Great Blog for Authors

Good day, All.

I recommend few twitter personalities as most as little more than digital mash. However, if you're a writer, I've one which I enjoy. Follow http://twitter.com/mariaschneider and you shall find enlightenment. (Well, maybe not actual enlightenment, but you will garner useful and interesting information.)

Editing Hints

I picked up a new tip on writing dialogue this morning. Of course, it means I have to go back and edit AGAIN... In any case, this came from www.writersreliefblog.com.

When using dialogue tags such as, "She said," or, "He snorted," non-speaking actions are not punctuated as tags and should be treated as separate sentences.

Consider the following example.

"No. I do not want to go with you," she said.

The dialogue is enclosed with quotation marks with the trailing comma within them. "She said," follows to end the sentence.

Now consider,

"No, I do not want to go with you," she snorted.

This should be revised as "She snorted." is not a speaking action. It should be its own sentence. Edited, this should read as follows:

"No. I do not want to go with you." She snorted with disgust.

Learn something new everyday... (Damn editing!)

In Need of a Good Agent

Started looking for a new agent today. Way lot of things to consider! Do they accept your type of work? Do they have a track record of substance? If not, what sort of promise do they hold? Are they looking for new authors? What type of books have they sold and do those sales represent your work? Seems like more time on this than the manuscript. I will forge ahead, however, and slay this beast!