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Tag: "writing tips"

Spelling & grammar: “conscious” vs “conscience”

This is a spelling misunderstanding I’ve been seeing around the internet quite often lately. These two words sound similar, but they’re different.

Here’s the difference between “conscious” and “conscience”

  • Conscious means to be awake, to be aware, or to have knowledge of something.
  • Conscience is the little voice inside you that tells you stealing your best friend’s car and driving it into a lake is wrong.

So, this means the following phrases are incorrect:

  • Socially conscience
  • Unconscience
  • Listen to your conscious

How to tell the difference between “conscious” and “conscience”

Because these words sound so similar, it’s easy to get them confused. However, the key to telling them apart is in the second ‘n’ in conscience. Say it aloud if you need to (if you’re in public, you can say it under your breath – it’s okay!). If you need to talk about how to tell the difference between right and wrong, watch for that second ‘n.’ Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to come up with an easy mnemonic device for this one, but after a while it should become second nature!

July 27, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

What writers can learn from Tolkien

I stumbled upon a link to a forum post recently called, “What Fantasy Writers Can Learn from Tolkien.” Yes, I am a Tolkien nerd. No, I don’t write fantasy. Despite these two things, I think every writer can benefit from reading this post.

For those of you who don’t want to read all of it (though I think you should! It’s very well-written), here are the main points I took away from it:

  • Take the time to create a history for your story or novel. Even if you don’t write fantasy, readers need to feel drawn in and surrounded by the world you’re creating.
  • Don’t overexplain everything. It might feel weird, but keep some things mysterious or hinted at and let the reader keep coming back to find out more.
  • Write from your passion – themes and thoughts you keep returning to personally are bound to translate in a complex and evolving way in your writing.
  • Trust that your readers want to participate in and explore your work. By leaving certain things open to interpretation, you are making readers partners in the creative process.
  • Check your facts!
  • When writing, don’t resist letting the story or characters unfold in a different way than you’d intended.
June 23, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Have writer’s block? Do something completely monotonous!

Yesterday morning I woke up early (finally back to my usual schedule!), made some coffee and sat down to do some work on a couple of short stories. I worked pretty well for a while, until I stopped to make breakfast and chat with my husband. After that, everything kind of went away.

I took a break to help him finally deal with the leftover moving boxes that were waiting to go down to recycling. First, we had to take all the discarded newsprint out of each one, spread it out flat, rinse, repeat. Let me tell you, there was a lot of newsprint. However, it turned out to be great for working out the knots my brain was making. I got to focus on something other than worrying what the buildings in Winnipeg are made of (yes, it’s important), so every 10 minutes something awesome popped into my head and I went promptly to write it down.

I’ve also started taking a walk every day – there’s a good-sized park near my new apartment so I have plenty of new places to see. I’m finding this is also helping me to think of new ideas or ways to improve on my old ones.

It’s not revelatory, I know. But really, it works! Do something monotonous, try not to get a repetitive stress injury at the same time, and I bet your writer’s block will go away.

May 24, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

Does it matter where we write?

A few weeks ago, I was telling a friend about someone I once worked with. This person brought me to her home office and made a point to show me the space, saying, “I wanted you to see where I work so you feel comfortable calling me and knowing I’m at a desk.”

At the time I didn’t really get why she cared about it so much, and now that I freelance I get it even less. Personally, I never care where my clients or colleagues are when I talk to them, as long as they’re not driving or under a tree during a thunderstorm. What matters is we talk about what we want to talk about clearly and without distraction (I’m not trying to be a gossip or stir the pot here, but the person in question was constantly distracted by one of her persistent children whenever we spoke. To me that was the actual issue, more than where she worked from).

I mean, I’ve shown you where I write (and will show you again once our new apartment is more “lived in” and less “moving in”). When I started freelancing, I made sure to set up a dedicated home office space with a proper desk and chair. And I only used it about 40% of the time. I simply felt more comfortable elsewhere, most of the time. My attitude has always been: if I’m completing good, professional projects for my clients or creating something great in my fiction, it shouldn’t matter if I’m hanging upside down from my couch while I’m doing it.

That said, I’d never let a client see me doing that.

What do you think? Does where you write actually matter? Do you work better in some places than others?

PS I don’t actually hang upside down off my couch. More power to you if you do, but I would spend all day fainting if I did that!

(Image courtesy of stock.xchng user sundstrom)

May 17, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Putting your writing in a drawer – it works!

So, you know that saying about writing something, putting it in a drawer, and coming back to it much later to see if you still like it? I don’t know who it’s attributed to, or even how long this mystery person recommended putting away your writing. Nine months? Nine years?

Either way, I’m here to tell you it works. The other day, I unearthed a story I’d written seven years ago and completely forgotten about. I was prepared to pull my face off in embarrassment as I read it, but the shocking thing was – I actually liked it! At that time in my writing life, I didn’t focus too much on traditional story structure or really even a traditional plot arc. I’d come across examples of this earlier, more experimental writing that made me roll my eyes, but this one pleasantly surprised me. If I may toot my own horn a bit, I found it was smart and flowed quite well. Of course, I’m not going to go into details about an unfinished story here, but suffice it to say that it just needs a small bit of polish (I mean, I really like plot and characterization now) and I’ll be happy to send it out into the world!

Success! It’s almost like I didn’t really have to do much of anything to get a completed short story. It’s like a gift from Me of the Past.

Seriously – who said that thing about putting your writing away in a drawer? Part of me thinks it’s someone ridiculous like Plato, but maybe it’s Zadie Smith. Does anyone know?

March 15, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

Spelling and Grammar: “wont” vs “won’t”

This spelling & grammar installment isn’t a pet peeve, as they usually are. It’s just general word love. I recently noticed that someone had arrived at my blog through a Google search for “grammar of ‘i am won’t.’” It took me a minute or two to understand that the question really was about the word wont. So, in case you ever come back this way, Mystery Googler, here is your answer:

What is the difference between wont and won’t?

The word wont talks about someone in the habit of doing something, or of a characteristic of something. To use it in a couple of sentences:

“Samantha was wont to think about spelling too much.”
“Tomorrow will be quiet, as Sundays are wont to be.”

The word won’t, as I bet you already know, is a contraction meaning will not.

So, this one’s easy. It’s really a spelling thing, since speaking the two words aloud will tell you right away if you’re saying the wrong one – and if you’re saying wont, people might mishear you and think you’re saying want, depending on your accent. This adds a bit more excitement to life! Actually, the pronunciation might help you determine which one you want to write out. Wont sounds like want, and you wouldn’t spell want with an apostrophe, like won’t!

Oh wow. Was I getting carried away there or what? Sorry, spelling tends to do that to me.

March 4, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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