Common Words Often Misused

Some words sound so much alike that it’s easy to use the wrong one and not realize it. And, the spell-check function of your word processing program will not necessarily catch them, because they may be spelled correctly.

Here are several of the most commonly misused words.

Accept/Except

Accept means to receive something tangible, or to be received as a member of a group or as an idea or theory: Please accept this bonus for a job done well. / The Garden Club will accept me as a member. / I accept your opinion about this matter.

Except means to exclude: Invite everyone except Jean; or other than: Everyone was on time except Jean. 

Affect/Effect

Affect means to influence: Sugar can affect health; or to use a pretense: He affected a French accent to impress women.

Effect means to bring about by some cause: He created the new rules to effect better customer service at his store.

Effect can also mean a result: This lemon-yellow paint will create a cheerful effect in your kitchen.

Allude/Elude

Allude means to make an indirect reference: Mary alluded to a past transgression when she said, “You remember what you did the last time?”

Elude means to evade or escape: You can elude capture if you hide in that culvert.

Farther/Further

Farther is a reference about distance: I traveled farther than I thought I would in one day.

Further is a reference about a situation: She pushed him further in developing his skills than he believed he could accomplish.

Hear/Here

Hear means to listen or receive a sound: Do you hear music in the distance?

Here means in the location you’re in: Meet me here in two hours.

It’s/Its

It’s is a contraction of it is: It’s in the corner.

Its is a possessive form: The dog wagged its tail.

Have/Of

Have is a verb: You should have asked to borrow the saw. / Contraction form: Should’ve, never should of.

Of is a preposition: You can ask to borrow the saw of Mr. Green, which is sharper than Mr. Bean’s.

Than/Then

Than is a conjunction that represents comparison: Bob is a better violinist than Mark.

Then represents time: He was a master drummer back then. / The then drummer in the group broke his arm. / She bought a single rose then left the shop. / The flight is delayed for two hours; until then I’ll visit the bookshop.

Then represents “in addition”: The drive takes six hours, and then there are all the stops to rest and eat to consider.

Then acts as a qualifier of a preceding thought: She felt pain from the injury, but then what injury doesn’t cause pain?

Then represents a consequence: He’s made up his mind; so that, then, is that.

They’re/There/Their

They’re is the contraction of they are: They’re due to arrive in ten minutes.

There indicates a location: Put the flowers there. / We’ll meet there at noon.

Their is possessive: They’re having the party there, at their house.

Wet/Whet

Wet means to dampen or in some way affect with water: Your clothes are sopping wet.

Whet means to sharpen: He used a tool to whet the antique knife; or to stimulate: This appetizer should whet your appetite for the entrée.

Yea/Yeah/Yay

Yea is an archaic term: “Yea, though I walk…” It’s also is a cheer: “Yea! Our candidate won.”

Yeah is a casual way to say yes: Yeah, I can be there by eight o’clock.

Yay indicates approximate size, usually with a demonstration using fingers, hands, or arms: “The fish he caught was yay big.”

What Kind of Editing Will You Need?

Sometimes you need more than basic editing, which is called Developmental Editing, to assist you with plot and character development, as well as with other creative and technical matters. I particularly enjoy this service when the writer’s story has “good bones.” Know this: most new-writer manuscripts need this service, especially first drafts; and when I see in the sample chapters sent to me that Developmental Evaluation (a critique) is needed instead, because the manuscript needs substantial revision, I advise clients to go for that service, unless they really want me to do an overhaul for them, which I can, though it’s labor-intensive.

Developmental Evaluation is also beneficial for non-fiction and memoirs, which sometimes need structure re-organization: the story is not told in the best order for the most impact or is confusing to read.

Eventually, every manuscript needs an editor’s eyes.

Timing: New writers typically don’t know to anticipate that time may or will be involved to get their manuscript into final form, meaning into proper shape to self-publish or submit to an agent or publisher. This timing all depends on how much work their manuscript needs. Manuscripts generally need more than one revision. Even best-sellers go through multiple revisions.

The entire process of manuscript to retail product is an involved but fascinating one. You learn a lot about what it takes from start to finish for an idea to become a book, and benefit greatly from what you learn, especially if you intend to keep writing.

Have a question? Contact me at http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/ and I’ll blog about it.

I wish you the best with your writing and process.

Joyce Shafer

Services for Writers

Good Storytelling: Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Memoirs

Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or a memoir, a good story is deemed good when it is told well. There are things to keep in mind to assure this is your result.

Good storytelling can accomplish many things:

• Brings fresh insights about what motivates people.
• Causes us to consider the changes life brings and how we feel about them or how we might respond or react to them.
• Causes us to look at lies, truth, and motive in, perhaps, a new way.
• Gives us windows to peer into that reveal more about humanity and human nature than we’ve previously known or considered.
• Allows us to vicariously experience inner and outer sensations, to use our senses while sitting still.
• Lets our imaginations play and feel good about doing so.
• Lets us witness restorations—including of love, balance, justice.
• Makes us laugh out loud.
• Its use of words and phrases can cause us to pause and reflect or use a highlighter to mark a passage that speaks to us.
• We can wear our “who-done-it” cap and try to solve the mystery.
• Lets us observe contradictions and conflicts with our feet safely tucked under us and a soothing mug of steaming tea nearby.
• Takes us into beauty, as well as into its opposite.
• Relates our own life experiences to those of the characters or to imagine ourselves as the characters in unfamiliar circumstances or realms.

