Keira Gillett Author

Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads

Keira Gillett

The Great Debate – Vocabulary in Books for Kids

By

When I wrote the first draft Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest I didn’t think about the vocabulary I was using. It wasn’t until the first round of beta readers got a hold of the novel that I started to question word choices because they questioned word choices.

Do I dumb down? Do I elevate? What’s the middle ground? Is there a middle ground?

You read online, and everywhere you look there’s warnings this way and that way about doing one or the other. Too verbose and it’ll turn kids off. Too dumbed down and it’ll bore them. You can’t please everybody. So what to do?

I thought back to my own experience.

I’ve always been a reader. In high school I took the SAT’s twice. My first verbal score early on in my high school career was around the middle range. I took it again my senior year, where I only studied for the math section, but got a much higher verbal score. I credit the very high verbal score from that round of testing to the sole fact that I was a voracious reader, and that I was reading both kid books and adult books. Books have to build vocabulary and establish a common vernacular to make such a positive change in test scores.

I looked to children’s movies that I loved. Disney loves to turn out verbal comedy. For example, the use of the phrase ‘your lugubriousness’ when one of the imps in Hercules addresses Hades. Adults might think this word play is just for them, because they have the vocabulary to understand, but I think it makes an impact on kids, too. Kids are smarter than adults will sometimes give them credit for.

I read a few blogs in the book blogger community which discussed vocabulary in their favorite books as kids. Some were surprised to find during rereads that the books contained really big words. This spurred me to check too. I looked at how some of my favorite children’s authors wrote and saw that the bloggers were right. The books did contain big words. What a relief!

I also knew a large chunk of readers would probably access my book on an e-reading device with a built-in dictionary. I was confident that vocabulary would be a minor footnote. A word should never get in the way of the story, but an author should never forget that a story is comprised of words. There’s no need to be fearful of using the words you know.

This is why I left the most of the words which were questioned alone, and changed out only a few for better words. Changing this word for that word came down to clarity for the reader, and/or poetically what was right for the story. 

When it comes to my current writing projects, I start in much the same way as I did for that very first book. I just write. The first draft is its own animal, which is wrestled into submission. Editing is the right time for me to debate on word-choice. It’s where the magic happens!
Where do you fall on the great debate? Where should vocabulary stand when it comes to storytelling?

Becoming an Author Changes How You Read Books

By

When I completed the first book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy I noticed something odd. I was reading differently. I know it’s a bold statement to say writing a book changes how you read books. But is the concept really all that farfetched, or is it all too obvious? I’ll let you decide.

Before writing Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, paying attention to how I read was not anything I thought to analyze. I simply read and enjoyed. Even while writing Zaria’s first adventures to Norway, it wasn’t something on my radar, but I noticed while editing and readying the book for publication that my reading habits had changed. I wasn’t just a reader anymore, simply reading to enjoy a book, I was an author, too. I was reading books and dissecting what other authors did.

Now, that I’ve published my first trilogy set out into the world, I notice the changes in how I read even more. Witty turns of phrases catch my attention like landmarks on a road trip. I always loved a clever phrase as a reader, but as an author I am admiring the craft and skill involved, how easily it slid into place and flowed with the rest of the text.

I marvel at how sentences are engineered. For instance from a newspaper article came, “his words popped sporadically like popcorn.” What a clear visual and sound impression. I can hear it and see it – a little man jumping around to emphasize thoughts as they came to him.

Another thing I do is question word choices describing actions. Can someone’s gaze climb over someone’s appearance? Certainly the movement is clear, but eyes don’t have limbs to climb with, so does it work? And if for instance would the word traveled be better? Can a gaze travel over someone’s appearance? If it is better, why is it better? The gaze still doesn’t have limbs… but it can move, by changing where it’s looking.

I especially appreciate correct words in a story instead of their mistaken counterparts like compliment vs complement and homed in on vs honed in on. (Not that I didn’t appreciate them before, but now I feel more sympathetic toward malapropisms in text. I hated finding those in my own writing. They creep up far too often, and an author can’t claim distractions or interruptions for all of them! Though we will try.)

I read a lot of grammar blogs. More and more as the time passes. I want to stay sharp, learn new tricks, catch errors that might be missed, and hopefully polish my writing with their nuggets of wisdom. So yes, I still enjoy the story, and I might think about all the same things other readers or authors might when reading. But, I’m now analyzing how the words got on the page and learning wisdom on how to write at each author’s feet.

