From the Trenches: The Starving Editor

How many times have you been asked to study "The Raven" in school? Have you ever heard of the Tell-Tale Heart? Even if you're not an avid reader of his works, chances are extremely high that you've heard the name Edgar Allan Poe at some point in your life. He's still being referenced in popular culture today, and he's credited with inventing the detective fiction drama that's served so many writers so well. 

He died alone, broke and didn't receive much recognition for his work during his own lifetime. One may even infer that at the time of his death, by many perspectives Poe was something of a failure as a writer. 

Starving Editor

His life, sadly, played out a little like something out of one of his own grim tales. After a brief military career, during which Poe asked to be discharged early, he moved to a city that has been a mecca for writers for centuries: New York. 

Poe had published a book of poetry while in the army, but it didn't receive any real attention. His writing aspirations wouldn't get life again until he won a short story contest a few years later, after his poetry was rejected by many different magazines in the United States. The contest landed him a job as an editor. He did pretty well at the job, increasing the publication's circulation by a whopping 3,000 subscribers. 

But the money wasn't good, and Poe was a writer -- not an editor. So he left the magazine and started writing short stories. Two more years passed before he got something published, a collection of short stories. He received 20 copies of the book...and not much else.

Poe accepted another editing position the next year, because a man's gotta eat, and after increasing the magazine's circulation he left the job after two years to start his own magazine. It failed. He published some booklets of his stories, but they didn't really sell all that many copies. Finally he accepted yet another editing position at yet another magazine, but it went bankrupt after a year and Poe was out of a job again.

He left New York in 1849. Edgar Allen Poe was found a few weeks later in Baltimore, semi-conscious, and taken to a hospital. This is where he died four days later, never explaining exactly what had happened to him. His death remains a mystery, though popular opinion blames his ongoing struggle with alcoholism. In his life, he was best-known as a literary critic, and he never much held a steady job for any length of time. He wrote prolifically, and tried on many occassions to get his work published and read. These attempts would, largely, fail. 

Enduring Fame

Poe did gain attention for the poem "The Raven," which was first published in 1845. Following his death, more people became aware of Poe's works and today he's considered to be one of the greatest writers and poets of all time, a true pioneer in the mystery genre (to which I personally belong). Poe wrote with passion, and that's the way he lived...but as a writer, he had little to celebrate. He worked in the trenches, and he got as close as he could to the literary world he loved. In the end, his struggle did pay off -- albeit, a little too late for him to enjoy it himself. Somehow, I don't think Poe would really mind that too much -- he was a true lover of words, and I like to think he'd be happy just knowing that so many of us have read his.

Writing 101: When Al Shows Up

You know that guy who shows up to all your parties, even when he's not invited? His name is Al -- and if you're not being careful, he might be attaching himself to all kinds of words inside your ebooks. When Al shows up to the party, you'd better make sure he's attached to the right word in the right way...because he's got a terrible habit of showing up where he's not needed.

Al and Other Words

By now, you might be wondering who Al is. He's the guy that shows up in words like altogether, already and  alright. Sometimes, Al gets together with a word and everything's great. Sometimes, however, he's not actually creating a new word -- he's making a mess of your writing. 

• All Together/Altogether

By themselves, all and together are two separate words...so it follows that when you use them as a pair, they form a unique phrase that is more than the sum of its parts. All together just means as a group, like if you shout "Everyone out! All together now," at a party, it's because you're kicking everyone out. You can separate them, however, and the sentence will be essentially the same: "Everyone, all out! Together, now." 

Altogether is a different word, and it's got a different meaning attached to it. When Al shows up, he changes everything. When he's with together, the word is a single unit and it means wholly or utterly. "This party is making me altogether miserable." It's actually just a combination of all and together that appeared in the 1600s; the meaning is closely related to the older phrase. But since it's been around for so long, altogether is an altogether acceptable word. The same can't be said of all Al words. 

• All Right/Alright

All right is another common two-word phrase that has its own meaning: everything's good. You could as easily say all is right and it would mean the exact same thing. Alright, however, is another matter entirely. 

