How to Use Adverbs in Your Writing

Getting your work (heavily) edited by a professional publisher can quickly open your eyes to quite a few “blind spots” in your writing style.

For many of us, these blind spots come in the form of the overuse and abuse of adverbs. As most of us are familiar with from grade school English class, an adverb is used to modify a verb - just like an adjective will modify a noun. Most adverbs end in “ly”. If you use too many adverbs in your work, the tone of the novel will feel weak and poorly written. The abuse of adverbs will make the reader feel like the author wasn’t able to find the right wording and substituted in an adverb as a last resort.

In short, overusing adverbs does not equal strong writing.

When it comes to the adverb dilemma, less is more. If your novel is overly descriptive and loaded full of adverbs, it will actually make the reader feel less involved and less attracted to the action and plot of the book.

One example is with the use of the word “quickly”. I have to admit from my own personal experience that this is an adverb that I have used and abused. I have been told by editors in the past that my lead character can’t do everything “quickly”. Instead of overusing an adverb like “quickly”, it’s best to eliminate it altogether and instead show urgency in the action of the character.

Instead of “she replied quickly”, use “she shot back” as a form of reply. This subtle change in wording makes a big difference because it draws the reader into the action instead of using a vague, descriptive term that they have heard hundreds and hundreds of times before.

Taking it a step further, it’s best not to use an adverb in dialogue if at all possible since the written dialogue should support itself. It is perfectly fine to use “he said” or “she said” as dialogue tags or leave the dialogue tag out altogether. When you use “she replied quickly”, you’re taking away from the tone and context of the dialogue that should convey the message to the reader in the first place.

If you’ve already written a complete manuscript and have it ready to submit to publishers, congratulations! But before you begin an onslaught of query letters, go back through your manuscript with a fine tooth comb and cut out as many adverbs as possible. It may seem unnatural at first, but when you read through it for the second time, you’ll notice the difference.

Bethany Ramos is an author and full-time freelance writer with experience in Internet marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. She is passionate about writing captivating children's books and witty chick lit. For more information, you can visit her blog at http://chicklit-books.com

Writing, Submission, and Working with Editors

Every writer, at least hopefully, will work with an editor from time to time. While, we’d all like it to be on a regular basis, time to time is better than nothing. When in the joyous situation (you’ve gotten something accepted for publication), there are some tips that will help you in your working relationship with an editor.

The first thing, even before you think of submitting your work, is to have your manuscript or article in the best shape possible.

Getting to the Point of Submissions

1. Be part of a critique group. Every writer needs the extra eyes of writers working in the same genre. Their insights and critiques will prove to be invaluable to you.

2. Revise and self-edit . . .  repeat and repeat . . .

3. When you think your manuscript is in perfect shape, send it to a freelance editor. You may think this isn’t necessary, but it is. Ask around for one that comes with recommendations.

Now, you’re set; off you go on your submissions fishing trip. But, don’t just drop the line randomly; be sure you do research and find the best spot – one where you know the fish are biting. What this means is to look for publishing houses that are best suited to your manuscript, and ones that are accepting submissions.

After you’ve found a few publishing houses suitable. Read their submission guidelines CAREFULLY, and follow them just as carefully. Now it’s time for the infamous query letter. If you’re unfamiliar with queries, do some research.

Okay, you’ve done everything you needed to, and now you cast off. AND, you get a bite.

Working with Editors

Once you’re accepted by a publishing house, you will be assigned an editor. And, don’t be alarmed, but that manuscript you meticulously slaved over, and even paid an editor to go over, will end up with revisions. This is just the nature of the beast—each publishing house has their own way of doing things. They will want your manuscript to fit their standards.

Note: the purpose of those long hours of writing work, and hiring an editor is to give your manuscript the best shot of making it past the editor’s trash can, and actually getting accepted.

Now on to 4 tips that will help make your editor/author experience a pleasant one:

1. Always be professional.

2. Don’t get insulted when the editor requests revisions. They are not trying to hurt your feelings; they are hired by the publishing house to get your manuscript in the best possible salable state. They want your book to sell as much as you do.

