Comma Cop

Today I'm slaying commas. That tiny little squiggle is making my shoulders ache.

Once upon a time I was quite judicious about my commas. I would argue with anyone about natural cadence and pacing. Commas were often either irrelevant or downright detrimental.

And then I began to learn Comma Rules. About how a comma is needed to separate thought, to separate action, to separate subjects, to connect a sentence, to look good on the line. Forget the pattern that flows naturally with the words. Forget pacing. Commas are Necessary to Make Readers Read Each Word.

I learned the rules.

And I caved to them.

So today I fight back. I'll reclaim the pace a good crime fiction story should have.

Historically, authors have almost come to blows with editors who tried to enforce the Comma Rules. I've determined that this is one more Really Good Reason for going indie.

How about you? Do you love commas or avoid them whenever possible?



CR: Darkness on The Edge of Town by J. Carson Black.

It's all better with friends.

Rules vs. Artistic Style

I'm reading a novel now that seems like it's a good story, even though there are craft issues that are leaving me a bit perplexed. Even maybe a little headachey.

John Sandford is a favorite of mine, even though it's been awhile since I've read something of his. Could it be that he's always written this way and I just didn't notice?

I don't think so.

The novel is Dark of the Moon. Here was my first clue that there might be something different ahead. Inside the covers of the book there is an acknowledgment page that reads "This book was written in cooperation with my friend Larry Millet . . . "

There are odd POV shifts (even though they're generally done well), and strange scene breaks that really aren't scene breaks at all (those are the headachey things).

I'm not talking about "breaking the rules." I think, rather, this is an attempt to do something different. To take artistic liberty. But I'm not sure I like it.

Does that make me a curmudgeon?

And I guess the one thing I really don't like is the fact that it sort of looks like this book had a co-author. A co-author whose name does not appear on the cover.

What about you? Is there anything that gives you reader angst?

You know what I'm reading. I have another Sandford in my TBR pile, so that'll be interesting.

It's all better with friends.

RULE ME OUT— Who says there are writing rules?

While on our road trip to the Zion area, we went on a hike that included, among other hikers, a group I called the Obnoxious Family.

Dad was the worst. His entire demeanor was loud and controlling. The purpose of the trip was apparently not to have any wonderful bonding time with his family through the creation of shared memories. The purpose of the trip was to take fabulous photos to show other people what a photogenic family he presided over (he kept demanding that one of his daughters remove her glasses), as well as how much fun this good looking team of his had together. The photos would become the proof.

There are no rules governing how a family should spend their time together. I was just one of many observers. What wouldn't work for one family might be the glue that keeps another one together.

Same with writing.

There are no rules governing how a writer should string words together.

None.

If, as a writer, I hear someone talking about rules, I cringe. I want to throw something. Writing is the creation of an idea through words.

There are, however, expectations and preferences.

I may have a problem with a domineering so-and-so, and that's my bias. He still gets to create the image of his family in his own way. There are no rules.

But I sort of think others may feel the same way I do, and if I'm an agent deciding whether or not I want to represent this family, I will decline in a nanosecond.

Every writer still gets to create their own story in their own way. (I am Boss, Hear me Roar.) The creative process, by its very nature, is free of restriction. Otherwise, it's just a rather dull cookie-cutter. Don't you agree?

But understand that every agent, every editor, will have expectations of the work I present. Expectations involve certain standards of craft on one level, their own pet-peeves on another.

It can get tricky.

The best idea I've heard that seems to work for me (and most recently it came from Chris Roerden), is to not edit my first draft. Get it down with a sense of freedom, then go back and revise. Begin with plot, then characters, dialogue, conflict and motivation. The last thing to edit should be typos and grammar. It's during the revision process that you can examine your work to see if it meets expectations.

JF: BLACK WATER RISING by Attica Locke (about murder and greed and racism); THE NOTICER by Andy Andrews (about defining your perspective); and SPY (audio) by Ted Bell (about greed and revenge and international politics).

CR: STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD by Denise Dietz (about a diet leader who solves a murder) and JUST ONE LOOK (audio) by Harlan Coben (about a man with a secret past and his wife's desparate search to save him).

It's all better with friends.

Rules Schmules

One of my critique partners, Kelly Irvin, has bucked and railed against most writing "rules" to which she's ever been guided.

With teenagers of her own, you would think she would behave better.

When I think about it though, I remember brave people from my life who have flaunted the rules and lived to tell about it. In junior high school, Becky batted her big blue eyes and smiled her enigmatic smile, and voila, everything tilted her way. Pretty much the same thing for Cherie (only I think now--as I pretty much knew even then--she hid some terrible secrets).

I was a "good girl" who harbored fantasies of rebellion to the 'nth degree. Yep, it's true.

There are rules and then there are rules. Some people know intuitively what they are, and that they don't apply to them. I've always thought of those individuals as courageous fools.

Some of us, more concerned with those rules, must first evaluate the crud out of them. I need to know what the rule is, why the rule exists and who has broken it before me and gotten away with it. Then, and only then, can I rise to the occasion and break it.

Unless I'm free-form writing, I'm what's known as a Writing Wuss. It doesn't matter how many life mistakes I make, I still want to be a "good girl."

It's a sickness.

I've been on this learning curve now for about as long as most college educations, albeit with a bit more leeway for life-necessity. I'm beginning to figure out when I can (safely) thumb my nose at a rule, and when I'd better stick to the straight and narrow.

By the way, Kelly "The Rebel" Irvin signed a contract for her first novel last year. You'll be hearing more about that later.

Sometimes it pays to forge your own path, wearing blinders to what the so-called experts have to say.

Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
~Motto of the Special Olympics





Still reading the John Lutz. This is a very good book and I wonder why I haven't heard more about this author. Did he follow the rules or break one too many?

It's all better with friends.

List of Writing Rules

William F. Nolan's writing career has spanned more than fifty years. The award winning author has published more than 80 books, 165 short stories, and has had 20 of his 45 screenplays produced.

In March, 2006, The Writer featured a four-page spread on the prolific storyteller by contributor Jerry Aith.

Nolan's 10 rules he writes by are:

1. Don't repeat words in sentences. Unless using them for pacing or rhythm, the energy gets messed up.

2. Don't waffle. Launch a search and destroy for words like "almost" and "nearly." Intensity is lost through equivocations.

3. Use four-letter words sparingly. If at all. I'm guessing a writer who wants to stick around for the long haul isn't trying to shock or disgust readers.

4. Avoid being cute. Another form of author intrusion.

5. Never use slang. The exception would be in the dialogue of a slang-using character.

6. Stay away from lecturing the reader. I've become so adept at tuning out lecturers, I don't even know I'm doing it. In a book I'd probably just close the covers and never return.

7. Practice verse. Poetry encourages rhythm and strong, concise word choice.

8. Never go against your personal moral code. See the cowboy hat? (I'm such a romantic . . . for a suspense novelist).

9. A story must excite and intrigue you. I've bored myself more than once.

10. Don't talk a story to death. Avoid the long discussions, the too-detailed 3 x 5 cards and the crazy-long outlines. Create.


Currently reading: Still enjoying Silent Thunder. The book is very good. I'm just off my feed these days.

It's all better with friends.