Emma Stewart Writes

Writer, Proofreader, Editor and Cat Lady

Month: July 2023 (Page 1 of 2)

Mary Sue Syndrome

July 31, 2023 / / 0 Comments

What is Mary Sue Syndrome?

The term ‘Mary Sue’ is one that has been used to describe a character archetype that is too perfect. It originated in the Star Trek fandom in a parody fanfiction. It is an archetype that is especially common in fanfiction. Essentially it is a character, usually the primary protagonist, who has amazing skills, is extremely attractive, has unique abilities and no weaknesses. They have no real flaws, any flaws mentioned are usually meaningless and inconsequential.

The archetype is generally considered a ‘self-insertion’, a character that represents an idealised version of the author themselves. It’s common for them to be female. Although you do see male characters too, often named Marty Stu or Gary Stu. Again, this is a generalisation but they are often written by adolescent authors, especially in fanfiction, as a way to insert oneself into a fictional world.

What is Wrong About a Mary Sue?

These characters are a sign of poor quality writing, and most people don’t like reading them. There’s a number of reasons for this. For starters, these characters are perfect, unique and all powerful. They have no real weaknesses, win every fight easily and can pass any challenge with little difficulty. If they have flaws at all, they tend to be pointless things, like being too trusting or being too modest despite being so brilliant at everything. It’s boring to read.

One of the reasons that many characters are loved is because of their flaws and weaknesses, and the character development they go through during the story where they overcome these things. You can’t learn and grow, if you’re already perfect. When the challenges posted by the plot are so easily overcome, there’s no tension or excitement. It becomes predictable, when the Mary Sue can just pull a ‘deus ex machina’ out of thin air for every potential issue.

Unique and Special Appearance

Their appearance is incredibly beautiful and otherworldly, unique and often with unusual eye or hair colours and an elaborately overdesigned outfit. Everyone else will see how beautiful she is but her, because she is so modest and shy. The descriptions are on another level as well, often falling into what is termed ‘purple prose’. Excessive descriptions with minute details, paragraphs of adjectives to the point where it becomes tedious to read.

You can spot these situations easily, as only the Sue will merit this kind of description. Other characters will be lucky to get more than two lines to describe how they look. All the other characters are mundane and average, with little to set them apart. Any physical flaws will only enhance her beauty, or remind her of her Dark and Traumatic Past (which they always have but are rarely actually affected by).

How to Spot a Sue in the Wild

You’re probably already sighing and rolling your eyes at some of the points I’ve made. That tells me you’ve read this kind of thing before, and certainly if you’ve read fan fiction at any point, you will have seen it. You’ve probably written it at some point, let’s face it, most of us have. It’s fun, to insert yourself into your favourite fictional world and interact with all the characters you know and love. Well, it’s fun for you. It’s probably not as interesting for other people to read.

Even so, there’s plenty of characters in pop culture that could be considered Mary Sues. It is often a matter of opinion and debate. Many people will cite Bella from Twilight, Anastasia from Fifty Shades of Grey and James Bond as clear examples. Personally, I can agree with that. Anastasia goes out of her way to be described as plain, boring and unremarkable, yet this millionaire tycoon with a skewed view of a BDSM relationship is enthralled by her.

Obviously, plenty of people enjoy these stories and these characters, and that’s okay. It’s not to my tastes, but it’s not up to me to judge other people for what they like. Some characters Sue statuses are hotly debated online, like Rey from the Star Wars sequels or Arya Stark in Game of Thrones (TV) being the big hero in the end, when it was set up for Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen.

Not Every Self-Insert is a Mary Sue

This is an important fact to remember. Not every author self-insertion is automatically a Mary Sue, or a bad thing. The point is that most people will want a bit of realism, even with the protagonist of a story. People who are realistic are easier to relate to. We want to be able to cheer when they succeed, but also sympathise when they fail. People like to read characters that are like them, in essence, not perfect. Most of us struggle to see our positive traits and tend to focus on the negative things about ourselves. Seeing characters overcoming these negative traits reminds us that we can do the same. The key is balance.

This is absolutely a matter of opinion in some cases, and realistically some genres almost require your protagonist to have some Mary Sue like qualities: look at Superman and many other comic book heroes. Superman has all the superpowers, strength, speed, ability to fly, invulnerable, laser eyes, and whatnot, including the ability to apparently fool everyone by putting on a pair of glasses. We do want to read about protagonists who are interesting, and a bit above average in some ways.

Further Reading

There is a lot of information out there about this trope, and a lot of discussion. So I’ll share a few links where you can read more. One of the best known fanfiction examples is ‘My Immortal’, a notorious Harry Potter fanfiction. I’m still convinced it is a parody of the entire trope, but who knows.

  • TV Tropes: an extremely thorough analysis of the Mary Sue trope, the variations and examples.
  • The Original Mary Sue Litmus Test: a test produced by Dr Merlin way back in 1997 for evaluating your own characters. This isn’t new!
  • PPC Wiki Litmus Tests: a whole list of litmus tests, some adapted for specific fandoms.
  • My Immortal Wikipedia Page: all about the infamous ‘My Immortal’ HP fic, it is possible to find it online although the original posting on fanfiction.net is no longer there. It’s quite… something. I read it in its entirety back in the day.
  • My posts on Characters: introducing your characters and when your characters develop a mind of their own. More to come soon!
  • Finally, my post on cliches, which often come into play when we’re talking about Mary Sues.

