Commas & Periods & Dashes, Oh My!

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I just ate some spicy Thai delicious food. (Or was it delicious, spicy Thai food?) Because of that large meal, I can’t comfortably zip my black small dress. (Or is it my small black dress?)

This is one of the linguistic rabbit holes into which we writers often fall. And with the recent increased fascination with Royal Family news, it’s timely.

What I call “adjective confusion” has a formal name: the royal order of adjectives. It doesn’t have anything to do with Harry and Meghan, though—unless you’re writing a sentence like this: Harry and Meghan are attractive, intelligent, famous people who live in the sunny, warm, celebrity-studded American city of Montecito, California.

The so-called proper order of adjectives calls for the following placement, although variations do exist: opinion-size-age-shape-color-origin-material-purpose noun. The official rules are often unknown to native English speakers; many of us employ them by instinct honed over time. Teachers may encourage English language learners to memorize the proper order of adjectives, undoubtedly causing headaches and eye rolls.

How about this? “I bought a lovely small old rusted green metal frying pan.”

Granted, we don’t write sentences like this, and that’s for the best. We do, however, employ the royal order in shorter sentences: He has short black hair. We stayed at a drafty little lake cabin. My grandmother has an impressive antique silver jewelry collection.

Discussion of adjective order invariably leads to a discussion of commas, specifically comma use with adjectives. Here, we find a new and enjoyable rabbit hole: cumulative and coordinate adjectives and how to punctuate (or not punctuate) them. But we’ll leave that one for another time.

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Amy, a caucasian woman with brown hair and glasses, smiles facing the camera. Behind her is a large tree.

Amy Cecil Holm is Allegory Editing’s resident Copy Editor and Proofreader. As a copy editor and proofreader, Amy draws upon more than three decades of teaching college English to help authors polish their prose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in creative writing and has worked as a journalist, technical writer, and educator. Amy has taught courses in English composition, literature, creative writing, journalistic writing, business writing, and developmental reading, among others. She has a keen understanding of grammar, punctuation, and diction and uses her careful attention to detail to help prepare manuscripts for submission and publication.

Build Your Characters, Build Your Plot

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The literary community often talks about plot and character as separate entities, and for many reasons that’s a useful way to discuss those components.

But the reality is more nuanced.

Plot is built from character action. Without action there is no plot; without characters there is no action.

So how do throughlines, spines, and big questions help writers build both plot and character?

I like to talk about throughlines as bread crumbs through the forest. Each one must be visible to the next or the trail ends. If they’re too close together, the reader can get irritated because the scenes are redundant or repetitive, just as a person searching for the next bread crumb in the forest doesn’t need a marker every few inches.

Each scene, each chapter, is a bread crumb, leading the reader from beginning to end.

Spines are like the binding on a book. They hold the pages together—in a specific order. Without a spine, the book would fall apart, the pages becoming hopelessly jumbled. Readers faced with a bound book versus a pile of unorganized pages will choose the bound book every time.

Stories are similar. Readers want the scenes to connect … eventually. Scenes can appear to occur out of order, jumping around in time, place, and viewpoint character. But by the final page, readers can look back and understand that what appeared as disorder was actually a carefully crafted plot held together with the spine.

Big questions are those wonderful openings that hook readers, culminating in a satisfying answer at the end. Writers can use a big question to help them understand what the book is really about, then be confident in a solid ending by answering the question. The answer might be yes or no, or even maybe, but regardless of the answer, the question is addressed fully during the climax of the story.

Each of these concepts can be applied to any manuscript. By understanding and using them during the writing process, complex characters will emerge, and a tight, engaging plot will take readers—including agents and editors—on the thrill of the adventure, the sweetness of the love story, or the poignancy of the coming-of-age. All genres can be improved with the use of throughlines, spines, and big questions.

Writers of narrative nonfiction also benefit from these concepts. Any story, regardless of whether it’s fiction or a retelling of a true event, needs structure and complex characters to truly shine.

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IMAGE ID: Elena, a white woman with long blonde hair, smiles at the camera.

Elena Hartwell Taylor is the Senior Editor & Director of Programming at Allegory Editing. In addition to working as a developmental editor and writing coach, Elena is a published author. Her most recent novel, All We Buried, appears under the name Elena Taylor. The Eddie Shoes Mystery Series appears under Elena Hartwell. Prior to writing novels, Elena worked extensively in the theater as a playwright, director, educator, and designer. She has taught writing and theatre courses at the college/university level for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in dramatic theory and criticism, a Masters of Education with an emphasis in teaching theatre, and a BA in Mass Media Communications. For more information about Elena, you can visit her website and read her blog about authors, new books, and the writing process. You can contact her at elena@allegoryediting.com.

