Welcome to My Worlds: A Bipolar Christian Tells All

Hope y’all are havin’ a great evening. Here’s another nugget of wisdom for ya. I’m in the less-is-more crowd. Many writers fill their verbiage with superfluous words. We covered intensifiers yesterday. Today, it’s qualifiers. Ugh. 

Definition: An unnecessary word that blurs your meaning and weakens your sentence.  

Something is, or it isn’t. No reason to shroud your sentence in the fog, to sap the strength from the meaning of it (okay, so I’m being overly dramatic. Biiig surprise!). 

Here’s your example: It was a bit cold outside. Can anyone guess what the qualifier is? “A bit.” As previously stated, something is, or it isn’t. Is it cold, or not? If it is, go back to yesterday’s lesson, where we used the word “frigid.” It was frigid outside. If your character isn’t in

Antarctica, use a descriptive word that isn’t so strong. It was chilly outside. 

I know, I don’t allow sentences to begin with “it was,” but for the sake of the example, I let it pass. I juggle two businesses in the daytime, and start working on my handbag business at 8 p.m. Last night I went to bed at 3 a.m. and got up at 6:00. “It was” is lookin’ good right now. 

Other qualifying offenders are: rather, a little, a lot, seemed, only, slightly, just, almost, nearly, sort of, kind of, etc. (No, “etc.” isn’t a qualifier.) 

Remember, there are exceptions, especially in dialogue. Every character has a different speech pattern. Some of these words are also appropriate when one character speculates on what another character is thinking.  

Night night. Hope you join me on the morrow for your last mini-lesson. 

Smiles,Kelly 

Hey Gang,

Still have one deal pending. The guy said he’s call me Monday. Men! They tell ya they’ll call ya tomorrow….. Actually did this post last night but forgot to start a new thread. Hey, it was 10 P.M.; whaddaya want!. Missed ya guys. So, minus your simple, neat letterhead, this is how the beginning of your query should look. (Note: There are extra spaces I couldn’t delete. No space inbetween a quote and the quotee, no spaces in the name and address. Oiy!)

LETTERHEAD (I often used one of my endorsement quotes underneath the letterhead.)

“Kelly–you’re writing looks great. Good luck with selling!”

           …  New York Times Best-Selling Author, Kat Martin

 

March 17, 2008

Ms. Exalted Editor

Gonna-Sign-Ya Books

Address                                              

Address                                             

Dear Ms. Editor,

               What happens when the Lucy Ricardo of the 14th Century meets the hero of the battle of Crecy? (’meets’ should be under ‘what.’ I have a full page when I compose, then it doesn’t show up right on the blog. Arrg!)

 

I’ve written a 90,000-word historical romance, Moment of Glory, and I’m looking for an editor. Moment of Glory has humor, drama, mystery, and has recently finaled in three contests. The second manuscript in the series, Moment of Passion, is also completed.

 

(That’s your “info” paragraph. Enough so the agent/editor knows what she’s gonna read, how long it is, yadda yadda. Some people put it at the end. I like to know up-front, so that’s how I send mine. Whatever floats yer boat. Your title should be in italics and bold.)

(Next, I do a paragraph on each main character)

Edlynne Wynterbourne is beautiful, clumsy, and nearsighted—and her pluck often leads her into perilous situations. Her father, the Earl of Sussex, orders her to wed a most vile man, while she wishes to wed for love. To escape this heinous fate she disguises herself as a peasant and embarks upon an adventure, but her father is close on her heels. Can she find the one who’ll love her—not her wealth—before it’s too late?

(Notice I used contractions, but also kept the flavor of the time with other words like “vile,” “perilous,” etc.)

Send your paragraphs when ya have ‘em. Sorry for the disjointed schedule. One of those things. I’m actually supposed to be on vaca this week–code for I’m supposed to be working on my “nigttime” business, and my non-fiction proposal. Sigh.

K.