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In This Issue: I. Grammar Gazette: Run-On Sentences Need More Info? Visit The Novel Physics Archives! |
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Grammar Gazette: Avoiding The Trap of Run-On Sentences.
Run-on sentences are rampant in today’s publishing world. Many writers take one sentence and use it to fill a paragraph sized block of the page. This practice is tiresome and can cause your readers to become frustrated with the lack of a "break." Take a good look at your work. Do you have too many compound sentences that could be divided into two? Remember a paragraph is generally composed of three sentences. They can vary in length, but your use of the run-on sentence should be kept to a bare minimum. Example: Before: "He chased his dog down the street, but it was quick and he couldn’t keep up, it ran down the alley and across the main highway." After: "He chased his dog. It ran down the street, but he couldn’t keep up. It went into the alley and across the main highway." The slight pauses give you a rest between the actions.
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II. To Be Or Not To Be? It is a question of usage.
Another problematic area for writers is the subtle, "passive/active," verb use. Often, the two are very different and can be easily separated by a reader. But, there are times when subtle usage eludes a writer’s eye. Example: "I was thinking maybe he didn’t have such a good idea." Should be: "I thought maybe he didn’t have such a good idea." The words, "was," "were," and. "had," frequently appear before you have time to correct them. These words are a big part of the spoken English language and it’s natural that they find their way into the stories we write. They are all variations of the combination, "to be." Before you finalize your story, do a quick check and see if you can make your sentences more active and concise by eliminating these needless shifts in tense.
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III. Beware the Over-Edit!
As much emphasis as is placed on the process of editing, can you overedit? Sadly, yes. Overediting occurs when you have not only removed the mistakes from your work, you’ve removed the original message, voice, and pacing. While a rare event, this can not only frustrate an author, it can anger them to the point of giving up. If you’re working on your 30th draft of your work, step back a moment. Be sure you aren’t obsessing and are only eliminating the problem areas, not the plot. |
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