Editing

Writing Tip 98: Me vs. I (a.k.a. You don’t know how it feels to be “me”)

Sympathies with Tom Petty aside, I’m going to pretend he really wrote the song about the misunderstood and misused word “me.”

When do you use “I”? When do you use “me”? Across the nation, teachers (and editors) squirm with this one every day. We really don’t know how it feels to be that little word that’s so often messed up. It’s so short and innocent sounding. Let’s make an effort to get it right once and for all, folks.

When there’s more than one person in the sentence, the I/me decision seems to explode, so let’s just focus on this single piece. My favorite advice is to think about how a line would be written without the others involved.

If someone said, “Me and Tom Petty are free, free fallin’” (hint: not correct), I’d tell that person to removed Tom Petty.

“Me is free fallin’,” they’d respond.

Wait, what? We all hear that wording as incorrect. “I am free fallin’” sounds more natural for good reason. It’s proper.

This trick works for subjects and predicates alike.

“He’s dancing with Mary Jane and I” might come out of some over-correcting mouths, but does “He’s dancing with I” really sound right? No, no, it doesn’t.

“He’s dancing with me.”

Do you hear the difference? Your ear already knows. Trust it.

Ah, pronouns.

Let’s get to the point

Let’s roll another… hmmm… maybe not.

**insert blues-y harmonica solo here**

Writing Tip 96: Whether vs. Weather vs. Wether

wether goat — Whether the weather is sunny or not, this wether is one mellow dude.

It has recently been brought to my attention that “wether” is not necessarily an incorrect spelling, because a “wether” is a castrated goat. Did I know this? No, I did not. My guess is, though, that this isn’t quite the word most writers were intending to use… unless there’s this mass goat fascination that I’m just not aware of.

The real decision probably comes down to the use of “weather” or “whether.” I’m fairly certain that most know the difference between these two words and that it’s just fast typing and auto-correct bringing people down. If I’m wrong, don’t tell me. Let me keep my faith.

Remember, “weather” refers to the conditions outside; “whether” is a word used when considering two or more alternatives. “Wether” really isn’t the word you want to use. I’m 99% confident on that last one.

Writing Tip 95: Canvas vs. Canvass

Ah, Election Day, that day when a candidate canvasses neighborhoods for the last time. Or is it “canvases”? Whether you’re happy with election results or not, we can all agree on one thing: ~~gay marriage, states’ rights, rooster ownership laws,~~ “canvas” and “canvass” are two different words.

“Canvas” is the material one might paint upon. It’s something hung upon your wall or the material that makes up a bag. As a verb, it can mean to cover with canvas.
“To canvass” is to campaign, stump, or solicit votes. It can also mean to thoroughly discuss.

This one came to my attention recently in a caught typo, but it seemed like a timely one. You have many civic duties. I know knowing proper word choice isn’t necessarily one of them, but I hold that it’s important. (If you didn’t get that from me already.)

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Writing Tip 94: Everyday sins (“Everyday” vs. “Every day”)

These are this girl’s everyday pink shoes, but she doesn’t wear them every day.

We are only human. We sin every day. Or maybe I should reword that. “Sin” might be a bit strong. Perhaps I should say that we mistype “everyday” nearly every day. Do you know the difference between when it should be one word versus two?

Some rules are hard to remember, but this one shouldn’t be.

“Everyday” (one word) is simply an adjective, meaning something is commonplace, informal, or normal.

“Every day” (two words) is a time expression, meaning “each day.”

I might have started off this tip a little severe. No one’s going to anywhere hot and fiery for confusing these two words. But getting language right is a little bit of heaven, no?

Writing Tip 93: Avoid over-using names in dialogue

Reader, you know what comes across a bit strange?

What is it, Kris?

Well, reader, have you ever read something where the characters use each other’s names way too often?

I don’t know what you mean, Kris.

Wow, part of me cringed just writing that. Do you see what I’m going for? Sometimes, newer writers have this tendency. Rather than making the language unique or the characters alive through their behaviors, names are dropped way more often than is natural in a normal conversation.

Pay attention when you speak with others. How often do you use names? How often do other people? Use real life as your guide, dear reader. Otherwise, reader, it comes off a bit forced. Don’t you think, reader?

