Publishing your work

A must read for those who write fiction

Nathan Bransford is a Literary Agent, based in San Francisco. A lot of agents in the US and UK have blogs where they dispense advice, as well as share their experiences in the publication world. A whole different world than the one I reside in, I say. I came across his blog a couple of months back, when I was browsing for literary agents. I'm not sure if there are English Fiction agents here in Malaysia. Google came up with zilch result. If I do end up finishing a novel, I'd like to be represented. 'Cause my knowledge of the publication world is like that Google result: zilch. So. This ginormously beneficent agent has compiled all his previous posts pertaining to steps to publish a novel, which can be reached by clicking on this post's title, or here. So if you're serious about writing, and can't spend the moolah on how-to-write-well books, do read the posts, including the 200+ comments. A lot of the commentors are writers as well, and they share their thoughts and wisdom too.

Knowledge sharing

I'm currently reading The Elements of Style (Fourth Edition), by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. These are some things that have always stumped me, and have been brought to light. Just thought it'd be nice to share. Directly quoted from the book, page 11: Wrong: Virgil Soames is the candidate whom we think will win. Correct: Virgil Soames is the candidate who we think will win. [We think he will win.] Wrong: Virgil Soames is the candidate who we hope to elect. Correct: Virgil Soames is the candidate whom we hope to elect [We hope to elect him.] Directly quoted from page 13: The difference between a verbal participate and a gerund (a verb form, which functions as a noun -- ending in -ing) is not always obvious, but note what is really said in each of the following: - Do you mind me asking a question? (May I, instead of others here, ask a question?) - Do you mind my asking a question? (Is it okay to ask a question?) In the first sentence, the queried objection is to me, as opposed to other members of the group, asking a question. In the second example, the issue is whether a question may be asked at all. *I added the sentences in ( ), to make things clear(er). Next up: tackling expositions, narrative summaries, and dialog in Cal and Emily.

Grave error in the first tutorial

Troubleshooting: Cal and Emily - Part 2

Troubleshooting: Cal and Emily