{"id":167,"date":"2018-02-08T13:42:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T00:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/?p=167"},"modified":"2018-02-12T08:47:10","modified_gmt":"2018-02-11T19:47:10","slug":"the-five-most-common-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/the-five-most-common-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"The Five Most Common Errors"},"content":{"rendered":"

I review a lot of books–more than 80 last year, and some years over 100–and, as someone who\u2019s worked as a copy editor for a major publishing house, I notice errors in them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I notice the same errors over and over, which is why I wrote <\/span>The Well-Presented Manuscript<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0I’m not just talking about indie authors, either. I read a lot of trad-pub books as well, and I’ve seen all the same errors in books from major publishing houses as I see from indies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the errors that I notice over and over are particularly common, so I thought I\u2019d write a brief summary of them: what they are, and how to avoid making them. There are two tense errors, two comma errors, and an apostrophe error. I see them in books that are otherwise well edited and smoothly written, so it seems not nearly enough people are aware that they are errors. I\u2019d like to change that. <\/span><\/p>\n

In no particular order, because I see all of these about as often as each other:<\/span><\/p>\n

Missing Past Perfect Tense<\/span><\/h3>\n

Most books–most books written for adults, at least–are written in the past tense. It\u2019s not the tense we use most often in daily life, though. So there are a couple of pitfalls that I see a lot of authors dropping into in past tense narration. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first relates to the \u201cnarrative moment\u201d. If you\u2019re narrating in the present tense, the narrative moment is the present–that\u2019s when the story\u2019s current action is occurring. But if you\u2019re narrating in the past tense, the narrative moment is a <\/span>specific time<\/span><\/i> in the past. Whether it\u2019s yesterday, last week, or a thousand years ago, there\u2019s a particular time when the action you\u2019re describing occurred. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem occurs when you refer to events that happened <\/span>before <\/span><\/i>the narrative moment, in what you might call \u201cthe past of the past\u201d. For example, if I\u2019m narrating action that happened yesterday, and I need to talk about something that happened the previous week, I need to signal my reader. The reader needs to know that the event happened at a different time, before the main action that I\u2019m narrating, otherwise they\u2019ll be confused. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a tool for that, and it\u2019s called the \u201cpast perfect\u201d. It works like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

John knew how to use the past perfect tense, because one of his professors had taught it to him.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the narrative moment, John knew a skill. Prior to the narrative moment, one of his professors <\/span>had taught<\/span><\/i> it to him; the professor was not teaching him at the narrative moment. By using \u201chad\u201d, I signal the reader that the teaching happened prior to the time that the main action took place. It\u2019s confusing to say: <\/span><\/p>\n

John knew how to use the past perfect tense, because one of his professors taught it to him. <\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The teaching happened before the knowing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, that example isn\u2019t necessarily all that confusing. An alert reader will figure out that the teaching happened before the knowing without too much of a blip. But people who have a habit of leaving out the past perfect frequently do confuse their readers, when they switch, without signalling, from talking about the moment of the present action to talking about earlier events. Consider this sentence: <\/span><\/p>\n

The implications of what she did struck him. <\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If \u201cwhat she did\u201d was a thing that happened at a previous time, say, the day before or the week before, this is disorienting to the reader, who is whiplashed from the previous week to the current narrative moment without notice. In the particular example I’m paraphrasing there, “she” wasn’t even present in the scene, which made it still more disorienting. Much better and clearer to say:<\/span><\/p>\n

The implications of what she had done struck him. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMay\u201d versus \u201cMight\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

Another common error is also about past-tense narration, so I\u2019ll talk about it next. <\/span><\/p>\n

Consider these sentences: <\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>know <\/b>that I <\/span>can <\/b>use tense correctly. <\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>knew <\/b>that I <\/span>could <\/b>use tense correctly. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I <\/span>say <\/b>that I <\/span>will <\/b>use tense correctly. <\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>said <\/b>that I <\/span>would <\/b>use tense correctly. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I <\/span>hope <\/b>that I <\/span>may <\/b>use tense correctly. <\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>hoped <\/b>that I <\/span>might <\/b>use tense correctly.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that last one in particular. Surprisingly often, I see an author narrating in the past tense use \u201cmay\u201d rather than \u201cmight\u201d. I don\u2019t know why people don\u2019t get \u201ccan\/could\u201d and \u201cwill\/would\u201d wrong, but do get \u201cmay\/might\u201d wrong. (I have actually seen one author get \u201cwill\/would\u201d wrong, but only one). <\/span><\/p>\n

It is wrong, though. There\u2019s a narrative convention known as \u201cfree indirect speech,\u201d which is a summary of what someone said or thought, rather than a quotation or transcription of their exact words or thoughts. All of the above examples are in free indirect speech, and when you\u2019re using free indirect speech in a past-tense narrative, the speech gets converted into the past tense as well. <\/span>All <\/span><\/i>of the speech, including \u201cmay\u201d being converted to \u201cmight\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

