TipBits
Here you’ll find various tips, links, and bits of information that we gather from other writers, websites, blogs, etc. With permission, of course!
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I was fortunate to stumble upon writer Imogen Howson’s website; not only does she write fantastic books, she also has free stories on her site. While I was there, I found some articles she’s written, and she’s graciously allowed me to post them here on Textyladies.Have a look at her site. It’s amazing and her free reads are just wonderful.
Confused about passive voice? Read the article below from Imogen Howson.
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‘Passive voice’ is possibly one of the most misunderstood issues in the mechanics of writing. I’ve seen it get confused with ’showing not telling’, deep point of view, dynamic v static verbs and use of adverbs. Most often, though, I’ve seen it confused with use of the verb ‘to be’.
All these issues are important for writers to understand, and I’d like, at some point, to mention all of them. However, this article is going to deal with just two things: defining passive voice and using the verb ‘to be’ – two separate, but related, issues.
Issue One – Passive v Active Voice:
On a writing site, I once saw this sentence labelled as ‘passive voice’:
She was climbing the stairs.
The suggested remedy, to turn it into ‘active voice’, was:
She climbed the stairs.
This is entirely incorrect. Both these sentences are active voice. The first is past continuous tense, the second past simple tense – that’s all. Passive voice would be rendered thus:
The stairs were being climbed by her. OR The stairs were climbed by her.
The writer of this advice has made the (depressingly common) mistake of thinking that the inclusion of the verb ‘to be’ (in this case, ‘was’) makes a sentence into passive voice.
It doesn’t. Passive voice is a specific construction whereby the subject of the sentence has something done to it rather than doing something.
Active voice: She hit me.
Passive voice: I was hit by her.
Active voice: I carried the baskets into the house.
Passive voice: The baskets were carried into the house.
Yes, in these examples, the passive voice sentences have the verb ‘to be’, but this is not what makes them passive.
Active voice: Goldilocks slept on the bed.
Active voice: Goldilocks was sleeping on the bed.
Active voice: Goldilocks was asleep on the bed.
Passive voice: The bed was slept on by Goldilocks.
Passive voice: The bed was being slept on by Goldilocks.
Issue Two – The Verb ‘To Be’:
Generally, as you can tell from the ‘active voice’ examples above, the sentences which eliminate the verb ‘was’ are shorter and crisper. Often, this can be a good thing.
Lucy was standing on the balcony to watch him leave.
is a little clunkier than
Lucy stood on the balcony to watch him leave.
However, the sense is slightly different for each sentence. If all you’re doing is setting the scene at the beginning of a chapter, then this doesn’t much matter either way, and you might as well use the slightly shorter sentence. But look at these next sentences.
Lucy was standing on the balcony when she heard a scream.
Lucy stood on the balcony when she heard a scream.
In the first sentence (past continuous tense), Lucy is clearly standing on the balcony to start with, then she hears a scream.
In the second sentence, the meaning is unclear. It could be read as any of these options:
When Lucy heard a scream she stood up on the balcony.
When Lucy heard a scream she went out to stand on the balcony.
Lucy was already standing on the balcony when she heard a scream.
Cutting out ‘was’ can – sometimes – be a good thing to do, but never ever ever if it makes your sentence ambiguous.
And not if it makes your sentence into a fragment, either. A fragment is an incomplete sentence – a sentence without a noun or without a verb, for instance.
Take these sentences:
Lucy looked up. She was clearly afraid.
Elsewhere on the net, I’ve seen this type of sentence revised, in order to get rid of ‘was’, thus:
Lucy looked up. Clearly afraid.
The second sentence is now missing a verb; it’s become a sentence fragment. Although strictly ungrammatical, sentence fragments can be fine in fiction. They’re short, crisp, have impact and can be used for very effective dramatic effect. But oh please, in moderation.
If you get rid of every instance of past continuous tense and turn all your ‘was’ sentences into sentence fragments, your writing might be safe from passive voice construction, but it’s not necessarily going to be good writing. It’s going to run the risk of being ambiguous, choppy and difficult to read.