So, hopefully you found that interesting, there’s a lot to read on the subject and a lot of debates and discussions to be found online. Keep an eye on the blog as I will be covering more topics in characterisation and writing characters going forward. Subscribe below to get notified whenever new posts are up. Follow me on my social media channels for more little bits and if you want to talk about working with me on your writing, drop me a line! Until next time!

infographic demonstrating the difference between there, their and they're.

Homonyms and Homophones

July 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Homonyms and Homophones

What do I mean by this? Let’s get into it. Homonyms and homophones are words that are similar but have different meanings. Homonyms are a kind of catch all term for homographs, words that are spelled the same, or homophones, words that sounds the same (with different spelling) and have different meanings. Some words are both, and come under homonyms.

‘Homo-‘ is a prefix used in a lot of words, and it means ‘the same’. Homogenous, homosexual, homozygous, it’s used a lot. It’s opposite being ‘hetero-‘. These prefixes come from Greek. So let’s get into the definitions properly before we look at some common examples.

Homograph: words that are spelled the same, although may have different pronunciations.

Homophones: words that have the same pronunciation but may have different spelling.

Homonyms: words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but with different meanings.

Homograph Examples

  • Read: a verb which is spelled the same and pronounced differently depending on the tense. Pronounced like ‘reed’ for present or future tense, and pronounced like ‘red’ for past tense. Oh, look some homophone examples too!
  • Bow: can be pronounced two ways, one meaning a weapon designed to shoot arrows, another referring to a respectful gesture of dipping one’s head. There are other meanings too.
  • Tear: can be a rip in something or it can mean the fluid produced that protects the eyes, and falls when someone is crying.

Homophone Examples

  • Lead and Led: lead meaning the heavy metal and led being the past tense of the verb ‘lead’ (which is a homograph of the noun, ‘lead’)
  • Sea and See: sea meaning coastal water between landmasses and see meaning to use ones vision to collect information.
  • Bear and bare: bear meaning a large grizzly animal and bare meaning to expose or reveal.

Homonym Examples

  • Stalk: can mean both the upright portion of a plant and to follow someone
  • Bark: the protective outer coating of a tree trunk and a sound a dog makes
  • Left: the past tense of leave and the opposite of right.

The Important Ones to Know

You might be thinking I’ve left a few out of the lists above. That’s on purpose, because I want to address them here. These are groups of homonyms that are commonly mixed up and confused. So I want to highlight them to help you make sure you know which is which. To read more, please see previous blog posts on pronouns and apostrophes.

Their, they’re and there

These ones get confused all the time. They all sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings, making them homophones. So, which is which and how do you know which to use?

Their: a possessive pronoun relating to either a group of people or a single person of unspecified gender. “It is their dog. They’re over there.”

They’re: a contraction of ‘they are’. “It is their dog. They’re over there.”

There: a demonstrative adverb referring to a place or position. “It is their dog. They’re over there.”

infographic demonstrating the difference between there, their and they're.

Your and You’re

Again, very commonly confused, these two words. Your is a possessive pronoun, used for something that belongs to you. “That is your dog? You’re lucky.”

You’re is a contraction of ‘you are’. “That is your dog? You’re lucky.”

Remember the apostrophe post? You’re has an apostrophe because it’s a contraction of two words. Make sense?

To, Too and Two

And the third group of homonyms that are very frequently confused, is these three.

To: a preposition expressing motion or approaching a place or condition. “Going to the supermarket.”

Too: means either ‘also’ or excessively. “She was driving too fast. You thought so too?”

Two: is the number 2.

Conclusion

I know this might all sound very simple and easy, basic English from primary school, but I’ve chosen to cover it for a reason. These are frequent mistakes seen everywhere from social media posts to academic essays. They’re easy to miss as well, as a basic computer spell check will not catch them, unless you have spelled the word wrong as well as using the wrong word. Modern grammar checks might catch them and realise you have used the wrong word, but they might not catch it either.

That is where a good proofreader comes in, because part of our job is to spot these kinds of mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, modern software and AI tools are a lot better than they used to be in the early days of spelling and grammar checkers but they’re not perfect, a human eye is needed to be sure it is all correct.

Clichés are Cliché

July 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

What is a cliché?

You hear it a lot, especially when talking about writing or producing media. So what are they? Clichés are phrases or ideas that are so overused that they are now boring and unoriginal, so the phrase has lost meaning or become a stereotype. Unlike tropes, which are story elements commonly used and liked by people, such as a ‘happily ever after’ at the end of a romance. Are cliches cliche?

You can spell cliche with or without the accented ‘e’ by the way. It’s a word that has its roots in French. Many consider cliches tired and unoriginal, and you will be told to avoid them at all costs. I bet you can probably think of hundreds of them, a lot of them come from old sayings and idioms. Here’s a few examples:

  • “Think outside the box.”
  • “There’s plenty of fish in the sea.”
  • “Ignorance is bliss.”
  • “Good things come to those who wait.”
  • “Beating a dead horse.”

