Punctuation

~ susanoleksiw ~ 10 Comments

I’m a fan of punctuation. It’s not something I thought much about in my earlier years, except when a teacher told me I was using commas incorrectly. For my next paper I made sure to use commas as correctly as I could manage. Her response was, “It looks like you sprinkled them like salt.” This did not mar my love of all those black marks on the page also known as letters and punctuation marks, but I did grow skeptical of her instructional skills. 
 
When I arrived in graduate school and stared down at a passage composed in Sanskrit and printed in Devanagari (the script usually associated with that language) at the end of the first semester, I came to appreciate those little marks even more. Not all languages use them, and not even Western languages used them until the medieval period. Until then most paragraphs looked like this.
 
Wordswerewrittenallbunchedtogetherwithnoindicationofwheretoputastoporcommaorquestionmarkthatwouldmakesenseifweallreadwordsthesamewayitwouldntmatterwhatwasmissingbecausetherewouldbenodisagreementwheresomethingendsorbeginswouldbedeterminedtobethesamebyallreadersbutwouldthatbethecaseiftherewerenomarkertoshowwouldweknowhowotherreaderswereinterpretingaparticularpassagecouldbereadinanynumberofways
 
Now consider reading passages like this in a foreign language and a different script. Why am I thinking about all of this?
 
My partners and I have just finished editing and setting the new anthology from Crime Spell Books this year titled Devil’s Snare. One of them remarked that there were a lot of dashes and ellipses in this year’s crop of stories. We agreed that was so. But why?
 
In general most writers understand the correct use of the comma, colon, semicolon, period, quotation marks, question mark, and exclamation point. We know the basic purpose of the dash and the ellipses. I for one blame Emily Dickinson for the overuse of the dash. If she hadn’t been such an inspired poet, that particular mark might have faded into disuse. As it is, it’s at least as popular as the ellipsis. Why do I care?
 
I’m not sure that I do care about these marks. I use them but not nearly as often as many other writers I read. What I do care about is the reading experience. These two marks are so ubiquitous that I finally had to wonder why, and I think I have an answer. 
 
When I read I form a picture of the characters going about their actions in the setting given. I hear them speaking, usually in a manner that conforms to my image of them. If the writer is a good one, my imagination is stimulated and those characters are robust, filling my head. I hear the intonation that tells me Stella is annoyed, hinted by the way the author has described her posture and glance. When the little boy is frightened by the store owner on his first attempt at shoplifting, showing off to his friends, I can hear him stutter, pause, unsure whether he should go on or go quiet or get out as fast as he can. But sometimes my imaginings of the characters’ doings are interrupted by the text. The author wants me to hear an interruption, and ends a sentence with a dash, just so I’ll be sure to notice that the character is interrupted. And if the character should pause to reflect, the author uses an ellipsis to make sure I know the character is pausing, unsure what to say next. But why do this? Doesn’t the writer trust the reader’s imagination?
 
At this point I don’t think the writer is thinking about the reader. I think he or she is thinking about how this scene looks on a stage, in front of a camera. I think he or she has slipped into writing stage directions in the prose text for the actors. The writer is telling the actors how to interpret the scene, and the reader who has imagined something that seems rich and satisfying comes to a series of these doctored lines and the imagination is blunted. It comes to a halt. Clunk.
 
There is a valid use for both marks, but I see it less and less often. When I’m tempted to use one or the other, I take that as a hint from the writing unconscious that I may be getting lazy and it’s time to rework the sentence or the scene. I don’t want to do anything to hinder a reader’s imagination.
 
Perhaps I’m being irked by overuse, so in the interests of fairness I pulled out a copy of The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. The Great Man uses dashes and ellipses, not with abandon, but with care and precision. Hammett was too good a writer to get lazy in the middle of a scene; he could rely on his characters getting across how they felt, what they were doing, and why. I doubt he was thinking about his books being turned into movies, or how a particular actor would interpret a particular scene. (Yes, I know, I could be wrong.)
 
