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Here is given the list of top romantic books for Valentine's Day:
A little about me
- Kenneth W. Barber
- I am a husband and a father and writing is my passion. Check out www.kennethwbarber.com for up to date info about me and to purchase copies of my work.
Here is given the list of top romantic books for Valentine's Day:
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Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules
Elmore Leonard started out writing westerns, then turned his talents to crime fiction. One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, he’s written about two dozen novels, most of them bestsellers, such as Glitz, Get Shorty,Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch. Unlike most genre writers, however, Leonard is taken seriously by the literary crowd.
What’s Leonard’s secret to being both popular and respectable? Perhaps you’ll find some clues in his 10 tricks for good writing: *
- Never open a book with weather.
- Avoid prologues.
- Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
- Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
- Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
- Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
- Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
- Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
- Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
- Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
* Excerpted from the New York Times article, “Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle”
10 Writing Tips from the Masters
As the world becomes increasingly digital, writing becomes more important. This is especially true for non-writers. If you work in an office, the majority of your communications are made with text by email or IM.Whether you like it or not, your ability to exchange ideas, collaborate with others, and ultimately succeed, hinges on the ability to write effectively.Earlier this week, K. Stone laid out a process to help you write faster, better, and easier. To follow up, here are 10 timeless tips to help you improve style and substance, straight from the pens of humanity’s finest authors.
Writing Tips
1. Cut the boring parts
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
Unless you’re writing for personal reasons alone, you need to consider the attention of your readers. There’s no point is publishing content that isn’t useful, interesting, or both.2. Eliminate unnecessary words
Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain
I used to feel that using words like “really”, “actually”, or “extremely” made writing more forceful. It doesn’t. They only get in the way. Cut them and never look back.3. Write with passion
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
It’s not hard to realize that unless you’re excited about your writing no one else will be.4. Paint a picture
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov
Simply stating something is fine, but when you need to capture attention, using similes, metaphors, and vivid imagery to paint a picture creates a powerful emotional response.5. Keep it simple
Vigorous writing is concise. ~William Strunk Jr.
Maybe it was all those late nights, struggling to fill out mandatory 10 page papers, but many people seem to think that worthwhile writing is long and drawn out. It’s more difficult (and effective) to express yourself in the simplest possible manner.6. Do it for love
Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain
When you’re just starting out it’s hard to decide where to begin. So don’t. Just start writing. A blog is a good place to start. The most valuable benefit is the feedback.7. Learn to thrive on criticism
You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. ~Ray Bradbury
Writing means putting yourself at the mercy of anonymous hecklers and shameless sycophants. Learn to make the most of the insults and distrust the praise.8. Write all the time
Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. ~Ray BradburyThe way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything. ~John Irving
9. Write what you know … or what you want to know
If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Successful writing is all about trust and authority. It makes sense to write about your area of expertise. If you don’t have an expertise, reading and writing is the best way to develop one and put it on display.10. Be unique and unpredictable
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. ~G.K. Chesterton
Following what works will only get you so far. Experiment with new styles, even if it means taking criticism. Without moving forward, you’ll be left behind.
7 Grammatical Errors That Aren’t
There are two types of grammar: Descriptive, which describes what is customary, and prescriptive grammar, which prescribes what should be. A tension between the two systems is inevitable — and healthy; it keeps us thinking about what we’re saying and writing.
Allowing mob rule at the expense of some governing of composition is madness, but a diction dictatorship is dangerous, too. As with any prescription, an overdose is contraindicated. Here are some hard pills to swallow for language mavens who require a strict adherence to rigid syntactical patterns at the expense of, well, language:
1. Never split an infinitive.
It isn’t wise to always ignore this fallacious rule against dividing the elements of the verb phrase “to (verb)” with an adverb, but to blindly follow it is to prohibit pleasing turns of phrase — one of the best known of which is from the introductory voice-over from all the Star Trek television series: “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” (The original series, produced before the more recent sensitivity to gender bias, put it “no man.”)
It isn’t wise to always ignore this fallacious rule against dividing the elements of the verb phrase “to (verb)” with an adverb, but to blindly follow it is to prohibit pleasing turns of phrase — one of the best known of which is from the introductory voice-over from all the Star Trek television series: “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” (The original series, produced before the more recent sensitivity to gender bias, put it “no man.”)
2. Never end a sentence with a preposition.
This rule is ridiculous, to start with. If you believe it, please tell me what planet you are from. What are you striving for? Give it up. Am I getting my point across?
This rule is ridiculous, to start with. If you believe it, please tell me what planet you are from. What are you striving for? Give it up. Am I getting my point across?
The stricture against closing sentences with words that describe position stems from an eighteen-century fetish for the supposed perfection of classical Latin, which allowed no split infinitives — for the excellent reason that Latin infinitives consist of single words. English, however, being a distant relative of that language, should be allowed to form its own customs.
3. Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.
And why not? For an honorable tradition of doing just that exists. But some people persist in prohibiting this technique. Yet we defy them. Or we simply ignore them or laugh at them, neither of which they appreciate. Nor do they understand our attitude, though we try to convince them, and will continue to do so. So there.
And why not? For an honorable tradition of doing just that exists. But some people persist in prohibiting this technique. Yet we defy them. Or we simply ignore them or laugh at them, neither of which they appreciate. Nor do they understand our attitude, though we try to convince them, and will continue to do so. So there.
