard a few writers stating that is all their books required to run their WIP through a critique group.

It is helpful, but it is not what one should rely on.

Grammar can derail a book, and it can prevent a publisher from taking your book on to tossing it in the trash can.

There are so many books on Amazon that I have read that make me read only a bit. I have reviewed books that are so heavily bad in grammar that I struggle with writing a review. There have been times I have contacted the author, stating why I won’t proceed with a review. I like to help fellow authors and write a review about books. However, an unedited manuscript can derail authors.

I have learned and have done better with my editing, but I will always use an editor at the end of the day. The last thing I want is to see an unedited book online to be purchased that has my name on it.

A blog about writing, Writings

Liberties in writing

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This is a post from a few years ago. The message is still the same which is to know who your audience is and who might pick up your book.

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I have been a bird owner since 1998. In that time, I have raised, bred, and cared for my birds with love and affection.  So when I decided to write a children’s book based on my parrot Jasper, I add some of my experience to the story.   When it came time for me to start looking for people to critique it, I thought of my friend Nita in New Hampshire.  She and I had met on a bird forum years ago and had struck up a friendship. Nita has been a bird breeder for well over 30 years so it only made sense for her to read my MS.

I had taken some liberties when it came to a bird hatching and I knew she would zero in on that part- she did.  She laughed and said you really took some liberties with your writing. I laughed back and then told her I had kept it short due to length and not wanting to lose my targeted audience which are kids.

I mentioned to her how I had just finished reading a book where one of main characters had a cockatiel.  According to this book this bird could sing over 40 songs and not just sing the tunes but the actually words. I have raised cockatiels since 1998 and to date not one has sung the words to any song. I might be able to buy the 40 songs but that was it.  She giggled at this information and decided I did not go  outside the box too much. Thinking back, I have decided to edit and put in a short paragraph to make the hatching  more realistic.

As writers we take liberties though we try to keep it within reason. While I enjoyed the book with the singing cockatiel, it was in the back of my subconscious.  Every time I read about that character I felt a little dread for I knew it would be repeated again about this amazing bird.

So, this reminded me to know my target audience. One needs to do constant research time and time again. You never know who will pick up your book.  These are the people who will buy your book and will decide whether they want to recommend it to others.

A blog about writing, Author's life

I was just interviewed by Debbie De Louise

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I was reviewed by the lovely and talented Debbie De Louise. It was released last Friday. Instead of posting it here I will send you to the link where it was posted. That will give my readers a chance to check out another author. The questions were fun to answer and I been getting some nice feedback from those who have read it.

https://debbiedelouise.com/2019/07/12/author-spotlight-of-sharon-c-williams-childrens-and-multi-genre-author/