Let’s Talk about Point of View

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Some of the most common errors I see in manuscripts are issues with point of view. Oftentimes, those issues come about because writers aren’t clear on their point-of-view characters. Other times, the problem lies in the POV character’s point of view.

Why is point of view important in writing?

Choosing who tells a story—and in what POV they tell it—is one of the most important decisions a writer can make. I, you, she, he, they … all of these have pros and cons. Add in third person limited, but multiple, and first person interspersed with chapters from third person omniscient, and the potential for mistakes goes up exponentially.

How does genre impact point of view?

Some genres lend themselves to certain POVs, such as the sassy female detective story told in first person. The Alphabet Series from Sue Grafton, which started out, “My name is Kinsey Millhone,” launched an entire genre back in the eighties. We also see the sweeping fantasy with extensive worldbuilding done in third person omniscient. It’s storytelling from an all-knowing view with access to every character and any event the writer sees fit to include.

This does not mean a writer has to write with those POVs or that first person can’t work in a sweeping fantasy, but understanding the limitations of first person might make a fantasy writer think twice before choosing to put intimacy with character ahead of access to greater world building details.

Common POV mistakes writers make

Head-hopping (leaping from POV to POV and confusing the reader) and including information that a character doesn’t have access to, and therefore can’t inform the reader, are common problems and can derail even the best of stories.

Writers can also miss out on the advantages of a specific POV. First person is the most intimate of POVs, but if the POV character doesn’t share their internal landscape, what’s the point of limiting all the other information in the story? An omniscient POV allows for the reader to experience everything in the world that the author created, so if readers can’t explore that environment and be in on all the secrets, why force them to distance from the protagonist?

Whether writing memoir and not mining first person for all it’s worth or writing a thriller with multiple points of view but lacking tension in each scene, fixing point-of-view can take a problem manuscript to a polished, publishable level.

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IMAGE ID: Elena, a white woman with long, dark blonde hair, smiles at the camera.

Elena Hartwell Taylor is the Senior Editor & Director of Programming at Allegory Editing. In addition to working as a developmental editor and writing coach, Elena is a published author. Her most recent novel, All We Buried, appears under the name Elena Taylor. The Eddie Shoes Mystery Series appears under Elena Hartwell. Prior to writing novels, Elena worked extensively in the theater as a playwright, director, educator, and designer. She has taught writing and theatre courses at the college/university level for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in dramatic theory and criticism, a Masters of Education with an emphasis in teaching theatre, and a BA in Mass Media Communications. For more information about Elena, you can visit her website and read her blog about authors, new books, and the writing process. You can contact her at elena@allegoryediting.com.

The Rhythm of Language—Finding Your Author Voice

Image ID: A white, older man with white hair and a tux stands against a black background. He holds a conductor’s baton. Floating near his hand are the words: punctuation, sentence structure, and synonyms.

From utilizing sentence length to set the pace of a section, to playing with punctuation to allow readers a welcome breather, to intentional repetition of words for emphasis and impact, rhythm is one of the most dynamic tools writers have at their disposal. Attention to rhythm in writing is also one of the best techniques a writer can apply to cultivate the ever-important, often-illusive author voice.

Read on to learn some helpful tips for maximizing this vital literary element.

Tip: Vary the length and complexity of sentences.

Meaty sentences for readers to really savor can be delicious. But fill an entire novel with them and readers may feel like they are choking. Short, simple sentences can serve as much needed palate cleansers to keep a reader engaged and wanting more.

Tip: Play around with sentence structure.

Playing around with sentence structure is a great way to utilize rhythm in your writing. Here are some ideas:

• Find sentences that start with the subject and try rewriting them to put the verb first, and vice versa.

• Experiment with (intentional and judicious!) use of sentence fragments.

• Swap clauses to see what reads best. For example:

Sheila preferred to go without a coat in the rain.

The above sentence provides a notable bit of character information about Sheila. But take a look at what happens with a simple rearrangement of clauses:

In the rain, Sheila preferred to go without a coat.

Restructured in this way, the sentence not only gives us information about Sheila’s character, but it also serves to better evoke her for the reader. A natural pause is created after in the rain, which allows a picture of rain to drop into the reader’s mind. It also reads as more declarative, so we get the sense that this is a bold and confident choice on Sheila’s part. Both are valid ways to write the sentence, depending on what you want to accomplish in that moment.

Tip: Get creative with punctuation (but know the rules first).

