Passive Voice?

Passive voice is the bane of a writer’s existence. I’m sure everyone has gotten that mark across their writing “Your voice is passive” whether it’s from an editor, a peer, or a teacher. But really, what is passive voice?

The easiest explanation for it is when you don’t know who is doing the action. And this page from How to Write the Story is one of the best examples of how to fix passive voice.

Not only is it fun and amusing (zombies people!), but it clearly and succinctly explains passive voice. With examples and even including tweetables, this is probably the most straightforward example of the difference between active and passive voice that I have ever seen.

What do you think of passive voice? Is it something you find yourself using in your writing? Or do you try to avoid it?

Grammar-itis Take One

It must be grammar day. Or writing day. Or something day. In my emails today, I was tagged with two grammar sites and three different writing commentaries. Actually now that I think about it, that’s not much for me. It’s actually a slow day when I don’t get a few posts about writing.

But not everyone has friends who are writers, aspiring writers, or amateur writers. (And hey thesaurus, amateur doesn’t necessary mean sloppy!) So I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been sent over the next few entries.

Today from the lovely k3nj1ph1, I have an article about word usage from Writer’s Circle. Now anything I link to or post on here is to be used at your own discretion. It is not intended to become a bible for you.

So the idea here (as near as I can tell) is to use more active words. And I’m all for that. I think writing should be exciting and fun and we should have action in it!

Now if you haven’t clicked the link, you should because I’m going to discuss a couple of the things in the actual article.

Very/Really
I’m not sure you need to delete this completely. I could understand using them in some places. Or at least using them sparingly. That being said, I am going to keep an eye on MY usage over the next few weeks of my writing.

Suddenly
I’m sure I use this entirely too much. Or I did. I’m absolutely going to keep an eye out for the usage and attempt to replace it. In my editing if nothing else.

Amazing/Awesome
I had a difficult time not laughing at this one. It’s one I hear A LOT with students so it’s already on my list of not to use, but it’s still a good one to keep in mind.

That
I actually had a professor my senior year of college who made us go through three or four papers and find our most commonly used phrase. Mine was “the fact that”. Now this was essay writing and I still find myself using the phrase, but I’ve cut down a lot. I can see how it would be useful not to use it.

I found the article interesting, I will definitely be reading more on this site. And I hope you found the article helpful. Until next time. Happy writing!

That Golden Writing Time

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this week (and this was supposed to be last week’s entry so you’ll get another one in a day or so), but I was talking to my friend and fellow writer, Hope, and she came up with the idea of making time to write.

So I’m going to start with a couple of questions:
1. How and when do you make time to write?
2. What do you find most difficult about finding time to write?
3. What is your ideal time to write?
4. (and this one might seem a bit off-topic) Do you like quiet when you’re writing or do you like some type of noise?

And then share my own answers:
1. How and when do you make time to write?
I work around my work and family schedule so my time varies from day to day and week to week. I most often find the best time for me to write is later in the evening after dinner because my family is settled in for the evening and is less likely to interrupt me. I generally still get pulled away from time to time, but at this point; I have found that requesting time just to write doesn’t work. I have learned to grab minutes here and there when I can. It doesn’t make me very consistent, but I have learned to write a lot in a little bit of time.

2. What do you find most difficult about finding time to write?
Finding time between everything else I think I SHOULD be doing. Or getting distracted by all the other things I COULD be doing. Like over the weekend, my room was such a mess that I put off writing to clean it. I felt much better once it was done but that was two hours when I was cleaning out my closet and putting things away that I possibly could be writing. Of course now I have a nice clean room where I can think and not be distracted by disaster.

3. What is your ideal time to write?
I prefer to write in the evenings. Not just because it’s most likely the time I’ll be left alone, but because it’s MY best brain time, despite what this article says. This though is an interesting commentary about getting up and writing.

4. (and this one might seem a bit off-topic) Do you like quiet when you’re writing or do you like some type of noise?
I like noise. I prefer to have the television or music on, to have conversation in the background, just some type of noise. I work better that way. Some people might find it distracting, but I can stare blindly at the TV screen and it jump starts my brain when I get stuck.

So what are your thoughts? Also is there anything you’d like to see in the next few blog posts? I’d love some feedback!

More Beth Cato News!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an interview with Beth Cato. Her debut book A Clockwork Dagger is being released on September 16th. Today Tor started a contest to win a copy of the book. You simply comment here and you have a chance to win one of three copies!

 

Also if you are in the Visalia, California area, you can pick up a copy of Lifestyle Magazine for an article on her.

 

Or read the whole article online here (pages 54-56).

 

In case you haven’t guessed, I’m a little excited about her book. I entered the contest, but I’ve already pre-ordered my copy!

Breaking Writer’s Block

So it’s not going to be a long post this week. I’ve got some kind of killer cold (possibly bronchitis). And the brain is a bit fuzzy. I was going to write a review of This Side of Salvation but I just can’t pull my thoughts together enough to write something justified for it. Hopefully for next week.

Meanwhile, I’ve got this funny and amusing article that fellow writer, Dee Willis, linked me to about how to get back on track when you stumble with your writing. Follow the links in the article because those are almost as great as the article itself.

The article by Amanda Patterson talks about what to do when you’re stuck with your writing and how to get out of the rut. They’re simple, easy to do ideas that will help a struggling writer or even someone who just wants to try something new.

Hope it helps!