I have finally reached the point where I want to eliminate every ellipsis I encounter, and slip back into my own imagining of the story and its characters. And this may well become my policy as an editor.

The QWERTY of It All

~ dzchurch ~ 6 Comments
From the Milton-Howard collection.

The QWERTY keyboard? Who in the right mind would organize letters that way? And yet, we all use it. Our fingers know exactly where to find the letters. Well, mostly. If you’re like me and your right index finger occasionally misses the tiny dimple on the j, a trip to Bletchley Hall may be required to decode your deathless prose. So, who put the A there and the M where it is?

In my newest book, One Horse Too Many, Cora’s boarders are gathered for dinner in Countryman House’s dining room where Dr. Shaw speaks of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, where the QWERTY type-writer, the Bell telephone, and giant boilers able to heat whole buildings were introduced. Yet, while people traveled to Philadelphia to see the wonders, General Custer fatefully met the Sioux in Montana, and the James-Dalton Gang robbed the Northfield Minnesota bank. The years 1876-77 were like that, colored by the past and roaring toward the future.

Telegraph operators tapped out the news of the massacre and the robbery on QWERTY keyboards. So, how did the board’s odd array of letters come to be? In October 1867, Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor and printer who lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, filed a patent application for an early writing machine developed with the assistance of two friends (Glidden and Soulé). 

Sholes worked five more years to perfect his invention, rearranging the alphabetical keys, until 1873, when the QWERTY keyboard came to be. If you spend some time with your keyboard, you will notice that the letters are arranged in diagonally slanting columns. This was done purportedly to accommodate the mechanical linkages, as slanted columns prevented the levers from tangling. Yes, you pushed on a key, and a lever slammed the letter onto a ribbon of ink, leaving an imprint on your actual paper.

Now, researchers into the evolution of the keyboard conclude that the typewriter’s mechanics did not influence keyboard design. Instead, QWERTY resulted from how and by whom typewriters were first used – namely, telegraph operators, whose need to quickly transcribe messages informed the letter arrangement. Also, some cite educator Amos Densmore’s study of bigram (letter-pair) frequency as influential in the design.

In 1873, Sholes & Glidden sold the manufacturing rights to their Type-Writer to E. Remington and Sons. Remington made several adjustments after purchase that resulted in the modern QWERTY layout. These adjustments included moving the R key to the place previously allotted to the period key. With the new arrangement, the last vestiges of the actual alphabet appeared only in the home row sequence DFGHJKL. It makes you want to kiss them, doesn’t it?

And how about this nugget? The QWERTY arrangement allows thousands of English words to be spelled with only the left hand but only a couple hundred with the right hand, even though using alternating hands with the first hand striking as the second readies aids speed and accuracy. Does that make any sense?

Well, this makes sense – business sense. In addition to typewriters, Remington offered training courses (for a small fee), ensuring typists learned on their proprietary system. This forced companies that hired trained typists to buy Remington typewriters. By 1890, more than 100,000 QWERTY-based Remington typewriters were in use nationwide.

When the five largest typewriter manufacturers merged in 1893 to form the Union Typewriter Company, they agreed to adopt QWERTY as the de facto standard, and it still is. Though there have been attempts to make an easier to use keyboard, the QWERTY board is so prevalent that the cost to make a worldwide change is prohibitive.

And really, why change something that has produced so many enjoyable books, like One Horse Too Many, available September 15 (pre-order starting September 1)? Here’s a teaser: Sales are up at Cora’s dress shop, and she is making headway on her debt. Her new cook scares everyone and her domestic is a mess. Things have just settled when much-needed drugs are stolen from the hospital, and the newspaper office is tossed. If you like a rip-snorting yarn and appealing, strong-willed characters, you’ll get a kick out of this old-fashioned mystery.

Check out my books at https://dzchurch.com.

Dreams do come true: I am officially a Lady of Mystery!

~ donaleeMoulton ~ 6 Comments

For my first blog, I thought I’d share some common questions I get asked about my books and my writing.

