Week of September 29, 2013 – Betwixt

By Joan WHetzel

 

I’ve always been intrigued by the word “betwixt.” I think it’s the “X.” how many times in the average conversation do you get to use  words with the letter x in them? Be I like it because it’s an older word that nobody uses in modern language.

 

History of Betwixt

“Betwixt” is an Old English word coming from a combination of the words be or by and the Germanic word “twain” meaning two. It frequently has been shortened to the word “twixt.” Betwixt, like it’s counterpart between, came to describe something or someone that feel somewhere in the middle of two extremes – like turquoise falls betwixt blue and green, or a group of people that are neither gentry or poor, the middle class. In fact, the phrase “betwixt and between” was first used to describe the middle class in England. The phrase “betwixt and between” is actually a redundancy, since both words mean pretty much the same thing.

 

Betwixt Defined

The first definition of “betwixt” used in almost every dictionary is the word between. It is also defined as

·                     In a middle or midway position

·                     Neither one thing nor the other.

·                     Unresolved.

·                     Midpoint between two places or times.

·                     In the interval.

 

Betwixt Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms include: among, amid, amidst, encompassed by, in the midst of, in the thick of, mid, surrounded by, or surrounded by.

 

Antonyms include: away from, outside, or separate.

 

“Betwixt and Between” synonyms include: debatable, arguable, between a rock and a hard place, between sixes and sevens, bone of contention, borderline, chancy, contestable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, iffy, moot, open to question, problematic, questionable, the jury’s out, touch and go, uncertain, undecided, unsettled, and up for discussion.

 

 

Hmm! I think I’m seeing some uses for the terms “betwixt” and “betwixt and between” in my won writing. I think I’m gonna have fun finding was to use them.

Week of Sept. 22 , 2013 – Book Review: “Body Count” by PD Martin

By Joan Whetzel

 

“Body Count” tells the story of FBI agent Sophie Anderson – recently transplanted from Australia – in one of her early cases with the Bureau. In this case, a series of women go missing and end up dead. Several key similarities suggest the killer’s signature. The killer’s signature becomes more evident when the Washington DC cases are connected to similar murders in Arizona, Michigan, Chicago, and Florida. But the whole case blows into high gear when one of their own agents, and Sophie’s best friend, is kidnapped by their killer.

 

I almost put this book down, never to be picked up again. Ms. Martin committed 2 writer’s sins – at least in my book. Her first sin is starting out the first chapter with the close of Sophie's last case then just sitting around for 3 chapters introducing characters, and not moving the plot at all. I, personally, hate books that take so long to introduce a plot. I much prefer a story that jumps right in with both feet, or at least gets it started within the first few pages.

 

Martin’s second sin is her propensity for stopping the story – frequently – to explain things to the audience, like the readers are too dense to figure out these things for themselves. It’s the oldest known writer’s error of telling instead of showing. The one thing that any writer’s course – in any genre of writing – drums into future writers is to “show; don’t tell.” But Martin breaks this rule repeatedly, and I found it extremely annoying. The plot starts gets exciting, and suddenly she stops it to have Sophie give a sidebar explanation of basic FBI procedures and forensics. Then she jumps back into the story. What makes it disturbing for me is that it interrupts my train of thought, so that I have to go back and find out where I was in the plot and jump back to the story a paragraph or three down the page to pick up the story again.

I know, I know, I’m jaded by all the forensics-rich TV shows that have been so popular lately. But I don’t want my writers to keep stopping the action to give me a forensics 101 course every few pages. It interrupts the action so much, it’s hard for me to keep on track with the story.

 

About half way through the book, Martin finally lets up with the interruptions and keeps the plot going. But it was really hard getting into the book and staying with it. I’ll give PD Martin a break though. “Body Count”, which came out in 2005, is her first book. I know she’s got at least one other book, though I haven’t located that book or any others by PD Martin. So I don’t know if she’s going to continue with the slow starts and constant interruptions.

 

If you’re looking for a new author, don’t let my gripes talk you out of reading PD Martin’s books. Despite my gripes about the slow start and the unnecessary explanations – the telling rather than showing – I still anticipate that she will develop her skills and come out with some good stories. So I’ll tell you to give her a try and see what you think for yourself.

