Tag: Margaret Lucke

A Comma-dy of Errors

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 4 Comments

by Margaret Lucke

I don’t recall what the sentence said. I no longer know the subject of the report that contained it, although you’d think these details would have impressed themselves on my mind.

All I remember is the yelling.

I was working in my first editorial job, for a firm of international economics consultants. My role was to tidy up the grammar and punctuation in the proposals and reports that the economists produced.

The sentence in question was critical to the central point that the document was making. But it needed one small change. I inserted a comma. After making a few other tweaks, I sent the report back to the economist who’d written it.

When it came back to me for the next round of editing, my little fixes were intact. Except for that comma—the author had taken it out. So I put it back.

A few days later the report landed on my desk again. Time for the final proofreading.

Once more, the comma was missing.

Now, some commas are optional. Some are a matter of style. But the presence or absence of a comma can be crucial to the meaning of the sentence.

Take the title of author and editor Lynne Truss’s handbook on punctuation, Eats, Shoots & Leaves. It comes from an old joke about a panda that comes into a café, consumes a sandwich, and then fires a gun at the waiter. As the panda walks out, the manager yells, “Hey, what did you do that for?” The panda calls back, “I’m a panda! Look it up.” The manager finds a dictionary and checks the definition: “Panda: a black-and-white, bearlike mammal found in Asia. Eats shoots and leaves.” Simple and straightforward. But add that comma after eats . . .

Or consider this sentence from an Associated Press article I saw a while back: “Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the international efforts to negotiate a deal with Iran, which does not recognize the Jewish state, and supports anti-Israeli militants like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.” Having two commas makes a nonrestrictive clause of the words in between them (the ones I’ve italicized). This means that if you take out those words, the sentence should retain its meaning. But when you do that in this case, you’re left with “Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic … and supports anti-Israeli militants …” Not what the author intended. You have to remove that second comma from the original sentence to make its meaning clear.

Of course other small changes in punctuation and, for that matter, spacing can alter meaning too. Consider the difference in response you’d get to these two ads:

Wanted: one nightstand.
Wanted: one-night stand.

And notice how changing periods to commas and changing their placement around gives you a different impression of an evening’s events (from KidsCanReadandWrite.com):

I ate. My mother washed the dishes. Then I went to bed.
I ate my mother, washed the dishes, then I went to bed.

A row of colorful commas

The comma in the economist’s report was like these examples—its presence or absence altered the meaning of the sentence. It needed to be there, yet the author kept taking it out. So I trekked down the hall to his office to explain why I’d added it and why keeping it was important.

He didn’t believe me. I was younger than he was, I was female, and I held only a lowly B.A. while he had Ph.D. He assumed that all of these factors were reasons to dismiss my arguments. In his opinion the comma was clutter, the sentence looked cleaner without it, and so it had to go.

I’m a calm and reasonable person by nature, not given to raising my voice. So I’m not quite sure how our discussion turned into a shouting match. But there we were, screaming at each other over a comma, while everyone else in the workplace gathered in the corridor outside his office to enjoy the entertainment

Finally the economist yelled, “Prove it! Show me the rule.”

“Okay, I will,” I snapped back, and I stomped away.

I spent the rest of the day scouring grammar guides and style manuals. Finally I found a statement about comma usage that was so clear and so close to the case of our particular little comma that I figured even he would get it. I ran back to his office and thrust the open book at him, jabbing my finger at the proof. “Here it is. See? See?”

I won. The comma stayed.

A Love Letter to Libraries

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 4 Comments

By Margaret Lucke

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
Jorge Luis Borges, author

A public library is an amazing place. You can choose a book or a DVD and take it home–for free. If you need a computer, you can use one there–for free. You can attend a concert, or hear an author speak, or take a child to listen to stories–all for free.

A library offers a wealth of education and entertainment at no charge. As it happens, though, it costs a lot of money to do that.

“A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”
Henry Ward Beecher, social reformer

Friends of the Library 25th Anniversary celebration

I’m on the board of my local Friends of the Library, which recently celebrated a milestone—our 25th anniversary. The library staff and another library support group honored the occasion by throwing us a wonderful party.

