Fiction
The English language is an arsenal of weapons. If you are going to
brandish them without checking to see whether or not they are
loaded, you must expect to have them explode in your face from time
to time.
Stephen Fry
The Setting of a
Story
Introduce the
situation and quickly move
to the initial incident.
It was a like an usual Monday morning in the school. The day
began with a History lecture. I was looking forward to the
sports class after the recess. As the bell rang for the sports
period, all of us were excited to go out to the playing ground.
Just then our vice-principal entered the class to make an
announcement. She was a picture of terror for most of the
students. As she gave the announcement we came to know that our
school was taking part in inter-school class 10th
debate competition. My friend was a regular member of the debate
team. School was looking for another boy from class 10th,
as the other regular member of the team was from class 11th.
I was listening the whole announcement with a very little
interest, just then my friend dropped a bombshell by suggesting
my name for the debate team. I had a fair reputation in
representing the school in quizzes, but standing in front of an
audience and delivering could be the last thing I could do.
Before I could react to the whole situation, my name was
included in the team.
192 |
As the bell rang for the long-anticipated
sports period, our class fell silent when the vice principal
entered the room. She was a picture of terror for most of the
students. I was listening to her whole announcement with very
little interest until my friend, a regular member of the debate
team, dropped a bombshell by suggesting my name as the other
tenth-grade boy needed for the inter-school debate competition.
71 |
Assessing and promoting successful fiction first involves a careful
review of the elements of plot, character, and setting to ensure the
unity that catches and keeps readers.
Then a good editor queries the author to clarify specific details
and understand the rationale for point of view, timelines,
sequencing, tone, and mood.
A second reading involves copyediting to fix problems such as trite
expressions, subject-verb agreement, and inconsistent verb tense.
Such irritants that interrupt the story impede the flow of text and
sever credibility with readers. Readers who find themselves
starting, stopping, and rereading sentences to understand what the
author means will not finish reading a book and never recommend it.
Never in my wildest imagination did I ever dream of finding
myself at center stage of a rowdy and unruly crowd demanding
action in an unpredictable situation. Either way, it was
damning if que sí and damning if chale.
|
My wildest dreams could not have imagined my new reality: I
stood at center stage as a rowdy and unruly crowd demanded
action in an unpredictable situation. Que sí or chale,
we were damned either way.
|
In the wizened face of the old matron
was
etched years of devotion to Andrea. Helen
has
gleaned this fact the very moment she had opened the door to
her.
|
In
the wizened face of the old matron
were etched years of devotion to
Andrea. Helen had
gleaned this fact the very moment she had opened the door to
her. |
In the summer of 1948 the Bulgarian communist government
publishes a law for misappropriation of covered
[Query: What is “covered” under the law?
Unclear as stated.] private
property. |
In the summer of 1948 the Bulgarian communist government
published a law for misappropriation of private property covered
under Article 8 of the Federal Law on Cultural Valuables
Displaced to the U.S.S.R. as a Result of World War II and
Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation. |
Testimonials:
Thanks so much for your assistance with
The Fruits of Atterley. You
discovered errors that had been overlooked, even after careful
review and numerous revisions. I also appreciated your comments when
my writing was unclear. As a result, I was able to identify and
rewrite several passages that may have confused the reader. Because
of your eye for detail, this edition of my book will undoubtedly be
a far superior work.
Thanks
again,
Angela Banks, The Fruits of Atterley
I highly recommend my editor Janis Holmberg for her excellent, fast,
and meticulous work. She not only edited perfectly the grammar and
the spelling but she made suggestions on the content and noticed
even the smallest discrepancies. She is helping me in things far
beyond her duties as an editor. She is really persuasive.
Antoaneta Dimitrova, The Blows of Fate
Persuasive Pen 1998-2020
All rights reserved. |