Commas and periods and dashes, oh my! Consider mining punctuation to enhance the rhythm of your writing. For example:

• For asides, a comma provides a softer, subtler touch. To make an aside really stand out, try an em-dash instead. If we want the reader to stop and consider something, parentheses are our best bet.

• Writers may think the semicolon has no place in creative writing. But used wisely, it can be highly effective in literature. For example, using it to connect two seemingly unrelated ideas can draw a line for the reader without the need to be explicit. Used this way, it can also be mined for humor. (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is absolutely brilliant in her execution of the unexpected semicolon. I highly recommend you pick up her novel Americanah for a masterclass in the use of this punctuation.)

• Three periods with spaces between (not to be confused with ellipses) create the illusion of a pause and can also illicit the impression of stuttering or faltering speech.

• While run-on sentences are generally a no-no, they do occasionally have a place. Take for example a character who experiences a manic episode. Writing their dialogue with a jumble of ideas all running together with little to no punctuation can very clearly illustrate the pressured speech common in mania. The caution here is not to overdo it; break up such dialogue with prose so as not to wear the reader out.

Tip: Try reading the work out loud.

Hearing our words read aloud, by us or another person, can be a great way to get a feel for the rhythm of the piece. Whether this method is useful for each of us may depend on how we process language.

I personally love hearing my plays read aloud. The way the dialogue sounds from the actors in a rehearsal room can spark ideas I never would have had on my own. On the other hand, I never read my fiction out loud. When I read silently to myself, I can hear the words very clearly in my own mind, complete with accents, varied speed, and emphasis.

Despite my training and many years of experience as an actor, my fiction rarely sounds as spot on when I read it out loud as it does in my head. I find it far more effective to read it to myself as though it’s being said out loud. The process and feeling when I read to assess the language are distinct from when I read for other purposes, such as to take in information or to enjoy a story. I must be intentional in order to read for assessment, and I must take my time in order to access this process in my brain.

This may not work for everyone’s brain. Many writers find reading their fiction out loud invaluable. Some prefer to ask another person to read it aloud to them (aside from stage plays, I do not find this helpful). Others like to utilize the text-to-speech feature in Word. Figure out what works best through thoughtful experimentation.

Tip: Synonyms are your friend.

Not only is precise word choice important for conveying ideas, it also plays an important role in the rhythm of a sentence. For example:

• Walked evokes a smooth pace, while the word skittered brings to mind a quicker, more staccato movement.

• For a lighter, breezier feel, we might replace traveled with gallivanted. As the reader hops through the additional syllables, they get the sense of the character bounding from place to place.

Tip: Read. Read. Read.

Take note of particularly effective passages. What worked? Similarly, pay attention if something doesn’t feel satisfying about the author’s use of language. Play around with what could be done differently. Maybe there are one too many syllables, or perhaps a little rearranging would do the trick.

Final thoughts

Use the above tips to improve the rhythm in your writing and help discover and refine your author voice. Above all, have fun. Language is a living, breathing thing. Experiment, play, be joyful and curious. Allow me to extend the rhythm metaphor a tad further: language is a writer’s instrument. So tune up, practice with intention, and go make some music.

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Andrea, a white woman with brown, curly hair, stands in front of a tree. She wears a blue dress and is smiling at the camera.

Andrea Karin Nelson is the Founder & Executive Editor at Allegory Editing. In addition to her developmental editing work with published novelists, playwrights, and essayists, Andrea brings a unique set of experiences and skills to her editing craft. Twenty years as a writer and theater maker has developed her keen sense of story structure, plot and character development. Her plays have been commissioned and produced across the United States and performed in both English and American Sign Language. Fifteen years as a Master-Level, Certified Sign Language Interpreter has finely tuned her ear to the subtleties of language and the nuances of human interactions. And with over two decades as an educator, her teacher's heart allows Andrea to personally tailor her work with each writer. Click here to read an interview about Andrea’s journey founding Allegory. You can contact her at andrea@allegoryediting.com.

When Should a Writer Use an Editor?

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We’re so glad you asked! We get this question a lot here at Allegory. The truth is, writers can use editors anytime during the writing process, but here are a few suggestions to help you determine when it might be right for you.

Working with a developmental editor usually starts after a writer has completed a first draft. Keep in mind, this may take several passes through your manuscript, so “first draft” is more like “first complete and partially-polished draft.” Listed below are some checkpoints to use when deciding if your draft is “done.”

• Clear beginning, middle, and end.

• No big jumps in plot.

• Reasonable formatting. Chapter headings are clear, material is double-spaced, and the author has proofread to the best of their ability. (Stay tuned for a handy-dandy formatting guide from Allegory coming soon!)

• Author can’t identify any other places to rewrite or make changes. You may have a good idea of some “problem areas,” but if you feel like you’ve gone as far as you can to fix things on your own, it’s usually a good time for another set of eyes.

How is developmental editing different from copy editing?

Great question! A developmental edit focuses on story structure, character arc, dynamic dialogue, and other big picture issues. Depending on what level of developmental editing you hire us for, we may focus on sentence-level details as well, but it is all done with the goal of supporting the issues listed above. This is a distinct process from a copy edit.

So, when does a writer need a proofread or copy edit? Are those the same thing?

Another excellent question! The terms proofread and copy edit often get used interchangeably, but they are two different things. A copy edit is to make sure the writing is clear. This encompasses things like passive voice (“. . .the book was read . . .” Wait, read by whom?) and timelines glitches (“George drank a glass of water, he went over to the sink and filled it.” Wait, shouldn’t he have filled the glass first? Or did he just get a second glass of water?)

A proofread is that final, careful read to check for typos, punctuation errors, grammatical errors, or specific mistakes, such as changing a character’s name from Bill to Stan halfway through.

Both of these types of editing are very important, but only matter after you have a solid manuscript. So how do you know if you’re ready for a proofreader or copy editor? Below are some identifying factors.

• You are ready to query agents and editors, but you are not good at catching grammatical errors or typos. No shame in this! You may want to have a solid proofread and copy edit done before you send your material out. If you’ve worked with us for a developmental edit, we will mark any grammatical errors and typos that we catch, but it is up to you to fix them. And of course, after you address the structural issues that we point out, additional grammatical errors, typos, etc. are bound to pop up. This is totally normal. After you rewrite to address the feedback from a developmental edit, your manuscript will need a very thorough read through specifically for these details. If you aren’t confident in your own ability to catch these types of errors, (again, no shame!) then a professional copy edit & proofread is a good option.

• You plan to self-publish. Self-published authors should have both a copy edit and a proofread prior to uploading—potentially even more than one round. No matter how strong a writer is at proofreading, we rarely catch all our own mistakes.
  

An outside eye is so important for writers and hiring a professional editor is the best way to get high-quality feedback on your work. We hope this article helped clear up some of your questions on when (and how) to utilize editors. If you have additional questions or want to find out if your project is ready for an editor, reach out to the team at Allegory Editing.

Even Chatbots Admit Human Editors Are Better than AI Editors

Image ID: A white robot with purple arms and a yellow headset pops out of the front of a smart phone. A yellow speech bubble coming from the robot reads: "Sometimes you just need a human!”

Artificial intelligence capabilities continue to evolve rapidly in many fields, including writing and editing. AI can do everything from drone navigation to medical image analysis to fraud detection, not to mention creativity and content creation, which strikes justified fear and anxiety into the hearts of artists everywhere.

Can AI replace human copy editors?

While certain tasks can be automated, many experts say AI is not likely to replace every human job. It can’t fully replicate human creativity, emotional intelligence, empathy, critical thinking, complex problem-solving, caregiving, or ethical decision-making—in short, the nuances of human interaction.

One job that requires all of the above (and a job that AI can only attempt to do) is copy editing. It involves more than just attention to the “right and wrong” of grammar and punctuation—a copy editor needs a true understanding of and admiration for the creative process. A feature like spell-check can be helpful, and while grammar checkers may be less beneficial, they at least provide a starting point. But a human copy editor is an author’s best friend, especially in the world of fiction and creative nonfiction.

What can a human editor do that AI can’t?

ChatGPT, a chatbot developed in 2022 by an AI research lab, uses AI to understand and respond to human-like conversation and compose human-like writing. This chatbot freely admits it can’t measure up to a human copy editor. According to ChatGPT, in answer to the question, “Why are human copy editors better than AI copy editors?” the human copy editor outperforms the AI copy editor for these reasons:

1.   AI “struggles to grasp language nuances, cultural references, idiomatic expressions, and contextual subtleties.”

2.   Human editors are better at applying creativity and judgment to resolve issues of “ambiguous or unconventional language use” since AI may “rely solely on predefined rules and patterns, which might not cover all scenarios.”

3.   AI “may struggle to capture the nuances of subjective preferences” in language, while human editors can “tailor edits according to specific requirements.”

4.   AI “may struggle with more complex grammatical or stylistic issues, especially in creative or technical writing.” Human editors are more accurate and efficient in identifying such issues.

5.   AI “may lack cultural awareness and sensitivity,” while human editors are better at “respecting diversity, avoiding offensive language, and adhering to ethical standards.” 

