A business colleague said something astounding the other day. He said he would rather speak to an audience of ten people than write for an audience of a thousand. I thought that sounded a bit strange, so I challenged him on it. It turned out that he had written an article for a magazine with a good circulation, but he hadn’t had any feedback at all from it. He felt he had spent his time crafting a wonderful, informative piece that no one appreciated. He also felt that if that message had been delivered in person, he could have seen the response from people immediately, in their eyes and their body language.

It’s true, what my colleague said, so how can we justify putting time into writing when we don’t get feedback? That, my friend, is the nature of writing. Sometimes you get to find out what your readers think of your material, and many times you don’t. It’s my view that we have to be OK with the fact that writing is one-way until we get a response, and we must continue to put good material into the market. There are some excellent guidelines for one- way communication that I have seen business experts use to their advantage. Here are my favourites:

1. Keep your outcome in mind at all times.

Hone your message according to what you have to say as well as what your reader needs to hear and decide what kind of information you are imparting. For example, if you need to teach people with your writing, you may choose a different style from writing which aims to influence or persuade. Make whatever you write clear.

2. Deliver your message as passionately and authentically as if you were speaking.

I prefer to see writing as an extension of speaking, and in fact, for people who will not get the opportunity to hear you in person or even on the phone, your writing must do the same job. It has become very trendy to write conversationally, spurred on by the advent of blogging and newsletters. That style can be used effectively in books and articles as well. It’s no secret that one of my favourite authors is marketing guru Seth Godin. I love the in-your- face, direct style he uses. It feels like he’s in my living room talking to me one on one. It seems from his book sales that others also respond to that style. And it happens to be the way I prefer to write, in case you hadn’t noticed!

3. Get feedback.

That may sound like it contradicts what I said earlier. Actually, there are some clever mechanisms to get people interacting with you, even though you are not there. You can get them to go to a web page and complete a survey – with or without an incentive. You can put an email address at the bottom of the piece, asking for comments – again, with or without an incentive. This can work equally well for books. I get a lot of clients excitedly planning to include CDs with their books, until I show them how they can still give away free CDs and capture people contact details and feedback at the same time. Never include bonuses with your book when you could engage with readers and get some indication of how many people read it and liked it at the same time. That’s plenty for you to be getting on with. If you know your subject and deliver your message well, if you write powerfully and authentically, they will listen. And they may even respond. Let me know all about your success by writing to me at mindy@bookmidwife. com – I offer lots of fabulous bonuses for my readers

But jump back ten years. I’d just sold my first book, a novel, to HarperCollins after a multi-publisher auction that pushed the price up to a more than satisfactory level. Book one was done and dusted. Now I just had to write number two. Same again, right?

Oh baby, no. Wrong, wrong, wrong. That second novel of mine was a torture to write and a mess on completion. I handed it to my publisher who told me (in very delightful terms) that the manuscript was garbage. And they were right. It was.

So I deleted that novel. Literally. Started afresh with a blank screen. Made a decent fist of it, and my writing career resumed as though I’d never had a car crash. And yet, I had – and I learned profoundly from the experience.

The simple truth is that, almost always, the first novel arises from inspiration, the second novel arises because you’ve signed a contract that requires you to write the damn thing. And at that point, under a contractual compulsion to produce Great Art or (in my case) a Damn Good Story, you discover that you don’t actually know what you’re doing.

I mean that pretty literally. Unless your resume happens to include some kind of creative writing study – whether an MFA program or a simple online writing course – you will never have been given a systematic exposure to the fundamentals of writing. I’d never been on any kind of creative writing course, not even a workshop, and had no idea about how the basics actually work. What makes a plot tick? How do you create lifelike characters? What is the difference between a third person limited narrator and a third person omniscient one, and why the heck does it matter?

Those are things I didn’t know and came to find out the hard way. My own creative writing course involved writing – and scrapping – an entire novel, reading lots of textbooks and figuring a lot of stuff out for myself. It worked OK. The next iteration of that disastrous second novel did fine, and the ones after it did even better. But it wasn’t the right way to do things.

These days, I advise any new writer to take a writing course of some description before they get too far into their project. I tend to advise against the life- and finance-gobbling MFA programs. They’re OK if you reckon you’d enjoy the experience, but they’re needlessly time-consuming if you want to do things more swiftly. An online course – if it’s well-taught and well-led – can easily give you what you need to get started or to develop your existing skills.