How to know if it’s a cliché

The way to tell is if you hear a saying and it makes you sigh or roll your eyes, it’s probably a cliche. They had meaning once, but overuse means they just don’t have any impact anymore. Some have been misused for so long, people have forgotten the original meaning. Like this one:

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

It’s a warning against asking too many questions or looking into things you shouldn’t. Curiosity is dangerous, so you might not like what you find.

A fun fact, the original proverb was “Care killed the cat.” This means worry is detrimental to you. A different meaning, isn’t it? The earliest printed reference is found in Every Man in His Honour by Ben Jonson written in 1598, and again, a year later by Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing.

The current version is more recent, it was notably used in 1916 in a newspaper report about a cat who had climbed up a chimney and gotten stuck, resulting in a fall that did, in fact, kill the cat.

Are cliches always bad?

Well, mostly, yes they are bad. Readers see cliches as lazy, so it will put them off reading what you’ve written. Cliches indicate you lack imagination and are unable to use your own creativity to say what you want to say in your own way. Avoiding using them shows you can think of other ways to say the same thing, and it therefore improves the impact of your writing. There are occasions where using a cliche can help you connect with your audience, by provoking that familiarity. Still, I would advise caution.

Subverting cliches

The other thing to do is to subvert cliches. Introduce a cliche but then change it around to make it more interesting. One of my favourite uses of this is, from a classic video game by Valve, Portal 2. Every syllable of dialogue in that game is absolutely amazing, but one of the best monologues is Cave Johnson’s recording around the halfway point, affectionately known as the ‘lemon rant’.

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A video by Ignis on YouTube of the Lemon Rant with typography.

The context is that he has become seriously ill by crushing up moon dust, and he records a message talking about how he plans to make the best of the situation, ending with the cliched phrase: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” A bit later, he comes back to it, and goes on a rant, stating that “When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back. Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager…”

I won’t transcribe the whole rant here, but I’ll link to YouTube so you can listen to it all for yourself. Or, better yet, play the game if you haven’t already, it’s worth it for the writing alone. The point is, the original cliche is telling you that when bad things happen, you just have to make the best of what you have. Turning it around on itself, the character is saying “No, I’m not accepting my lot. I’m going to do something about it.”

Conclusion

So, you know how to identify cliches, and why they are generally to be avoided like the plague. Yeah, I know exactly what I did there. They are everywhere, but using them in your writing can really turn your reader off and make them lose interest in what you’re writing. So use them sparingly, if at all, or find a better way to say what you want to say. Or give them a good twist like the writers on Portal 2 did.

For more on editing and word choice, check here. For updates whenever a new blog post is available, subscribe. Check my social media platforms for bitesize facts and general updates.

Pass on the Passive Voice

July 24, 2023 / / 0 Comments

What is the passive voice?

It’s something most of us have seen at some point. Especially in the early days of MS Word’s grammar checker, it was something I remember seeing the passive voice a lot when writing essays and school assignments. I didn’t really understand what it meant at the time, although I do now!

So, what is the passive voice? Essentially it’s the order of the sentence. So the subject becomes the object, and the verb happens to it rather than the subject doing the verb. It’s become passive. If the subject is doing the verb to the object, then it becomes active. Yeah, I know it’s probably still not clear. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples so you can see what I mean.

Passive vs Active voice

A classic scene from a classic novel and movie, let’s look at what happens in The Wizard of Oz at the beginning when the cyclone hits.

“The house was carried away by the cyclone.”

vs

“The cyclone carried the house away.”

Which one is in the passive voice, and which is in the active voice? Hopefully you got it right. The first one is passive: the house is the object being acted upon by the verb ‘carried’ and the subject ‘the cyclone’. The second sentence is active: the subject ‘the cyclone’ is acting ‘carried’ on the object ‘the house’. So they are different ways of looking at it, but both sentences do effectively say the same thing.

The difference is where the focus is placed by the word order, which will affect the impact of the sentence. It shifts the readers focus onto the subject and the action the verb is describing. The subject is doing something to the object, rather than the object having something done to it.

An easy way to spot the passive voice is to look for the ‘was’ or ‘is’ before the verb. You might be able to make passive sentences without these words but most of them will have one of these in it before the verb.

Is it always wrong?

That depends. Often you will find it being flagged by grammar checking software (such as the aforementioned MS Word) and even the SEO and Readability scoring software on this WordPress Editor. I get frowny faces if I use too much passive voice. This is likely because often passive voice is less engaging and interesting to read. Active voice gives your words more impact for your reader.

That said, everything you write has a purpose and you might choose to use the passive voice to direct your reader’s attention to something else. You may even want it to be misleading in some way, or to ‘soften the blow’, so to speak. That said, it is the general consensus that you should use the active voice the majority of the time. Certainly if you are writing advertising copy or another kind of persuasive writing, the passive voice will lessen the impact significantly. So when you are editing, proofreading or writing, it’s something to be conscious of and evaluate if there is a more impactful way to say what you want to say.

