Academic Writing Tip: No Parentheses, Please...

Have you ever wondered about parentheses? (I know parentheses ponderings keep you up at night, right? Well, even if they don't, read on. This could be interesting...and even make you look smarter than you already are.)

While teaching an online writing class today, a student said, "In academic writing, you've told us that we can't use parentheses. Why?"

I had only one answer: Because that's the way it is. I felt like a mom with her kid pulling at the sleeve: "Please, please can I have these two little parentheses?" "No, you can't have parentheses, because we don't have parentheses before dinner. It will spoil your appetite for academic writing...."

I know...silly analogy. Anyway...

It's true. We simply don't use parentheses in academic and upper-level writing. Remember, upper-level writing can mean anything written to your boss at work or in a letter to the editor...so think beyond school to the broad definition of academic, if you will. Then post a sign: No Parentheses Allowed.

That's right. Parentheses are informal. In academia or work-land, we don our fancy duds and go formal.

Are there any exceptions? Yes. You can use parentheses when using an acronym. An acronym is the word or letter group formed by the first initials of the words in a title, name, or phrase (for example, National Aeronautics Space Administration becomes NASA). Always write out the full words first; then use the acronym afterward, like so: National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). From that point forward, you don't have to write out the whole title. Simply write NASA.

In all other cases, leave the parentheses out.

Well, then--What to do? The answer: Use commas in place of the parentheses.
Here are a few examples of how that works:

WRONG: Mr. Smith (the administrator dealing with the issue) has the support of his colleagues.
RIGHT: Mr. Smith, the administrator dealing with the issue, has the support of his colleagues.
ANOTHER RIGHT: The administrator dealing with the issue, Mr. Smith, has the support of his colleagues.
AND ANOTHER RIGHT: Mr. Smith is the administrator dealing with the issue; Smith's colleagues stand behind him in full support.

And there are more "right ways" to write the sentence. Take your pick. In Academialand, there are many right ways to write. I love that.

More tips later....

Cheers,
Erin

The first chapter is always easy...

For me, that is.

And the second. And the third and fourth. But what about the twenty second, twenty third, or twenty fourth? Much more difficult.

You see, by later on in the book, the plot is developed (and intricate). The characters have quirks (and many). And the dialogue and voice has settled in (I hope). I can get mixed up with what happened when. I can forget to keep the quirk going. And I can change dialogue style. EEeeek. Hence, the freehand notebook.

I've been a lover of blank notebooks since I can remember. I collect them...and fill them up. But I realized a strange thing: I haven't used the notebooks to keep track.

DUH!

THAT'S why I get a bit bogged down with more than a lick of freaking out over "where am I" feelings.

So today...a new notebook. THIS one is my Unstuck Notebook. Who knows -- maybe I'll need one for each section, or one for each character. I don't care. Whatever works, to keep the book going strong, I'll do it.

Scribbling forward together with you, with determination,
Erin

"What's your latest...?"

That's the question I get more than anything:
What are you working on?
What are you writing?
What's your latest?

Being a freelancer, at any given time, there's a project
on all three bases, a batter up, and a project on deck.
It's good to work. But it's good to hit a home run and
get 'em all in, too.

With a couple big hits (writing/editing projects wrapped up),
I'm basking in the home run feeling. And the question comes
back: What's next?

I love the answer: FICTION.
Luscious, rich, intricate, fast-paced, deep water intense
current fiction. Oooh, I can't wait. I look forward to it.

As a writer, whatever you love and look forward to, you
have to return to. Otherwise, life is too strident. Writing
becomes too dry. What was once a passion becomes simply
a job.

Clear the bases. Get to the passion. Swim in the deep.

Don't wait.

Cheers,
EB

A book every fiction writer should own...(and it's not what you think...)

Great writers of fiction know a secret. (And, when it comes to having better relationships, it's a secret that all of us could stand to learn, too.) It's about body language.

More than any words can do, body language instantly tells us about a person's thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

What does that have to do with writing? Great fiction writers don't tell the reader our characters' feelings. The reader knows--or figures out--the character's emotions, based the action. Specifically, we give readers clear emotions through body language.

When seated, palm-down hands placed on the top of the thighs can mean you're nervous. Rocking up and down on the balls of your feet can mean we're feeling positive or confident. Turning our front side away from someone can mean we're uncomfortable, that we're blocking ourselves from someone who is threatening, as we turn away from the discomfort.


Writers: Body language knowledge is a goldmine. How much do you  know?

Here's my new favorite on body language:
What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People

If you're serious about fiction writing, invest in the book.