Indeed, part of what I’ve learned about writing is that the topics themselves never change, it’s just that your understanding of them deepens. That fact argues for a more modular approach. At an early stage in your writing career, take a beginners writing course so you can get to know the landscape. As you acquire experience, do something a little more intensive e. Or once you’ve actually completed a novel and need help banging it into shape, go on a self-editing course.

With hindsight, my career would have gone much more simply if I’d adopted my own advice ten years ago. What’s more, because I’ve been involved in writing tuition for a long time now, I recognize that my own creative skills are better developed than they would otherwise be. It’s not that I never hit problems, it’s that I know what to do with them when I do. And as for that second novel experience – the Ctrl-A, Delete one – that will, I hope and pray, never recur.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s can be a virtual dead zone.

I can’t tell you how many of these weeks I’ve puttered around my office, “trying” to do something but never getting far. I’m not meeting with clients and no big deadlines are looming, so it’s easy to end up browsing the web for hours, or playing the latest computer game.

After New Year’s Day you don’t feel either relaxed or fulfilled because you’ve accomplished nothing worthwhile.

So what are the alternatives?

1. Really relax and take a vacation. Sleep in late, eat at your favorite restaurants, get together with family and friends. And don’t think about work for one minute. Don’t even check your emails, and remember to ditch your smart phone.

This is what a vacation is for – to vacate! And you’ll return to work more energized and excited about the New Year than ever before.

2. Do just the opposite. Work on a huge project just by yourself and accomplish more in a week than you’d accomplish in a month. You might be working at your computer, but check your email and voice mail minimally and focus on four to six hours of solid work every single day. (Yes, you can do a little Holiday stuff in the evenings.)

What could you accomplish in this time? Here are a few:

a) Completely rewrite your website from beginning to end. You know it needs it anyway, and you keep telling yourself that you’ll do it when you have the time. Well, here’s the time.

b) Reorganize your office from top to bottom. Throw out a ton of stuff, paint, organize and trim down your paper and computer files. There’s nothing like getting the year started with a totally functional office where you can find anything you need in less than 10 seconds.

c) Do a planning retreat, perhaps with a close business associate. Brainstorm, develop big goals, write plans. And then challenge each other to think outside your respective boxes. Every evening make sure to go out or have a nice dinner and keep the conversation going more informally.

d) Write a book. As I told you last week, that’s what I’m doing this year. Yeah, it’s taking a little longer than a week, but it’s only taking about three weeks total. I got started before Christmas, even when I was meeting with clients, and then cleared my schedule for ten days to write a chapter a day.

You know what? I’ve done all of these. And I’ve also spent Christmas with my family and done no work at all. It’s your choice.

But please don’t putter your Holidays away. You’ll never get that time back.

By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert’s web site at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses.

Writing is a solitary endeavor, but not a lonely one. When you write, your world is populated by the characters you invent and you feel those people filling your life.
—Danielle Steel

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.
—Isaac Asimov

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
—Tom Clancy

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.
—Anaïs Nin

Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.
—Orson Scott Card

Hard writing makes easy reading. Easy writing makes hard reading.
—William Zinsser

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
—Thomas Mann

I try to leave out the parts that people skip.
—Elmore Leonard

First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!
—Ray Bradbury

I’m not much of a correspondent. My letters are not only uninteresting but sparse. I’m glad I don?t have to write for a living. It?s arduous work and the money is very uncertain. On those rare occasions when I wander into a bookstore it amazes me to see the avalanche of literature and semi-literature that is turned out weekly in this country. The people who write these things are either desperate for money or love starved. Why should anyone on a nice balmy day lock oneself in an office and hit a typewriter for hours on end. I think one of the greatest pleasures in the world is not writing…
—Groucho Marx

Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to those who have none.
—Jules Renard

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
—Robert A. Heinlein

Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it.
—Jesse Stuart

Writers seldom write the things they think. They simply write the things they think other folks think they think.
—Elbert Hubbard

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
—Douglas Adams

I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.
—Peter De Vries

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
—E. L. Doctorow

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
—Scott Adams

Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it’s just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it.
—David Sedaris

A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the other one.
—Baltasar Gracián

Stories may well be lies, but they are good lies that say true things, and which can sometimes pay the rent.
—Neil Gaiman

You can’t say, I won’t write today because that excuse will extend into several days, then several months, then… you are not a writer anymore, just someone who dreams about being a writer.
—Dorothy C. Fontana

First line,

I’d never given much thought to how I would die–though I’d had reason enough in the last few months–but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

This is pure drama, which I define as an anticipation of an outcome. There are many dramatic questions here.

