Author Archives: Marcha's Two-Cents Worth

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About Marcha's Two-Cents Worth

I'm a science fiction author of the Star Trails Tetralogy, retired after two decades working at NASA, defected from my physics training to become a professional astrologer, and various other acts of rebellion. More recently, I've teamed with Pete Risingsun in writing "The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon: Cheyenne Spirits" which was released in July 2020 with more to come.

Today’s Writing Tip

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If your story has terminology that will be unfamiliar to the average reader, consider including a glossary. A few words can be covered by footnotes, though these require special handling in the ebook version. Defining them in context the first time you use them is a must.

Using accurate terminology adds to the authenticity of a story, but be aware that it may annoy some readers. It depends on whom you want to impress, those familiar with it or those who aren’t. If it’s inaccurate, you’ll lose credibility with those in the know and won’t make inform those who aren’t. Good fiction should be believable.

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you leave a poor review for a book, do the author a favor and tell them why. In some cases it might simply be subjective, since there are few stories everyone loves once they get past Winnie the Pooh. If it’s technical, such as too many typos, say so, giving the author a chance to correct it. Same goes for other things that were confusing or threw you out of a story.

Authors tend to take their reviews seriously and often use them as a guide for future revisions or as lessons learned for future books. However, no one should expect everyone to love their book. You can’t please all the people all the time.

Perfect for Vacation Time!

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With vacation time coming, it’s always great to have activities for your kids that are fun, yet have an educational spin.  Wendy Scott’s “Writing Prompts” series is perfect for just that! She provides an action-packed scene/scenario to fire up your imagination, then challenges you to provide “the rest of the story.” Even as an adult, these are stimulating and fun. If your child, grandchild, or you happens to be a “Harry Potter” or fantasy fan, this book is perfect for hours of creative entertainment with the 31 different prompts. It’s available in both a Kindle or print version. I wish I’d had this when my kids were younger!

Today’s Writing Tip

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Don’t over-use exclamation points! Save them for where they’re really needed! They should only be used for emphasis! Using too many gets annoying and reduces their impact!

This applies even if it’s a very intense chase or fight scene! It may work in comic books or even some graphic novels, but not in most stories! They work well to show surprise or an unexpected event, but lose their impact if there are too many! The story action should tell the reader if something is exciting and sustain the suspense, not the punctuation alone!

Capisce?

Today’s Writing Tip

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I’m amazed how often authors don’t know the proper way to punctuate dialog. Even if you weren’t taught how to do this in school, you should have figured it out by reading novels that were properly edited.

Okay, here’s the scoop. Dialog is punctuated differently than a normal sentence. Rather than a period, use a comma, followed by “he said”, “she said”, etc. A question uses a question mark (?) and if the speaker is noted, it should say “he asked” or “she asked” or questioned or queried or even wondered, not “said”.  A sentence that is an exclamation is punctuated with an exclamation mark (!).

In all cases, the “he” preceding “said” or “asked” doesn’t need to be capitalized. For example, “I’m going to the library,” he said. Or “Are you going to the library?” he asked.

I hope that I have insulted the intelligence of most of you with this 4th grade grammar lesson who already know this. But I am amazed by how often I see it done incorrectly by otherwise very talented authors. Being creative is really not in your favor in this area.

Today’s Writing Tip

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When rewording a sentence, make sure you take out any words that no longer belong. Many editing faux pas examples I find involve extraneous words that weren’t deleted when a change was made. This is another case where the author sees what’s supposed to be there, not necessary what is. Reading your final draft aloud may catch these; if not, hope your editor does.

Authors need to realize that many readers notice these things and can be rather unforgiving if it occurs often enough. It’s a distraction that throws them out of the story and shows a lack of professionalism in putting forth the best possible product. A few here and there is one thing, but a preponderance of them and you’ll lose readers. Trust me on that, because I’m one of them.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Missing words are difficult for the author and sometimes even editors to catch, but not an alert reader. When reading over your manuscript, do so slowly enough to note each word is indeed written as opposed to assumed. Reading it aloud may help, but not necessarily.

I suspect that most authors think much faster than they type, making it easy to skip over words. When you’re on a creative roll this is especially true, when you can hardly get the thoughts down fast enough, before you lose them. Nonetheless, like invisible typos, missing words will throw readers out of the story, something you want to avoid. In some cases, a good grammar checker may catch them, but test it to make sure. If you use beta readers, make sure they keep an eye out for such things, too.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Using astrology for character development is helpful and fun. If you’re not familiar with the characteristics of the various zodiac signs, a book like my “Whobeda’s Guide to Basic Astrology” can help. Get your copy here. 

If you already have an idea what your character is like, it’s usually not too difficult to fit him or her with a Sun sign. You can find some basics here. This will be their core being and provide considerable help regarding how they’ll react to certain situations. If you define a birth date for him, it’s fun to get a natal chart reading from an astrology site like mine, ValkyrieAstrology.com, which will give you even more in-depth information about your character, perhaps even hinting at events in your story.

Actually, it was writing a novel that first introduced me to astrology. One of my characters was into it, forcing me to do some research. I discovered it worked as well as how handy it was for defining characters. It’s quite eerie how well it works, which you can read above in a previous blog.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Fully developing your backstories always pays off. Not only do they contribute to the quality of your characters and plot; you can always offer them as freebies to potential readers. Some background information can be referred to in your main story, but including too much can bog it down. Some can be dropped in here and there as flashbacks. However, lengthy explanations of past experiences that influenced the character aren’t always relevant to the story at hand. Nonetheless, if they’re interesting you can use them as a short story/teaser to readers who visit your website or sign up for your newsletter.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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When you get to what you think is your final draft, start tightening your story by trimming adverbs, adjectives, and prepositional phrases. Many adverbs go away when you select the correct verb. Make sure adjectives contribute to imagery or emotional impact and avoid repeating them. Prepositional phrases are often necessary for clarity, but make sure it’s really needed and that you don’t repeat the same information later.  Read the sentence without each of these items to see what, if anything, they contribute.