Thanks for reading! Remember, for more tips and tricks, subscribe to get an email every time there’s a new post. I’m posting three times a week on here. If you want some help with your writing, including spotting the passive voice, get in touch with me and I’ll be happy to help you out! Any questions or thoughts, the comments are open!

Characters Have a Mind of Their Own

July 21, 2023 / / 0 Comments

So, you’ve got your book idea and you’ve started writing it. You’ve produced an outline and set up your plot, you’ve gotten to know your characters and how they are going to develop throughout your story. Great. But for some reason, your characters have developed a mind of their own.

What if they decide to do something different though? Does this happen to anyone else, or just me? It’s something I have dealt with a lot over the years, from my early days writing fanfiction to now. My characters, especially the well developed ones, seem to have a mind of their own. They do their own thing, sometimes reacting differently to what I expected.

It’s not unusual. Even if you are an avid plotter, someone who likes to have everything planned out before you start writing your story. Once I get into the zone and the words are flowing, things can change unexpectedly. The question is, do you go with it? Or do you try to force things back to your plan.

Can you be too rigid?

I would say yes. Your outline is just that, the outline. Having a plan and knowing the ending is a good thing, but as you go you might deviate from your original plan. No matter how much planning you’ve done for your characters, how much you’ve already developed them, sometimes you can’t really be sure how they will be affected by the events of the story. When you are writing your first draft, you are still getting to know your characters, and how they go through the storyline. If a new direction is flowing freely, I would say go with it.

Remember you can always change it later when you are editing, if it doesn’t quite work. If it works, stick with it. Trying to force it back to your original plan could make it awkward to read, or it could result in your characters responses feeling out of character or unrealistic. If you force it, it could feel forced and your reader will pick up on that. It can jar them and bring them out of your written world.

What if the plotline takes off on its own?

This can happen too. Your plot starts off in line with what you had planned, but partway through a scene, a new idea comes to you. Again, I think it’s worth going with the flow in this case too. It depends on your writing process and how you like to work. Some people can jump around the timeline, writing scenes wherever their inspiration takes them. Others prefer to stick to writing start to finish and in order.

If you have an outline, keep it. Don’t remove anything from it, add your new ideas if you like. This means that when it comes to your first revision of your writing, you will be able to see how it fits with the overall story and if you still have your original outline, you will be able to assess if your new idea works better or if your original plan is the better option. Then you can rewrite or insert scenes to suit it.

What should you do when your characters take on a mind of their own?

Go with the flow is my advice. Even if you are a thorough plotter and you like to have a clear and detailed outline for your writing, it’s okay to deviate from that at times, if that makes more sense. Writing fiction is like any other form of creative work, you don’t want to stifle your creativity too much by sticking rigidly to rules and plans. Sometimes you are telling your characters what to do, sometimes they are telling you what they are going to do. It’s part of being an author, having all these little voices in your head as you write. At least I hope it’s something others experience, is it just me?

For more on characters, see this tag here: characters. I plan to cover a lot more on this subject in the next few weeks, from avoiding Mary Sue Syndrome to how to develop well rounded characters.

Should You Edit As You Go?

July 19, 2023 / / 0 Comments

People always tell you not to edit until you’ve finished the first draft. Is this true? Or is there something to be said for editing as you go? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of each option.

Edit As You Go

Pros of editing as you go

  • Your first draft will be better, giving you a better starting point for your first round of editing.
  • You can catch plot holes, mistakes and other aspects that don’t work and prevent them becoming a problem later.
  • If you realise you’ve made a mistake or something doesn’t work, you don’t have to worry about remembering to fix it when you go to edit your work.
  • If you are a ‘plotter’ and you already have your story outline before you start your draft, you can make sure your scenes are following your plan.
  • If you have hit writer’s block, rereading and editing what you’ve written might help you get your flow back

Cons of editing as you go

  • Editing as you go can be more time consuming and your first draft will take longer.
  • It’s easy to get bogged down trying to fix one part of your writing and stop making progress.
  • Perfectionism might lead to you losing inspiration and getting tired of your work, leading you to lose focus and put you off finishing the draft.
  • You might not save time, as when you come to do the first full edit of your draft, you find yourself rewriting or undoing a lot of the edits you have already made.

Not Editing Until the End

Pros of not editing as you go

  • It keeps your creativity flowing. Not stopping to revise keeps you in the zone and allows you to freely get all your ideas out without hesitating or reviewing.
  • If you are a ‘pantser’, stopping to organise and add logical structure can really derail you and drop your motivation.
  • All first drafts will need editing once completed, even if you have edited some as you go, waiting until the end to edit can help make sure the whole piece is cohesive and that it all works.
  • Some writers think this approach is more efficient, because you can focus on one part at a time. It stops your perfectionism slowing down your progress.
  • It gives you a chance to take a break from the work. Taking time away to do something else allows you to come back to edit with fresh eyes, making it easier to spot things you want to change.