Brushing Off Your Copy Editor Skills

By

For fun I read grammar blogs, writing blogs, and copy editing blogs. I know, I’m weird, but I have an excuse – I write! A lot! I learn from these blogs and use my findings to rid my stories of items that sticklers love to stickle.

One example that comes to mind right now focuses on the words poor, pore, and pour. The blogger, who is an editor, talked about why he/she didn’t like self-published books by citing the above set of words as an example on quality writing. The self-published author the blogger focused on had incorrectly used the word poured to indicate a character studying a text. The correct word should be pored.

I filed that tidbit away and when I next opened the draft of my book, I checked for the words. Wouldn’t you know it? I too had used poured wrongly in the context of a sentence. A quick change and now I was good to go. And of course, fixing these errors on your own doesn’t mean you can skip hiring a real editor to edit your work, – which I did when I was finished with my edits, – but it does keep potential errors from escaping detection. If you know it, you should fix it.

What grammatical errors bother you the most when you read?

For me it’s the wrong word in place of the right one, and not necessarily homophones like poured/pored, but the unintentional malapropisms that aren’t spotted and are left in place, where the two words are vastly different and don’t mean the same thing at all. Not even books from big name publishers are 100% free of these errors, but they do occur less frequently due to vigorous editing.

Over to you!

The Oxford Comma – Do You Love It or Hate It?

By

Even though it’s a little punctuation mark, the Oxford Comma stirs a lot of debate, and not just from grammarians. The Oxford Comma is a serial comma, or in other words the comma in a list of items denoting the second to last and last items from each other. For example:

Sally and Henry went to the store for eggs, bacon, sausage, milk, and cheese.

In journalism where every character counts, I’ve learned that the Oxford Comma is not generally used. This is because it’s believed that the sentence still makes sense without it. This stance is why some would prefer the above sentence to read:

Sally and Henry went to the store for eggs, bacon, sausage, milk and cheese.

My old boss would disagree, even though he understood the style choice. His background in technical writing put significant importance on the Oxford Comma. In his work, the serial comma was used to clarify instructions and keep everyone working together. It simplified reading, making it easier to know what the writer intended.

I personally love the Oxford Comma. I grew up using it (probably because that’s how my English teachers taught me). I’m on the side of the debate that thinks the comma makes a sentence cleaner, clearer, and polished. See what I did there? One of my beta readers thinks the same as I do. In fact, it’s her favorite punctuation.

I read an article recently about a legal case where the Oxford Comma was up for debate. The case was won because the serial comma wasn’t used in legal documentation for a Maine law on overtime protections for workers, in this case delivery drivers. In fact, according to the article, Maine legislature ignores the Oxford Comma. I wonder if that will soon change.

Who knew grammar could win you a case in court? So let that be a lesson in why you should dot every “I”, cross every “T”, and put a comma after every item in a list.

Over to you – what’s your stance on the Oxford Comma? Is it friend or foe?

Plotting the Perfect Book

By

How you arrive at the perfect book as an author depends entirely on your writing perspective. So let’s start with a quiz to figure out your stance on plotting. Answer these truthfully, because there’s no right or wrong answer.

  • I often figure out where a book’s or show’s storyline is going.
    1. True
    2. False
  • I delight in the unexpected.
    1. False
    2. True
  • The perfect book has no loose ends.
    1. True
    2. False
  • Plot holes aren’t the end of the world.
    1. False
    2. True
  • Every detail in a narrative must mean something.
    1. True
    2. False
  • I hate it when a detail is incorrect, didn’t any research get done?
    1. True
    2. False

Mostly 1’s: Congratulations! You’re a plotter!

Mostly 2’s: Congratulations! You’re a pantser!

Equal 1’s and 2’s: Congratulations! You’re both a plotter and a pantser!

So what does your answer mean?

PLOTTER:

If you’re a plotter, you like to have every detail arranged. You’ve done all your research ahead of time and organized all your notes so they’re available at the ready. Your perfect book is flawlessly arranged from beginning to end and it reads beautifully. Before you even type the first word you know where you’re going and what words will take you there. You’re meticulous and it works to your advantage.

When you plan your books, you should: create lists of characters, settings, and plot with details about how they all relate; sort out all the action and dialogue; do your research first; figure out your characters’ motivation; know the book’s climax; and lay out the storyline across all chapters.