Why did the narrator have reasons to imagine his or her death?

What kind of death is the narrator facing, that he or she couldn’t have imagined it?

What situation does the narrator find him or herself in?

Where is the narrator?

To get the answer to these questions, the reader has to read the next sentence. That is the prime responsibility of the first sentence of a novel, that a reader be compelled to read a second sentence. That’s why this kind of mysterious first sentence is often seen in popular novels. A first sentence that is not compelling becomes a first step in a reader disengaging from a novel. I teach that it’s three steps and the reader is gone.

There’s a difference between a dramatic question and a question. ‘Would I die today?’ is a question, but it’s not a dramatic question like the first sentence above. When I try and teach some writers the art of a good opening line with dramatic questions, some people respond by framing ordinary sentences as questions.

Second paragraph, second sentence,

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

This begins to suggest a place, ‘the long room,’ while raising the question, why a long room?

Where is this room? It also raises the question, who is the hunter? Why does the hunter look ‘pleasantly’ at the narrator who, based on the first sentence, would appear to be facing death from the hunter? Or not. To get the answer to that question, the reader has to read the third sentence.

These two sentences have set up a process I call question, answer, question. The first sentence raises questions, the second sentence begins to answer those questions (who or what is threatening the narrator with death), while the answer to the question (the hunter is threatening the narrator) simply raises another question, who is the hunter?

This question, answer, question process creates an on-going hold on the attention of readers, and also creates forward movement that pulls the reader ahead. When the opening to an unpublished novel lacks this process, the sentences are often a collection of details describing a time, place, or character. Such statements operate as statements: this is what so-and-so looks like; this is what this place looks like. The risk is that such statements lack drama — there’s no anticipation of an outcome. There can be an anticipation of an outcome based on the appearance of a character, but when there’s not, the opening pages of a story can be the weakest writing in an unpublished novel.

A literary agent or editor reading the above two lines would be immediately aware that this is a novel written by a storyteller.

Third paragraph,

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

Many more questions here; more ‘pull’ on the reader.

Why is the narrator ready to die in place of someone else?

What makes that noble?

Why is it important to the narrator that this noble act ‘count for something?’

What has the narrator done in life that he or she needs to balance the scales?

Fourth paragraph,

I knew that if I’d never gone to Forks, I wouldn’t be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.

This begins to answer the question, where is this story happening (Forks), but that answer raises another question, where is Forks? Why did the narrator go to Forks? Why does the narrator not regret the decision, which could lead to his or her death? How did this journey to Forks become this grand fulfillment of a dream for the narrator?

Last sentence of preface,

The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.

More questions. Why is the hunter so friendly?

So relaxed about killing someone?

To get answers, readers must turn the page and start reading chapter one.

This preface is designed to have the maximum impact; to raise many questions while providing a few answers. The pace of the story does slow with the first chapter, but the hook has already been set.

Excellent story mechanics.

© Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson is the author of A Story is a Promise & The Spirit of Storytelling, now available on Amazon Kindle.

Although it may seem impossible to write an entire novel in just 30 days, in 2010 more than 200,000 people participated and 37,500 of them met the challenge of writing at least 50,000 words. How many of those words were crap? Probably quite a few. But the way you become a writer is to write. And the way you become a better writer is to write more. Even if a lot of what is produced in 30 days isn’t very good, there will also be some brilliant plots, characters and turns of phrase. After all, you don’t have to complete a ready-to-publish novel in 30 days. The idea is simply to get words on the page–a solid first draft that forms the starting point of your first (or your next) novel.

According to Baty, “The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your imagination and unleashing creativity. When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it’s a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month.” (That works for me!)

Want some help getting your novel written during NaNoWriMo? Take a look at these books about NaNoWriMo and writing a book in 30 days. Then get ready to start writing on November 1st.

(Or It Takes One to Know One)

Writing Tip Number One

There is nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) when you absolutely must write a blog post or an article for your email newsletter or autoresponder series. This isn’t the same as writer’s block. It’s more like how people often feel when deciding what to make for dinner.

A cook will go to the cupboard and refrigerator to remind herself what’s on hand. It’s a similar process for a writer. You need to remind yourself what topics you can access from your “idea cupboard.”

