Proofreading Fun

Proofreading is a dying art, wouldn't you say?

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
When we complained, it took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next day.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No crap? Really? Ya think?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Now that's taking things a bit far!
_____________________________

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over What a guy! --------------------------------------------------------------- Miners Refuse to Work after Death No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's! ------------------------------------------------------ Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant See if THAT will work with a Teenager. ---------------------------------------------------------- War Dims Hope for Peace I can see where it might have that effect! ---------------------------------------------------------------- If Officials Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile Ya think?! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures Who would have thought! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide They may be on to something! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges You mean there's something stronger than duct tape? ---------------------------------------------------------- Man Struck By Lightning:  Faces Battery Charge He probably IS the battery charge! ---------------------------------------------- New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group Weren't they fat enough?! ----------------------------------------------- Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft That's what he gets for eating those pureed beans! ---------------- --------------------------------- Kids Make Nutritious Snacks Do they taste like chicken? ****************************** Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half Chainsaw Massacre all over again! *************************************************** Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors Boy, are they tall! ******************************************* And the winner is.... Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead Did I read that right? ***************************************************

Catching UP!

Not a long list, this week. We have begun to gather data for author payment, and will be spending most of the next two weeks of work time on the payment process.

Also plans are underway for the fall/winter list. If you have an e-book that is overdue to go to print, please contact me at: arline@mail.com so I don't forget to put it on my "to do" list.

BOOKS THAT WENT TO PRESS

OR BACK TO PRESS THIS WEEK:

A DESIRE PATH, by Jan Shapin

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

DEATH SHADOWS, by Sharon Jordan

GALLEYS THAT WENT OUT,

OR WENT OUT AGAIN, THIS WEEK:

WORLD WITHOUT END, by Nancy Madison

WORK CONTINUED OR BEGAN
ON THE FOLLOWING:

MURDER BY BEST SELLER, by Gabriel Timar


WILT THOU BE MINE, by Ann Nolder Heinz

SNIPER ON THE ROOF, by Warren Graffeo


STAR WOLF, by Warren Graffeo

If anyone here knows Warren Graffeo or is in contact with him, PLEASE ask him to contact me at:

arline@mail.com

The college e-mail we have for him is not working, another college is listed on his Facebook page, but despite repeated requests, he will not befriend us or give anyone access to his new e-mail. Both his books  are stalled and we cannot proceed with either of them until we hear from him.

What is a "dangling participle?"

The first in a popular series of mystery books about 
a prostitute-turned-band singer, and a musician-cop.
Together they come up against murder again, and again
-- without a dangling participle in sight.

Question: Someone told me I had a "dangling participle." I just said, "Thank you." But I have no idea what they meant....

Answer: Dangling participles are when a phrase is out of place in the sentence structure and the placement of the participle leaves it modifying the wrong verb, so that it  alters the meaning of the sentence from the author's original intention.

I can dangle a participle with the best of them and once had "a woman in a barn with a broken hip." This says the BARN had a broken hip -- must've been the roof.... Well, anyway, watch out for phrases like that. They tend to send editors off into gales of laughter.

What I meant, of course, was that the woman with a broken hip was in the barn, but that's not what I said. This happens to ALL of us from time to time, because we are so involved with what is happening in the story we are telling that we forget to pay attention to the words.  The trick is to recognize it when we give our work a final edit.

I use a method I call "layering."  That is, I write in layers, concentrating on one thing at a time – all my poor brain can manage --and going through the material several times with a single objective in mind. I hear my characters, rather than “see” them , so first, I go back and layer in every image I can think of to make sure my readers can see everything. I'm only working on images at this point. Show, show, show, show, show! 

Then I go back again and rewrite the transitions, making sure the who? when? and where? is present at the opening of every scene and that the viewpoint character is mentioned First. 

Also I look at continuity, checking to make sure they walk outside before noticing it has started to rain, etc. 

Then I look for end-of-scene hooks to make sure a reader wants to find out something that will happen later.

BUT IN THE BACK OF MY MIND, in all those passes, I try to keep a vigilant watch for those dangling participles. Because they will happen to the best of us.

Here's a few examples, though I'm not guilty of ALL of them:

Riding along on my bicycle, the dog knocked me over. (A bicycle-riding dog???)

Rushing to finish the paper, Bob's printer broke. (Nice when the machinery cares about your deadline!)

Running to the catch the bus, Bob's wallet fell out of his pocket. (Tell that wallet to walk next time!)

Having finished my dinner, the waitress offered to bring out the dessert tray. (I am not tipping a waitress who eats MY dinner!)

At age seven, her grandfather passed away. (Obviously, the grandfather did not pass away at age seven.)

Decked out in a stunning vintage Versace gown, the man couldn't take his eyes off his Academy Awards date.  (SOME guys will wear anything. )

Removing each other's fleas, the zoo workers watched the monkeys intently. (Flea-infested zoo-keepers? No big surprise.)

For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.  (Seen a few ladies like that in my time.)

And from e-Bay:

Wanted: Man to take care of cow who does not smoke or drink. (Nice that the cow  doesn't run up expenses for alcohol and tobacco.)

For Sale: Several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition. (Nice that granny is holding up so well.) 

Well, you get the idea!

