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Apostrophobia continued - February 18, 2012

In my last post, I wrote about misusing the possessive apostrophe. But some people seem to be afraid of an easier form of that little punctuation mark: contractions.

I recently read a review of a supernatural novel in which the critic complained about the author's fear of using the apostrophe. Apparently the novelist wrote "do not," "has not," "was not," and "are not" instead of the common contractions "don't," "hasn't," "wasn't," and "aren't." According to the reviewer, the stilted language threw the book's rhythm "off balance." (I assume the lack of contractions was mostly in the dialogue, since people tend to use contractions when speaking unless they're purposely being precise.)

Contractions are sometimes a better choice in other forms of writing too. As a newspaper reporter for Fairchild Publications, I was instructed to use contractions, especially in news articles. Why? The editor explained that "do not" could turn into "do," if a typesetting error was made, but by writing "don't," you eliminated that possibility. Since then, I've considered the contraction to be a helpful friend.

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The dreaded apostrophe - February 14, 2012

Although today is Valentine's Day (happy hearts, everyone!), each year I look forward to February's next holiday, Presidents' Day, because of the havoc the possessive apostrophe causes for ad writers. In New York, as in most states, the holiday has been combined to celebrate the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, which means we are honoring two statesmen, thus the possessive plural apostrophe--Presidents' Day.

Sales ads for the holiday, however, tell a different story. Some are correctly headed "Presidents' Day Sale," but many announce a "President's Day Sale," honoring just one man. I always wonder who is being lauded: Abe or George? Still other ads tout "Presidents Day Sale" or "Presidential Sale," totally avoiding the apostrophe decision.

This year, my favorite print ad is from a car dealer (actually two divisions of the same company), who shared a page vertically in last Friday's Daily News. The left half, Major Kia, proclaims "Pre-President's Day," while the right half, Major Jeep, announces "Pre-Presidents' Day Event." I guess each Major division has its own copywriter!

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Character study - February 10, 2012

For the past three days, I was a juror in a civil trial in which a pedestrian sued for damages after being hit by a bus. It was an interesting, though slow-moving, experience. (Justice--at least in New York--moves slowly thanks largely to 90-minute lunch breaks, to save the State money on salaries.)

As a novelist, I'm a people-watcher and the plaintiff's attorney was especially entertaining. The lawyer, Mr. R, was a 78-year-old (he told us his age) overweight Italian with a thick Bronx accent. Picture an incompetent, older combination of Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny and Peter Falk in "Columbo." All the jurors felt he hadn't been inside a courtroom in many years.

He apologized for being unable to stand to examine witnesses because of a bad back. But he also couldn't hear well. At one point, the judge coughed and Mr. R questioned what had been said.

"I was just coughing," the judge explained.

"Oh," Mr. R said. "I thought you were yellin' at me again. You're always yellin' at me."

While the judge didn't yell at the man, the defense's lawyer (representing the bus company) constantly objected to Mr. R's questions and nearly all of the objections were sustained.

I felt a bit sorry for Mr. R--especially when we didn't give his client very much money. However, the plaintiff was a liar and we determined the man's most serious injuries had been the result of a subsequent auto accident--not from being hit by the bus.

I watched Mr. R fail in the courtroom, but I hope to succeed in capturing his persona in a future novel.

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Those controlling characters - February 6, 2012

I recently got feedback from a Peachwood Lake reader who enjoyed the book, but had several suggestions for making it more appropriate for younger teens. He suggested eliminating three things: the sex scene, the cursing by one of the main characters, and some of the gory description.

Although I agree with his assessment, I can't make those changes. When I started writing Peachwood Lake, my intention was to target the novel for young teens, which is why the protagonist, Kady Gonzalez, is a 13-year-old. And the subplot is still a coming-of-age story, dealing with Kady's problems of growing up.

However, as I got further into the book, my characters took over the action and they had their own ideas. The novelist Stuart Woods is supposed to have said, "I don't curse, but my characters do." That's exactly what happened with Peachwood Lake. As for the brief sexual content--hey, it wasn't my idea either. My characters demanded it. I toned down the scene, but couldn't eliminate it entirely. The violence? Look at the book's cover. This story is a thriller about a ferocious fish that terrorizes a lake so there has to be some blood and guts. But the book isn't exceptionally violent.

