Writing and Editing Advice

Reviewing is complicated and difficult to master. Keep in mind that you'll be reviewing not just the work of your peers, but your own work as well. While I consider myself far from an expert, I try to keep my knowledge as up-to-date and accurate as possible. When I or someone else finds something I've said to be inaccurate or misleading, I research the subject matter and present whatever corrections are necessary in as simple terms as possible. Although I will continue to give reviews on an individual basis, I feel it would be beneficial to all (myself included) to give advice in greater detail.

To make things a little easier: if I am directly quoting, it'll be marked in navy, so you'll know the definitions are 100% accurate at the time this was written. I realize that this article does not focus on every single issue, but there's only so much ground I can cover. I will do my best to address the rules I think need to be addressed most, but I can't cover every grammatical issue without expanding to the point where there's just an overwhelming amount of information. Feel free to give suggestions, but know I can only add so much.

Keep in mind that while I own a copy of the The Chicago Manual of Style, the book is roughly 1000 pages long. (The Chicago Manual is one of many style guides available. It is the primary guide for writers, editors, and publishers. It is not any more or less prestigious than Associated Press Stylebook, or other style guides. Each style guide focuses on a specific style of writing. Which one you use depends on what kind of writing you're doing.) Because of the tome-like length, though I occasionally reference it, I have yet to read through it. Most of the research for this article was done online. This means that while I usually have correct definitions, they're not always complete definitions, and can therefore be misleading. If one of my rules sounds incomplete or inaccurate, take the time to look it up on your own as I can only do so much research at a given time. Here's what I look for in my own work that I apply to others: missing words, incorrect punctuation, spelling mistakes, repeated words/phrases, incorrect tenses, and typos (typos can be anything from a missing or added letter in a word, or a different word typed in altogether).

When proofreading (I say proofreading because editing implies the written material is being prepared for publication) try to be as concise as possible without diminishing the value of the story. Adverbs like largely, are largely overused. This is an example of an unnecessary adverb. I included it as an example to show where a word adds nothing to the meaning of a sentence. (Except of course for being good as an example.) So what is an adverb? According to Merriam-Webster—who I'll be quoting a lot—an adverb is a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages, typically serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, expressing some relation of manner or quality, place, time, degree, number, cause, opposition, affirmation, or denial, and in English also serving to connect and to express comment on clause content. I find it's easier to think of it as any word ending in -ly. There are adverbs that don't end in -ly, but these are the most common, so focus on excluding those when possible, and you'll have a much cleaner story. This does not mean that adverbs are always unnecessary. By all means use them when they add something to the text, but use them wisely.

Don't be awkward

Awkward sentences are among the most common and difficult issues to correct. It's one thing to point out lack of variation or spelling errors, but how does a reviewer or proofreader go about suggesting corrections when it's necessary to first interpret what was written? Reviewers, however good they might be, aren't mind readers. In these situations, it's best to email the writer directly and ask them what they mean, otherwise you may offer rewriting advice which has nothing to do with what's being said.

Variation is the key to a good story. If you find a large number of your sentences or paragraphs start, end, or have similar middles (examples:  I, I , I or The, The, The, etc) it's time you rethink the way you word your sentences. Avoid this issue whenever possible. While repeated words may add to or convey meaning on a sentence by sentence basis, they typically detract from the story as a whole. Use repetition sparingly. Try to use synonyms; save the repetition for when you feel it adds to the piece.

One of the most common issues I find with writers (myself included) is a tendency to write run-on sentences.  Sometimes a comma just won't cut it. There is nothing wrong with separating one sentence into many. If the subject matter can be divided into two separate sentences, but you want to write it as one, use a semicolon. If both parts of the sentences are not complete sentences (independent clauses) on their own, you'll have to rephrase it to allow for the use of a semicolon. The converse of this is that some writers are so intent on avoiding run-ons, they create fragmented sentences. Sometimes a longer sentence is necessary. When done correctly, they are not run-on sentences. Try to get a sense of when to use a comma, period, or semicolon by reading aloud. If it sounds unnatural to say the subject matter as one sentence, you'll have to use a period or semicolon.