The best way to do that is to create a random, stream-of-consciousness list of every major sub-topic in your niche that you can think of (AKA brainstorming). If you know your niche well, this is a lot easier than you might imagine.

Brainstorming

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #1:

Work quickly, letting the ideas stream into your mind. Don’t try to force them and don’t just limit yourself to writing down clever thoughts. At this stage go for the first thing that pops into your head, regardless of quality. (See Deb’s Brainstorming Rule # 5.) 

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #2:

Turn off your inner editor. You know who I’m talking about. It’s the little voice that says you must correct each spelling and punctuation error the moment you see it. And it’s likewise that same inner editor who has been known to tell you that you write like a third-grader and will never amount to anything as a writer. Flip the switch off or muzzle her. 

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #3:

Write out your list in long-hand in ink, even if you’re the world’s fastest typist. It’s MUCH harder to edit a list on paper than on a digital device. And that’s a good thing. (See Deb’s Brainstorming Rule # 4.)

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #4:

Do not edit your list in any way, including scratching off an idea or obliterating it. I’ll say it again:DON’T EDIT!! 

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #5:

In this first stage of deciding what to write, you want to create the longest possible list of topics, no matter how lame some of them may seem at the moment. You are going for quantity, NOT quality. (You may need to silence your inner editor again. She can sometimes reactivate on her own. Just sayin’…) We’ll deal with quality in the next phase.

Deb’s Brainstorming Rule #6:

List every idea that comes to mind, even if you know you’ll never write about that topic in a million years. Why?

1. Because if you don’t write these ideas down immediately, they will haunt you through this process until you acknowledge them, effectively blocking your creativity and ruining any brainstorming momentum you may have acquired.
2. Because a topic that doesn’t interest you might be closely-related to one that does interest you, but which you might not have thought of otherwise.

An Example

My broad niche is writing, so I’m going to just start listing sub-topics here. And, no, I did not plan this out ahead of time. (Trust me, I’m not that organized.)

Article writing
Non-fiction book writing
Creative non-fiction writing
Short story writing
Novel writing
Finding story ideas

In newspaper headlines

Book titles

Life events

The seasons

The calendar

Writer’s block

Is there such a thing as writer’s block?

Overcoming writer’s block

Characterization
Setting
Theme
Plot
Story structure
Self-publishing
Traditional publishing
Online publishing
Writing for digital devices
Writing prompts
Creative writing exercises
Writing quotes
Writing contests
Writing games
Sales copywriting
Copyright
Repurposing your writing
Agents and Editors
Do you need an agent?
Should you hire a freelance editor before you submit your work?
eBooks
Editing your writing

Rewriting

Writing is Rewriting

Psychology of writing

Your inner critic

Creativity and the writing process
The writing life
Making a living at writing
Author interviews
Author profiles

This list took less than five minutes to create. Notice I included possible article titles under some subtopics. Never let such serendipitous ideas escape. They’re too hard to come by. Write down any and all ideas.

Even though I’ve been writing on these and other topics for the past four years, I had to think hard about what my categories are, because my primary purpose is helping fiction writers who are stuck to find story ideas. This wasn’t a matter of words effortlessly flowing off my fingertips, by a long shot.

Priming the Pump

If you need to quickly prime the pump of your creativity, browse through your favorite niche magazine for its departments and column listings, or do a broad topic keyword search online. That should be enough to get you started. Your subconscious will do the rest.

Finally, if you are blessed with a loyal readership, two simple ways to get even more ideas for articles are to ask for topics of interest and to solicit reader questions.

As you continue to brainstorm, you’ll find that one idea sparks another — sometimes to the point that you can’t write fast enough to jot down one idea before the next one pops into your brain. That’s the beauty of stream of consciousness. The human mind, not to mention the mysterious ways it works, is wondrous.

For other articles on writing, including those on the categories listed above, I invite you to visit me at The Story Ideas Virtuoso. Come join the discussion and download a free small report.

I, for one, am one author who has changed my genre–from historical fiction to contemporary YA suspense. I know that there are several authors who do not write in one genre. Some write in more than two genres, yet, I have wanted to hear from other authors about what they feel about changing genres. So, I have contacted three authors–Aimee Laine, Michael Murphy and Dannye Williamsen.

Aimee Laine has written several novels in the paranormal romance genre. Her latest novel Little White Lies was released on July 1, 2011.