Cons of not editing as you go

  • The first round of editing can take longer. You might find yourself having to make a large amount of changes to tidy everything up.
  • It can become overwhelming. If you have not made any edits as you go, the prospect of editing the whole piece can be a lot to think about and seem insurmountable.
  • You might be reluctant to make major changes or remove parts because you’ve become so fond of the story. You might really love a scene you’ve written but it doesn’t fit the story any more and you know you really should remove it but you don’t want to.

So Should I Edit as I Go?

Honestly, there’s no one right answer to this. Some people will tell you one option is better than the other, but they both have drawbacks. It is also possible to do a bit of both. Realistically, even if you have been editing as you go, you will still need to do an overall edit once the draft is complete. So there’s not one correct answer.

I recommend doing what works best for you. Everyone’s process is different and unique to them. How you like to write, if you are a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’ or a bit of both. If too much editing will stifle your creative flow, you would be better waiting until you’re finished to start editing. If you have realised you want to change something, and it’ll bother you until you do, maybe make the edit while it’s on your mind. If you’re new, experiment a bit with both options until you find the method that works best for your brain and your work.

Need help with editing or proofreading your work? Take a look at what I offer here.

As always, happy writing! Discuss your thoughts in the comments. Until next time!

Why you should still be using a dictionary

July 17, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Why You Still Need a Dictionary

Word choice matters. English is a complex language with a lot of options for word choice. No matter how good you think your English is, it is important to be selective in your word choices. You need to make sure you are saying what you think you are saying. Some words which are used interchangeably when they shouldn’t be, as the meaning might be similar but not quite the same.

You might think people will know what you mean, but that’s not always the case. Someone reading might know what the word you have used means and realise it is incorrect. It is also possible for someone whose first language is not English to get confused if you use a word that’s not quite correct. Let’s look at a few examples.

Words You Should Check in the Dictionary Before Using

  • Venomous and Poisonous: both of these words are related to toxins but there’s a difference in how they work. Toxins are substances that have a detrimental effect on the body. Venom is where the toxin is injected into the body by a fang, a tooth, a stinger or claw. Poison is a toxin that affects the body when it is ingested. Some things can be both.
  • Psychologist and Psychiatrist: Both are professionals who deal with psychological problems and mental health, however, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialised and is able to prescribe medication as well as diagnose. Psychologists are scientists who have studied psychology and are able to assess and provide therapy but cannot prescribe.
  • Complement and Compliment: these words sound the same and have a positive meaning but they are slightly different. Compliment is when you make a positive comment about something: “Your t-shirt is awesome!”. Complement means something that enhances or emphasizes the quality of something: “This wine is the perfect complement for a steak dinner.”

Deciding which word to use

When it comes to choosing the right word, it can be tricky. If in doubt, double check with a dictionary. Look up the word you want to use and check that the definition fits with what you are trying to say. Keep in mind the purpose of what you are writing, and you can be sure you are saying what you want to say. There is no shame in having to look things up to double check. Even the most professional and experienced writers cannot possibly remember every single word and meaning right off the bat. Word choice can affect how your writing is interpreted, so you want to make sure it has your desired effect. (See what I did there, another example! ‘Affect’ is a verb, ‘Effect’ is a noun.)

Synonyms

Sometimes word choice is a stylistic choice. There are a lot of words in English that have a large number of synonyms, words that have a similar meaning. Some words can have a few different but related meanings as well, so you might find a synonym that makes things clearer for your reader. Let’s look at an example, and take the word ‘good’.

Meanings of the word ‘good’

  • of a high standard or the required qualities
  • skilled at doing a specific thing
  • healthy, strong or well
  • useful or beneficial in effect
  • appropriate to a purpose
  • having moral virtue
  • showing kindness
  • obeys rules or conventions
  • enjoyable or satisfying
  • smart clothes suitable for formal wear
  • noun for that which is morally right
  • noun for a benefit or advantage

A long list, isn’t it? That’s why I chose this as an example, ‘good’ is a word that has a lot of different meanings and uses. It’s also a word that is used a lot in many forms of writing, particularly fiction, articles about people and marketing. You can’t really sell a product if you can’t show what is so good about it, right?

What synonyms should we consider?

Obviously we have a lot of potential meanings for the word ‘good’, and depending on the context, we might want to choose a different word to make the sentence more accurate or more interesting. So, the first part is to establish what context we are using this word. So let’s say we are writing about my writing skills.

“Emma’s a very good writer.”

Not bad, but could we make it better? The context here is talking about a skill I have, that is also of high quality so we could choose a synonym that fits with this. so here’s a few alternatives:

  • Emma’s writing is of a high standard.
  • Emma’s a superb writer.
  • Emma’s writing is wonderful.
  • Emma is an accomplished writer.
  • Emma is a talented writer.
  • Emma’s an expert writer.

However, you might find other synonyms that don’t work so well.

  • Emma’s writing is nutritious. (You can’t really eat my words.)
  • Emma’s writing is obedient. (I follow the rules, but this sounds odd.)

