http://lenaaustin.com Welcome to MY Worlds Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:31:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Okay, I have to admit my organization fails me now and then. This is one of those times. I'll get back to the How to Write Workshop in a day or two.Lena http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/09/please-bear-with-me.html If there's one thing I personally can't stand, it's using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences. AND, BUT and OR are conjunctions used to string phrases together. They do not belong at the beginning of sentences.However, let me clarify something. Using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences is part ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/sin-of-conjunctions-used-as-transitions.html Yes, this is getting repetitive. Sometimes you have to explain something multiple times before the right phrasing or example comes up that causes the light bulb to go off in someone's head. Bear with me.One of the easiest ways to spot passive voice is by the use of conjugations of ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/passive-and-showing-vs-telling.html lyas- This is a biggie, lately. Use it with similes, but be careful not to use it to describe sequential events, such as: "As he turned, she shot him." Say instead, "He whipped around and beheld the Colt 45 in her hand. The crack of a gunshot, and he ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/lenas-no-no-list-for-macros.html Macros for Self-EditingWhen you edit, you have to look for various things. We all have our own foibles; I repeat certain words, for instance, and then there are the things we need to check like speech tags, passives, the overuse of 'as,' and the rest! Checking all these things takes ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/macros-for-self-editing.html We all feel like this sometimes...http://video.yahoo.com/network/100284668?v=3281906&l=3774740Yep, I herd cats...I mean, authors...Lena http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/just-funny-video.html Repetitive word useWarning: Once you read this, you may well inherit my obsession for rooting these words out of my writing...I'm talking about dinosaurs -- words no longer necessary to our language that hang around out of sheer stubbornness. We find these words used places where they aren't needed and ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/hunt-for-it-and-that-by-m.html "Do it right the first time. Don't skip a step, or you will pay later. Note: if you use a computer, use the `find' feature available in most word processing programs to search for some of these items. See your individual program instructions for directions on how to do this. ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/self-edit-in-nutshell.html THE ARTFUL CRITIQUE PARTNERI will assume that there are two people in this partnership, though more may apply. One is the Author (A) and one is the crit partner (C).When A sends a chapter to C, the document should have already been run through a spell/grammar check. (F-7 in Word). ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/artful-critique-partner.html Self-editing is why my former editor Raven called "Feeding the Hag Within." That hagis a nagging bitch, but she must be fed her dose of your blood and sweat.I have a stepped system for keeping my hag fed. Use it or not, as pleases you.1. Write a chapter. Puke it ... http://depravedduchess.blogspot.com/2008/08/feeding-hag.html