Michael Murphy is an award winning author. His latest book, Scorpian Bay–a contemporary suspense–was released in April 2011.

Dannye Williamsen is an author and owner of the Breakthrough Bookstore, an online bookstore dedicated to promoting self-published authors and authors of non-fiction books.

Here is what they had to say…

What do you think about writing novels in two or more genres?

Aimee: I think it’s great for people who like to write a variety of stories.

Dannye: As a writer I think you should write in whatever genre your muse leads you.

Michael: I would encourage writers to consider crossing genres.

What if the perfect story comes to you, but it isn’t within the genre that you normally write in?

Aimee: Then I’d have to consider it, however, I truly believe, for me, that it would morph into a romance. I always called myself a people photographer when people asked me what kind of photographer I was. I’m a writer of people, too. I love the dynamics of a relationship and seeing that to fruition. But my stories aren’t just about that. They are mysterious, thrilling, suspenseful, etc. I love mixing and intertwining, but I call them romance because ultimately, it’s still the story of how two people got together.

Michael: I am facing this now. I’ve had seven novels published, six are the types of books I like to read, mystery and suspense with a touch of humor. About a year ago, I was inspired by a combination of factors to write a novel about about people now who attended Woodstock. People who’ve enjoyed my mysteries, will also enjoy Goodbye Emily, because it has humor throughout like my mysteries. In a mystery, the plot moves along with a hero trying to solve the crime. My challenge was to move the plot along without this device I’m so used to.

Would you switch your genre if you felt compelled to?

Aimee: Yes, but see above. I think they’ll morph for me. I do, however, switch age groups. I write for both Adult and YA … which takes a completely different ‘tact’ and feel to it. In fact I write 3rd person for Adult and 1st person for YA. It sets apart the style of writing and the type.

Dannye: If I felt “compelled to,” my answer would be that it depends on what was compelling me. If the pressure was coming from an outside force, I would not. If the pressure was coming from within me, I would certainly make an effort to see if something would come of it.

In terms of readers and book sales, do you think that changing genres is risky?

Aimee: It’s only risky if you want to think of it as such. I believe we make our own successes and if the story you want to tell is one that’s different than what you ‘normally’ do, you’ll just build another following and perhaps inspire your own fan base to read something new.

Dannye:In terms of readers and book sales being affected by an author switching genres, I think it’s highly possible which is why some authors use pen names when they switch genres. That said, I doubt I would write under a different name.There are always readers who understand that writers work with words and stories and that genres are just a convenient means of categorizing books, not pigeon-holing writers. If some readers are so anxious to put me or anyone else in a particular pigeon-hole, that is their problem, not mine.

Michael: I’m confident that I’ve succeeded, so I would encourage writers to consider crossing genres and see what they can accomplish.

Deanna Proach is a freelance writer for website builder. She is also the author of the historical fiction, Day of Revenge and To be Maria, a YA book (currently unpublished).

An editor friend of mine tells me that when he first begins working on a manuscript he often likes to do a search for semicolons, and more often than not, he isn’t surprised when the results turn up that the entire book is completely devoid of their use. Why is that? I think it’s because people don’t know how to use semicolons so they avoid them.

I’ve heard, along with the many arguments to get rid of punctuation, and especially the comma, that the semicolon is no longer needed. I beg to differ. I think of punctuation as being like road signs in a text. The period is equivalent to a stop sign. The semicolon is more like the yellow light that tells us to proceed with caution; we can keep going, but the yellow light alerts us that the situation has changed a little. Similarly, a semicolon tells us one sentence is ending and another beginning, but we can proceed on to the new sentence knowing it has a connection to the previous one. Think what would happen if there were no yellow lights. The result might not be as many accidents as if there were no stop signs, but it would be the next worse thing. Similarly, the semicolon’s power is almost as great as the period’s. Perhaps it should be more aptly named the semiperiod, but in any case, it does serve a need.

Certain situations are appropriate for semicolon usage while others are a matter of taste and style. Let’s look at three common rules for when semicolon usage is appropriate and preferred.

1. Semicolons in a series. This usage is probably the least common and only results when a series of items is referred to and commas are already used, so the semicolons have to separate items and another barrier is needed beyond the commas. It’s somewhat similar to why when writing an outline we use a. b. c. because we’ve already used 1. 2. 3. We can’t use 1. 2. 3. again because it would confuse people. For example:

I went to the store to buy milk, licorice, apples, and coffee.