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Here’s another article from Imogen on Ebooks. Thanks, Imogen!
What is an ebook?
An ebook is an electronic version of a book. Rather than being printed on paper, bound, shipped, then physically stored on a shelf, it is made in electronic format – like an MP3 music file or Microsoft Word document – uploaded to a website, then made available to download onto your computer.
How can I read an ebook?
An ebook can be read instantly on your personal computer or laptop. It can also be transferred to a handheld computer, electronic organiser or personal digital assistant (PDA). Depending on restrictions on the file, it can be printed. There are also devices specifically designed for reading ebooks. For more information on these, plus the file types available, see Ebook formats below.
Where can I buy ebooks?
www.fictionwise.com has a huge number of electronic versions – in various formats – of the sort of books you might buy in a bookshop or on Amazon.
www.allromanceebooks.com is an online bookstore specifically for ebook romances.
Epublishers also sell ebooks directly from their websites. The following publishers sell both ebooks and print versions. Often, short stories and novellas are sold in electronic form first, then collected into print anthologies.
www.samhainpublishing.com
www.thewildrosepress.com
Who writes ebooks?
Authors! Works by Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Diana Wynne Jones, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare can all be found as ebooks, often much more cheaply than the print versions. Some are even available for free from Project Gutenberg, a website that provides electronic versions of out-of-copyright books.
In addition, there is a growing industry of authors who write specifically for the ebook market, or who write some books for the ebook market and others for the traditional print market.
Why choose ebooks?
Both print books and ebooks use energy in their production. Ebooks are markedly different, however, in that they don’t use up trees. A huge amount of wood is used in the production of paper for print books. And even when this is taken from ‘managed’ forests, it still disturbs the wildlife and disrupts the environment. Unsold print books are not always recycled – and even when they are, the recycling process uses up a good deal of energy and water. Read an ebook – save a tree.
Due to the ease of manufacture, ebooks cost a lot less to make, and therefore are sold at a fraction of the price of print books. And of course once it’s sold, it takes up no physical space at all – another benefit.
Buying an ebook is fast and easy. Typically, you browse the publisher’s or bookstore’s website as you would any online store, click on your choices to put them into your online shopping cart, choosing the format you want, then pay at the checkout. You ll be walked through the steps at this point – including creating an account, if necessary, or registering with PayPal (a secure intermediary service to ensure you don’t have to give card details directly to the bookstore).
Once you’ve paid, you’ll be directed to a page where you can download your books, or you’ll be sent a link in an email. Click, download, read – instant gratification!
Other benefits of buying ebooks is that, due to epublishers’ lower overheads, they can afford to take risks on new authors, niche markets, unusual genres and shorter lengths. Erotic romance, for instance, which doesn’t get a great deal of shelf space in brick and mortar stores, is a thriving industry in the ebook world. And if you, the reader, want to try out a new author, you can buy a single short story by that author for about a pound, before deciding whether you want to spend more money on their work.
Ebook formats.
- HTML files can be read in your normal web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer) or opened in Microsoft Word. They can also be converted to different formats for various different ebook readers.
- LIT files. To read these, you need to download the free program Microsoft Reader. This reader is for use on your computer, laptop or PDA.
- PDF files. To read these, you need to download the free program Adobe Acrobat. PDF files can be opened, and read, on your computer, laptop, or loaded onto a PDA or other ebook reader. Some publishers also allow you to print them out.
- PRC files. These are to be read using the free program www.mobipocket.com They can be read on your computer, laptop or PDA. The program also converts other formats into PRC files.
I have a PDA, the Jornada 548 which I bought from Ebay for about thirty pounds. There are many other nice little devices you can read ebooks on. For more information check out this list at Fictionwise.
Try them out:
For a quick, free look at how this works, go to Project Gutenberg, where electronic versions of out-of-copyright books are available to download, read and keep.
Or try out the two free reads I’m currently providing. Unlike the books at Project Gutenberg, the copyright for these stories remains with me. However, they are entirely free for you to read, download and print out:
