Just A Little Slip Up

As a writer, you've got a lot on your plate.
Main characters, supporting character, setting, time lines, plots, sub-plots, good dialogue, believable motives...

With all that weighing on your mind, it's pretty easy to overlook basic grammar rules, isn't it?

Well, lovelies, don't worry. It happens to the best of us.

Just for the record, up until about six months ago, I was using "peaked" when I was supposed to be using "piqued."

Yeah, I know. That's basic grade school stuff, but, honestly, I don't remember anyone ever teaching me about that little rule.

We'll all make mistakes like that from time to time--it's inevitable.

So, today we're taking this gravy train back to third grade--

We're going to be talking about some common slip ups.

*They're/Their/There*

-They're is a contraction for "there are."

Ex: "Where are Brady and Mitch?"

"They're already out in the water."

-Their is possessive.

Ex: "But isn't that their kayak?"

-There is used to identify a point in time or location.

Ex: "Oh, never mind, they're right over there."

"Good. For a second there, I thought the rapids got them."

*There's/Theirs*

-There's is a contraction for "there is."

Ex: "There's hardly any food left in the bag."

-Theirs is possessive.

Ex: "Leave that bag alone--it's theirs."

*Who's/Whose*

-Who's is a contraction for "who is."

Ex: "Who's in the kitchen?"

-Whose is possessive.

Ex: "Whose purse is that?"

*Peak/Peek/Pique*

-Peak is the highest point. (Like the top of a mountain)

Ex: "My anger was peaking."

-Peek is a quick look--a glance.

Ex: "He keeps peeking back at me from the front seat. It's making me uncomfortable."

-Pique is what you say when someone arouses your interest.

Ex: "My interest in the story piqued when he said Davy had been missing for a week."

*Cloth/Clothe/Clothes*

-Cloth is what your clothes are made of.

Ex: "I found some really pretty cloth at the craft store."

-Clothe is the action of putting clothes on someone.

Ex: "She was clothed in a form-fitting red evening gown."

-Clothes are what you're wearing right now.

Ex: "She spent every dime she had on new clothes."

*Breath/Breathe*

-Breath is what you're taking right now.

Ex: "My breath caught in my throat as another loud knock rang out through the house."

-Breathe is the action of taking that breath.

Ex: "I breathe evenly, trying to get a handle on everything that's going on."

*That*

Whenever you type "that," step back and ask yourself, "Do I really need that word?" Most of the time, you won't. And if you don't need it, cut it. You have to cut out every single unnecessary word in your manuscript. Every. Single. One.

For example: "He just couldn't understand that I didn't need him anymore."

Okay, pretty good, right?

Now let's try it like this: "He just couldn't understand I didn't need him anymore."

You get my point, right?

*He murmured/She screamed*

I've touched on this one quite a few times. When using dialogue tags, it's best to just use "said." But, personally, I'm not really a fan of dialogue tags--I prefer action beats. I'm not sure about you, but I like to be able to see what the characters are doing while they're talking. Are they moving their hands or playing with their hair?

My advice with dialogue tags is, basically, cut them out wherever you can.

For more dialogue advice, click this.

*And then...*

I see quite a few people write "and then this happened." Don't do that--it breaks the rhythm in your sentence. You don't need both "and" and "then." Pick the one you like and cut the other.

For example, "Walking casually toward the coffee shop, Tiffany stopped to enjoy some flowers growing a few feet away. And then, suddenly, a man appeared, snatching her purse and taking off down the street."

"Walking casually toward the coffee shop, Tiffany stopped to enjoy some flowers growing a few feet away. Then, suddenly, a man appeared, snatching her purse and taking off down the street."

See how that second one flows a little more smoothly when you read it?

*Towards*

I find that a lot of writers--especially me and my American pals--write "towards" when we should be writing "toward." This is just one of those nit picky rules though. I'm sure there aren't any publishers out there rejecting novels because the author used "towards." But, still, it looks a little more professional (and reads a little more fluently) if you drop the S.

*Lots of really, really, really LONG sentences*

This is another thing that breaks the rhythm in your writing. Readers stumble over long sentences. They have to go back and reread them to understand what you were trying to say. I read Howl's Moving Castle recently and I absolutely loved it, but the one thing that bugged me was the overly long sentences. There weren't many of them--thank God--but the ones that were there really killed me. I usually had to read over them two or three times to understand everything. And it wasn't because they were bad sentences--it was because they were overly long.

*Watch your tenses*

I'm going to do a post soon about the difference in perspectives and how to pick the right one for your story, but for now, let me just say, keep an eye on your tenses. If I'm writing in past tense, I constantly find myself slipping back into present tense.

"I was walking passed the bank when I see Mark's car whiz by."

Keep an eye out for things like that. It can really break a novel.

Hope this helped. If you've got any questions or want to suggest a topic, leave a comment and I'll get right on it!

Happy writing, lovelies.