It's not a word. Yes, Jim Carey lied to you ("alrighty then"), but it's okay. It's easy to get fooled by this one, and among some grammarians it's actually a point of contention. According to the old maxim, alright is not all right. But it's a pretty common mistake, and alrighty has been accepted into a variety of slang dictionaries, which only muddies the grammar waters. Alright is commonly used in casual writings of all types, but the official definition is all right, and in formal writing it's properly extended to two words. 

• All Ready/Already

All ready means that everything is prepared, it's good to go: "We're all ready to read the rest of this blog!" Already, however, is usually used to mean something a little different, and it almost always applies to a period of time. Already means right now or at present: "We're near the end already?" The word was first used in America about a hundred years ago, and since then it's been accepted into the language. Since two distinct meanings have emerged, you have to be careful to use both in their correct context.

Other Al Words

Al gets attached to a lot of words, but in most other cases he doesn't make things too confusing. Continue to use almighty as much as you like -- it still means pretty much the same thing as all mighty, but generally almighty is reserved to reference a god. When it is used thus, almighty must be capitalized.

Month-Long Release Celebration

Death has arrived! To help you get caught up on the story so far, I'm giving away Justice and The Tower all month long free.

Visit my Smashwords page to download both books in the format of your choice. Enter the coupon code SSWIN to get a 100% price reduction. 

About Justice

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day.

I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I’m ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they’re hiding.

The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can’t stop until I’ve discovered them all. I’ll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what’s underneath…until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet.

I just hope I can survive the crash.

 About The Tower

 

Death brings some families closer, but it’s ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect…but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.

Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change…again.

I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder.

 

Death Released!

It's July 1, and that can only mean one thing -- Death has been released!

Get the book at Amazon and Smashwords, and get all the new lies.

Books on Film: Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables is one of the most beloved children's books of all time, and if you haven't read it (or any of the successive books in the series), you've probably seen some pieces of the four films it inspired. Lots of girls identify with Anne, who reads books and hates her hair, but lots of fans are surprised when they start comparing the book to the film.

The Book

The original book, and the first in what would become an iconic series, was published way back in 1908. It remains extremely popular; even today, young girls show up in Canada with their hair dyed red and styled in pigtails. They come to walk the same paths that Anne took and to see the iconic Green Gables farmhouse, located in Cavendish.

Anne Shirley is an orphan girl who has been tossed to and fro for much of her life. The bane of her existence is her hair, which is as red as carrots, though the matching freckles on her face are cause for some concern as well. A pair of elder siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, have decided to adopt an orphan boy to help with the running of their farm. The orphanage sends Anne instead, much to everyone's dismay. Anne wishes to stay at Green Gables immediately, but she's a talkative and brash little thing -- not to mention female. At first it seems certain she'll be sent back, but Marilla decides that Anne should stay instead.

What follows is a series of enjoyable hijinks as Anne goes through her teen years. She develops an instant dislike for Gilbert Blythe, and strikes up a great friendship with Diana Barry. She's easily distracted by books and by her own imagination, prone to getting into scrapes and thoroughly lovable in all ways. Gilbert, of course, is wildly interested her and does all he can to earn her affections -- but he is being punished for teasing her about her red hair. At the end of the book, Anne has decided to stay at Green Gables rather than go to college due to a tragic event. The story continues in 7 books that follow.

The Film

Lucy Maud Montgomery is truly a literary icon and an accomplished author, and she created one of the most memorable and beloved characters of all time...but Anne of Green Gables is one of those rare books that's actually better on film.

It's easy to see the book is an early effort from Montgomery, and riddled with classic first-book problems. Frequently, Montgomery has her characters standing in empty rooms simply talking out loud to themselves -- having very in-depth one-sided conversations, no less, and it's disruptive. Much of the book is, in fact, dialogue. It is most definitely a delightful read, but you're missing out if you don't see the book on film, too.

Anne of Green Gables is a popular story, and it's been adapted for the screen more than once. But without question the best version of the book is the 1985 television movie of the same name, starring Megan Follows in the title role. Montgomery's rich characters come to life in this version, and though I have my doubts about some of her early prose there's no questioning the author's gift for creating wonderful characters. The setting is also the same, and positively gorgeous on screen. 