3. Keep the lines of communication open. If you have a question, ask. If you disagree with an edit, respectfully discuss it. Editors are not infallible; sometimes your gut feeling is right.

4. Take note of deadlines and be on time—this is your career, and in some cases your livelihood.

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Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. For writing and marketing information visit Karen at http://karencioffi.com and sign up for her free newsletter: A Writer’s World. You’ll get 2 free e-books on writing and marketing in the process, and two more just for stopping by.

The best online writers conference I know

by Vivian Zabel 

The Muse Online Writing Conference is the best online conference I've found, and it's free. It allows those who can't attend a conference physically to have a chance to learn more about writing, submitting, promotion, and other aspects we need to know.

Registration closes September 25, so people MUST register now:  After that the forum link to register will disappear .

http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/joom/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=3

Also, the conferences has pitch sessions, where writers can pitch their manuscripts to agents and/or publishers. Check out the line up so far for workshops and pitch sessions, read the guidelines what and how to submit your pitches:

http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/joom/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=27

I hardily recommend this conference. 4RV Publishing will have a forum, and I'll be holding a workshop forum, too.

4RV Publishing  
4RV Bookstore  

For the traditional artist who wants to digital ... here's an Inkling:

by Aidana WillowRaven


I have go to get one of these!

Now, I normally talk technique or style, and I strayed a bit last week going into a TweetDeck experience with another artist, but today, let's talk tools. We all know that supplies are necessary: pencils, pigments, papers, etc. But for the new 'tradigital' artist, as my fellow 4RV artist Ginger calls it, the physical supplies change a  bit. They are a lot more technical, but just as helpful and necessary to create visual interpretations to the words on a page.

One of the biggest milestones a traditional artist has to overcome when trying to transition to digital drawing is learning how to draw watching a computer screen instead of the paper. Drawing on the hard tablet can be quite foreign too, when you're used to the feel and grain of paper. Well, now there is a tool being released this month that helps with the creative transition. Check this out:

Isn't that the coolest thing you ever saw? I am trying to figure out where to manifest the extra $200 in my budget to get this, but it's definitely a fraction of what it is worth to someone who has a bit of trouble making the switch, like myself. I get frustrated that my pen tablet line is not the line I expect because it just doesn' feel the same.

I hope some of ya'll find this soon-to-be-released gadget as useful and innovative as I will. And I do plan to find a way to get it .. lol. The link in the video is a bit fast, so let me give it to you: http://www.wacom.com/en/Products/Inkling (It conveniently lives in my 'gotta have' bookmark folder ... lol).

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operation

4RV Publishing

7 Things Bugs Bunny Taught Me About Writing

by Laurie Boris

Since childhood, I've been a huge fan of the cartoon rabbit that animator Chuck Jones called "an amalgam of Dorothy Parker, Rex Harrison and D'Artagnon." Watching Bugs and his Looney Tunes pals reminds me of all the lessons that Wascally Wabbit taught me over the years. Some even about writing. For instance:

1. Get your chops down. A daily writing practice keeps you sharp-witted and ready to face down any adversary, including despicable villains, faint-hearted protagonists, and loud-mouthed ducks.

2. Don't take any guff. Is your internal critic jabbering up a storm? Or is some muscle-bound galoot robbing you of your beauty sleep or threatening your carrot patch? You can take them. All it takes is a good strategy and a little charisma to get everyone back in line.

3. No experience is wasted. Even if you miss the left turn at Albuquerque, have to fight a raging bull, or return a crying penguin to the South Pole, try to enjoy the ride. And take a few notes for your next story. After all, it worked for Kerouac and Hemingway.

4. Persistence pays off. You may have to play a lot of bit parts in the chorus before you get your starring role. Is writing is the love of your life? Stick with it and stay in the market for a better chance of becoming happily published.

5. Know when to improvise. Sometimes the script isn't going the way you want. Acme Instant Holes, exploding cigars, distracting kisses, or cream pies all give you a handy exit strategy.

6. Research rules. Your hero has to stare down a lineup of burly sluggers or play a round of golf to settle a bet with an irate bagpiper, and you know nothing about either sport. Find an expert. Or learn on the fly. Just be prepared to chop up the golf course or give up a lot of homers until you get the feel for it.