Interview with Literary Agent Kimiko Nakamura

You may have noticed that my Wednesday Writing Tips have focused on creative writing for the past few weeks. I’ve been so excited about the upcoming James River Writers Conference that I just couldn’t resist. Yes, we all need to know the differences between less and fewer, who and whom, and historic and historical; indeed, it’s important to know we’re spelling y’all, yeah/yay, and through/threw correctly; however, if our storytelling isn’t working, the entire piece suffers.

And for the storytellers among us, I have a special treat this week. The fabulous Kimiko Nakamura, literary agent at Dee Mura Literary, agreed to do an interview with me. I’ll just dive right in, but for more with Kimiko, she’ll be at the JRW conference this year. I’ll be there. Will you?

—

KS: What drove you to become a literary agent?

KN: I grew up in a home overflowing with literature on every bookshelf we owned, real or makeshift.

Writing Tip 90: Writing a Character’s Mind, Body, and Soul (and language choice!)

You know what’s great about people? We’re all different. How I say things is totally different from how my husband does, which is totally different from how my mom would, which is totally different from how my two year old would. Why? We’re different people. We have different language patterns, different brains, and different life experience.

Moreover, if you put me in a room with these people, the way I stand—perhaps swaying as if I’m holding a baby (even though I might not be)—is different from my husband who might be stretching, or my mom who might be talking with her hands, or my two year old who… well… has an inability to stand still.

People are different. When you write about your characters, allow them to be distinctive. All shouldn’t wink at each other when they say something clever; they shouldn’t all gesture with their hands, nor sigh heavily, nor twirl their dark mustaches menacingly (okay, maybe you weren’t using that last one for everyone). When writing falls into a pattern, you see the author’s personality, not the characters’. And the author should be the invisible hand that guides the story, not the center focus, right?

Writing Tip 88: “Show don’t Tell” – And what it actually means

Every writer who’s ever taken a creative writing class has heard the instruction: “Show don’t tell.” It’s so often said, it’s almost meaningless. Except it shouldn’t be. Because if actually understood, being able to show and not tell can make the difference between a humdrum story and a tale that comes alive.

“Show don’t tell” is classic writing advice, and for good reason. Imagine the difference between reading, “she’s angry,” and reading, “her hands tightened into fists; her fingernails pressed so hard against her palms that blood surfaced to her sensitive skin.” Okay, maybe I made that up really quickly, and it’s not the most eloquent of lines. But you see what I’m going for. There can be a named emotion, and then there can be the reality of it that a reader can be pulled into.

Misplaced Modifiers & Lost Buttons — Misplaced any language lately?

Misplaced Modifiers sound like items lost in the laundry. Somehow, you always lose a button and a darn modifier ends up in the wrong location. No? Let’s try this again.

Grammar terminology intimidates for some reason. Why, I’m not quite sure, but it may go back to strict English teachers in our formidable years. Misplaced modifiers are actually quite simple to understand. A modifier is a word or phrase that modifies (or describes) something. A misplaced modifier is when that descriptor seems to be describing the wrong thing.

That sounds silly, right? Sure. But it happens ALL THE TIME.

Glistening in the morning sun, the fisherman cast his line out to the water. (Did you catch the misplaced modifier? The “water” is “glistening in the morning sun,” not the “fisherman.”)

The hunter crouched in hiding waiting for a deer to come along with a bow and arrow. (Wait… Who had the bow and arrow?)

Misplaced modifiers can be subtle, confusing, or just plain funny, but be careful with your language. Of all the things we misplace, our ideas shouldn’t be one of them.

Writing Tip 86: Dear Abby: Where to Put Commas with Greetings

Commas, colons, the vocative case… Who knew a simple hello was so complicated?

It’s not actually. How to punctuate a greeting is really quite easy to remember–never mind if your email inbox argues otherwise.

Remember “dear” is not a greeting like “hello.” Dear is an adjective, a modifier of the name that follows. “Dear Abby” is no different from “My dearest Abby,” “Darling Clementine,” or some similarly old fashioned but enchantingly romantic greeting that has faded out of favor. (Who wants to bring it back with me? Anyone? … Anyone?…)

If you’re beginning a message with “Hi,” “Hello,” “Good morning,” “Hola,” or any other greeting, however, you should include a comma before the name of the message’s recipient. We learned about the vocative case in middle school (maybe), which directs writers to use a comma before a person’s name when they are being talked to.

Throw me the ball, Peyton.

Hi, Mr. Manning.

It’s the same form.

Lazy punctuation has become pretty widespread on this one, though. Do you use commas correctly in your greetings?