Peachwood Lake may not be for the youngest teen readers, but I still think it's appropriate for older teens, as well as adults. And, if you disagree, please take the matter up with my characters.

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Making sense - February, 2, 2012

I've started to reread the first thirteen chapters of The Touchers, the novel I'm currently writing, to make sure the story makes sense. My normal daily routine is to reread the previous scene or two and then write the next scene. Until now, I haven't backtracked and reread the entire manuscript, nearly 28,000 words.

So far, I've reread six chapters and found several minor mistakes and one serious error: I forgot I had added a scene in which a character breaks a window in a house--and then another character later breaks that same still-broken window to enter the house. Duh! At least, I'll be able to fix the mistake fairly easily.

I prefer to move forward and write the first draft of a novel without spending too much time backtracking. But this story is getting complicated and, even though I'm the author, I don't always remember everything I've written. Before this book is finished, I'll probably have read it at least forty or fifty times.

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And then there were none? - January 29, 2012

Barnes & Noble is the last bookstore chain standing, and today's New York Times' Business section has a lengthy cover story about the importance of B & N's survival to the book publishing industry.

Barnes & Noble's stock fell earlier this month when the company predicted it would lose more money in 2012 than expected. If B & N goes out of business, where do readers go to examine print books to buy--to actually pick them up and browse through them? Independent bookstores are dwindling (there are none near me) and department stores, discounters, and supermarkets stock only a few best-sellers.

Of course, there's always the e-book. And B & N does have Nook. But Amazon has the top e-reader, Kindle, plus a marketing strategy to encourage authors to publish directly online.

I hope Barnes & Noble succeeds. Although the chain doesn't stock DUST or Peachwood Lake, my novels can still be ordered at any of their retail outlets. Also, my local B & N has supported area authors by inviting us to participate in signing events. I may be a dinosaur, but I like print books--and bookstores.

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What's in a name? - January 25, 2012

A new TV series debuted tonight. It's called "Touch" and stars Kiefer Sutherland. According to Fox's website, "Touch is a "preternatural drama" in which "science and spirituality intersect" and it will feature "unrelated people whose lives affect each other."

I didn't watch the show and it doesn't really interest me. What interests me is the title--"Touch"--because it's so similar to the title of the novel I'm writing: The Touchers. Of course, my story is completely different than the TV show. It's an end-of-the-world tale based on a strange meteorological event. And in my novel, weirdness and people intersect.

However, I have found a new TV series that I think I'm going to love. Naturally, it's weird--and I'm not writing a book with a similar title. The show is "Alcatraz."

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Time-travel - January 21, 2012

I just finished reading 11/22/63, Stephen King's novel in which a man journeys back in time to try to prevent President Kennedy's assassination. I wanted to read the book for two main reasons: I really enjoy time-travel stories and I wanted to see how 11/22/63 compared to my own time-travel novel, The Disappearance.

Basically, I loved King's book. The main character, Jake Epping, is a good guy and his girlfriend, Sadie, is an absolute delight. Of course, this is Stephen King so the plot is well-crafted with many unpredictable twists and turns--and lots of gore and horror. I thought the love story--not a King specialty--was terrific and the chapters set in rural Texas of the early '60s were superb.

Ironically, what I liked the least were the parts centering on Lee Harvey Oswald, the historical sections I expected to enjoy the most. I felt King included too many unnecessary factoids about the assassin, his wife, and his associates. I know the author did lots of research, but I didn't want to read it all. It slowed down the story for me.

How does 11/22/63 compare to my novel? The Disappearance will be about 300 pages when it's published; King's book is 850 pages, with much more death and destruction. In my novel, the bad guy's hiding in the past and people have to go back in time to catch him. It's a simpler premise with less violence.

But there are a few similarities. My main character, Jillian Keating, makes a comment about time-travel that's almost identical to something Jake Epping says. Also, my villain and King's hero exploit their knowledge of the past to make money in similar ways.

Now it's back to editing my version of time-travel: The Disappearance.