It is important to remember your context when making choices about words to use and synonyms. I would caution against using a thesaurus too much, you can overdo it and end up with something ridiculous like: “Emma’s manuscription is surpassing excellence.” It says the same thing but it’s a bit pompous and confusing. Using lots of long and obscure words will make your writing less accessible, especially in something less formal than academic writing. It doesn’t always make you look more intelligent and it can make your writing more difficult for people who are dyslexic or who have English as a second language. You don’t want to be sending your reader to use the dictionary all the time.

In Summary

The key takeaway from this is to make sure you are using the right word for the job. If in doubt look it up in the dictionary to make sure. Remember, if it bites you and you die, it’s venomous, but if you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous! See you next time!

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Introducing your characters

July 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Introducing Your Characters

So you’ve got your characters and you are ready to start introducing them. Great! Where do you start? A lot of newer writers can fall into a trap when it comes to making the first introduction of their characters, especially the main character. Starting off your first page with a huge infodump of every detail about your main protagonist logically makes sense, but is it interesting to your reader? No, probably not.

Part of the fun of reading a story is learning about the characters as they go through the plot, picking up details along the way and watching them grow through their development arc. You want your reader to get enough information to be intrigued and want to learn more, but there needs to be more for them to learn later in the book so that they will want to read further. So here’s a few pitfalls that new writers can fall into.

Infodumping

It can be tempting to just write a few paragraphs about your character. Listing all the details of their appearance, followed by a list of their traits and skills. It’s like you’re writing their CV or a dating profile. It is too much detail at once, and can be overwhelming for your reader. To start off, we need to know their name, a little bit about who they are and what they are doing. Their personality traits and flaws can be revealed as you go, how they respond to situations and people will reveal this in an organic way. How they face challenges and work to overcome them to achieve their end goal will tell your reader the kind of person your character is.

The character should be changing with the story, they learn and grow, their experiences will shape their personality. The beginning of the story and flashbacks can show who they are at the start. Your reader wants to follow them as they go through these experiences and see who they become by the ending. That’s difficult to do if you dump it all at the start. It’s a journey of discovery, for your characters and for your reader.

The Mirror Monologue

This is a common trope and one that rarely works well. Your character wakes up in the morning and goes to the mirror to get ready for their day. They spend time looking at their reflection and having a long internal monologue about what they look like. The thing is, people don’t really do this in real life. They know what they look like already and they won’t mentally list every feature every day. It’s not realistic to do this.

What do you look at when you look in the mirror? Take some time and really think about what you look at and what you focus on. Maybe you like the way your hair is styled, or you don’t like your eyebrows. Perhaps your outfit makes you feel confident, or you’re unhappy with the colour of your shirt. We know our appearance in the mirror, so in real life we focus on things that we like or don’t like. We won’t think about every part of our bodies and every feature. Especially when it comes to body parts.

Gender Issues and Descriptions

This is particularly an issue with writing about women, I have seen excerpts where a female character spends two paragraphs describing the shape and size of her own breasts. It’s quite jarring to read, because most of us do not think about ourselves in that way. We don’t really notice the weight of our breasts as we walk, because we’re used to them. We don’t try to decide which fruit accurately represents their size and shape. It’s just not a thing that women do. We might think about how a certain bra or top makes them look, or if a top is too low cut. I imagine there is an equivalent of this for male characters, but I cannot comment on the real life experience of that, and it is much more common with female characters.

When you are dealing with characters who are outside the binary genders, it may be different. Again, I haven’t lived this experience so it’s difficult to really know how it might be. What I have learned from trans friends and trans creators online is that part of the reason someone does transition, whether this is medically, surgically or by using clothing and make-up to change their appearance, is to better reflect who they really are.

If you are planning to write a trans or non-binary character but you don’t identify as such yourself, it is worth finding someone who has lived experience that is willing to give you some advice and feedback to ensure that you are accurately representing them and not feeding into misconceptions or misunderstandings. Obviously, each individual is different, and it is usually better not to write about such characters if you don’t understand what they might feel and experience. Especially if you’re not willing to learn and be respectful.

How To Introduce Your Characters Better

You obviously need to introduce your characters and describe them to some degree. You need your reader to be interested. So here’s how to tackle it in a way that will get the job done well!

  • Everything you mention at the start will be considered important by your reader so mention the key aspects first.
  • Pick the most notable or memorable details of their appearance and highlight those. What makes them distinctive and memorable.
  • Don’t make the descriptions too complex and go easy with the adjectives. One or two for each feature is plenty. The reader will use their imagination for the rest.
  • Their behaviours should reflect their personality traits. This is where ‘Show, don’t tell’ comes into play. An outgoing person is likely to be talkative and willing to engage with strangers.
  • Describing behaviours, clothing, accessories and surroundings can give insight into your characters background as well as their personality. A messy workspace could indicate laziness or a lack of care about being tidy. Sleeping on a tatty old mattress on the floor of a rundown apartment will show that your character is in financial hardship.