What Got Adapted?

But there are several differences between the book and film versions of Anne of Green Gables. The opening scenes of the film give a very detailed glimpse at Anne's life before she arrives at Green Gables, something the book does not do. Many fans of both are also annoyed by the trial period in the movie, an event which does not occur in the book. Once Marilla makes up her mind, it's made up -- in the movie, there is some suggestion that she might be swayed in one direction or another, but this is not the case in the book. Some characters, particularly the Reverend's wife, fade into the background in the movie more than they should. 

Most notably, the concert Diana and Anne attend in the book is changed to a ball where Anne, in behavior that's outlandishly out of character, attempts to prove her own feminine wiles by exerting her spell over Gilbert Blythe. Anne is sort of accidentally pretty, and through her life never seems to realize it, so this entire scene is out of keeping with the books. Anne and Diana are too aware of boys by half in the movie; Anne absolutely isn't thinking of Gilbert romantically in the book.

That said, it's still an amazing movie and the best adaptation of the well-loved book. The world Anne inhabits, and the people in it, come to life beautifully and the casting is absolutely spot-on. I've loved it for so long, I actually own it on VHS (taped from public television, what). Go and watch it right now.

My Secret Writing Method

How long do you stare at your screen before you start typing away at your latest story? How much time do you spend wrestling with your scenes to get them just so? I always know what I'm going to write next, thanks to a little trick I call pre-writing. It's one of my secrets, and I've shared the entire method in my latest guest post. 

Visit Annalisa Crawford's blog to read all about it, and make sure you take a look at the rest of her site while you're there -- she's one of my favorite bloggers!

Writing 101: Abbreviations Can Ruin Your Books

The world moves fast. Email can be transmitted in moments, practically everything has a drive-through window, and the moment you hit "send" on Facebook your words are out there for everyone to see -- you might even get a comment or a "like" within seconds. Sometimes, it's necessary to use abbreviations (after all, Twitter only gives you 140 characters). But you should think twice, and edit heavily, before you put them in your book. Don't let abbreviations ruin your work.

Everyday Abbreviations

Common abbreviations crop up in writing all the time. They're included in online articles, they're used on blogs, they're great for Twitter and other social media sites where space is limited. It's so easy to use them, you might never even think about it.

But you should, because even everyday abbreviations should be absolutely left out of your books.  Have you ever actually heard someone use one in conversation? When was the last time you said e.g., when you meant for example, or i.e. for that is? People do commonly say et cetera, but if they're doing it in your book it should presented spelled out and not as etc.

Using abbreviations in book writing, even the very common ones, looks lazy and unrealistic. People don't use them in speech, and you certainly should use them in your writing...well, for the most part. Like every good rule of writing, there are plenty of exceptions to this one.

Acronyms

Certain acronyms, which are definitely in the same language family as abbreviations, are used all the time in speech and in writing. PETA, MADD, NASA -- the list goes on. Your book could easily become cumbersome if you're spelling out People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals instead of PETA, and some readers definitely won't know what you mean because the acronym is much more common. 

OMG and other acronyms that crop up frequently in social media are trickier, and still new enough that many standard style guides don't address them. People do commonly use text-speak acronyms in everyday conversation, particularly younger people, so if you're writing a book with teenagers and kids in it these common acronyms are going to crop up. Some writers spell them out phonetically (oh em gee, for example), but it's simpler to just use the acronym itself, and this will create less confusion.

Titles

Titles are commonly abbreviated, and most readers are comfortable with seeing this. Keep on using abbreviations for Mr., Mrs., Dr. and all the other common titles that everyone abbreviates in writing. The exception to this is when the name isn't attached to the title. If my character says Doctor, what should I do? the title should be spelled out; but it's fine for me to write Dr. Green, what should I do?

Dates

When I'm writing in my notebook or making a notation on my to-do list, I might write "Jul 4" or "Aug 8" -- but I'm not ever going to do that in one of my books. It's all well and good to use shorthand when you're writing to yourself, but not to an audience. Don't abbreviate your dates unless you're specifically quoting something a character has written down (for example, Laurel had written "Mar 12" at the top of the page).

