The Mercenary Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx

Transcription

1 The Mercenary Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx Congratulations! Here s what WORKS in this manuscript: Citation Information: Severson, Heather The Mercenary 1 Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx.

2 Grammar Diagnosis & Treatment Prescription Directions: 1. See the specific writing issues I ve identified in your work. 2. Read the appropriate section in Diana Hacker s Rules for Writers. 3. Revision: Consider these solutions as you revise your work. 4. Practice: Apply this information to your next writing project. Rx Topic Specific Issue Example from Manuscript Clarity: Sentences Clarity: Word Choice Grammar ESL Grammar Active vs. passive verbs Active vs. be verbs Active Verbs Parallelism Needed Words Mixed Constructions Misplaced modifiers Dangling modifiers Shifts: Person and Number Shifts: Tense Shifts Choppy sentences Subordination Wordy sentences Jargon Sexist language Misused words Standard idioms Clichés and mixed metaphors Sentence fragments Run-on sentences Subject-verb agreement Pronoun-antecedent agreement Pronoun reference Pronoun case (such as I vs. me) who and whom Pronoun case: review Adjectives and adverbs Irregular verbs Standard English verb forms Verb tense and mood Helping verbs and main verbs Conditional sentences Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives Articles Omissions and repetitions Order of cumulative adjectives Present vs. past participles Prepositions showing time and place Citation Information: Severson, Heather The Mercenary 2 Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx.

3 Rx Topic Specific Issue Example from Manuscript Punctuation Mechanics The Basics Citation Major uses of the comma Minor uses of the comma All uses of the comma Misuses of the comma The semicolon and the comma The colon, the semicolon and the comma The apostrophe Quotation marks Other punctuation marks Abbreviations Numbers Italics (underlining) The hyphen Capital letters Parts of speech: nouns Parts of speech: pronouns Parts of speech: verbs Parts of speech: adjectives Parts of speech: adverbs All parts of speech Subjects Subject complements and direct objects Indirect objects and object complements Linking, transitive, and intransitive verbs Prepositional phrases Subordinate clauses Subjects of subordinate clauses Verbal phrases Phrases and clauses Sentence types Check spelling of names and titles, accuracy of dates, etc. Titles: include subtitles. Publisher: include publisher and place of publication Periodicals: list volume and issue/number Internet sites must always be evaluated for reliability. Be critical. Never assume online information is correct. Medium of publication: Most style guides require that you include a brief description of the medium. Citation Format and Style--Check and double check citations, both in-text and in the References or Works Cited list. Citation Information: Severson, Heather The Mercenary 3 Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx.

4 Books on the Art and Craft of Writing Rx Recommended Reading Chris Baty. No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High- Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days Steve Biko. I Write What I Like: Selected Writings Ray Bradbury. Zen in the Art of Writing Dorothea Brande. Becoming a Writer Renni Browne. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print Robert Olen Butler. From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction Julia Cameron. The Artist s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity Julia Cameron. The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces Annie Dillard. The Writing Life Umberto Eco. On Literature E.M. Forster. Aspects of the Novel John Gardner. On Becoming a Novelist John Gardner. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers Natalie Goldberg. Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer s Craft Natalie Goldberg. Wild Mind: Living the Writer s Life Natalie Goldberg. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within William Goldman. Adventures in the Screen Trade William Goldman. Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade Diana Hacker. Rules for Writers. Ernest Hemingway. A Moveable Feast Ernest Hemingway. On Writing Patricia Highsmith. Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction Stephen King. On Writing Milan Kundera. The Art of the Novel Anne Lamott. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Ursula K. Le Guin. Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew Elmore Leonard. Elmore Leonard s 10 Rules of Writing Mario Vargas Llosa. Letters to a Young Novelist Donald Maass. Writing the Breakout Novel Vladimir Nabokov. Speak, Memory Patricia T. O Conner. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe s Guide to Better English in Plain English George Orwell. Why I Write Especially this Section Citation Information: Severson, Heather The Mercenary 4 Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx.

5 Rx Recommended Reading Francine Prose. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them John Rember. MFA in a Box Rainer Maria Rilke. Letters to a Young Poet Pat Schneider. Writing Alone and with Others Wallace Stegner. On Teaching and Writing Fiction Sol Stein. Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies John Steinbeck. Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath William Stunk, Jr. The Elements of Style Lynne Truss. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Brenda Ueland. If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit Christopher Vogler. The Writer s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers Eudora Welty. Eudora Welty: Stories, Essays, and Memoirs Eudora Welty. One Writer s Beginnings Eudora Welty. The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays and Reviews Virginia Woolf. A Writer s Diary William Knowlton Zinsser. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction Especially this Section Final Comments and General Recommendations Citation Information: Severson, Heather The Mercenary 5 Writer's Guides: Manuscript Critique and Grammar Rx.