For nearly four decades, my town had no public library. It was the second largest city in California without one. When the state’s voters approved a bond for library funding in the late 1990s, local leaders decide to apply for some of that money. Some civic-minded folks got together and set up the Friends group to demonstrate to potential funders that building a library here had strong community support.

Hercules Public Library

There was a huge celebration when our beautiful new library opened in 2006. Our Friends group was proud to present to a check for $25,000, raised by sales of used books donated by the community, for the Opening Day Collection.

The enthusiasm continues. The library gets close to 25,000 visitors every quarter. Last year more than 10,400 people attended nearly 326 free programs, and patrons checked out 86,400 books and other materials. In many ways the library has brought the community together and become its heart.

Some people would have you think that in this era of Internet access and high-tech gadgets, public libraries are obsolete. Not so. They are well used though, sadly, not always well funded. The Friends are doing our bit help. To date, we’ve raised $350,000 to expand our library’s collections and support its programs.

“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie portrait

Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), one of the richest men in the world in his time, was a big believer in libraries. At age 12 he emigrated with his family from Scotland to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now part of Pittsburgh. Though the move ended his formal schooling, he was much impressed by a local businessman who, every Saturday, opened his personal library so workers could borrow books, thus allowing Carnegie to continue his education.

Carnegie vowed if ever he had any surplus wealth he would use it in lending books to others. Years later, he made good on that promise by giving some $56 million (a lot of money in those days) to build 2,509 public libraries worldwide, including 1,679 in the United States. He shaped the concept of public libraries in this country. If you have one in your community, you have Carnegie to thank.

“The best thing about the library is that it is available not only to me, but to everyone. It does not discriminate.”
David Horowitz, political writer

Libraries are among the most democratic of our institutions. The access they provide to computers, books, films, and music is invaluable, not only to individuals but to our society. Libraries bring people together. They enlighten and inspire. They open the doors to the world.

Some years ago I was hired by two Bay Area library systems to write the documents that would present their new strategic plans to their communities. Both of the planning task forces grappled with how to define the audiences they served. One opted to list the possibilities: “The Library welcomes all members of the community regardless of culture, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socioeconomic status.” The other wrestled with the question for a while until one member said: “Doesn’t ‘everyone’ mean everyone?” So their statement simply says: “The library systems … promote[s] learning and enjoyment for everyone.”

Everyone is welcome. How many of our institutions can make this claim?

“Libraries are places where the imagination begins.”
Heather Barbieri, author

Have you been to your local library lately? I urge you to pay a visit and see all that it has to offer. While you’re there, check out some books, because funding is often based in part on circulation numbers. Join your Friends group. Make a donation. Vote for tax or bond measures that will secure its funding. Your library deserves your support.

“Libraries are a public good and a civic responsibility. They are about our future as much as they are our past.”
Andrew Lopez, university librarian

What a Writer Does in Her Spare Time

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 3 Comments

By Margaret Lucke

Spare time? What spare time?

The other day someone asked me what hobbies I enjoy. When I’m asked a question like that, I never know what to say. A hobby is a pastime—that is, an interest or activity you enjoy passing time with when you’re not working. But when is a writer not working?

Really, it’s a 24/7 job. No matter what else we’re doing, half of our mind is focused on writing the book. With that kind of schedule, who has time for a hobby?

Consider some of my favorite activities. You might think they’re hobbies but they qualify as work just as much as the time I spend at my desk.

Reading. Writing changes how you read. When I pick up a book my mental red pencil is poised to rearrange sentences and trim out extraneous words. I nod at clever word choices and apt descriptions, and shake my head at clumsy ones. Every book is a potential course in professional development. How can I achieve what Author A does so well? How can I avoid doing things as badly as Author B? Sometimes, to my delight, a book absorbs me so completely that my mental red pencil disappears. Other times, it’s so busy that I get annoyed and set the book aside for good.

Movies. I’m a big fan of movies, and I especially like seeing them in a theater. The big screen, the dark auditorium, and of course the popcorn add a lot to the experience, if you ask me. A writer can learn so much from movies. How is the backstory made clear when there’s only dialogue, action, and visual cues to work with? How is the main character’s point of view made clear when we can only observe that person from the outside? How are the plot points presented and transitions made from Act I to Act I to Act III? By the time the credits roll, my husband is blinking back tears while I’m analyzing how the scriptwriter achieved that emotional impact.