“May” and “might” do have some differences in usage, and they’re used sometimes to mean subtly different things, but in the case of free indirect speech, convert “may” to “might”. Otherwise, the effect is as if your past tense narration switched momentarily into the present. It draws attention to itself, and can cause readers to stumble.<\/p>\n

The Coordinate Comma<\/span><\/h3>\n

The coordinate comma is the comma that goes between adjectives in a list:<\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a famous, wealthy aardvark.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You could replace the comma in that sentence with \u201cand\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a famous and wealthy aardvark.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or you could mix them round: <\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a wealthy, famous aardvark.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Neither of those adjectives sticks more strongly to \u201caardvark\u201d than the other. But consider this sentence: <\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a small grey aardvark.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You wouldn\u2019t say: <\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a small and grey aardvark.<\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nor would you say: <\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a grey small aardvark.<\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And because of those two tests, you also shouldn\u2019t punctuate it like this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Henrietta was a small, grey aardvark.<\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The comma doesn\u2019t belong there. In part, this is because \u201cgrey aardvark\u201d forms a unit that is more tightly bound than, say, \u201cfamous aardvark\u201d; it seems to be a characteristic of colours and substances in English that they bind to their nouns, almost forming noun phrases. Hence, you\u2019d say \u201ca large stone castle\u201d or \u201ca thick red rug\u201d or \u201clong black hair\u201d or \u201ca thin cotton T-shirt,\u201d all without the comma. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, in my book I say, \u201cThis is kind of an obscure rule, and if you don\u2019t know it, or if you mess it up occasionally, most people won\u2019t notice.\u201d That\u2019s true–unless you get it wrong <\/span>constantly<\/span><\/i>. As I write, I\u2019m reading a book in which the author is extremely fond of the pattern \u201cadjective adjective noun,\u201d and almost always puts a comma in between the two adjectives, and is almost always wrong to do so. There are dozens and dozens of them, and any minor mistake repeated often enough becomes a major mistake. It\u2019s driving me to distraction–distraction from the story, that is. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not to mention that she does it in situations like: <\/span><\/p>\n

one, sudden lunge<\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, \u201cone\u201d is technically an adjective (like all numbers). No, you shouldn\u2019t put a comma between it and another adjective, because you wouldn\u2019t say: <\/span><\/p>\n

sudden, one lunge<\/span><\/del><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She also manages to write “regular, twenty-second intervals<\/del>“, “the prevalent, ammonia tang of fish<\/del>“, “his hated, human shape<\/del>“, and “black, drawstring trousers<\/del>“.<\/p>\n

If you are going to use the \u201cadjective adjective noun\u201d pattern often, make sure you learn the coordinate comma rule–all<\/em> of it, not just the \u201cinclude a comma\u201d part, but the \u201chere\u2019s when not to include a comma\u201d part. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Vocative Comma<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cVocative\u201d just means that you\u2019re addressing someone, so the \u201cvocative comma\u201d is the comma you use when you\u2019re addressing someone–whether by their name, their title, or some other form of address. <\/span><\/p>\n

Consider these sentences: <\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know, Jack.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know Jack.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s eat, Grandma. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s eat Grandma.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shoot straight, boys. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shoot straight boys.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first in each pair uses the vocative comma, and addresses Jack, Grandma, and some otherwise unspecified \u201cboys\u201d. The second in each pair doesn\u2019t, and it means something different. Instead of being addressed, Jack, Grandma, and the boys are the objects of those sentences, and are (as grammarians say) suffering the action of the verb. Grandma and the boys are suffering rather more literally than Jack is. <\/span><\/p>\n

The vocative comma is <\/span>always <\/span><\/i>required, any time someone is being addressed. This is true whether the term of address is at the start of the sentence: <\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Watson, come here–I want to see you.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the middle of the sentence: <\/span><\/p>\n

I have to say, Colonel Baird, that\u2019s remarkable.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or at the end of the sentence: <\/span><\/p>\n

What a day, bro.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The vocative comma comes after a term of address at the beginning; before and after a term of address in the middle; and before a term of address at the end. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you leave the vocative comma out, not only do you risk suggesting to your family that you should cannibalize your grandmother, but your sentences will sound breathless and rushed. It\u2019s one of the mistakes that, to me, most clearly distinguishes professional from unprofessional writing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Plural Possessives<\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve already explained these at length in the apostrophes post<\/a>, so I\u2019ll just point you there. I hope it\u2019s clear and straightforward. <\/span><\/p>\n

And if I had to pick a sixth most common error? Mispunctuated dialog<\/a>, especially punctuating the “tag” (“she said” or equivalent) as if it was a separate sentence. It’s less common than the other five, and tends to be an error of inexperienced writers (whereas I’ve seen the others committed by more experienced people as well), but it’s not nearly as uncommon as it should be.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say that, out of the authors whose books are appealing enough for me to actually pick up and try to read, about 70% make at least one of these errors. If you can eliminate them, that will make your manuscript cleaner than most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I review a lot of books–more than 80 last year, and some years over 100–and, as someone who\u2019s worked as a copy editor for a major publishing house, I notice errors in them.\u00a0 I notice the same errors over and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csidemedia.com\/wellpresentedms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}