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PORTMANTEAUS by Jenny Jensen

March 24, 2018 by Jenny Jensen in category On writing . . . by Jenny Jensen tagged as creative writing, English, language, portmanteau

Portmanteau | Jenny Jensen | A Slice of Orange

We’re so lucky. The English language is like play dough.

Oh yes, we have strict rules of grammar, tense, POV, all the way to the minutia of intransitive verbs. We can choose from a number of eminent grammar and style guides to ensure conformity. We have stalwart English teachers to drill those rules into our heads so that we are all on the same page. (And bless them all – there is nothing better than order over chaos). But despite those rules a writer has so much freedom to shape our mother tongue into forms wry, brittle, silly, heartbreaking, snarky or just plain mad.

I don’t have much command of any other language; a smatter of German, a soupçon of French, about a third cup of Latin and a healthy plateful of Spanish. But I do know that the rules of those languages are not as forgiving as English — not as much room to roam before you run afoul of the language police. English allows us to mangle all the rules of spelling, meaning, and sentence structure to reflect dialect, or character traits, add color, shift perceptions or mood and anyone with a good command of English can understand — and only pedants ever complain. Of course, you have to use the rules of punctuation. Gotta have those traffic signs.

Anthony Burgess used bits and pieces of Russian mixed with Shakespearian English and other tongues to give us Nadsat, the terrifyingly unique argot of his dark characters in A Clockwork Orange. The reader may have had to work at it a bit, but it was intelligible and colored the story with an unforgettable feel. Fantasy and Sci Fi from J.K. Rowling to Ursula K. Le Guin play with all sorts of mixed up language that become magical words and when you’re reading in those worlds you understand.

Dialect and special vocabulary enrich a tale on many levels and I’m in awe of those writers who do them well, but my favorite form of play dough English is the portmanteau. Anybody can create one of these inventive combinations, and everybody does — usually with something faintly deprecating or ironically funny in mind. And with just one word a portmanteau can ooze with meaning. Frenemy speaks volumes — we’ve all had one and it’s exhilarating to give ‘em a proper name. Craptacular very neatly wraps up the verdict on so much of our over-hyped media. And then there’s pompidity, my own invention from University days when I struggled to describe the quality of politicians.

All writers love words. Words are paint, chisel, fabric, and clay for our creativity. If you can’t find that one word that perfectly reflects your intent, try cobbling a new one together — no one will take points away. Blog is a portmanteau (web log) so if you’re lucky enough to have your portmanteau go viral, you might wind up in the OED.

Jenny

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WRITER SEEKS EDITOR BY VERONICA JORGE

March 22, 2018 by Veronica Jorge in category Write From the Heart by Veronica Jorge tagged as pitching to agents and editors, Veronica Jorge

As I near the completion of my first novel, or so I hope: and by complete I mean as far as I am able to take it on my own, my thoughts turn to seeking a professional editor. Why, I wonder, aren’t there any editors who donate their time and skills to the literary world and to novice hopefuls? (Me, me, pick me, pick me!).

One can find volunteers in just about every profession, and organizations such as AARP and the Small Business Administration offer freebies for tax-returns, employment, business start-ups, and other services. Colleges allow Senior Citizens to take free courses. Even law firms provide free legal aid.

I sigh and look up at the white, blank like my bank account, ceiling. The 70s hit parade blasts on my radio playing, ‘Wanted, young man single and free.’ It inspires me to consider writing an ad of my own.

Wanted: Editor, faithful and cheap. Experienced with Kid-Lit and YA. Dowry small. Pro bono preferred. Let’s tie the knot.

Write from the Heart | Veronica Jorge | A Slice of Orange I imagine a reply and picture the Statue of Liberty waving at me with her torch and calling out, “Give me your bedraggled manuscript yearning to be perfected.”

With my thumb and pinky I hand signal and mouth, ‘Call Me.’

Her torch lights up.

I leap, arms stretched upward, and yell, “It’s a match!”

Veronica Jorge See you next time on April 22^nd.

Veronica Jorge

Manager, Educator, and former High School Social Studies teacher, Veronica credits her love of history to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York. Her genres of choice are Historical Fiction where she always makes new discoveries and Children’s Picture Books because there are so many wonderful worlds yet to be imagined and visited. She currently resides in Macungie, PA.

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March Featured Authors: Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger

March 21, 2018 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as 1950s, hard-boiled mysteries, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, Will Zeilinger

Featured Janet and Will | Featured Author of the Month | A Slice of Orange

Janet Lynn and Will Zeilinger

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn had been writing individually until they got together and wrote the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955. Janet has published seven mystery novels, and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and lives in Southern California.

SLICK DEAL

STRANGE MARKINGS

SLIVERS OF GLASS

DESERT ICE

GAME TOWN

STONE PUB: An Exercise in Deception

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Now & Then: An Author Looks Back

March 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Way by Maureen Child, Writing tagged as author, Craft, history, inspiration, writing

I am updating my early romances and contemporary women’s fiction novels with the intention of re-releasing them. I am excited because these books were my training ground. In these pages I can hear the first tentative sounds of my distinct ‘author’s voice’. I see that I instinctively had a good grasp of what makes a story work (don’t all voracious readers have that instinct?). There is one more thing I see in these books that is hard to embrace: my major author ‘dork’. I have no other word for my early writing stumbles. Some of them were mistakes of publishing fashion and others were born from an untrained sense of drama.

Since hindsight is a wonderful thing, I thought I’d share my top three ‘author dork’ mistakes.

1) Hysterical dialogue: This is not an industry term so don’t use it with an editor. Sill, I think it perfectly describes my use of long sentences, harsh words, and huge banks of exclamation points to get across a character’s anger, distress, fear and passion.

Solution: In my later work, I learned that proper scene set-up, thoughtful exposition, and spare and realistic dialogue give me a lot more dramatic punch.

2) Fad over fashion: Within the first few pages of Seasons (a book I really love) my heroine appears in Laura Ashley dress. If you’re old enough to know who Laura Ashley is, you’re cringing at the image. If you’re not old enough to know then I have made you stumble as you try to figure it out. I have no doubt I will also run across references to big shoulder pads and power suits.

Solution: I now describe clothing generally – jeans, slacks, blazer, leather jacket – to allow the reader to fill in the detail blanks. I use color to underscore character. I never use a designer name or a fad because this dates a book. The only exception is when I need the fad to assist in a plot point. For instance, a label in a corpse’s clothing might call out a specific designer.

3) Overwriting: When I first started writing there seemed to be an accepted rule of thumb that a chapter was twenty pages, that women’s fiction and romance were not worthy unless the author lingered over love scenes and dialogue was drawn out. If there is purpose to long stretches of prose or dialogue then go for it, but if during the edit the author can’t remember what happened in the last three pages of a book then the reader won’t remember either.

Solution: Tell the story. Do not write to word length. Either the story is solid and will move along at a good clip or it won’t, either it will be 100,000 words or it won’t. The readers won’t stick with you.

The good news is that I am happy with these early books and will not fundamentally change them. I will, however, make them better by applying what I know now to what I wrote then. If only we could do the same thing with our high school yearbook pictures the world would be perfect!

Happy writing.

Don’t forget to check out my latest release, Secret Relations, book 3 in the Finn O’Brien Thriller Series.