A good story can do these and more, but it must be told well. This involves not just the words and how they are sequenced, but the technical matters such as correct punctuation, proper paragraphing, scene breaks, plot and character development, flow, dialogue that also includes actions so that characters are not just talking heads.

It must answer questions for readers that the plot has presented, and must wrap up the story in a way that satisfies even if all indications are that a sequel will be needed (or, hopefully, desired by readers).

It must have enough description but not so much that it detracts from the experience and flow.

It must have balance between narrative, dialogue (when appropriate to the story), and action.

It must stay real, which even science fiction and fantasy must adhere to within their created worlds.

Whether a story is fiction, non-fiction, or a memoir, a good story told well takes us into a world we wish to visit, even if not to live in, so we have experiences, gain knowledge or wisdom, or are entertained in a way that is pleasing, enjoyable, or meaningful for us. This is what you want to give to your readers, as well as to yourself as a writer.

What Kind of Editing Will You Need?

Sometimes you need more than basic editing, which is called Developmental Editing, to assist you with plot and character development, as well as other creative and technical matters. I particularly enjoy this service when the writer’s story has “good bones.” Know this: most new-writer manuscripts need this service, especially first drafts; and when I see in the sample chapters sent to me that Developmental Evaluation (a critique) is needed instead, because the manuscript needs substantial revision, I advise clients to go for that service, unless they really want me to do an overhaul for them, which I can, though it’s labor-intensive.

Developmental Evaluation is also beneficial for non-fiction and memoirs, which sometimes need structure re-organization: the story is not told in the best order for the most impact or is confusing to read. It doesn’t help if your story makes sense to you but not to readers. Eventually, every manuscript needs an editor’s eyes.

Timing: New writers typically don’t know to anticipate that time may or will be involved to get their manuscript into final form, meaning into proper shape to self-publish or submit to an agent or publisher. This timing all depends on how much work their manuscript needs. Manuscripts generally need more than one revision. Even best-sellers go through multiple revisions.

The entire process of manuscript to retail product is an involved but fascinating one. You can learn a lot about what it takes from start to finish for an idea to become a book, and benefit greatly from what you learn, especially if you intend to keep writing.

Have a question? Contact me at http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/ and I’ll blog about it.

I wish you the best with your writing and process.

Joyce Shafer

Services for Writers

Story

Story is what every fiction, non-fiction, and memoir is ultimately about. There’s much to say about story, but I’ll provide a few tidbits for now.

There are archetypal stories and stereotypical stories.

An archetypal story reveals and shares a universal human experience, even if there are unique cultural specifics involved.

A stereotypical story tends to be short on quality content and form; it focuses on non-specific generalities or hopes to match another commercial success. Though its words fill space on the page, the story is empty and leaves readers feeling empty, if they continue to read it, that is.

Stereotypical stories seem to stay in one place—there is little change of any significance in plot or characters.

Archetypal stories take people on a journey, preferably an inner and outer journey.

Good storytelling does not take shortcuts, but neither does it fill space with empty content and events. Every scene moves the plot and characters forward in some specific way, even in non-fiction and memoirs. Scenes work as they should when they elicit some emotion, which can include humor.

Story is about storytelling, not trying to guarantee sales. No one can guarantee that, especially for a first book. But every book needs to tell a good story and tell it well. It must create a movie in the minds of readers.

Aim at excellence rather than to be a copycat of what’s working in the marketplace now.

Have a desire to reach inside the minds and hearts of your readers—you want your words to speak to them in some way. You want them to relate in some way.

Do not confuse original storytelling with eccentricity just for the sake of filling page space. Just to be different, without a true purpose behind it for plot and character development, and genuine respect for readers, will not create desired results for a writer who wishes his or her work to be read and appreciated.

What Kind of Editing Will You Need?

Sometimes you need more than basic editing, which is called Developmental Editing, to assist you with plot and character development, as well as other creative and technical matters. I particularly enjoy this service when the writer’s story has “good bones.” Know this: most new-writer manuscripts need this service, especially first drafts; and when I see in the sample chapters sent to me that Developmental Evaluation (a critique) is needed instead, because the manuscript needs substantial revision, I advise clients to go for that service, unless they really want me to do an overhaul for them, which I can, though it’s labor-intensive.

Developmental Evaluation is also beneficial for non-fiction and memoirs, which sometimes need structure re-organization: the story is not told in the best order for the most impact or is confusing to read. It doesn’t help if your story makes sense to you but not to readers. Eventually, every manuscript needs an editor’s eyes.

Timing: New writers typically don’t know to anticipate that time may or will be involved to get their manuscript into final form, meaning into proper shape to self-publish or submit to an agent or publisher. This timing all depends on how much work their manuscript needs. Manuscripts generally need more than one revision. Even best-sellers go through multiple revisions.

The entire process of manuscript to retail product is an involved but fascinating one. You can learn a lot about what it takes from start to finish for an idea to become a book, and benefit greatly from what you learn, especially if you intend to keep writing.

Have a question? Contact me at http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/ and I’ll blog about it.

I wish you the best with your writing and process.

Joyce Shafer

Services for Writers