Try to avoid afterthoughts whenever possible. Example of an afterthought: "I walked down the stairs, thinking it was dark."  This sentence should be written as, "I walked down the stairs into the darkness." or "It was dark as I walked down the stairs." or "I walked into a dark stairwell." Unless the subject matter at the end of a sentence is meant to be an afterthought, write it as if it's part of the original thought.  An example of an acceptable afterthought is: "I asked myself why, and then I understood." The understanding comes after the questioning and that is what makes it a legitimate afterthought.

When I posted my first story I kept finding mistakes. I must have gone through it at least a dozen times. Yet even after all that review work, another writer still caught two or three mistakes I missed. This is why proofreading your own work is so important. Every mistake you catch is one less for your reviewers to find. If, as a set of fresh eyes, your reviewers are not distracted by obvious mistakes, they'll be able to focus on important corrections and advice.  (The practice will also make you less likely to make mistakes in the future.) Make sure that when you do proof your own work, don't do it every 3 seconds. Depending on the length of your story, read x amount before checking your own work. Write first then edit. You may not catch every single mistake—and I assure you, if you write enough you won't—but that doesn't negate the value of proofreading. Keep reading published books and eventually you'll find mistakes. Even with professional editors and proofreaders working diligently, an occasional typo or spelling error still makes it into print.

Grammatical rules that tend to trip writers up:

There are a number of words where it's a question of whether you should write two words or one. It's possible I'll miss a couple, but I want to talk about as many of them as I can. Particularly relevant are the All/Al words. Many of these are given distinct meanings. The trend in grammar seems to be towards combining (or at least adding a hyphen between) words when possible. So it's possible some of the definitions provided here may no longer be relevant in the next few years.

Altogether or All together: The adverb form of altogether means entirely, wholly, all in all, or all told. All together refers to people or things gathered in one place. Oddly enough, there's also a noun form of altogether taken from the phrase “in the altogether”, which is an old-fashioned informal way of saying in the nude or nude. Who knew? You learn something new every day. Thanks Merriam-Webster!

A lot or Alot: Alot does not exist in the English language (with one exception). Urban Dictionary defines alot as an illiterate spelling of a lot. The one legitimate use of Alot, in its capitalized form, is a town in the Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, India. I know, Wikipedia isn't exactly the most reliable source, seeing as anyone and everyone can edit the content, but plug it into MapQuest and you'll see it's a real place. There is, oddly enough, a word spelled allot. Allot, having the same root word as lottery, means "to distribute between or among". My personal opinion concerning a lot vs alot: I think this is just an issue of grammarians being sticklers. The way I see it, everyone knows when people write alot, they mean a lot. This is evidenced by the fact that everyone either a) doesn't notice the misspelling or b) corrects it every time they see it. Final judgment, write a lot, but feel free to petition the dictionary companies to make alot an acceptable form of the word.

Already or  All ready: Already means previously or so soon. All ready means prepared or entirely ready.

Alright  or All right: The one-word spelling alright appeared some 75 years after all right itself had reappeared from a 400-year-long absence. Since the early 20th century some critics have insisted alright is wrong, but it has its defenders and its users. It is less frequent than all right but remains in common use especially in journalistic and business publications. It is quite common in fictional dialogue, and is used occasionally in other writing <the first two years of medical school were alright — Gertrude Stein>. So now that I know this and can share it with the world, Huzzah! So to amend my previous comments, use it. If anyone tells you otherwise, feel free to quote Merriam Webster dictionary and Gertrude Stein.

Awhile or A while: A while is a noun meaning "a short spell", whereas awhile is an adverb meaning "for a short spell". So in other words, awhile means for a while.