Five Paragraph Essay

 

I got an assignment at work the other week to write up what is needed in a Five Paragraph Essay. I thought I’d share what I wrote up with all of you just in case it was helpful.

 

A Five Paragraph Essay—Simply

 

Simply put, a five paragraph essay has five paragraphs:

–an introduction

–3 body paragraphs

–a conclusion

 

The Introduction:

Introduce your topic, state your main points, make sure your thesis is argumentative and controlling. (See handout on Tips on Writing a Thesis Statement.) This is your outline of your paper; it guides your reader on where you want to go.

 

Body One:

This should be your strongest point. Remember to start with a topic sentence. Have supporting details, use transitional words, and keep to the topic of both your essay and the paragraph. The topic should relate to the thesis statement.

 

Body Two:

This paragraph should be your second strongest point or an obvious follow up to the previous paragraph. Make sure you use a transitional sentence or topic sentence from the previous paragraph. Stay on topic and keep to the format. The topic should relate to the thesis statement.

 

Body Three:

This should be the weakest argument or relate back to the proceeding paragraphs. It should have a topic or transitional statement back to the paragraph prior to it. The topic should relate to the thesis statement.

 

 

Concluding Paragraph:

This paragraph should have the following items:

1. A summary of the important points in the essay
2. A restatement of the thesis that does not copy the thesis exactly
3. Make sure to cover the 3 important points that were covered in the essay (briefly)
4. A final statement so the reader knows the essay is finished.

 

Also remember:

Thesis statements should be argumentative, controlling, and specific.

Body paragraphs should only contain information relating to the topic.

Paragraphs should be a minimum of 5-7 sentences.

Writing should be clear and concise.

Sentences should be varied in length.

 

 

Five paragraph essay information from:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

Smith-Ready on Reddit!

As a special post for today, Jeri Smith-Ready is participating in Reddit (as I may have mentioned on Saturday). Go head on over and join in!

BONUS Superfan activity! Spread the word about my Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) the same way you would the trading cards, by sharing this post/image, then visit my blog to see how to enter today’s bonus daily drawing, PLUS earn points toward the grand prize. http://blog.jerismithready.com/2014/04/bonus-superfan-activity.html

http://www.reddit.com/r/YAwriters/comments/22f5xn/i_am_jeri_smithready_ya_author_powered_by_peanut/
>Go here! To sign in or sign up

Jeri Smith-Ready on Reddit!

No special card for This Side of Salvation today, but a special idea. Jeri Smith-Ready will be participating in “Ask Me Anything” over at the YA Writers Group on Reddit on Monday (April 7th). You do have to be a member to participate, but it literally takes about 10 seconds and they don’t require much of anything to sign up. She’ll be taking questions from 9am to 5pm and has invited people to stop by and well “Ask Me Anything! About me, my books, etc. I will try to be both entertaining and informative, maybe even at the same time.”

Reddit link to sign up and if I can I’ll add the link to the post on Monday… I’ll be at work when it goes live so I won’t be able to add it until it’s almost over.

This Side of Salvation Day 4

Today’s card is David’s (the main character) of This Side of Salvation older sister. Each card seems to give us a bit of insight into the characters and this is an interesting thought. And one I can’t wait to see how the book addresses!

This is a link to the Amazon Kindle edition which has some reviews from readers! (I didn’t read them yet because I haven’t read the book yet!)

This Side of Salvation Day Two

Jeri Smith-Ready’s book This Side of Salvation is in stores today! Check it out!

From the release post!

Jeri Smith-Ready (author of the Shade trilogy) makes her contemporary debut in what Kirkus calls “a captivating story of family heartbreak.”

THIS SIDE OF SALVATION

Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure:  The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.

Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.

But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined… 

What Others Are Saying:

“THIS SIDE OF SALVATION is impossible to pigeonhole. It’s a mystery, a
love story, a tale of friendship, of prejudice, and of a family
overcoming tragedy…Jeri Smith-Ready has her finger on the pulse of
American youth.” — Printz Honor winner and NYT Bestseller Elizabeth Wein

“This is a frighteningly realistic story that delicately handles the issues of religion and family—an emotional mystery sure to be popular and perfect for discussion.” — VOYA, **Highlighted (Starred) Review**

“[A] smart, well-rounded, and unpredictable tale…bringing to light
issues of belief versus free will, spirit versus body, and family versus
self—while never being heavy-handed.” Booklist, **Starred Review**

“This book has some of the best written, strongest, and most satisfying
character dynamics that I have read in a long time…There are no
extreme moral rights and wrongs in this book. These people just are, and
they work, and they make this story beautiful.” — Bibliopunkk

Giveaways Galore!

Jeri has two ongoing giveaways to celebrate the release of This Side of Salvation.

Join the Rush swag fest: free EXCLUSIVE swag for everyone who orders TSOS on or before Monday, April 7.

Superfan contest (March 31 – April 9): share the TSOS characters’ “trading cards”  on your social networks to earn points. Biggest Superfan wins the grand prize, but there’s a chance to win a book and a gift card every day you play!

Here’s the first day’s card, featuring the main character, David Cooper:

Cat blogging meets book birthday!

Meet Misha and Twinkle, the real-life inspiration for the cats of This Side of Salvation, on PulseIt, the official site of Jeri’s publisher, Simon Pulse.

Order the hardcover:

• Indie Bound
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble

Order the ebook:

• Kindle  
• Nook 
• Kobo

Find Jeri

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