Text Messages, Emails, et al.

Speaking of stuff that characters are writing down, you may have the occasion to include emails, text messages and similar stuff in your book. When this is the case, it's more than okay to write with abbreviations, acronyms and even misspellings because that's how people write their texts and emails. Always make them authentic, and to heck with the rules. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, realism always trumps in writing.

The Second Time Aroud: Cinderella

Some stories are told and re-told in hundreds of different ways; they're being constantly updated for new generations. Most fairy tales are hundreds of years old, but you can walk into any bookstore and find new versions of those old stories, written with today's kids in mind. Most people can probably name at least a dozen different film adaptations of Cinderella, one of the most popular fairy tales of all time. But some writers find ways to take even the oldest and most popular stories and flip them completely upside-down. The most convenient vehicle for re-telling an ancient story in a brand-new way is to simply change the point of view.

The Original 

Cinderella was first published not by the Brothers Grimm, but by a Frenchman named Charles Perrault. Rumor has it that one castle in France lays claims to being the inspiration for the fairy tale castle in the story, but in truth Cinderella's story is ancient. A story originating in Greece, circa 1st century BC, is credited with being the oldest version of the tale.

In most versions of the classic tale, Cinderella is the victimized stepdaughter whose father unfortunately died after becoming newly wed to a vicious woman with two ugly daughters. By contrast, Cinderella is beautiful and kind and good -- so naturally she's promptly put to work as a maid-of-all-work in the house. She sleeps by the hearth at night, so her name is Cinderella. When the kingdom's prince throws a ball with the express purpose of finding a wife, the two ugly stepsisters and the stepmother happily trip down the road to the castle, nastily keeping Cinderella from attending the event. 

 Her fairy godmother arrives  just when Cinderella gives into despair and cries. The young woman is dressed in a glorious gown and glass slippers, handed into a fancy carriage and thus gets to go to the ball. The prince immediately falls for her, of course, and spends the entire night dancing and chatting with her at the ball. She's so carried away, she's almost late for her midnight deadline. This forces her to run away, leaving behind one of those telltale glass slippers. 

After an epic search for just the right foot is conducted all across the land, Cinderella and her Prince Charming are wed. Naturally, the evil stepsisters and horrible stepmother are punished, and all is at last right with the world.

The Re-Telling

I could write a ton of posts about Gregory Maguire's books, but I'm only going to bring up one: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. It's a re-telling of the Cinderella story, but with one important twist: an ugly stepsister is the one narrating the tale. It's an amazing version of the classic tale, and if you haven't read it then you just don't know Cinderella.

The novel largely focuses on the life of Iris, younger daughter to Margarethe. Though she is the youngest in the family, Iris must take on many responsibilities because her sister, Ruth, is somewhat dim-witted, clumsy and apt to wander off on her own. They leave England to go to the Dutch town of Haarlem, North Holland. Their circumstances are not good, but Margarethe is crafty and cunning and soon has herself ensconced within the home of the town's richest resident as a cook/maid.

When she is not helping her mother or minding Ruth, Iris begins to learn painting with a master and his apprentice, Caspar. She is an unattractive child, but Iris has a spark of intelligence that others can see and a core of self-reliance that serves her well. Clara is the breathtakingly beautiful daughter of the Van Der Meer household, the richest in the town. When her mother dies, Margarethe cleverly inserts herself as the mistress of the house and Van Der Meer's new wife -- thus becoming stepmother to Clara. 

Of course there is a ball, and of course there is a prince, but there are lots of events that occur both at the ball and before that are never whispered about in the original tale of Cinderella. There is even some hope that Iris, and not Clara, may land the prince for herself...right up until the moment when the prince actually sees Clara, that is.

Of course you should not expect much of a happy ending -- Iris is, after all, one of the ugly stepsisters -- but Maguire throws in a surprising twist at the end that's really delightful (and you know how much I love twists). Confessions is truly a re-telling, and the story feels new and fresh even if it's a few thousand years old. Don't look for magic or talking mice or any of that mess -- this novel is presented as straightforward fact, and it's certainly written in a way that appeals to adults rather than very young children.