Week of Sept. 15, 2013 - Blurbs

By: Joan Whetzel

 

We’ve all seen them, those blurbs on the back cover of a paperback, on the inside dust jacket of a hard cover book. Those few words are what draw in readers, makes them want to buy the book and take it home to read. Blurbs can also be written to entice readers to pick up a magazine to read a specific article, or continue to a website to read their online content.

 

Blurbs Defined

Yes, blurbs can also be written to describe any product – especially those sold in catalogs and online stores – to entice buyers to fork over their hard earned money. But since this is a blog dedicated to writing,  we’ll stick to the writer’s definition of a blurb. The word “blurb” was invented during  the 1907 American Booksellers Association meeting, allegedly by illustrator and humorist Gelett Burgess, to describe a brief advertisement or announcement. These ads and announcements are generally congratulatory in nature, a short summary intended to excite readers.

 

Blurb History

It seems, Mr. Burgess had recently published a book, but it wasn’t selling well.  So, he took the opportunity to present members of the American Booksellers Association  with copies of his book with  specially designed bookplates showing the picture of a young lady – Belinda Blurb -  singing the praises of his book. The name blurb appealed to the booksellers and publishers, as did the idea of singing the praises of their books to rope in the readers, and so the word “blub” stuck and became a stable of the publishing industry ever since.

 

Writing Blurbs

To write blurbs about your books and articles – or products –

1.                  Keep it short, but don’t tell them everything.

2.                  Give your audience just enough information to intrigue them or tease them, but don’t spoil the movie for them.

3.                  Use juicy, compelling verbs and nouns in your descriptions.

4.                  Write for the correct audience – after all you’re not going to sell an “R” rated book to a pre-teen. So know who your wrote the book or article for and write the blurb to that audience as well.

 

Blurbing is easy, once you do it a few times. The more you do it, the easier it gets. If you're really not sure if your blurbs sound quite right, though, first compare them to blurbs written by other authors. Then try reading your blurbs aloud, and tweak them as necessary.

5 Things Lazy or Poor Writers Do

By Joan Whetzel

 

I've written a lot of articles, books, and blogs - most of them good, some of them less than stellar. I have read far more articles, books and blogs than I have written. Most of them good, some of them less than stellar. There are 5 things these authors do that drive me crazy as a reader.

 

1)      Not Enough Research

            It doesn't matter whether the writer is creating fiction or nonfiction pieces, if something committed to the page smacks of not having done the research, it's not only bad writing, it's laziness. When writer's commit one lack-of-research error I, as a reader, might forgive him or her. But if it happens repeatedly, I will put down the book or magazine, or navigate away from the website in search of a better writer.

 

2)      Stopping Mid-Story to Explain Things

The opposite of number one, is the writer who does the research, and feels the overwhelming need to stop and explain things to the reader, as if we readers are too stupid to figure it out. Quit explaining stuff to me, and tell me the story. This is a show, don't tell moment. Show me what's going on, but please rein in that urge to explain things that I probably already know, or can infer from the writing - so long as it's good writing. I've been trying to read a novel by a writer who suffers from this condition. If I can get through the book, I'll write you  a review.

 

3)      Rambling Roses

This sin is particularly bad with nonfiction writers, for some reason. They dance around the point without ever finding it. I want to scream at them to "Just get to the point already!"  Then follow up by sending them recommendations to a couple of good editing classes.

 

4)      Grammar and Spelling Errors

There's no excuse for failing to run grammar and spell checks. I've failed on this one a time or two, to my own shame. The corollary to this one, is choosing a word that sounds like the word you're looking for, but is spelled differently. Those one's are the writing tricksters that have gotten many a writer into trouble.

 

5)      Rewriting the Same Story - Over and Over Again.

Okay, most writers will take an old story and rewrite it, or give a new spin, or update it with more recent examples. No harm in doing that. I've done it a time or two myself. Where the problem occurs, is when a writer hooks on one set of facts and pieces of information, and just keeps writing the story, and writing the story, and writing the story, until the world is sick of hearing it. It's like the writer is saying he or she can't be bother to learn about anything else.

Bo-o-oring! It's not going to take very long for readers to figure out that this writer is a one-trick-pony - aka a one-hit-wonder - and go looking for other authors.

 

If you find yourself in one of these categories, see what you can do to re-write your writing skills. You may just find your readers coming back to you, and bringing a few other readers with them. It's well worth the effort of ridding yourself of these lazy writing habits.