Category Archives: Style

Nonfiction & Non-nonfiction

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It bothers me when anything is referred to as a negative of something else,  such as nonfiction is NOT fiction. Its only identity is about what it is NOT. Like Man and non-man.  Like white and non-white. Like yellow and non-yellow. I find it so pejorative, with this word in particular, and I wish there was another way to say “nonfiction” that was about what it IS, not what it is NOT. Fiction is also referred to as literature or fictional prose, but it is a positive–it is fictional. It’s not even non-nonfiction, perhaps only because that would be cumbersome. … Continue reading →

Critique of Bad Fiction

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Several years ago, I did a critique for a friend who wanted my editorial-writerly insight on some stories she wrote. After I read them, I was then uneasy, because I am not willing to lie, yet I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. When she asked about the results of my reading, I told her I was afraid she wouldn’t like my critique. She stated emphatically that she wanted the cold hard truth. And so, that’s what I gave her. Below, is the critique, and I post it because I feel it covers lots of territory that every new writer … Continue reading →

Voice: First & Third Person

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One of the most difficult things to master for me (and many other writers) is VOICE. This challenge trudges through the morass of other subjects like past tense vs. present tense, or past perfect tense, flashbacks, omniscience. . . Which Person? In fiction, the overwhelming majority of books are written in Third-Person. There are cogent reasons for this. One pertinent reason is that when you use First-Person, you are restricted to only what your main character is privy too. So if you need some clandestine goings-on, this wouldn’t serve you. In First-Person, your main character has to be present all … Continue reading →

I Heard You the First Time

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…Repetition as enemy to style and cadence. Even great writers make mistakes. I can usually tell when it’s an editing oversight, or the fault of the author. An editor’s oversight seems a simultaneous contradiction, in that it can mean “overlook”, but also “seeing-over,” as in monitoring–same word, two opposite meanings. Accordingly, when I use the word “mistake” in this context, it doesn’t necessarily imply the condition of being WRONG. I use the word, “mistake” loosely. What I’m really talking about are stylistic errors. But telling someone how to have a writing style, is like telling someone how to have clothing … Continue reading →