Here is an example of a series that uses commas to separate multiple items. Now let’s look at an example of a series with multiple items that also uses commas to the extent where semicolons are needed.

We broke the children into three teams: John, Mary, and Judy; Sam, Nate, and Beth; and Marsha, Wesley, and Tom.

In this example, we have three groups, but then in each group are three children so we use the semicolons to separate the groups, and the commas to separate the children. A more complicated example would be:

When doing the dishes, remember to wipe all the grease, sauce, and meat off the plates before you put them in the water; use the dishcloth to wash the plates, but use the scrubber for troublesome residue; and remember to rinse the dishes off before placing them in the rack.

In this example, there are three steps to the process, so the semicolons are used to separate those three steps.

2. Semicolons and Subordinate Conjunctions. This rule may be the easiest to remember. Use a semicolon before the subordinate conjunction and a comma after the subordinate conjunction when that conjunction combines two sentences.

I know; you may not know what a subordinate conjunction is. First, let’s look at coordinating conjunctions. You know those. They are words like: and, but, or, so. We use coordinating conjunctions to connect two sentences as one. For example:

I like apples. I don’t like applesauce. We can change to: I like apples, but I don’t like applesauce.

A subordinate conjunction does the same thing, except it usually has a bit more emphasis. There are many subordinate conjunctions, but they tend to be big words like:

They might also include phrases such as:

for example, for instance, as a matter of fact, in that case

If we inserted a subordinate conjunction into the example above, we could say:

I like apples; however, I don’t like applesauce.

The difference here is we put a semicolon before the subordinate conjunction, and then, we put a comma after it. That doesn’t mean, however, that we put a semicolon before every subordinate conjunction. Look at that last sentence and you’ll see I used “however” with only a comma before it. That’s because it doesn’t separate two complete sentences. We couldn’t say, “That doesn’t mean. That we put a semicolon before every subordinate conjunction.” If we wrote that, we wouldn’t have two complete sentences if we removed “however;” however, we would have two complete sentences if we removed “however” from my earlier example and were left with “I like apples. I don’t like applesauce.”

Here are a few more examples of subordinate conjunctions used both with semicolons and with just commas, the difference depending on their placement in the sentence. Note that each of these sentences has the correct punctuation. Also note that you can use a period instead of a semicolon with the subordinate conjunction. It just depends on the sentence and how much emphasis you want to give it.

I decided I wanted to be an English major; therefore, I brushed up on the rules about semicolons.

Your brother, John, is going away to college; therefore, you can have his room.

I like to read; however, I don’t like to write.

Most writers, however, prefer to use pen and paper over a typewriter.

Stealing is a crime. Furthermore, everyone who steals deserves to go to prison.

Stealing is a crime; furthermore, it is not fair to the storeowner.

(Note that a period is appropriate in the first example here because the second sentence has a stronger emphasis than the first.)

Mark is a good boy; hence, he did not steal the candy.

While you may like chocolate, nevertheless, it will give you acne.

I think painting the room green would be a better choice; for example, it would clash nicely with the purple curtains.

So you would rather go to the movie than clean your room; in that case, I would rather watch TV than make dinner.

3. Semicolons in place of periods. The final way to use semicolons is when you wish to connect two closely related thoughts that may really feel like one thought, but they are, technically, two complete sentences. Let’s look at a few examples of where a semicolon would not be appropriate and where it would.

John and Mary will get married in the spring. The wedding will be in North Carolina.

The wedding, in North Carolina, will be convenient; both John and Mary are from that state.

In the first sentence, no reason is given for North Carolina being the setting of the wedding so a clear relation between the sentences isn’t apparent; however, in the second example, the first sentence tells us the wedding’s location is convenient and the second sentence tells us why—in this case we could have used “because” in place of the semicolon because there is a relationship between the two. Here’s another example:

I hate going into the bathroom after Edna has been in there; she really stinks it up.

This sentence wouldn’t be as effective if we used “because” or a period where the semicolon is placed. It just would cause the sentence to lose a bit of its humorous punch.

Frank is the best football player on the team; even when he was a little boy, he would practice five hours a day.

Again here, the second sentence completes the first by giving an explanation of why Frank is the best player; the semicolon really completes the thought or answers the question the first sentence raises.