And if you're serious about knowing people--period--get the book, too. It can give you insight to understand--and get close to--those you care about.

To  your success,
Erin

Writers & social media

My friend and mentor, Randy Gilbert, is amazing. He's always laughing in his unassuming manner, while I'm on the other end of the phone, blown away by the volume of marketing savvy pouring from his being. 

Randy's message over the last months has been blue-sky clear: Social media, social media, social media. Stop dabbling. Dive in. Let them in on your life, your passions, your message. Do it now, and do it well. 

For me, that takes planning and simplicity. Life is too busy, drawing me in to the mundane, the banal. My guess is that it happens to you, too. To not get drawn in to the screaming menial, I need to plan. And, in my propensity to do too much, I must have a constant mantra: Simplify.
 
Stop trying to paint Mona Lisa. Do small. Then add together. Have we not heard this before?

Social media's secret is brevity. Write too much, lose the reader. People don't want a book. Or a dissertation. Or an essay. Or even a page. Short and sweet will do. Hear me again: Short. (Thank you, Seth Godin. Your blog length is a much-needed knock upside the head.) 

Authors, blog, and blog now. Make it short, clean, and simple. Article writers....Shorten them. Seriously. You're writing too much.  

Plan. Simplify. Connect.

With passion and purpose,
Erin

Great Fiction Writers Know Body Language

"Show, don't tell"....It's the age-old chant. Most of us understand the need to write action, as opposed to telling emotion. But how do we make it so?

Fiction writers, the answer is simple: Learn body language.

Body language speaks louder than words. And if, as a novel writer, you want your characters' actions to speak, then you must know what the body is saying.

For instance...Yes or no....?

A flick of the wrist: Is it a gesture of impatience or of anger?

A cocked head: Is it suspicion or flirting?

A dropped head: Is it shame or avoidance?

Dilated pupils: Did your character have one too many drinks or is he flirting?

Scratching his ear: Was your character bitten by a mosquito or does he not like what he's hearing?

The answer is yes (to every answer). Depending on the other "physical cues" that you write into your character's action, he may be feeling any of the above. You can probably see now that if you know body language, you can use that knowledge to your writing advantage.

"Tell me again...How do I use body language while writing my book?" If you know what a gesture means (how the body movement is interpreted), then you can write that movement into your character's movement. Many of us "catch" body movement "intuitively." Reading body movement in the character in your book has the same affect on our feelings toward a character as if the character were standing in front of us. Whether it's a character who seems right--but we want the reader to know that something is wrong--or a character who we want the reader to strongly empathize with, the desired outcome can be created by writing in body movements--movements that the reader can interpret.

To say that there is a huge body of information "out there" on body language is an understatement. Really. Quite a few books and web sites tout body language interpretation. The best part about it: This isn't "boring stuff" at all. Check out Kevin Hogan's web site. It's a fun read -- and full of tidbits that you can put into your writing.

Speaking of reading....Of the four or five books on body language that I own, I like The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara Pease and Alan Pease. I can assure you--the book is full of totally applicable info. You'll use what you read. (And I'm not getting a penny to say that.)

So brush up on your body language know-how. Then start writing movement into your character -- as she speaks, as she walks, and as she goes about her business. Your reader will catch some wonderful cues...and your characters will come alive.

Simply writing to simplify writing,

Erin

Writing Can Take Over Your Life...

Writing can take over your life. It did mine. (Again.)

I look at the date on the last post and cringe. What a gap (!). Where did the time go?

Well, I know where it went: It flew by while sitting in front of the keyboard, fingers whizzing, deadlines looming and running past, fingers whizzing some more.

I've been swallowed up by writing.

I venture to say that everyone is feeling it. Kids. Husband. And especially me.

I have to ask: Why do I do it? Why do I write at all hours and through the weekend? Then I have to answer bluntly (and there are two answers): sustenance (translated "I have to work to eat") and passion (translated "obsession").

I dream for the day when writing is only the passion-obsession part. I have a sneaking suspicion that then, it won't feel so strange at this particular moment of realization...if I have the moment, then.

In the meantime, I vow once again to try to balance my life to include some fun--which means going on a walk with the dog on a sunny day, going to a movie that isn't a late show, painting a picture with a child, calling that long-lost friend...and, yes, blogging.

And I vow not to cave to the deadline breathing down my neck.

This post is definitely for my benefit. But maybe you have been swallowed up by writing, too.

Breathe.

That's what I'm doing. I think it's a good move.

To you...and to me,
Erin