Can you tell us about your journey into writing and journalism, and what inspired you to pursue this career path?
The one constant in my life has been writing – poetry, short stories, essays, articles, books. As I was poised to begin a PhD in sociology, I decided to explore job options that would let me do more writing and less research. That led me into public relations and eventually to start my own company, Quantum Communications. In university I wrote regularly for the school paper. That led me to freelancing. I discovered you could be paid for writing – one of my personal top-five favorite discoveries – and I have freelanced ever since. My background in communications, journalism, editing, and related endeavors led to requests for me to teach. I accepted those requests and discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with people to explore ideas and theories while building skills. I did not enjoy grading.

Your portfolio includes a diverse range of publications, from The National Post to Chatelaine. How do you adapt your writing style to suit different audiences and platforms?
As a journalist (and a communications professional), you quickly learn that you are writing for the reader, and readers change from one type of publication to another. Adapting your style to meet their needs, and the requirements of the publication, is essential. That said, there are writing foundations that remain constant: conciseness, flow, readability.

“Hung Out To Die” introduces us to Riel Brava, a unique protagonist. What inspired the creation of this character, and what do you hope readers take away from the story?
A bath inspired this story. I’m a big believer in bubbles, candles, scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the background. Friends call this bathroom time my shrine. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.

Like 4-12% of all CEOs, Riel is a psychopath. Not the Dexter-Hannibal Lecter-Norman Bates kind of psychopath. The kind who live and work among us, mostly unnoticed, often successful, always on full alert their differences will be uncovered. Riel is personable, even charming. He’s keen to understand how the human mind works, so he’ll blend in.

It is my hope that people will close the last page on Hung Out to Die with a smile, maybe a tear, and a little bit more acceptance of all those around us.

“Conflagration” delves into Canadian historical events, particularly focusing on the story of an enslaved Black woman. What drew you to this story, and what challenges did you face in bringing historical events to life in a fictional setting?
This book was a gift from my publisher, BWL Publishing, which has a series of historical mysteries set in each province and territory in Canada. My publisher unexpectedly lost her Quebec writer and asked if I could step in. I couldn’t wait.

Conflagration!, a historical mystery that follows the trial of an enslaved Black women accused of arson in Montreal in 1734, is founded in real-life events but wrapped in a mystery of my own making. The level of detail in court transcripts and the timelines set by the trial process meant I had a detailed blueprint for the book before I even began.

Your non-fiction book, “The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say,” explores effective communication. How do you apply the principles outlined in this book to your own writing process?
The Thong Principle is a way of communicating and a way of thinking. It’s about, as the subtitle indicates, a way to communicate that works on all levels. A way of communicating that works for the person sending the message and the person or people receiving the message. For writers and for readers.

As participants who’ve taken my courses know, I’ve been talking about the thong principle for decades. It’s a way to remember what matters most when we’re trying to convey a message or tell a story.  It’s a reminder that how we convey a message is as important as what we have to say.

I’ve taken that to heart.

https://donaleemoulton.com/

https://www.facebook.com/donaleemoultonauthor/

Guest Blogger ~ Kitty Felde

~ patyjag ~ 1 Comment

I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of research. Dangerous, I know, because researching is a great excuse for not writing. But often you find unexpected treasures that can sometimes become an essential part of your mystery.

I write two mystery series.

The Fina Mendoza Mysteries follow the adventures of the 10-year-old daughter of a congressman from California who looks for the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill and the bird that pooped on the president during the State of the Union address. They’re actually a civics lesson in disguise, with teacher’s guides and a “Facts Behind the Fiction” blog.

I also write a historical mystery series set in Theodore Roosevelt’s White House, featuring his outrageous daughter Alice as our amateur sleuth.

Both require research. A lot of it. In many ways, Fina is easier because I covered Congress for a decade and if I have questions, there are human beings on the Hill who I can tap for the answers.