Those three simple rules for semicolon usage will help you remember when to use them, and perhaps also encourage you to use them when appropriate or effective to make your sentences flow more smoothly. Polished writers know how to use semicolons; now, so do you.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Whenever a novel or series becomes hugely successful, I like to break down an opening page to convey how the writing and story hooked readers. The opening novel in a fantasy series must convey both the promise of the story, the dramatic truth of its main character, and suggest something about the nature of the world. Doing all this can be difficult. Doing it all well can be exceptionally difficult, but George RR Martin shows how it can be done in this novel Game of Thrones.

In the beginning…

Game of Thrones opens with a global map, which is a quick way to orient readers to a new and different world.

Prologue

“We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. “The wildings are dead.”

The unusual name, Gared, is a quick way to suggest this is not contemporary world. The image of the woods growing dark also works as a metaphor to suggest darkness is coming upon this world. Details of a time and place ring true when they convey a subtext.

The line ‘The wildings are dead’ convey both mystery and questions. What are wildings? How did they die? Why does Gared feel this urgency to turn back?

“Do the dead frighten you?” Ser Waymar Royce asked with just the hint of a smile.

The mocking smile here suggests that Royce is in command of Gared, and also that Royce is arrogant.

Gared did not rise to the bait. He was an old man, past fifty, and he had seen lordlings come and go. “Dead is dead,” he said. “We have no business with the dead.”

That a man is old at fifty suggests the violence of this world. This passage also conveys something about the relationship of Gared to Royce (soldier loyal to a royal lineage), and that Gared is a no nonsense man. Martin has moved from a mysterious opening to specific details about the characters that provide one answer, what is Gared to Royce, but also raises more questions, what is this royal family Gared has been in service to? Are they part of this Game of Thrones?

This question, answer, question process demonstrates Martin’s ability to both raise questions to draw readers in, and to provide answers that raise more questions that continue that process of engaging, holding, and rewarding the attention of an audience. At some workshops, I’ll have new authors read from the first page of a manuscript one sentence at a time to show the lack of questions.

Continuing…

“Are they dead?” Royce asked softly. “What proof have we?”

This acts out that Royce is more thoughtful than Gared, and also suggests that Gared and Royce probably have differing goals.

Continuing…

“Will saw them,” Gared said. “If he says they are dead, that’s proof enough for me.”

Will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later. He wished it had been later rather than sooner. “My mother told me that dead men sing no songs,” he put in.

This brings in the third character in the scene at a dramatic moment, and someplace he’d rather not be, in the middle of this argument.

“My wet nurse said the same thing, Will,” Royce replied. “Never believe anything you hear at a woman’s tit. There are things to be learned even from the dead.” His voice echoed, too loud in the twilight forest.

A wet nurse is someone brought in to suckle the young of nobility, again conveying Royce’s status. The line about learning from the dead also suggests the difference between Royce and Gared, a thoughtful young leader and a hardened warrior.

The note about his voice being too loud again conveys the menace of the situation. What or whom could be listening?

“We have a long ride before us,” Gared pointed out. “Eight days, maybe nine. And night is falling.”

What Gared conveys here is that he is willing to argue a point, even with a superior. This also raises the question, what is the destination of their journey?

Ser Waymar Royce glanced at the sky with disinterest. “It does that every day about this time. Are you unmanned by the dark, Gared?”

Royce openly taunts Gared now. The argument is escalating and raises a question: what will be the outcome of this taunt? How will Gared respond? Can he, if Royce is his lordling?

I’m ending the review here and will continue with the next page.

One feels reading this opening page that it is a step into and deeper into this world. Often when I read manuscripts and ask inexperienced writers why they are making banal choices, I often hear a word I dread. They are ‘introducing’ their characters. George R. R. Martin is doing something altogether different here. He has set his story into motion with these three men who are being swallowed by an ominous darkness.

One page, one step into this mysterious world.

Novels that lack that clearly defined, carefully crafted forward movement from their opening lines are often static and dramatically inert, no matter how nicely detailed the people and places. That’s why most agents don’t need to read more than a first paragraph to realize they aren’t reading the next George R. R. Martin.

©2011 Bill Johnson

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Bill Johnson is author of A Story is a Promise and The Spirit of
Storytelling, a writing workbook, and web master of
http://www.storyispromise.com, a web site that explores principles of
storytelling through reviews of popular movies, books, and plays. Spirit is
now available on Amazon Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004V020N0