Friday, March 28, 2014

COMMON WRITING MISTAKES

Word Confusion, are you guilty?

After some research, I have found that many people use the wrong word, or spell a word incorrectly.  Along with the conveniences of technology, we have also lost some skills.  Being able to click "Spell Check"  has made many of us lazy.

The most common mistake on the internet, which shocked me was:

lose  vs.   loose

This is a verb vs adjective mistake.  

Verb:          Do not lose your money.

Adjective:  Your shoe laces are loose.


One of my pet peeves that I must correct when I see it?

accept  vs  except

Verb:          The college will accept application soon.
AdjectiveShe applied to all the colleges except one.


The following I had to look up for my own writing:

towards  vs toward

They are BOTH correct, however, towards is commonly used in Britain, whereas toward is used in the US.

seperate  vs separate

seperate is not a word, to remember this, you can use the ER is similar to ERror


who vs whom

This is a biggie just because people do not use proper grammar.  Whom should be used as an object in a prepositional phrase.

To whom does this book belong?
Of whom are you speaking?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

A MUST FOR HISTORICAL WRITERS!

Do you write historical fiction?  Do you need appropriate slang or info about certain time periods? Check out this incredible site! 

 For Writer's Dream Tools Click Here!!!

You select the decade from 1650s to the present, and you will find an incredible list of information of that decade, including slang, events, people, and other useful data to make your stories and novels more believable.

I came across this site while writing my new book The Creek: Where Stories of the Past Come Alive, which spans time from 1777 - 1990.  I found it a must have for my upcoming book, Jane's Journey, about an Irish immigrant coming to America with her toddler son in 1820.  Seeing the events that could possibly affect my characters gave me ideas to expand the stories in new directions.

INTRO TO DEBORAH JAY

I recently met an author, Deborah Jay, who will appeal to any of you fantasy fans.  

Desperate Measures
Her romantic fantasy "Desperate Measures" has been described by reviews as a steamy, fun, and and actioned packed-- which "does not rely on the sex scenes to keep one's interest".  Sounds like a winner to me!!! Be sure to check it out!


The Prince's Man
Her other Book, is being touted as keeping the reader "glued to this book for two days! WOW"  This seems to have it all, nobles, kings, revenge, fear, action, and of course, someone trying to usurp the throne!

Be sure to read more about Deborah Jay at her CLICK HERE

My debut novel, award winning fantasy The Prince’s Man was published July 2013. With over fourty 5 * reviews now, it was an Amazon Top 100 Hot New Release, and pops up often in the Epic Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery Top 100s.
Think James Bond meets Lord of the Rings - a fun, fast, action-packed story featuring a pair of mismatched spies who are struggling to save their kingdom whilst trying not to kill each other.