Inclusivity and Stereotyping

  • Be mindful of unintended racial bias and harmful incorrect stereotypes. It is easy to get this wrong. Even if it is not done on purpose, aspects of characters can end up causing harm. Ensure your language and word choice is appropriate and inclusive. If you want to include a character who is a different race from you, or has another aspect that you don’t, it is very important to make sure you know how to handle it properly. That means research, listening to people who are living that experience and making sure your language reflects it accurately. If in doubt, leave it out.
  • If you are using real world contemporary characters, it might be better to be more ambiguous with race and leave it up to reader interpretation. This is clearly still relevant given the discussions around Disney’s live action “The Little Mermaid” remake and the casting of a POC in the lead role.
  • Representation matters, and everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in media, whether it is books, films, video games or comics.

I hope this helps you out in nailing those introductions. Happy writing! As always, I love to hear what people think and encourage respectful discussions in the comments below. If you are unsure about how you are introducing your characters in your writing, get in touch and I will be happy to help you out!

Apostrophes and how to use them properly!

July 12, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Apostrophes – an easy guide to using them properly!

Ah, the apostrophe, the bane of many a writer’s life. An elevated comma? Or an important punctuation mark that is chronically misused? It is definitely the second one. Apostrophes are commonly used where they shouldn’t be and not used when they should be. So welcome the the first part of punctuation, where we talk about how to use punctuation properly, beginning with how to use apostrophes.

There are three main situations where an apostrophe should be considered. Simply put, the apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is used to indicate possession or to indicate where missing letters should be in contractions. There are a few rules regarding placement of apostrophes in certain situations which we will cover in detail below.

First use of the apostrophe: Contractions

Contractions are shortened words or phrases used for ease of speech or writing. They are extremely common in both written and spoken English and the majority of people know what they mean. However, using contractions can cause confusion at times, and it can lead to misuse of contractions. Do you know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’? We’ll be covering this in a later post in more detail, with useful ways to remember which one to use.

Contractions are great, and for most casual written content it is perfectly okay to use them. However, they are considered quite informal so they should definitely be avoided in formal letters, formal writing and academic writing. Here’s a few examples:

  • don’t = do not
  • doesn’t = does not
  • should’ve = should have (by the way, it is not “should of”. Ever!)
  • it’s = it is
  • ’tis = it is

Note the last two mean the same thing, but a different ‘i’ is omitted. The apostrophe goes where the missing letters should be. One apostrophe is all that is needed, even if you’re dropping ten consecutive letters, which would be an impressive contraction if you can do that!

Second use of the apostrophe: Possession

No, not the demonic kind. The belonging kind. Apostrophes are used to indicate possession. They are used after nouns and indefinite pronouns such as: the man’s house, the dog’s bone, the tree’s leaves. It should also be used after plural nouns that do not end in ‘s’: people’s, women’s, children’s. If the noun ends in an s sound, the extra ‘s’ can be left out if it makes the word more awkward to say and the apostrophe placed after the word.

For plural nouns that end in ‘s’, the apostrophe should be placed alone at the end of the word to indicate possession: puppies’, classes’, horses’. It should also be used when stating a period of time: three days’ time, ten weeks’ time. This form of apostrophe use also applies to singular nouns ending in ‘s’ or ‘z’ followed by the word ‘sake’: for goodness’ sake (taken from New Hart’s Rules, the Oxford Style Guide, Oxford University Press).

Apostrophes are not used with possessive pronouns such as ‘yours’, ‘hers’, and ‘theirs’. Remember ‘its’ is the possessive form of ‘it’, while ‘it’s’ is a contraction of ‘it is’. For more on pronouns, see a previous post here where I discuss pronouns and how to use them properly.

There are specific rules and conventions for proper names and phrases where apostrophe placement matters. If in doubt, look it up and double check. I like the Blue Book of Grammar as it’s easy to use. Check the apostrophe rules here for more details and examples.

Third use of the apostrophe: Plurals?

Sneaky heading here, as you should not be using apostrophes to create plural words. This is sometimes known as the “greengrocer’s apostrophe” and it is incorrect. Apostrophes are not needed when making plurals of names, numbers, abbreviations and words being used as nouns when they are not normally nouns.

For example: ‘dos and don’ts’ is correct. ‘do’s and don’t’s’ is incorrect. The first sentence contains a correctly used apostrophe in the contraction.

There are some situations where you would want to use an apostrophe, usually using symbols, letters or numbers as objects. For example: “mind your p’s and q’s”. In this case, the apostrophe gives clarity to the objects of the sentence, saying “ps and qs” would be very confusing. Readers might figure out what you mean, but people who haven’t heard the phrase and people for whom English is not their first language would be very confused.

Thank you for reading. Go forth and use your apostrophes properly!

Pride flag with text: What are pronouns?

Let’s talk about pronouns

July 10, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Pronouns are important, so let’s talk about how to use them properly in all situations. Oh boy, is this a hot topic right now! As I have made it my mission to use language correctly and help other people do the same, I thought I would weigh in on the discussions around pronouns and what they actually mean. To be clear, myself and my work is 100% LGBTQIA+ friendly and no homophobia, transphobia or anything like it will be welcome here. This is a safe space for everyone, but let’s see if we can’t educate a bit as well. So let’s start with the basics.

What are pronouns?

Most people will be aware of what a noun is. A noun is a naming word, such as ‘toaster’ or ‘lollipop’ or ‘dog’. A proper noun is a name for a specific noun, such as ‘Steve’ or ‘Buckingham Palace’ or ‘Playstation’. It’s a word you use to identify a specific thing you want to talk about.