The words beginning each of these sentences are conjunctions, easily recalled with the mnemonic FANBOYS. Every one is perfectly acceptable at the head of a sentence. As is obvious from the previous paragraph, however, a little goes a long way.
4. Distinguish between while and though.
Petty prescriptivists would have you reserve while for temporal usage only: “While I agree, I resist,” they say, should be revised to “Though I agree, I resist.” I freely admit that I often change while to though, and while I understand — I’m sorry, I can’t stop myself — and though I understand that it may seem pedantic, I think though reads better.
Petty prescriptivists would have you reserve while for temporal usage only: “While I agree, I resist,” they say, should be revised to “Though I agree, I resist.” I freely admit that I often change while to though, and while I understand — I’m sorry, I can’t stop myself — and though I understand that it may seem pedantic, I think though reads better.
5. Distinguish between since and because.
Ditto. And ditto. I concur that indiscriminate replacement of since withbecause may seem persnickety, but since — ahem — because I find the latter word more pleasing, I will reserve the right to prefer it.
Ditto. And ditto. I concur that indiscriminate replacement of since withbecause may seem persnickety, but since — ahem — because I find the latter word more pleasing, I will reserve the right to prefer it.
6. Use data only in the plural sense.
Where did they get this data? The alternative is to use datum in the singular sense, which makes you sound like a propellerhead. (Look it up, kids.) People who say “datum” get data, but they don’t get dates.
Where did they get this data? The alternative is to use datum in the singular sense, which makes you sound like a propellerhead. (Look it up, kids.) People who say “datum” get data, but they don’t get dates.
7. Use none only in the singular sense.
None of these rules, followed strictly, allow for a vernacular ease with language.
None of these rules, followed strictly, allow for a vernacular ease with language.
Did that sentence hurt? Did the waves stop crashing to shore? Did Earth stop spinning? If you wish to replace none with “not one” or “no one” (“Not one person admitted guilt”; “No one saw that coming”), by all means, do so, but fear not none in a plural sense.
Writing Tip of the Day
Run-on sentences are independent clauses that have not been joined correctly. If two independent clauses appear in one sentence, they must be joined either with a comma and coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon (and on rare occasions with a colon or dash). You could also choose to make the independent clauses into two separate sentences, or make one of the clauses dependent on the other by adding a subordinating conjunction.Most run-on sentences are comma splices; that is, independent clauses joined by a comma but lacking the coordinating conjunction:
Another form of run-on sentence, the fused sentence, occurs when you neglect to put any punctuation mark and/or coordinating conjunction between two independent clauses:
To learn more about writing sentences that don't run on and on, check out the Elements of Effective Writing II: Form and Composition.
Willie Nelson has been showing strong Mexican influences, his work has improved.Inserting the coordinating conjunction "and" after the comma corrects the comma splice:
Willie Nelson has been showing strong Mexican influences, and his work has improved.Or you could subordinate one of the clauses:
Since Willie Nelson has been showing strong Mexican influences, his work has improved.Or, as we mentioned above, you could replace the comma after "influences" with a semicolon or a period (with appropriate capitalization afterward, of course).
Another form of run-on sentence, the fused sentence, occurs when you neglect to put any punctuation mark and/or coordinating conjunction between two independent clauses:
My mother was in a good mood I took the opportunity to ask for money.Insert a period (or semicolon) after "mood," or use an appropriate conjunction and connect the clauses with a comma:
My mother was in a good mood, so I took the opportunity to ask for money.Adding a comma and the coordinating conjunction "so" properly joins these two independent clauses.
Because my mother was in a good mood, I took the opportunity to ask for money.Adding the subordinating conjunction "because" makes the first clause dependent on the second.
To learn more about writing sentences that don't run on and on, check out the Elements of Effective Writing II: Form and Composition.
This is the beginning of a short story of mine. Let me know what you think of it.
Day 17
There are only three of us left as I write this. The other seven are gone. I don’t know where. Neither does Andrew. Andrew Walker is my boyfriend. Richard Brennan is the third. He’s a doctor. My name is Alexis Stone, but everyone calls me Lexi.
The storm is still raging outside. The wind moans with the bereavement of a lost soul as it pushes the blinding snow. It’s been like this for a week now. I’ve barely slept for days. None of us have. I stink. We all stink. None of us have had a bath for days now. Hygiene is pretty low on the priority list these days, and none of us want to be alone.
Mr. Stillworth is missing this morning. So far there’s been one disappearance each night since we took shelter here. I’m terrified that I’ll be next. Or Andrew will.
The generator won’t last much longer. When it runs out of fuel I don’t know what we’ll do. It’s very cold, but we have a fire and that helps. Andrew tells me that we’re going to get out of here, but every day I believe a little bit more that we won’t. Being cooped up in this place for so long is making us all a little bit crazy, so I thought I would sit down and record what’s been happening to me for the past two-plus weeks. Maybe it will help keep me sane.
This is some news for those of you who live and write in my neck of the woods-the South. The Atlanta Writing Conference date has been set. If you want the opportunity to meet and greet with some top literary agents, speak to publishers and widen your circle of writing friends, then click on the link below and get ready for a great time! Where do you live and write? And how does your geography influence your work?
http://www.atlantawritersclub.org/forms/Atlanta_Writers_Conference_2011_Announcement.pdf
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