Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

Tools for writing

Advice: Another grammar resource (requires experience)

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Last week I suggested A Writer’s Reference as an important resource to have as it contains just about every grammar, vocabulary & formatting issue likely to be run into by a writer (from student to professional), but this week I offer up a text that is geared entirely to the well-seasoned grammarian.

There is humor, sarcasm and clear cut demonstration of the rules of punctuation and sentence structure.  But you won’t laugh if you are a beginner because all Lynne Truss’s references require that you at least appreciate that there are rules and know quite a number of them.  If you don’t know most of them, you won’t appreciate the humor in her refining your understanding.  The title is a perfect example, though one of the simplest she provides:  Eats, Shoots & Leaves or if you prefer Eats Shoots & Leaves.  There is a distinct difference.  First off, imagine a panda bear.  He eats, shoots and leaves (which requires he has a license to bear arms or at least can hold a gun) or he eats shoots and leaves (which only requires he stick to his diet).  The title alone makes me giggle, but if you don’t get it yet, don’t purchase this book until you feel good about your use of grammar and punctuation.  If you are intrigued already, this is definitely the text for you.

It is important to note that Truss is English, but she kindly shows where the British vary from the Americans in grammar.  So do not fear you will refine your understanding only to find you will only be accepted by the British as knowing what you are doing all the time.

Reference Advice: Grammar and Punctuation — the Bane and Benefit

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Every writer’s frustration is getting the grammar and punctuation
correct.  Without it, our readers can’t follow the road we have prepared
for them.  Even a grammarian/English teacher needs to check her work
regularly and review rules.  One of the best books for assisting both
the conscientious beginner and the experienced writer is a text that was
on the recommended list for a college class I took:  Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference.  I have returned to college several times picking up
different certifications and degrees, but this is the best writing reference text I came
across over the years.

  • Looking to track down the list of
    the words most confused by writers? Check A Writer’s Reference.  
  • Want to
    understand the ins and outs of the semicolon vs the colon?  Check A
    Writer’s Reference    .  
  • Document design harassing you? Check A Writer’s
    Reference    .  
  • Have to give proper documentation for research you have
    done?  A Writer’s Reference supplies formats for MLA, APA, and CMS.  
  • Are
    you an ESL individual still dooking it out with prepositions and
    articles?  A Writer’s Reference has a section on that.  
  • Need more
    practice than is in the text? It also has an online presence with plenty
    of practice sets and explanations.

This is a compact
text, about 6 1/2 x 8 inches, held together by a comb binding, so it
travels well and lays flat.  Cost is a bit steep, ($50.00+ on average),
but grammar evolves quite slowly, so you have time to wear it out.  So
dictionary (or word book: see my previous post on spell friendly dictionaries, July 11, 2012), thesaurus, A Writer’s Reference, if you
write anything and care about writing well, have them in easy reach.

Advice: Back up your computer

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There are some things you should just do:  floss your teeth (at least the ones you want to keep, according to a dentist I used to know), cleanse your face of all makeup before you go to bed (thanks, mom), mean it when you say your sorry (self explanatory), exercise at least three times a week (just to stay in a holding pattern), be yourself (do you really want to be loved for something you are not?) and BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER.

BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!

I have two computers: one is my working computer that contains all my lesson plans and teaching stuff.  The other is my home computer which has my writing life.  Both are absolutely essential to me.  Sure I have hard copies of everything, but I don’t want to have to retype it all.  So I use a little external hard drive to back up my main hard drive.  Of course, it is only hooked up when I am backing things up.  There are numerous such devices available.  Mine is a WD Passport with bunches of gigabites on it, and it’s tiny.

I routinely back up my two systems so I needed it to be easy to manage.  It’s pretty simple to work the function of running the back up, and it can be set up two ways: auto and manual.  For some reason my laptop doesn’t like it when the Passport is set to automatically access the drive.  So I removed the auto backup software and do it manually, which is just like using a thumb drive.  Open it up, and drag and drop the whole drive into it.  My home computer manages the auto access well. So I handle things differently, letting the software determine what has changed and needs to be backed up.  Either way, I get my work safely saved to a second drive, and I have less to fear about losing my hard work.

Paper holder taking up space on the desktop?

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Since I scribble my notes on anything at hand, I tend to have a variety of paper sizes and weights to work with when I am transferring my notes to my computer.  Those papers without much stiffness just drape over when I prop them up.  My standard desk paper holder also takes up too much room, and I have had to add a clip to the side because the fan keeps making the paper wiggle and fly about.  And it takes up just as much room when not in use as when in use.

Then my mother-in-law gave me a Page-up dingus.  It looks like a little more than half an egg, that has a flat side, sitting on the flat side, and takes the same amount of room as an egg sitting on the flat side.  There is a curved cut in the top where you set the paper.  Since my phone, mouse, glasses, camera, notebook, etc. also take up room on my desk, this tiny thing is perfect.

You might think the fan would have the same effect, but you would be wrong. The curve creates a stiffness that keeps the paper in place. 

I am in no way affiliated with the creators, makers, or sellers of this thing. I just like it.

Tuesday prompt: #29 2012

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For this writing prompt, make up a holiday. 

  1. Example:  Happy Hoop Skirt Day.  
  2. Now decide how it would be celebrated.  Clearly every girl would be wearing hoops under their skirts, and perhaps a few fellows would as well.  Maybe there is a special drink with tiny rings floating in it that rise and fall.  And there are ring toss challenge games all around town with a winner named at the end of the day.
  3. Now that you have all that figured out, add a few characters and write how the holiday went for them.