Walks. A hike on a forest trail and a walk along a beach are my favorite forms of exercise—or. even a stroll around the neighborhood. I’m fortunate in that the San Francisco Bay Trail goes through my town, and it’s not unusual to find me there. I enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine, the bird song, and all of the story ideas that pop into my head. Maybe it’s the rhythm of the steps or the letting go of other thoughts as I attempt to be present in the moment. I try to remember to tuck a pad and pen into my pocket so I can be ready to grab the elusive ideas as they float by.

Sleeping. Sleeping is one of my better skills, and it’s definitely a way I enjoy passing the time, especially in the middle of the night. But even when I’m asleep, my story machine is cranking away. I’m sure I’m not the only writer who’s dreamed the entire plot of a novel during the course of a night. Of course, as soon as the alarm clock rings it all vanishes, except for a couple of tantalizing but meaningless tidbits. That’s not the point. What’s important is, even though my body is at rest my mind is still at work.

So none of those activities really count as hobbies. I can think of only one pastime I have that doesn’t contribute somehow to my writing: 

Sudoku. Nine digits. Arrange them in rows, columns, and squares so that none are repeated. No math, just logic. And it’s nonverbal, leaving no room for words and ideas to jostle their way into my head.

Except—what if there’s a major sudoku competition, with a top prize big enough to kill for? And what if it pits two expert players against each other, two experts with secrets in their pasts? And what if there’s a cheating scandal? And what if …

The People in My Head

~ Margaret Lucke ~ 4 Comments

By Margaret Lucke

“Many people hear voices when there’s nobody there.
Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day.
Some of them are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.”
– Mystery Author Meg Chittenden

Do you hear voices when there’s no one there? Or have invisible people accompany you as you go about your daily activities?

Yes? Then welcome to the club. A fairly exclusive club, as it turns out.

A few years ago I took a short road trip with my good friend Penny, whom I’ve known since our college days. As we drove we chatted, the way old friends do, about our dreams, our daily lives, and the ways we would fix the world if only someone had the good sense to put us in charge. I mentioned the book I was writing, and she asked me this:

“What’s it like to have people running around inside your head all the time?”

The question startled me. “What? You mean you don’t have them?”

“Not at all. I can’t imagine it. Is it like hearing voices?”

Now, Penny is someone with a direct line to the creative process. She’s a brilliant cook who serves the most amazing dishes. A talented seamstress who tossed together fantastic costumes out of nothing for our college theater. A devoted lover of art, music and literature. Yet she didn’t have people occupying her head? How did her brain work then? How could she possibly think?

Since then, I’ve discovered that it’s actually rare to have a head filled with people. I’ve met other fiction writers who share this trait, but usually when I mention it to someone I get a strange look, as if the person is assessing whether I need to the services of my friendly neighborhood mental institution.

Perhaps I do. But I have a hard time understanding how anyone’s mental processes could possibly function in a different way.

I’ve had people wandering around in my brain ever since I can remember. They’re my equivalent of imaginary playmates. They tell me stories, ask me questions, give me answers, and help me clarify my thinking. They keep me company when I take long walks and as I’m trying to fall asleep at night. I’ve heard that writing is a lonely profession, and in lots of ways that’s true. But even when I’m at my desk by myself, I’m never really alone.

Some of the people in my head turn into characters in my novels and short stories. Often what sparks a story is a snatch of conversation that comes drifting through my brain. That sets me on a journey to discover who’s talking, and how they’re connected to each other, and what they’re discussing and why. Gradually the story emerges.

My first novel, A Relative Stranger, began this way. Walking to a bus stop, my mind let me overhear a late-night phone conversation. The woman who answered the phone clearly found the call unwelcome. The man who had called sounded desperate to connect with her. When I reached my destination, I wrote the conversation down. Who were these people?

The woman turned out to be a private investigator named Jess Randolph; the caller was her estranged father, turning up after many years to ask for her help because he was the prime suspect in a murder. Was he guilty? Would she help him? What would they do next?