Word count - January 17, 2012

I try to write a scene of my book every morning--just one scene, not even one chapter. This amounts to about an hour of intense creativity, including reviewing the previous scene or two and making any necessary revisions. My daily output ranges from 200 to 500 words.

Lately, several Facebook novelist friends have posted comments about their writing progress: "I'm aiming to write 2,000 words a day" or "I want to produce 80,000 words this month." Wow! I guess if I locked myself in my den with my computer for ten hours a day, that achievement might be possible (although I doubt it).

Although I'm a writer, I don't try to achieve such a prodigious word production. Churning out so many words at such a fast pace--that's not my style. I'm more like the turtle: slow and steady.

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Heading headache - January 13, 2012

In my January 5 post, I asked if it was okay for a young adult novel to contain sex. I repeated the question on Facebook and got about 40 responses, pro and con. After reviewing the feedback--and my own feelings--I decided I should categorize Peachwood Lake as a YA novel for older teens since it's a coming-of-age story with just one small sex scene that's intrinsic to the plot.

But when I tried to add the "Young Adult" classification, I found I couldn't do it. Why? The subject heading doesn't exist. I learned that a non-profit trade association, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), creates standardized subject classifications and the closest category to my needs is "Juvenile Fiction," which sounds like a synonym for "Children's Fiction."

I'm disappointed that I can't tag Peachwood Lake for older teen readers. Even my local library has a "Young Adult" alcove (with sign) in its Adult section--so why isn't the YA classification available, even as a sub-category?

I also noticed that the only "time travel" category is "Romance/Time Travel," which doesn't work for my next novel, The Disappearance--a time-travel story, but not a romance. Guess I'm just a misfit author!

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Verb variations - January 9, 2012

I'm again editing The Disappearance, my time travel novel, reviewing notes from an intuitive reader who's pointed out that I repeat certain words, particularly descriptive verbs.

It's true. I tend to overuse words like "stare," "mutter," and "shout." People in my book "look" at things all the time so I try to vary "look" with synonyms. But "gaze," "peer," and "observe," seem contrived so I prefer "stare"--apparently too much.

Most of the time, my characters just "say" something. But occasionally, instead of "whispering," they "mutter," "mumble," or "murmur"--again perhaps too much. Similarly, the people in my books "shout" or "yell" a lot. I like the suggestion this reader made to insert an occasional "said angrily."

It's a balancing act: I want to vary my writing, but I don't want repetitive synonyms to distract from the flow of the novel.

Sex and the young adult novel - January 5, 2012

Peachwood Lake is a thriller about an evil fish, but it's also a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old-girl. I envisioned the novel as a young adult story. However, as I wrote it, I became leery of the YA tag because the novel has a brief sex scene.

I've never gotten a clear answer to this question: Is it okay for a young adult novel to contain sex? If you're wondering--no, the 13-year-old protagonist doesn't have sex! But although I toned down the raunchy little scene, I left it in the book because it's necessary to the story.

At my recent book signing, I dissuaded the parents of a couple of young teen girls from purchasing Peachwood Lake because of the scene, steering them instead to my other novel, DUST, which has an older heroine, but no sex.

Despite my misgivings, several people who've read Peachwood Lake have told me they feel the book should be marketed as a YA novel and I'm considering the suggestion. What do you think?

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The "write" resolutions - January 1, 2012

Happy New Year! It's the time for making resolutions so here are three of mine:

*I resolve to keep writing every day. I'm pretty good about writing at least one scene every morning. It's important for me to maintain a writing routine since scenes add up to chapters and chapters add up to books. I've written 21,000 words in my current novel, The Touchers.

*I resolve to get back to editing my manuscripts. I've gotten good suggestions for improving my time-travel novel, The Disappearance. Now I have to review the critique and make some changes. With the holidays, I've avoided the challenge. But now the holidays are over and it's time for me to stop procrastinating and start editing.

*I resolve to do the necessary research for my book. If you read this blog, you know I don't enjoy doing research, which usually involves learning technical or scientific material, so I put it off. I'd rather just write. But now I have to find out how fire hydrants work.

I happened to look at last year's resolutions and found they were nearly identical to those above. I guess I tend to procrastinate about the same things every year. How about you? What are your New Year's resolutions?

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