It’s not always obvious to a writer when s/he has over-used a word or phrase. S/he can read, reread, and read a manuscript over and over again, and still, it’s not coming up as a red flag. This, of course, is where fresh eyes can help. Try two things before passing over to your beta reader/editor/proofreader. Firstly, do a search for the word/phrase you suspect might have overstayed its welcome. Click on ‘Find’ on your toolbar (in Word) and a little list on the left-hand side will tell you how many times you’ve used it. You can then navigate to each instance. Secondly, read the sentence in which it has been used…out loud. And that overused word will suddenly, loudly, clangingly, resonate in your head. Continue reading “A Helping Hand…that, that, that and more thats…”
Author: Cathy Speight
Reviewer Cathy Speight is British and lives in England. The Kindle revived her passion for reading and after stumbling on a Facebook group of independent authors, she now does her best to encourage and assist indies as much as possible. Books by indie author form the majority of her collection. Cathy shares her views on the books she has read on her blog.
A Helping Hand…Lay and Lie
I’d like to lay down a few simple rules so that you none of you lies under any doubt at all…about the difference between lay and lie.
These two little three-letter words seem to fox a number of people. Let’s
see if we can clarify this just a tad. Continue reading “A Helping Hand…Lay and Lie”
A tribute to…you, the authors
I was sitting in the Minion’s Mess the other day, enjoying my weekly ration of gruel (a thimbleful! I’ve progressed), when the EM walked in (with his spiced lobster with baby fennel, celeriac purée, saffron beurre noisette and fennel chilli mayonnaise) and joined me. We exchanged a few pleasantries. You know the sort of thing: how was life now that I had a candle to light my quarters, did I enjoy knife and fork privileges, third-world economy, the plight of the polar bear, yada yada. Anyway, we got to talking about what to feature in my future posts, and he suggested I could perhaps write about what authors did that I might find just an eensy bit annoying. Good heavens, I thought, that would set me up for the next twelve posts! O-n-l-y j-o-k-i-n-g…honest, honest.
But it was food for thought.
People, generally, are not backward in coming forward. We’re rather good at complaining, aren’t we? The British used not to be…stiff upper lip and all that…but we can sit along with the rest of the complaining community quite happily now. You see, it’s so easy these days: pick up the phone, or write a snotty email. No one can see you, you feel you can say what you want. Why wasn’t my fridge delivered on time? Why is there a dent in my new table? You forgot an item in my parcel. Just not good enough!!! Continue reading “A tribute to…you, the authors”
Tell us what you want, what you really, really want…
(…thank you, Scary, Posh, Baby, Ginger, and Sporty…)
It’s funny, isn’t it, how one sentence, just a few words, can stop you in your tracks and make you go…aaaargh! Let me explain…
I review books; some of you may know this, some perhaps not. How did that happen?
I’ve had a Kindle for a couple of years now, and I was pretty much instantly hooked. I became a bookworm…or rather, an ebookworm. When some Facebook friends started their own reviewing blogs, I had a ‘Eureka’ moment and thought, gosh, what a good idea! In my case, this was a solution to the ‘closure’ I wanted after reading a book, and it was a nice neat way of recording all the ebooks I’d read on my can’t-leave-home-without-it Kindle—an anthology if you like. And if ‘virtual’ passers-by dropped in…well, even better. How nice!
So, armed with a few hints and tips from a couple of review sites for whom I’d reviewed some books, I mapped out what I thought would formulate a worthy review: something I’d be happy to look back at (and not cringe at with embarrassment). I decided long drawn-out reviews with endless analyses and explanations of the plots were just a big yawn…a short synopsis would suffice, I reckoned. Then again, one- or two-line reviews don’t satisfy me either. I’m clearly not clever enough for those punchy, concise, but all-embracing reviews I so admire (viz. Rich Meyer (a learned member of our team), Ed Drury (a frequent flash-fiction flyer—and winner!), so I knew I had to leave those to the smarty pants (Rich Meyer, Ed Drury). Continue reading “Tell us what you want, what you really, really want…”