7. Rise to the challenge. There are hunters, agents, critics, coyotes, Tasmanian Devils, and other saboteurs around every corner. Animated rabbit or aspiring writer, it's not an easy life, but a most rewarding one if you choose to accept the challenge.

What about you? Are you rising to your challenges? Or are you searching the Acme catalog for reinforcements?

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Laurie Boris is the author of The Joke's on Me, a contemporary novel NEW from 4RV Publishing. She also blogs about writing, books, and the language of popular culture at http://laurieboris.com.

Researching for Your Book

I’d like to share about the research that went into my middle grade urban fantasy book, “Guardian.”

As a prelude, before you can do research for a book, you have to have an idea. The idea for this particular book was first conceived when my husband was toodling about online and ran across a real-to-life treasure mystery about Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. As soon as he shared the particulars for it, I knew immediately it was my story, but it wouldn’t be written without doing research.

As does any good child of the technologically, computer-enhanced world that we live in, I immediately went to Google, and researched the treasure story. I came across a thriving Oak Island Treasure forum and informational pages about the story.

A treasure is believed to be buried on Oak Island, but the source of this treasure is a mystery. Some believe it is a pirate’s treasure, some the missing treasure of the Incans and Mayans, some the Knights Templar. Some believe the whole thing is nothing more than an elaborate hoax. I was fascinated to find that the treasure story was known well enough to have spawned several books.

Off to Amazon. I bought a book about the Templars and the treasure. I bought a couple of books about the treasure story itself. I got a book about the Holy Grail possibly being part of the treasure. I purchased a book about the first Grail story and another book about the Templar’s history and their possible connection to the Grail. I ended up researching the Crusades, because the Templars touched on it, as well as armor for medieval times and armor specific to the Knights Templar. The whole Templar story is fascinating in and of itself and I followed them to their demise and beyond. It seemed that the more I dug, the more connections I ran across. At one point, I even researched poisons because I needed some for the book.

With the online connection to the Oak Island forum, I “met” the real treasure guru, Danny Hennigar via email and then through phone calls. He was able to help me with pictures of Oak Island and the “location” of the treasure pit. He was also the most knowledgeable about various aspects of the treasure story and what the latest theories were. And, since my story was set in both Maine and Nova Scotia, he was able to help with the realistic details of weather patterns, flora and fauna, Canadian slang, boats, and so forth.

The Oak Island Tourism Society also sent me flyers, from which I gleaned more information about the treasure story and location, and maps of the area. Another person I “met” on the forum lives in Cleveland, but had visited Bar Harbor, Maine, and the Oak Island area. He was a great font of information, and sent me many valuable pictures of the area that I was able to use for descriptions in my book. The State of Maine also sent me a great deal of information, and I also learned about a ferry that takes one from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The ride actually takes several hours, and I was able to name my mythical ferry, “The Pirate’s Run,” which I thought had a nice flair to it.

I did a total of about three months worth of research before I wrote a single word. But the research was well worth it, for I found when I wrote the story, all the facts and suppositions that I’d read about dovetailed nicely into the story. In one sense, I had very little fictionalizing to do because I had all the historical facts from which to pull. Of course, like any writer, I’d get stuck at times, but my husband and I would pull some brainstorming sessions. A lot of times, I’d be thinking of where to take the story next, and a piece of research that I did came to mind, and it fit exactly where I needed it to and really enhanced the validity of the story. To a certain degree, the research that I did pointed the direction for the written story to take.

Good research is hard to replace. Even in the book I am writing now, I am researching glassblowing. It’s a bit more difficult because the only book on glassblowing is out-of-print, although I did run across another children’s author who was writing a book on glassblowing, so I have been in some contact with her. And, there are lots of resources online and there are glassblowers within a few hours drive from where I live.

So, if you’re hot to write a book, be willing to put the hours in on research. There’s no excuse for shoddy research and erroneous details. Sure, my books are for kids, but I did as much research, if not more, for this kid book than I have for most anything else I have written.