 

Cheese Biscuits -- recipe

The latest murder mystery from popular author
C. M. Albrecht

Cheese Biscuits

1     pound of sharp cheese (shredded)
1 ½     teaspoons of paprika
4     cups of self-rising flour
1     pound of margarine
3/4     teaspoon of cayenne pepper
    Pecan halves as needed

Mix first five ingredients together, chill 1 hour. Do NOT skip this step. Roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut with 1 1/4 inch cookie cutter.  Place on greased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Press pecan half on top.  Bake 10 minutes or until firm (not brown) at 350-F or 177-C degrees.  Yields 2 dozen.

They don't like my characters...writing tip

This is a story about a bunch of characters you
will love and at least one that you will love-to-hate.

Question:  The folks in my writer's group don't like any of my characters. You said in a recent post that if the reader doesn't have any stake in your characters, there will be no tension in your story.  They say they don't DISlike them, just don't care about them one way or the other. What can I do?

Answer: The reader only knows what you show or tell them. But that can be a very small amount of information and therein lies the problem. YOU may know a lot more about them than you show/tell the reader. 

Perhaps your character is a guy who makes a bet that he can get to first base with some "untouchable" girl on a first date? Now that's an UN-gentlemanly thing to do and shows him as disrespectful to women. Basically, he's betting against her virtue here. This is the same plot whether in Jane Austen's era, or our own.

At that point the reader is unsympathetic to him and rooting for the girl, but the guy is your PROtagonist and the reader should be rooting for him. The key here, is motivation. You can show her, before the bet, being rude to him, OR you can show him as crazy-in-love with her and making the bet while in the throes of a dream/fantasy, but however you do it, he MUST have a GOOD  reason, a likeable reason, or at least an UNDERSTANDABLE reason for what he does. 

I once read a story where the main character was shown as playing mean tricks on his phys-ed teacher, behaving like a bully to his classmates, and going off to sulk by himself  after school when the others asked him to come along to the soda shop. The actual writing was good and I could see everything that happened, but the character acted like an ass.

When I asked my student why he was so rude, she said he was too poor to buy a soda, that the teacher encouraged the others when they constantly made fun of him in gym class for not having the right kind of basketball shoes. But  none of that was in her story. She knew all about it, but she hadn't let the reader in on any of that.

Now, I don't know your characters, or your situation, but you might want to check for facts about the character that have not been shown.

I once read an article in Writer's Digest by popular fiction writer Phyllis Whitney, in which she said, "a heroine can never have chipped nail polish." I looked down at my own well-bitten digits and knew I'd never make it as a heroine. 

But her point was that in the real world you'd hardly ever notice if someone's nail polish was slightly chipped, because you have the whole persona there in front of you and you are seeing everything all at the same time. But within the context of a story, where the reader knows so little and then only what the writer chooses to show, if her nail polish is chipped, the reader will assume that she's slovenly and careless. 

Everything you say about a character in your story takes on weight tenfold.

It's fall and will soon be candy season

OUT OF CONTROL is a story gleaned from my days
as a newspaper reporter, covering cops and courts.

Below is my favorite easy fudge recipe. It's easy and never fails to be just right.

3 sticks of butter ( Warning: must be Real Butter!)
1 Two  lb package of 10x sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

Melt the butter in the microwave

Stir in vanilla and salt with a whisk or fork

Mix in the sifted sugar, half at a time, stirring well

As you add the second half of the sugar, the mixture will form a thick consistency. Mix well with your hands as if it were bread dough, until it is smooth and thick.
(If the final mixture is too dry, add 1 tbsp of cream.)
(If final mixture is too wet, add a little extra sugar.)

When the fudgy consistency is just right, spread doughy mixture on a greased cookie sheet (Pam works great). Using your hands, pat it into a flat square shape about 1 inch thick.

Cut into 1 inch squares and Refrigerate for half an hour or more.

When the fudge is firm, put the squares into plastic bags, or candy dishes. Store in a cool place.

The fudge will stay firm at room temperature, but should not be stored near an oven, or a wood stove. I usually put mine on the back porch. It's glassed in, and not quite as warm as the rest of the house.


For Chocolate Fudge

To the above recipe, add 3/4 cup cocoa to melted butter, mix well, then proceed as shown.


For Chocolate Nut Fudge

Add 3/4 cup cocoa and
1 cup pecan pieces
Or Black walnut pieces
Or whatever nuts you like best
Mix nuts in with the sugar.


For Pina Collada Fudge

Leave out cocoa and add:
1 tbsp coconut flavoring.
1 tbsp pineapple flavoring
Yellow food coloring (optional).


For Mint Fudge
Leave out chocolate.
Add 1 tbsp mint flavoring.
Green food coloring.


For Almond Fudge
Leave out chocolate.
Add 1 1/2 tsp almond flavoring
Red food coloring to make the mixture pink.


For Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge

To the basic recipe, stir 1 cup of peanut butter in with melted butter.
Stir in 3/4 cup cocoa.
Then proceed with the basic recipe.

Catching UP!

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

HANNAH'S GHOST, by Robert Kanehl

THE COLLECTED STORIES OF VICTOR URIBE, by Victor Uribe

WORLD WITHOUT END, by Nancy Madison

TWO FACES: TWO FACED, by Kathryn Flatt

Work Began or Continued on the Following:

STAR-WOLF, by Warren Graffeo

MURDER BY BEST SELLER, by Gabriel Timar

If anyone here knows Warren Graffeo or is in contact with him,
PLEASE ASK HIM TO CONTACT:

arline@mail.com

The college e-mail we have for him is not working, another college is listed AS HIS WORKPLACE on his Facebook page, but despite repeated requests, he will not befriend us or give anyone access to his new e-mail. Both his books are stalled and we cannot proceed with either of them until we hear from him.