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.

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!

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?

I keep a diary of words. Nothing formal. This diary has many forms – a notepad where I keep ideas for my books, a note draft on my phone, a document on my computer, a scrap of paper, a highlighted word or sentence amidst a blocky paragraph.

Some days I am a hoarder, collecting words like a magpie. I read the words in newspapers, blogs, books, and magazines. I take note, and I think how can I share this word which so perfectly expresses this idea? I treasure them, these little dictionary fragments and tuck them away for a rainy day. Big or small, unknown or known, each have their place.

When the sun appears I start over. I regularly pitch the words, deleting or tossing the words away. I’m determined to unclutter my ever-growing list of words like a relentless wood chipper, hacking at the words until there’s not even a reminder of their roots. But no matter how many times I ditch them, words keep coming back to me. Not always the same, but sometimes the very same.

Some words are tenacious, hanging on with unforeseen diligence, determined to have their say. Some are airy and blasé, eager to come and go as they please with a laissez-faire that is admirable. These words are secure in their meaning, they know if they’re not the right fit for today they may be tomorrow. So the list grows again with careful attention on my part.

It might sound strange, but as a reader and an author words have always drawn me in and taken me down a rabbit-hole of possibilities, whispering like the wind in my ear and dancing away just as intangible to hold. Do words speak to you? What word travels with you today, dear reader?

I am often asked what it takes to be successful as an author. There’s a lot of ways someone can be successful, but I find myself going back to these five tips over and over. To be a successful author, one should:

1. Read. Not just a little but a lot. The more you read, the better off you are, because you’ll develop your sense of storytelling. What works for you? What doesn’t? Why did you like this book, but not that one? And so forth.
   • Pro Tip: Read in genres you don’t write in to be exposed to words you otherwise might not find in your genre. If you can use these words in your writing, even better!
   • Pro Tip: Listen to audio books to get a sense of cadence and rhythm. You’ll learn what sounds right and this will enhance your own writing.
2. Research. As an author of fiction, you’re not expected to be an expert, but you are expected to know what you’re talking about on a broad level.
   • Pro Tip: Save everything you research in a file. Try to catalogue and organize everything so you can quickly pull up what you need whenever the situation calls for it.
   • Pro Tip: Be deliberate when breaking from the truth. Own any changes to geography, history, science, etc.
3. Write. Put fingers to keyboard, pen to paper, dictate, however you write – every day. Even when you don’t feel like it. That’s the sign of a professional author. Remember if you’re not writing, you’re not going to have a manuscript to publish.
   • Pro Tip: Set micro-goals and macro-goals. Both of these will help you feel like you accomplished something big when you complete one, and urge you onward.
     • For example, 500 word goals and chapter completion goals. I like to offset my 500 word goals to be at every 200/700 mark, that way I can also enjoy every 500 and 1000 mark and push myself between each goal. It’s a lot easier to talk yourself into pushing for an extra 100-300 words than it is to ask yourself to push for another 2,000 words.
   • Pro Tip: I hear all the time that a book is in the works, but never completed. Complete the book by any means necessary, even if you have to just type a stream of consciousness. There’s no wrong way to finish a first draft.
4. Edit. Your first draft can be sloppy, hard to understand, missing punctuation, filled with notes, etc. The polishing of your manuscript comes during the editing process. A successful author will tackle edits many times before a manuscript is considered publishable.
   • Pro Tip: Get a reliable and trustworthy beta reader team together to tell you what is working in your story and what needs help.
   • Pro Tip: Don’t get hung up on the word count. It used to concern me that I would hear about authors ripping out thousands of words from their books during edits, whereas I’d be adding that many into mine. I’m here to tell you, both methods are correct.
     • Let me explain as an author who finds herself adding more words into a story than she strips from it. I think of books like meals. I can easily convey the meat of the story, give readers the heart and soul, but sometimes I fail to give the side dishes – the potatoes, those little extras that make a book and world immersive. Knowing that about my writing style, I ask my beta readers to be honest about where I should add the extra details – either for clarification or for pure fun. I always know what to do when I see “Potatoes” in their notes.
5. Engage. A successful author engages with her fans. This is done across many platforms and through many avenues – social media, your author website, your e-mail lists, interviews, blog hops, book signings, etc. You should take the time to figure out what works best for you.
   • Pro Tip: Be sincere. Don’t do things you find taxing or annoying. Engage in ways that make you feel accessible, vibrant, and real. It should be fun. If it’s not, try something else. You should always be excited to talk about your books.
   • Pro Tip: Always travel with book swag, business cards, and books. You never know who will want to buy from you after talking with you. Sometimes you won’t need any of it, other times you’ll use all of it and wish you had more. Be prepared!