In my story “Haircut,” a flash fiction tale that was recently published by Guilty Crime Fiction Magazine (you can read it here), I woke up one morning listening to the voice of a young woman named Hallie as she described the abrupt ending to what she had hoped would be an enduring romance. I got out of bed, stumbled to my computer, and wrote down what she had to say.

I may be making the process sound easier than it is. The people in my head don’t always want to be promoted from random guest to Story Character. Once they have me intrigued, they all too often ignore me. They fight me off or hide behind the curtains. They take a vow of silence. Sometimes they disappear.

And sometimes, gradually, after I beg and plead and cajole, they start to reveal their secrets.

At last the story is underway.

T Is for Thanksgiving – and Tea

~ Margaret Lucke

By Margaret Lucke

’Tis the season for gratitude, and I hope that as you sit down later this month at your Thanksgiving table, you’ll have plenty of things to be grateful for. For me, one of the main entries on this year’s things-I’m-glad-to-have-in-my-life list is tea.

In fact that’s on my list every year, in fact every day. Each morning as I sit down at my desk to write, I give thanks to Shen Nung, who gave humanity one of its greatest gifts.

Shen Nung was an emperor of ancient China, revered for teaching his people the art of cultivating grain and for researching the medicinal value of herbs. He believed drinking water should be boiled to make it clean and healthy.

Legend says that one day in 2737 BC, while traveling through a remote region, he rested in the shade of a wild bush while his servants boiled a pot of water for him. A gust of breeze blew some leaves and twigs into the water, but the thirsty emperor drank it anyway. To his delight, the brew had a wonderful aroma and flavor.

The bush was Camellia sinensis, and the drink he discovered was tea. Shen Nung proclaimed it to be a beverage of many virtues. He claimed the person who consumed it would gain “vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose.”

Who can argue with an emperor?

I would add one more benefit to the list—tea stimulates creativity. My creativity, anyway.

A mug of tea is my constant companion through the workday. In the morning I like to be fueled by one of the breakfast teas, like English Breakfast or Irish Breakfast, or by Newman’s Own Organic Black, which I favor because it tastes good and the company gives its profits to charity. I’ll take mine black, thank you—no milk, sugar, or lemon.

Later on I often invite the distinguished Earl Grey to join me at my desk. His namesake tea is the perfect pick-me-up in the late afternoon. For my birthday one year a friend gave me a fun present, an Earl Grey tasting: six packages of Earl Grey tea, each a different brand. I was surprised to discover how dissimilar they were—six very different flavors, even though they were all made to the same basic formula: black tea permeated with oil of bergamot.

Sometimes I vary my routine by indulging in something more exotic. Oolong, Darjeeling, Kilgiri, Keemun, Assam, Russian Caravan—the names alone are enough to spark the imagination.

I stop drinking tea around 6 p.m., in deference to my desire for a good night’s sleep. Tea does contain caffeine. Pound for pound it has more caffeine than coffee. However, tea gives you many more cups from a pound than coffee does, so cup for cup there’s less caffeine in tea. I’ve never noticed that drinking black tea in the evening really inhibits my sleep. But I prefer to err on the safe side, so my bedtime libation isn’t real tea but something herbal, like ginger or mint.

My kitchen cupboard holds several delicate porcelain teacups with matching saucers, and the cupboard is where they stay. You have to fill one of them three times to get enough tea to taste. I prefer a mug that has a generous capacity and a wide curve to the handle so it’s easy to hold.

I consider tea to be one of the most important tools of the writer’s trade, right up there with my writing software program and my solitaire game. A tool is something that helps you accomplish a task. Without tea, I’d never get any writing done. Uh-oh, my mug is empty. Excuse me while I go and refill it. Thanks again, Shen Nung!

~

Here’s something else to be thankful for this season—the Ladies of Mystery Cavalcade of Books! This catalog goes live from November 15 through December 31, 2024 and features books by all of the Ladies, some at special prices just for you! A great opportunity to get wonderful gifts for your favorite readers or yourself (you deserve some gifts too). You can find our Cavalcade of Books by clicking here.