For Alice, I’ve been using the vast newspaper records available online at the Library of Congress. Chronicling America, a partnership between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a free, searchable database of American newspapers from 1777 to 1963. If you’re writing about an era before or after that, the LOC has a secondary collection of newspapers from 1690 to today.

There’s a map where you can discover ethnic newspapers across the country. Who knew there was a German newspaper in San Diego and a Finnish one in Washington state? There were dozens of African-American newspapers from Butte, Montana to Miami, Florida.

I fumbled around at first, but found absolute gold in the digital pages of Chronicling America.

Because Murder on the Potomac: a Princess Alice Mystery was set in 1902, I had so many questions.

How did police get around town. Did they ride horses? Drive motor cars? Bicycles? Who were they? A profile of “Well Known Men of the Metropolitan Police Force” in the Washington Times helped me create my policemen characters – including one who was active in the temperance movement.

What happened at an inquest of the era? The Evening Star  had a full report of one particular proceeding. Though I admit I was distracted by the ad for furniture on the same page that featured a $22 “Polished Mahogany-Finished Toilet Table.” A what?

I needed a place for a body to be discovered. The Washington Times reported on a years-long battle to either fill in or fence the James Creek Canal. Little more than a sewer, neighbors labeled it a “death trap” where five bodies a month were pulled from the mud.

For one scene, I needed the name of a stationary store where my amateur detective could find a blank book to record her clues. I searched “stationary supplies” and found an advertisement at the top of the page in the Evening Star.

My favorite gem didn’t happen in Washington at all. TheWashington Times, like papers and TV news today, reprint sensational or odd stories from around the world. This one involved a pair of guinea pigs at a temperance meeting in Paris. The experiment was designed to demonstrate the destructive power of alcohol. One animal was given water, the other alcohol. Guess which one got sick.

There were challenges. I was overwhelmed. I wanted to read everything. (Anything to avoid staring at a blank screen and actually have to write. But my lousy eyesight made it difficult to see an entire page on a 13” laptop. I wasn’t sure how to find what I needed. And when I found a juicy tidbit, what was the best way to keep track of it? Was saving links the best way to capture the information?

I am no research genius, but let me save you the learning curve and share my tips:

  • SEARCHING:
    • Narrow down your search parameters. If your work is set in 1939, look for newspapers from that year. If it’s set in Pittsburgh, narrow your search to just papers from Pennsylvania.
    • Try various search terms. If you get too many hits with “police,” try “detective.”
    • You’ll soon discover which newspapers go with the sensational, which have the most advertisements. Ads are great to help you describe clothing of the era or which stores or restaurants were frequented by your characters.)
  • READING
    • If you’re using Microsoft Word, use the snipping tool. You can isolate the articles you want to keep, and save images for future reference or inspiration. And for those of us who are visually challenged, you can save it IN A LARGER SIZE. 
    • Images are also helpful while you’re writing. I often drop an image into the manuscript if there’s a quote I want to use or a detail that’s perfect for the scene. (And then I delete the image.)
  • ORGANIZATION
    • DO keep track of your links. It will save going back and searching all over again. Note the source and date of the article, just in case you do have to go back and search.
    • I’m sure your graduate school training will have given you a better way to organize your research. Me? I keep a simple Word or Google doc where I list topics I’ve researched. Sometimes I drop in a line or two, sometimes an image, but always a link. (At first, I kept a numbered “footnote” file at the bottom of the document, but since I’m not including my research in my notes, I gave up on that.)
  • PERMISSIONS
    • If you’re considering including images in your book, take note of the copyright and who owns it. You might want to start asking for permission now to use the material later, long before you’re done with the book. If the answer is “no,” that gives you time to find an alternate image.

Good luck! And happy reading.

Kitty

 WELCOME TO WASHINGTON FINA MENDOZA:

The West Wing meets Nancy Drew. Legends say if you see the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill, you’re cursed with bad luck. Ten-year-old Fina Mendoza just saw it. And the last thing her family needs right now is more bad luck. The only way for Fina to save her family from future “cat”astrophe is to solve the mystery of the Demon Cat of Capitol Hill.