A or An: The rule is as follows - Use A before words that start with a consonant sound and An before words that start with a vowel sound. Notice how the rule specifies sound. If a word begins with a consonant, but sounds like it begins with a vowel, it's treated like a vowel and is proceeded with an. Examples: honest, honor, heir. If a word begins with a vowel, but sounds like it begins with a consonant, it's treated like a consonant and is proceeded with a. Words like unique, unicorn and ukulele, fall under this category because the (yoo) sound is considered a consonant sound.

Into or In to: Into refers to literal or figurative entrances.  It also expresses movement of someone or something towards someone or something else. Merriam-Webster lists 8 different definitions for into. If you want a run down on all the definitions they give, feel free to visit their website. Whereas In to, from what I've read, means in order to. Rule of thumb, it's almost always into.

Onto or on to: Use onto as one word if you can add "up" before onto. Example: I climbed onto the roof. This can also be read as climbed up onto the roof.

Than or Then: Than is used only in comparisons. Then is used in every other situation where there isn't a comparison.

They're vs Their vs There:  They're only means they are. Their is the possessive form of they. Example: Their house means they own the house.  They're house means they are the house . . . which doesn't make sense at all, unless it's some weird Kafka situation where a bunch of people turn into a house. There house, would be the equivalent of pointing at a house and saying there's a house over there. . . though not said very elegantly. There refers to direction or place. The other definitions for there, which include: 1) at a point or stage, 2) in that matter, respect, or relation, or 3) as an interjection expressing satisfaction, approval, etc., can all be described to some extant as a direction or place.

Who vs whom: The basic rule is he/she/they = who, and him/her/them = whom. Who refers to a subject, whom refers to an object. Unfortunately, even knowing the basic rule, the rule of who vs whom can be complicated. I've still yet to master this one.

Your vs You're: Unless you are saying you are, never use you're.

I before E: This is perhaps my favorite rule, because it's just so ridiculously random--I before E except after C, or when sounded as A, as in neighbor and weigh. Or when it appears in comparatives and superlatives like fancier. Or in the C sounds as in shh like glacier. Or when the vowel sounds like E as in seize, or I as in height.  Or it shows up in compound words as albeit. Or when it shows up in -ing inflections of verbs that end in E like cueing. Or occasionally in technical words that have a strong etymological link to their parent languages such as cuneiform and caffeine. And in number and other random exceptions such as science, forfeit, and weird. Definition courtesy of: http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/0003-ibeforee.htm

Note: I am in the process of writing an article about punctuation. It will focus on commas and all the other forms of punctuation. As soon as it's complete, this section will moved to the other article. I will provide a link at the end of this article when it's complete.

When and where to use commas: Even with all the rules listed below, sometimes it's better to approach commas the simple way: Sound out the sentences. Commas are generally used to display a natural pause in speech, dialogue, or text. You'll be able to recognize most instances of when a comma is needed, when you speak the sentences aloud.

According to Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, there are 6 uses for commas:
1. Commas for lists -  They divide items in lists, but are (usually) not required before the and on the end.
2. Commas for joining - Used when two complete sentences are joined together, using such conjunctions as and, or, but, while and yet.
3. Commas filling gaps - Involving missing words cunningly implied by a comma.
4. Commas before (and after) direct speech - A pause-for-breath.
5. Commas setting off interjections - A comma is used between an abrupt remark, utterance, exclamation, or interruption from the rest of the sentence.
6. Commas that come in pairs - The first rule of bracketing commas is that you use them to mark both ends of a "weak interruption" to a sentence - or a piece of "additional information." The commas mark the places where the reader can cleanly lift out a section of the sentence without obvious damage to the rest of the sentence. In other words, the essential meaning remains the same when the "weak interruption" or "additional info" is removed.