Beware: Your need for perfection, might keep you from starting the book and finishing it. Keep to a writing schedule and a word count goal.

PANTSER:

If you’re a pantser, you go with the flow. Day by day you’re not sure where the characters will take you, but you’re up for the task. You’ll research on the spot as ideas and situations come up. You like how things tend to come together in a serendipitous fashion. Everything works out in the end, and if it doesn’t, you’ll fix it on the next draft. You don’t sweat the small stuff. You know every word is the right word at the time, and can be changed if it turns out it isn’t a perfect fit. Others might see this laissez-faire attitude and think you don’t care, but you care immensely.

When you plan your books, you should: put together idea boards for characters, setting, and plot; keep a notebook filled with any odds and ends that strike your fancy from words you like to doodles you make to research you did; use Post-Its to arrange plot points, if you know them; and look outside yourself for inspiration and ideas, whether it be in magazines and books or museums and art.

Beware: Your ability to overlook a troubling spot in the book, could impact your ability to edit later. Highlight anything you have questions on, so you won’t forget and can address them later.

BOTH:

If you’re a bit of both a plotter and pantser, you combine the best of both types of writing. You plan, but don’t stifle. You go off on tangents, but always bring the story back on point. A loose end can always be addressed in the sequel. You write with purpose, but allow for changes in direction. When you think about writing you try to figure out what works for you and your style.

When you plan your books, you should: mix and match techniques, try something new each time, and keep doing something that worked before for you.

Beware: You can fall down a rabbit-hole of either plotter or pantser techniques if you’re not careful. It’s like fad diets – if it’s not working for you, drop it.

I, myself, fall into the “Both” category. I keep folders organized for each book on my computer. They contain all my research, fragments of scenes that I started, but continued in another direction or removed entirely, and inspiration from drawings, images, videos, etc. I have pretty much compiled a guide to my world that I can access at the drop of a hat with pronunciation guides, maps, character bios, etc. I keep a notebook filled with the finer details about my characters, places, and world. It contains note cards I have received about my books from fans and advertisements I have done to promote the books. It’s my touchstone and my keepsake of this precious journey I’ve gone on.

How about you? Where do you fall? What techniques do you use?

World-Building: Zones in Zaria Fierce

By

Jötunheim – Giant-land. The giant’s home is north of Gloomwood Forest. The giants are known for their master craftsmanship, farming, and love of music. Giant artisans make gorgeous furniture in miniature (full-size for humans.) Giants are poor musicians, but they love music and iPads.

Álfheim – Land of elves. The city is built in the trees surrounding a wide glade near Gloomwood Forest. The light there is always silver from the frosted glass architecture of their buildings. The elves domesticated bears, wolves, reindeer, and winter-wyverns. Elves thirst for knowledge and are particularly interested in various sciences. They’re adapting to human technologies but focus most on water and solar energy extraction.

Elleken – Home of the ellefolken. Ellefolken or elk-folk are forest folk who prefer living around alder trees. Some would say they are cousins to the elves and there is much intermarrying between the two groups. The ellefolken live in the midst of Gloomwood Forest. A special place to them is a glade called the Golden Kings. Most of their population is female. There are three males at any time: the king, the heir, and the spare.

Under Realm – Queen Helena’s turf. The realm is a prison, hidden inside a mystical void whose barriers are defined by the roots of the Elleken kings. The dragons of the world have been hunted and entrapped in the realm. The Gjöll river flows between the Under Realm and the real world, spanned by the Gjallarbrú bridge. You will need a special pair of shoes to cross the bridge to enter the realm and you’ll have to find a way to get them off your feet to leave.

Trolgar – Mountain-troll kingdom. Hidden underground between human civilization and Gloomwood Forest lies the kingdom of mountain-trolls. Their king has a deep connection to the mountain and bedrock. He can make the mountain grow stalagmites as tall as buildings. The trolls are very good hunters and lead a Wild Hunt to track down threats to the realm.

Glomma – Olaf’s river. Olaf is a river-troll with an agenda. He controls the Glomma and can demand tribute from all who can cross it. Mountain-trolls vary from river-trolls in appearance and mannerisms. Olaf is a solitary creature whereas the trolls in Trolgar are very social and live in a city. Don’t get on Olaf’s bad side!