Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

Not sure...

This reaction by an author to a bad review has gone viral:

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html

I have no idea if her book is good or not but the thread that follows the review is very entertaining. I wouldn't mind betting that she sees increased sales after this. Funny old place the internet.

Finished the 3rd. Now for Beta Readers

OMG I have finished the third draft of Touch! No champagne in the house, but I have permitted myself a cup of tea and a biscuit (just the one, let's not get ahead of ourselves since the state of nirvana known as transcendental  Amanda Hockingness has not yet arrived). Compared to the first two drafts number three did not take too long (a few weeks) and it was good to find out that not much needed doing apart from removing ten zillion adverbs. Draft number two was like taking your car to the garage and being told that you'd be better off taking it to the scrap yard instead.

Just a read through now and then it will be ready for my beta readers so if there is anyone out there willing to be one, please let me know as I need some more. I would love to hear from anyone living in Devon and Cornwall, but wherever you come from you'd be welcome. No payment, but you will get an acknowledgement in the book and a whole heap of thanks. Your task will be to read through the book and then answer some questions that will help me to understand what works in the story and what doesn't. I am not looking for you to pick up on spelling or grammar so don't worry if that is not your forte or if UK English is not your mother tongue.

If you are interested then please tell me the last three crime novels you have read and your favourite author (from any genre) and I will get back to you

Third Draft: Hunting Those Adverbs

Oh yes, my favourite pastime: hunting down and slaughtering adverbs. My first and second draft are full of them and that won't do. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to find those pesky critters and blast them out of this universe.

Why?

"The man ran quickly down the street."

What is wrong with that? Nothing, the adverb "quickly" provides a shorthand that tells us how the man ran. In first draft mode it is fine because it gets me through the story. Come the third draft and it needs attention so I cut it.

"The man ran down the street."

Hmmm. That doesn't sound right. "Ran" now seems weak, but by cutting the adverb it has encouraged me to think about the sentence.

"The man sprinted down the street."

Better: the weak verb "ran" has been replaced by a stronger one. Now I am rocking, but I want  to convey more.

"The man sprinted down the street, narrowly avoiding a young woman with a buggy."

Oops, I have sneaked another adverb in there, that won't do.

"The man sprinted down the street, stumbling as he tried to avoid a young woman with a buggy."

See what is happening? Each time we cut an adverb we are forced to fill the hole with description. Compare the first sentence with the final one:

"The man ran quickly down the street."

"The man sprinted down the street, stumbling as he tried to avoid a young woman with a buggy."

Which is better? Now go to one of your favourite authors and count the number of adverbs in the non-dialogue text on the pages. There probably (! - could I cut that, yes!) won't be more than one or two, if any.

Note I said non-dialogue - I don't mind a few adverbs in dialogue because that is the way we speak, but if you do decide to cut them here too then that's fine.

BTW: don't get intimidated by grammar. I am useless at it but realise that it is worth making the effort. An analogy would be with musicians and their attitude to music. Some great musicians haven't been able to read or understand music, but for those without natural talent the more knowledge they have the better.

Right now, load up your gun (Ok, place your fingers ready over Ctrl C), and go hunting!