Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Thoughts On Using Grammerly


I have a tendency to skim over my work, not see all of the typos/errors, call it good, and hit publish. I refer to myself as a writer, so this is not a good thing. I put a lot of writing up on the Internet, and I was having to go back and make a lot of corrections - often after friends had alerted me that something wasn't kosher. The Grammarly app came to my attention, so I thought I would give it a try. First I will give a synopsis about what Grammarly does, then I will highlight my experience with it.

From Wikipedia: " Grammarly is an online grammar checking, spell checking, and plagiarism detection platform developed by Grammarly, Inc. The software was first released in July 2009. Grammarly's proofreading resources check against more than 250 grammar rules." The version that I use is Grammarly For Chrome. Grammarly highlights both spelling and grammar errors as you are typing so that you can make corrections in a timely manner. It works for messages, documents, and social media posts, as well as e-mail. Grammarly features a contextual spelling checker, along with a grammar checker. The premium version of Grammarly checks for over 100 additional types of errors, makes vocabulary enhancement suggestions, detects plagiarism, gives citation suggestions, and gives suggestions for different writing styles (i.e. academic, technical, and creative).

Overall, I really like Grammarly. When I hit the publish button, I am not as concerned that I am unleashing a gazillion typo's, which is a very good feeling! There are a couple of issues that I find irritating though. For one thing, Grammarly and I hit head on over the use of commas! This happens so often that I have decided to just say the heck with it, and leave the commas where I want them to be! The second irritation that I have with Grammarly is that it will sometimes (not often) suggest another version of a word. So far, their suggestions have been totally out of context, so I choose to ignore them.

A little side benefit (even for the free version, which is what I have) is that I get a monthly report from Grammarly. This includes notes on productivity (number of words written), accuracy, vocabulary (unique words used), and top grammar mistakes (yes, commas always make this part of my report!). 

In time, I will be purchasing the paid for version of this app.

(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.   

Monday, April 15, 2019

Watching Notre Dame Burn


How do we take the energy of shock and put it to best use as a writer? Thanks to the immediacy of the Internet, I am watching the Notre Dame Cathedral burn. I mean, it is truly burning! I literally watched a spire burn and fall over - part of history is being destroyed through fire, and there is nothing we can do. Yes, firemen are on the scene, but they can only do so much. A very important part of Paris, a very important part of human history, is burning before our eyes.

As a writer, am I taking notes? Good heavens no! I cannot separate myself from what is going on. All I can do is make mental notes of my reactions to what I am seeing.  At some future point in time will I be able to use this event, this energy in some way in my writing? If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't be a writer. I will make some notes later today, and file them away. In the next few days I will add more notes. I can only imagine how the people of Paris are feeling right now. That may go into future stories that I write also. 

Events like this are lynchpins - they mark a point in time for us. They affect us, and they affect the people around us. They are part of the environment of our stories, and they add color and context to the action. They tell us a great deal about our characters, about how they think, and how they feel. 

I am still in shock - and probably will be for days. But I am also a writer, and I will allow this event to be something that I can use to make my stories real, and to connect to my readers in a manner that is within their scope of experience.

As a writer, how do you add color to your stories with major events like this?

(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission.

Monday, April 8, 2019

Changing Up ... Who Knew!


Change is not something that I take to readily. Cozy mystery is the genre that I like reading, and that I want to write in. So ... my first mystery is turning out to be quite the "noir" style affair! When I realized that it was going to be a bit much for the cozy mystery crowd, I turned it into a three book series (in my mind). I did not want a stand-alone book, and two books does not a series make, so it will be three books.

Each book will feature the same protagonist, but the focus will be on different supporting characters. Their lives are all intertwined - at least they were for a very long time. So the flow between books should not be that hard. I am going to have to change the locale for this (short) series, though, as I want the local that I started with to be the one for my cozy mystery. 

One of the bonuses to this change is that I can keep all of the action in one city. I don't have to research private planes, or airports that handle private planes. Yes! I can still keep the luxurious mansion that the action takes place in, and I will be talking about a part of the country that I actually know something about!

As writers, we need to be able to accept this type of change and flow with it. Yes, I am going to have to rewrite a few things, but that won't take long. How do you feel about your stories when they take an abrupt left turn like this?  Are you willing to follow your muse and make the change?

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(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Monday, April 1, 2019

Back Cover Blurbs - How To Make Your Book Shine


What purpose does your back cover blurb serve? It is the magic carpet to getting people to buy your book! That is how important these few words are. So, how do you go about creating copy that will draw people in, excite them, and make them want to read your book?

Generally speaking, the copy on the back cover is simply a "blurb", a short paragraph of approximately 250 words or less. It needs to draw prospective readers in and make them want to buy and read your book. Your blurb is not meant to be a synopsis of your book, or a description of your book. It is meant to be a sales pitch. That matters to those of us publishing on Amazon, because Amazon is now showing back covers on the sales page!

To create some type of template for yourself, look at the back cover blurbs of several authors within your own genre. What is similar about them, and what is different? Take what you like about the style, and apply it to your own blurb. 

Think like your prospective reader - what do you want to know about a book before you buy it? What makes you want to buy a book in the genre you are writing in?

Your first sentence needs to draw in a potential reader. It has to make them want to read on! Mention your characters, and highlight the tension between them. Who is doing what to whom! Show the tension - then leave your potential reader hanging. If they want to know what happens - they can read the book! Speak in the emotional language of potential readers. Use short sentences, and speak in your own voice!

(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.


Long Chapters Or Short Chapters - What Is Your Preference?

Does it make a difference to a reader whether the chapters in a book are long or short? It does to me. I like shorter chapters, as they feed...