 STATE OF THE UNION:

The 10-year-old daughter of a congressman solves mysteries in the U.S. Capitol with the help of a big orange dog named Senator Something. Her latest case: find the mysterious bird that pooped on the president’s head during the State of the Union address. Is it Chickcharney, the legendary bird from the Caribbean? Did it fly to Washington D.C. with a secret message for the president? Or Congress? Or is the message for Fina from her mom who passed away not so many months ago?

 LOSING IS DEMOCRATIC: HOW TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT JANUARY 6TH:

A Latina protagonist of spunk and smarts worries about her congressman father on January 6, 2021. Fina Mendoza, our amateur detective, is in the middle of an investigation to find out who stole the 5th grade pizza. But all thoughts of detection go out the window as she watches on television as a mob breaks into the Capitol. Is Papa okay? Most of Fina’s classmates have parents who work inside that building as well. Their teacher calms their fears turns the event into a teaching opportunity and students discuss the importance of both winning and losing, whether it’s in a baseball game, a reading competition, or an election.

In addition to her Alice Roosevelt mysteries, Kitty Felde is the author of Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza, State of the Union, and Losing is Democratic: how to talk to kids about January 6th – mysteries for children designed to introduce civics education. They are also available as an episodic podcast The Fina Mendoza Mysteries. Kitty is an award-winning public radio journalist. She is also Executive Producer of the Book Club for Kids podcast.

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IF ONLY…

~ Pamela Beason ~ 4 Comments

Whew! I finally finished the rough draft of my latest book, IF ONLY. This is a crossover novel with characters from both my Sam Westin Wilderness Mysteries and my Neema Mysteries. When readers kept asking when the next book in these series would be published, I got the wild idea to write one mystery that would fit into both series, thereby making my life easier.

I must have been drinking when that inspiration struck, because as it turned out, nothing could have been less easy.  Now, if you have different series but similar locations and goals, writing a crossover novel might be relatively simple. But the only way I could figure out how to make a wilderness adventure story (Sam Westin series) fit together with signing gorillas (Neema series) in two different locations was to write each story separately, and then stitch them together.

Well, I sort of forgot that I’d have to keep strict track of the passing time in each story so I could switch back and forth without making readers feel like they were on a time-travel merry-go-round. That was a bit of a nightmare, somewhat similar to when I cook and try to get all the dishes to be done at the same time. (You don’t want to watch me when this happens.)

And then there was the issue of figuring out a mystery that can be happening in one locale that will have something to do with the mystery in the other locale. If I wrote thrillers, I could have come up with scattered terrorist cells or something like that, but neither of these series include those kinds of books. A terrorist cell in the mountains of North Cascades National Park seems implausible, and terrorists having anything to do with captive signing gorillas even more so. The issue I finally came up with is illegal migrants seeking asylum in the United States.

I’m not going to give away how I wove the plots together, but I hope the resulting story will be satisfactory to readers of both series. I called the book IF ONLY, because it’s about having the bad luck of being born in a violent, poverty-stricken country instead of in a relatively safe, prosperous one like ours. And it’s also about the wonderful and horrific things that can happen when wilderness lovers choose to take the trail less traveled.

Some may conclude, especially since my novel Borderland included issues at the southern border, that I believe our borders should be open to all. That’s not true. But I do believe the United States should have a reasonable immigration program, and there are parts of our country that need more workers. I would personally like to see a program in which immigrants would be assigned to such areas and such work for five years, and in which communities and employers would agree to sponsor immigrants and ensure affordable housing and at least minimum wage salaries, and agree to periodic inspections and interviews so that abuses don’t take place on either side. But so far, nobody has let me run the country.

Many times while I was writing this novel, I thought to myself, if only I hadn’t planned to do a crossover novel, I could be out hiking right now. And there’s still a long way to go from rough draft to publication of this novel.