...

For more information about Katie Hines and her books, visit her blog at katiehines.blogspot.com, and her website at www.katiehines.com. Her book, “Guardian,” can be ordered through the publisher at http://www.4RVPublishingllc.com and is available in both Kindle and Nook editions.

Illustrating the Chapter Book vs. the Picture Book

by Ginger Nielson

Picture books are full of color, action, and interest.  Chapter books are full of images for the mind, fewer illustrations, and less color. Even with these differences, there are striking similarities in illustrating a chapter book and a picture book.  The most successful picture books and chapter books will keep the readers interested, amused, and entertained.

Attitude is important when approaching the chapter book illustration assignment.
Be prepared to read carefully and perhaps more than once per chapter.

Just as the picture book requires careful study to find the key points to illustrate, the chapter book is begging for careful study.

The approach to illustrating a chapter book is quite different from illustrating a picture book.  To most the difference is fairly obvious.  Picture books contain large illustrations in full color.  Chapter books, while they may have a colorful cover, are normally illustrated in black and white.

Some situations call for more drama in the illsutrations.  Darker tones and
a somber mood are conveyed with strong darks and lights.

The way an illustrator approaches these two types of books can be as different from one another as color is from black and white.  There is certainly a great deal of thinking that goes into planning a picture book.  Illustrations need to be carefully spaced within the story.  A picture book may have 16 to 24 or more full color illustrations. The artist needs to find the perfect balance between the illustrations, the story, and the page count.  Storyboards are extremely useful in planning the pace of the illustrations and the pacing of the text from page to page.  Illustrations normally flow from left to right to keep the reader engaged in turning the page.

At times chapter books may contain only 8 to 10 black and white illustrations. Although it is possible that some  may be filled with illustrations, the books themselves will be a smaller size.  The key point needs to be transmitted with less real estate and significant impact.

The intended age group needs to be considered when illustrating a chapter book.

Chapter books are intended for the older child who wants to read in depth. Even though most will have a full color cover, they may only have black and white chapter head illustrations. The illustrator needs to read the book in its entirety and perhaps more than once. For each chapter a main idea needs to be sorted out for that one chapter head illustration.  There are chapter books with full color interior illustrations, but the majority will only have either a full page chapter head illustration or something smaller in black and white or gray tones.

Chapter book illustrations are hints, previews, or perhaps a tease as to what will happen in that chapter.  The artist needs to be clever enough not to give away too much and yet dig deep into each chapter to find that one idea that will spark interest and lead the reader onward.

The illustrations in a chapter book are hints and previews for
what is about to occur.

Have you ever thumbed through the pages of a chapter book looking at those illustrations to see what might be coming in a new chapter?  Those key illustrations are the hints I mentioned.  They should be interesting enough to keep the reader turning page after page to find out what is going to happen next.  Another key factor is that they should be as exact a translation of the key point as possible.  Read for the details. Does the heroine have a cat AND a dog in bed?  Are the windows in the house all broken, closed, open, filled with light?  Did the man in the chapter wear a watch?  Did the woman at the library try to hide something behind her back?  Details are extremely important.

Peaceful situations may call for more traditional
 illustrations and a bit of gray tone.

Style is important as well.  A mystery may demand heavier line work and more contrast between the positive and negative space.  Angles may be sharper.  Orientation may be dynamic.   A fantasy may require a completely different style as would science fiction or full out humor.

Knowing the material in a manuscript that could number as much as 300 pages or more is essential.  While you read you could take notes about illustrations that are popping into your head and demanding to be created.  Do a little brainstorming with yourself and a sketch pad. See where the most interesting points lie in each chapter.

Just plain humor may require quick strokes and dancing lines.

 If you are planning to illustrate a chapter book, especially if it is your first attempt, go to the bookstore or library and take a look at as many as you can.  Once you get a feel for the design, see what it is that you like or dislike about the way the illustrations are presented and how well they move the reader through the story. Then tackle the chapter book you have been assigned. Read it over several times.  Find the key to each chapter and let the illustrations you create unlock chapter after chapter for the eager reader.

Ginger's Website