Originally, I had quoted an online source that lists eleven separate rules for comma uses. . . Eleven! That's just a tad excessive. I wouldn't be surprised if most writers and editors don't bother using all six rules Lynne Truss cited. I'm going to include the 1st two reasons from my original comma source, with my own explanations, as I've already written them up an I'm reluctant to cut out work that I put so much effort into. For those who are curious, here's the link to the site that lists eleven separate rules. Feel free to check it for yourself, but realistically, you don't need eleven rules to tell you how to use commas.

My Original Source: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
Reason #1: Separating three of more elements in a series or items in a list. Examples: Ed, Edd, and Eddy.  The birds, the bees, the flowers, and the trees. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Notice how it specifically states three or more things. If I were to write Ed and Edd, or the birds and the bees, I would not need commas. You will notice, however, that the previous sentence is comprised of elements in a series. Each part is separated by commas, but the parts within that are comprised of two items, do not use commas. Now you may ask why this is important. Okay, so it's a grammatical rule, but does it actually have any relevance beyond being a grammatical rule? Yes, it's called the Oxford Comma. Here's the example given by The Chicago Manual of Style, which shows it clearly is important: "This book is dedicated to my parents, the Pope, and Mother Theresa" vs "This book is dedicated to my parents, the Pope and Mother Theresa." The first quote, according to the punctuation, dedicates the book to the writer's parents and two religious figures. The second quote, according to the punctuation, dedicates the book to the writer's parents, who appear to be the Pope and Mother Theresa. Pretty wild right?

Reason #2: Used to connect two independent clauses linked by a conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so). I laughed and cried are not two independent clauses.I laughed, and I cried, are two independent clauses. The easiest way to figure out when a sentence is or isn't two independent clauses is simple. Cut out the conjunction, and write each clause as its own sentence. I laughed. Cried. - Not two valid sentences. I laughed. I cried.  - Two valid sentences. Cut out the conjunction. Write each clause as its own sentence. - Two valid sentences. Now here's where it gets tricky. The easiest way to figure out when a sentence is or isn't two independent clauses is simple. The word or makes the previous sentence appear as if I've ignored the independent clauses rule. If they can't be two valid sentences, shouldn't I be using a comma before or? No, and here's why. Is or isn't would fall under the category of elements in a series or a list comprised of two items, and is not being used to connect two clauses that are dependent or independent.  Just to make this a little trickier, when you have a sentence like I laughed, and I cried, there are very few writers or editors who would use a comma or suggest using a comma, so simply write I laughed and I cried or better yet, I laughed and cried. In other words, when to use a comma is often a question of judgment. Try to get a feel for it. If common sense tells you the sentence makes sense without a comma, don't use it. If a comma is needed to clear up potential confusion, or you feel it's necessary to add a pause or break in the sentence, use it.

Q&A: If you don't ask, you won't learn.

If you really want your writing to improve, ask your reviewers questions they haven't addressed in their reviews. When reviewing your own writing, or the writing of others, always ask these questions: Are there any awkward sentences? Is the meaning of the story/poem/article clear? Is it well paced, or are revisions necessary to ensure the reader doesn't get bored?

Be aware that telling someone their work is awesome, or some other brief description like that, is not helpful. While it's probably appreciated by the writer, it serves no purpose as a review. If that's all you have to say to a writer, rate their story and email them that you think their story is awesome. If you want to leave a review, take the time to at least point out why you thought their story was awesome. Try to keep your ratings and your reviews consistent. Leaving a positive comment stating how you enjoyed reading a story, doesn't always mean a story deserves a 5 star rating; that's understandable. Saying something like, 'Wow very cool. I love it." followed by a ton of smiley faces and exclamation marks, yet giving a story a rating of 3 or 3 1/2 stars is not understandable. Don't give the impression you think a story is perfect if you're not going to rate it as such. Also, avoid using overly complicated reviews. No one is interested in reading a review that appears as if the reviewer is showing off their mastery of vocabulary. If you're using a ton of big words and fancy terms, you're either trying too hard or stroking your own ego. Most people will not appreciate this type of review and a good number of them will find it confusing. Keep it simple. A good review should come across as one side of a conversation. Give your reviews in a straight forward manner.