When you are talking about a specific thing in detail, it can be tiresome to repeatedly use the noun over and over again. Especially when you are talking about a person. That is where pronouns come in. Pronouns are words used in place of nouns when you don’t need to repeat what or who you are referring to. Read the definition in the Collins Dictionary.

An example: Steve is going on holiday next week. He is really looking forward to it.

In this example, ‘he’ is a pronoun. We know we’re talking about Steve, so we can use a pronoun in place of his name in the second sentence. There are different types of pronouns used for different purposes.

Personal Pronouns

These are used for people and animals. They can be used as either the subject or the object of a clause. They include: I, you, he, she, it, me, him, her, they, them, we and us. It is almost impossible to talk about people without using pronouns. Everyone has pronouns. They are not a new invention, they have been part of the English language and many other languages for a long, long time. There are some languages where pronouns are not used, or are optional, but the context will indicate the subject being discussed.

Some personal pronouns are gendered, and some are plural (sometimes!) but we’ll get into that in more detail later. English has a structure that generally requires a subject for clarity so pronouns are quite important. You may find other languages use pronouns differently. Japanese sentence structure means it is often possible in spoken Japanese to drop the pronouns, if it is clear who you are referring to. So while Japanese has words for I, you, he, she, they, etc, it is not incorrect to drop them entirely, allowing for a single verb to become a complete sentence in some cases. Indeed, it can be considered quite rude to use a word for ‘you’ in Japanese. In English, this doesn’t really work as well.

Other kinds of pronouns

There are other types of pronouns in English. Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject is performing the verb on itself (see what I did there!). Itself, myself, yourself are all good examples and are essential in some sentences.

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership of something: mine, his, yours, theirs, hers, its (do not use an apostrophe here! See this post here.). ‘That is mine, you can’t have it.’ Look at all the pronouns! Obviously this sentence only makes sense with context around it.

Demonstrative pronouns indicate nouns by their location or position relative to where you are. This, that, these, those. This is nearby, that is far away. Make sense?

Relative pronouns link a modifier to a noun. ‘She’s the one who did it.’ Who, whom, that, and which are all relative pronouns.

Interrogative pronouns are your question words. Who, whom, whose, which, and what are all interrogative pronouns. They are used to replace the noun when you are asking a question. ‘What is that?’

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are used when you don’t need to be specific about who you are talking about so a personal pronoun isn’t needed. This includes words like everyone, anyone, someone, neither, much.

Gendered Pronouns

Getting into part of what has been an ongoing discussion regarding personal pronouns. In English, we have both gendered and non-gendered personal pronouns. She/Her and He/Him are gendered, for female and male respectively. What about the non-gendered ones? They/Them, I/m, You, We/Us. There are others out there, this list is not exhaustive as there are newer pronouns which some people who do not identify with a binary gender, feel is more suitable.

It is important to be aware that you cannot always know what someone’s gender is by their appearance or their name. Some names are gender neutral. You can’t assume. So how do you navigate this? Simple. If in doubt, ask. If you make a mistake, apologise and correct yourself then move on. Don’t make a fuss about it. Be polite and respectful. If someone else uses the wrong pronouns for someone, politely correct them and move on.

There is no need to argue about pronouns or tell someone who they are based on what you think you know. It’s basic human decency to respect other people by calling them what they want to be called. It’s no different from someone preferring to go by a nickname or middle name, or getting married and taking their spouses surname.

‘But ‘they/them’ is plural!

Yeah, no, it’s not always. I have seen this argument a lot when it comes to non-binary people using ‘they/them’ pronouns. “It’s not grammatically correct.” That’s incorrect. Don’t get me wrong, ‘they/them’ are used in a plural form, referring to groups of people. This occurs in other languages too, some languages even have gendered group pronouns. In English, however, ‘they’ and ‘them’ can be correctly used for a single person of unspecified, unknown or non-binary gender.

Don’t believe me? Collins Dictionary to the rescue: here. Or the Guardian’s Style Guide entry on pronouns: here. The Blue Book of Grammar, particularly Rule 11a and11b: here. Finally, this article from the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the most definitive record of the English language, which traces use of the singular ‘they’ back to the year 1375 which you can read here.

Conclusion and Inclusion

So, in summary, you cannot drag out the ‘basic biology’ argument when it comes to gender identities and ignore the ‘basic grammar’ of pronouns. Singular ‘they’ is correct. Plural ‘they’ is also correct. If you disagree, you’re transphobic, simple as that. Also, while this isn’t really the place to discuss it in detail, as a life sciences graduate with years of experience treating a large variety of animals, I hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as ‘basic biology’. It is never that simple. Ever. Biology does not have hard and fast rules about anything. Try some basic human decency and respect instead. It looks better on everyone.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment, if you can be respectful. Discussion is welcome, as long as you remember that opinions are for pizza toppings and ice-cream flavours, not people’s existences. I reserve the right to moderate the comments and remove inappropriate or hateful ones. See you next time!

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