6.   AI does not offer “meaningful interaction”  or a “collaborative relationship” with an author. The relationship between a human copy editor and an author flourishes in an atmosphere of personalized feedback, discussion of questions and concerns, and honest, supportive dialogue about the author’s work.

The final word

For the best copy editing and proofreading experience, writers should rely on their own skills and instincts and those of their writer friends, beta readers, teachers, and professional copy editors. If human nuances are neglected or removed from the creative process, the final product will suffer. The writer’s voice and worldview could be damaged or lost. As writers and editors, we rely on those “meaningful interactions” and “collaborative relationships” as key parts of our creative processes. Writers will always need the supportive and detail-oriented touch of a human copy editor. In a world more and more reliant on computers, we need to protect what makes us human.

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Amy, a caucasian woman with brown hair and glasses, smiles facing the camera. Behind her is a large tree.

Amy Cecil Holm is Allegory Editing’s resident Copy Editor and Proofreader. As a copy editor and proofreader, Amy draws upon more than three decades of teaching college English to help authors polish their prose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in creative writing and has worked as a journalist, technical writer, and educator. Amy has taught courses in English composition, literature, creative writing, journalistic writing, business writing, and developmental reading, among others. She has a keen understanding of grammar, punctuation, and diction and uses her careful attention to detail to help prepare manuscripts for submission and publication.

Watch Your Tone

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Many of us remember a parent or grandparent giving us “the look.” This look was used whenever we stepped out of line in any way – perhaps we replied to a request with a snide remark. We may have incorporated some name-calling into a conversation with a sibling or shared an anecdote at family dinner that wasn’t meant for all to hear. The look was versatile; it got the job done in many situations. However, it often meant one of two things:

“Do not say that (or at least say it differently).”

“Watch your tone.”

If we were particularly naughty children who went on to become writers, these moments probably served us well. They taught us that word choice and tone are crucial to effective communication, including effective writing. We learned that every word matters; words and sentences can convey underlying meanings – whether we intended them to or not.

Word choice is a key element of any successful manuscript. It brings characters to life, illustrates the action of a plot, helps establish a sense of place, and conveys the writer’s and characters’ attitudes, also known as tone.

Writers’ word choices also convey their unique voice and style. Identifying issues with word choice and tone is an important step in the editing and revision process, but it requires a keen eye for detail and an ability to read and hear the nuances of language in order to craft sentences that will resonate with agents, publishers, and readers.

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Image ID: Amy, a caucasian woman with brown hair and glasses, smiles facing the camera. Behind her is a large tree.

Amy Cecil Holm is Allegory Editing’s resident Copy Editor and Proofreader. As a copy editor and proofreader, Amy draws upon more than three decades of teaching college English to help authors polish their prose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in creative writing and has worked as a journalist, technical writer, and educator. Amy has taught courses in English composition, literature, creative writing, journalistic writing, business writing, and developmental reading, among others. She has a keen understanding of grammar, punctuation, and diction and uses her careful attention to detail to help prepare manuscripts for submission and publication.

The Importance of World Building

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I. Love. World. Building.

From zeroing in on the vital elements of real-life settings to creating new worlds from whole cloth—world building is one of my favorite things about being a writer and a strong suit of mine as an editor.

World building encompasses a vast array of elements, from architecture and landscape to laws and customs to history and technology. These things (and more) influence the way our characters behave, the decisions they make, and the consequences of their actions. And world building impacts everything from plot to dialogue to character relationships.

Perhaps more than anything, effective world building influences how readers visualize scenes as they read. It also helps readers make sense of the story itself.

World building is a vital device for all genres, including memoir and narrative nonfiction.

Of course, more world building is often required the further a setting is from our current reality. But genres firmly rooted in the real world also benefit tremendously from robust and intentional world building.

Consider memoir. Suppose the author writes about their childhood in a small, midwestern farm town in the 1950s. If a reader isn’t familiar with that time and place, they won’t grasp certain nuances unless the author uses dialogue and prose to “build” the world.

Think about the social norms within that small town that impacted the way things were done: were deals made with a handshake and Friday nights reserved for high school football? Consider also how a lack of density influences the way people move through their surroundings. And don’t forget the seemingly small details like the smell of exhaust from a passing tractor. That’s all world building.

Even for a reader familiar with small town life, there are details about the author’s particular small town that the reader still needs to know to fully understand the context of the memoir. Perhaps everyone in the author’s community knew that crossing the rickety wooden bridge over the river risked life and limb, and that nothing opened until after church let out on Sundays.

The details you use to build the world of your story help bring your reader in and keep them invested all the way through the final page.