There will be times when reading another writer, that you'll find their work so sloppy or riddled with mistakes, that you'll give up and move on to something else. When encountering an article, story, or poem of this nature, send the writer an email. You can give the writer a few quick pointers and suggested corrections without doing an in-depth review. By doing this, not only do you allow the writer to be more conscientious of their mistakes, their writing will now be that much easier to review. This does not mean you shouldn't give in-depth reviews. What this means is that reviewing work that's riddled with mistakes is very time consuming. It's a reasonable approach to teach other writers to correct enough of their mistakes, so that you as a reviewer, don't have to struggle with trying to figure out if they're actually writing English, or randomly striking at the keyboard.

Furthermore, giving a review to such poorly written work can be embarrassing to another writer. Even if the overall content of the story is good, putting that sort of review on the public review board can cause resentment if all they see is criticism. Save the review for when it counts. Let them fix some of their own mistakes first, and suggest they email you when they are ready to be reviewed. Also, be aware that no matter how gently you make your corrections/suggestions, there will always be people who get offended. It happens. You can only be so nice before you cease to be helpful.

A quick note to the writers: If someone tells you your story/poem/essay needs work, they're usually right. Don't say to a reviewer that they clearly don't know what they're talking about. I've found, that "poets" in particular get offended very easily when they are told their work isn't up to par. Based on responses to reviews I've received, storytellers are generally a pretty easy going bunch. They may not agree with every comment you or I make, but they usually take the time to ask why or tell you why they choose to ignore your advice. If you explain your reasons well enough, they'll be amenable to making those changes. But we storytellers are often lazy and take a while to get around to making those changes, if ever. Poets are not as easy going as storytellers. Unless there are obvious grammatical issues, good luck trying to convince them their poems need work. While a storyteller is far more willing to tear something they've written to shreds and start anew, poets are far more likely to consider such drastic actions blasphemy. Obviously there are some pretty laid-back poets out there who are open to suggestions, and some storytellers who'll give you the evil eye if you suggest they completely rework a story, but these are the tendencies I've noticed when reviewing others.

What's the reason behind this? Quite simply it's how the two styles of writing are developed. Storytellers in general are the type of writers that are expected to tear up their work and toss it in the trash until they've got it right. This makes for less attachment issues. Poets, I think (though I could be wrong) use inspiration. They think or view something from the outside world and write it up. One and done. While I'm sure many poets toss out what they feel to be poor poetry, I'd be curious to know how many write a poem and think they're done without ever thinking a single revision is necessary.  Oh, one last thing: Don't ever tell a poet that their poem doesn't rhyme; that's a sure way to piss them off.

Conclusion

Now here's the difficult part. Somewhere down the line, if you really want to be a good reviewer, follow up on your reviews. I think it's safe to say that once the review is done, what has been reviewed is pretty much forgotten. How many of us, myself included, have given a review and then forgotten about it entirely? Suggestions are good, but they aren't always followed. Remember, just because you've finished your review, doesn't mean the writer no longer needs your help. Revisit their stories/poems/articles, and see if they learned all they needed to know, or if further suggestions would be helpful. Don't be afraid to follow up with an email or two.

Keep in mind one last thing. Yes, it's important to follow up when possible, and continue to make suggestions when necessary, but only up to a point. Sometimes others will tell you that your suggestions were great, but won't ever bother fixing it, so it doesn't make sense to keep pushing. Other times, they simply don't agree with you. Don't force someone to see things your way. If they're adamant about writing a certain way, that's that. Help only so much as your help is wanted.

Feel free to respond with any advice or important rules of grammar I've neglected to address. Hope this helps. Keep writing and always remember to proofread and revise your work.

-- Lightbringer