I like the Alexandra Cooper books written by Linda Fairstein. They have the unmistakable air of “yes, the writer knows her stuff.” And for good reason. Ms. Fairstein was the Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office of Manhattan for more than twenty years. The plots all involve a fictional version of this unit.
Linda Fairstein is a good writer, too. She writes compelling stories filled with vivid characters and interesting themes. The books are all first-person point-of-view narration, told by Alexandra Cooper.
Ms. Fairstein can also write a paragraph like this one which appears on page 195 in the paperback edition of Hell Gate:
“Or it’s cash stashed away in shoe boxes in someone’s closet,” Mercer said. He was thinking of the find at Salma Zunega’s apartment today.
The first sentence is fine. The second sentence is all kinds of wrong. First, it’s telling us something. Just telling. One of the Big Rules of Writing is Show Don’t Tell. Second, it’s not in Alexandra’s point-of-view. It’s inside Mercer’s head. Alex can’t know what Mercer is thinking. Big Rule of Writing First-Person Narration: The narrator can know only what’s in his/her own mind. Unless, of course, she’s Sookie Stackhouse and is psychic. Finally, the sentence is that worst of all possible things, unnecessary. The discovery of the shoe boxes filled with money had been made only a few pages before and had taken up quite a lot of attention. Your readers are not stupid. They can remember things for a few pages.
Am I going to fling the book across the room and refuse to read any more because of one clunky paragraph? Of course not. In fact, I recommend that if you like mysteries and haven’t tried the Alexandra Cooper books, you give them a try.
However, it’s a reminder that even the best writers with the best editors can write some clunkers. If you are thinking of self-publishing a book, be sure you find the best editors you can to help get the clunkers out of your work.
Tags: grammar, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, publishing, writing
I have a new gig.
A new website, The View From My Kindle, carries interviews, articles, and book reviews. I will be doing some book reviews for that site in the future.
How cool is that? I’m quite thrilled by this opportunity.
Tags: links, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, reviews
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”
These are famous words by Mark Twain, a man who knew a thing or seven about picking exactly the right word.
This weekend I read two books by well-known writers. Their names are not the point of this little rant so I won’t mention them. Both writers used the word “disinterested” to mean “uninterested.”
Uh. No. Sorry. Lightning bug!
Disinterested simply is not a synonym for uninterested. Disinterest means impartiality, to be above the argument. A disinterested person is impartial. Uninterested means not to care, to be indifferent. An uninterested person is bored. Not the same thing at all.
Last week I read that a character was “totally nonplussed.” Okay, fine. Except that in the context of the sentence, what the writer meant was not nonplussed (bewildered, at a loss, perplexed) but nonchalant, unfazed. Uh. Really not the same thing.
When you use a word and it’s not the right word, you can say something you completely don’t intend.
The difference between lightning and lightning bugs, people.
And, sometimes, the difference between sense and nonsense.
Tags: grammar, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, rants, writing
This is pretty much a list o’ links. Blogs mostly.
Full of great advice for writers. Insight. Helpful tips.
Sometimes a little glimpse into the lives of the writers, too.
And always, always worth reading.
Sample ‘em. Read a few in depth. Make some comments. Let your presence be known.
Kristen Lamb’s Blog
Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
Pub Rants
Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
Anne R. Allen’s Blog
Red Room, J. M. Cornwell
Writers-Bookshelf
Darknesspd.com
The Intern
What Not To Do As A Writer
Tags: links, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, writing
I have sold a story to Panic Press. It’s an older tale, one that took a while to find a home. See? Persistence pays.
It will be available in the “Bleed and They Will Come” anthology which ought to be published at the end of May 2011.
Gotta say, I’m completely happy.
So I suppose tomorrow I’ll have to write something exceptionally snarky to make up for my good mood tonight.
Tags: Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, publishing, writing
I just finished reading Dead Reckoning, the most recent book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I enjoy Ms. Harris’ writing and this book is her usual decent read. It’s not Great Literature but it’s not really meant to be.
However, there’s a bit of a problem — for me at any rate — in that Sookie makes a huge revelation to Bill on page 261 of my edition and then on page 304 she tells him again. And he reacts as though he’s never heard this big news before.
It’s very jarring. Ms. Harris should have known better and whoever her editor is should have caught it, too.
Tags: Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, publishing, writing
Yo! Look here! See these links? They will take you to some of my favourite blogs and web sites. Blogs that deal, mostly, with writing, publishing, and marketing, but some that also touch on personal things. Some are new. Some are old.
Do they all share the same point of view? Oh, heck no! Some are very pro-self-publishing. Some are very pro-traditional publishing. Some take a middle path. Some don’t so much give a fig but are about the craft of writing or how not to let your head explode while you try to write.
They are all thought-provoking, entertaining, interesting, and occasionally blood-pressure-raising.
Sample ‘em. Read a few in depth. Make some comments. Let your presence be known. It’s a big world with lots of room for divergent opinions.
Kristen Lamb’s Blog
Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
Pub Rants
Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
Anne R. Allen’s Blog
Red Room, J. M. Cornwell
Writers-Bookshelf
Darknesspd.com
The Intern
What Not To Do As A Writer
Tags: links, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, publishing, writing
On an infamous and pitiless website, I found this little bit of a sentence today: The Voice reined supreme in the ratings.
*face-palm*
Reined? Really? Well, that sentence awoke the pitiless word-snark in me. I see this word confusion all the time. “Reign in your emotions!” or “She reigned in her anger.” Uh, no. That’s “reined in.” Why? Because it’s a figure of speech, comparing the emotion or anger to an out-of-control horse. And the reins in question are metaphorical reins comparable to the literal reins you’d use to control the horse.
However, The Voice reigned supreme. Reigned, not reined. The comparison here is to a ruler, a king who reigns.
If this were the only example of the reined/reigned mix-up, I probably wouldn’t have made this post. But it’s out there everywhere. I think (so far) the only error I haven’t seen is confusing rain for reign or rein. If I find it out there somewhere, I’m sure I’ll froth at the mouth a while and then post about it.
Tags: grammar, Mary Ann Peden-Coviello, writing
Twitter is an excellent promotional tool for writers (as well as others, such as, say athletes). We can promote new books, show potential and current readers bits of our personalities, win new friends. We can also put our feet so far into our mouths we chew off our knees.
Twitter-storms are ugly. They blow up in seconds. They don’t dissipate easily. They can make your life a misery.
Yes, freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. I support it. I suggest taking one second before you click “send” on an inflammatory email or a controversial tweet, however. The internet doesn’t forget and it seldom forgives. An angry tweet or email can come back to haunt you weeks, months, or even years later.
Take a deep breath and consider whether or not you really want that 140 character blast to represent you and your brand.
That old cliché about discretion and valor? It got to be a cliché for a reason.