The Oxford comma is known by several names, such as serial comma or Harvard comma, and is the comma that goes just before a conjunction in a list. If you’d like to get a flavor for the controversy over its use, see the Wikipedia entry on the serial comma. People do get quite passionate about such little things!

Examples:

For years I always thought of the first example as correct, and perhaps you have too. It’s economical, after all, Read more…

Writing: Punctuation

Chief Inspector Preston (a major character in Broom 3, to be released in early 2009) has a degree in criminology from Leeds City College. But that fact is never mentioned in the book. So how do I know it?

The way I know it is that I write out a complete bio for each of my major characters. In fact, I do the bios before I finalize the plot! Why?

To me a novel is a story about people and how they change under stressful circumstances. I have a vague plot line Read more…

Writing: Characterization

One critique I get at all writing workshops is that I use parentheses too much. In fact, one critiquer, an excellent writer, commented that reading my work was like shoveling snow off a walk–every so often he hits an uneven spot in the sidewalk and it forces him to come to a halt. I suppose it’s possible to have too many (though I’m not sure). Oops–I just did it!

So why do I insert all those parenthetical comments into the books in the Broom series? I think the simplest explanation is that the writing style is completely informal. One fan wrote that she could imagine herself in my living room, sitting in front of the fire, listening to me tell the story in my own words. I must be succeeding, because that’s exactly what I aimed for.

I’m not alone in using parentheses. In fact, I’m in good company. No less a publication than the Economist uses them regularly. Read more…

Writing: Punctuation, Writing: Style

I’m tweaking the holiday special. Since both books are now $9.95, you can purchase both for $19.50 plus $3.00 shipping. By purchasing both you save not only on price but also on shipping.  Check it out on the American Flying Broomstick home page, or order here:

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

I originally formed Mt. Sneffels Press as a legal entity so I could self-publish the American Flying Broomstick books.  But we’re growing! Paul and Becky McCreary have a new book, Barbed Wire and Wild Flowers, now published under Mt. Sneffels Press.  So Mt. Sneffels Press moved from a one-man shop into the category of “micropress.”

And there’s more on the way, as the Ridgway Railroad Museum wants to add a volume.  The Ridgway Railroad Museum had over 7000 visitors last year and features the famous “Galloping Goose” and the Rio Grand and Southern Railway.  Often visitors want to leave with a book of some sort, but the large coffee-table books are sometimes $70 or more, so the Museum is creating a smaller book with stories and photographs to sell in the $13 or $14 range.  Mt. Sneffels Press will publish this book, which will be available at the Museum or online at the Mt. Sneffels Press home page. They’re thinking it might be ready in Spring, 2009.

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