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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Craft » Page 11

Craft

Modern Speech

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 9, 2012
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A couple weeks ago we discussed local flavor in expressions. It got me to thinking that I grew up in an era where no one thought anything of saying, “He should be shot,” or “My father is going to kill me,” for minor infractions. One of my friends noted that if a teenager said that today about her father, someone would call Social Services. After the Columbine tragedy that left so many dead or maimed at the hands of gunmen, I decided not to use any reference to shooting or killing in a cavalier manner. I believe my speech is gentler for the change.

I’m not sure every alteration has been for the better, though. The term “waitstaff” throws me. I can’t help but visualize a shepherd’s crook leaning against a corner wall, waiting for its owner to retrieve it. On the other hand, I don’t mind “flight attendant” as a substitute for “stewardess.” Have you noticed that media calls both male and female stars “actors” rather than “actresses” and “actors.” This change seems unnecessary to me.

We have moved from “men” meaning “mankind.” In a reference to mankind, I never minded being lumped in with the men. I like men. And much of the bliss of singing “Joy to the World” feels stolen when I must sing, “Let all their songs employ,” rather than “Let men their songs employ.” That one syllable changes the meaning of the line from let “everyone” sing to let everyone sing an “infinite body” of songs.

For the most part, I choose my battles wisely. I don’t like being called “you guys” along with the rest of a group of women, (although no one has ever accused me of being a guy when I’m by myself), but I won’t take issue with it. And when someone slips and runs the old version of “Joy to the World,” I might sing that line with a little more vigor. English is a living language. If not, we wouldn’t have, for instance, The Message Bible, or its precursor, The Living Bible. When thinking of language and its meaning, I believe we must keep our dictionaries — and our hearts — open and updated.

 Your turn:

Do you have any pet peeves with newer developments in speech?

Has your speech changed recently?

Do you like the use of inclusive language?

What is your favorite Bible version? Was it controversial when it was first released?

Leave a Comment
Category: Craft, Language, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Grammar, inclusive language, Writing Craft

Fresh Formulas

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 2, 2012
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Some have a hard time appreciating the talent involved in writing genre fiction. By genre fiction, I mean novels that fall into a defined category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, or cozy mystery. Many of these novels are published by mass market publishers (like Harlequin) and fit in lines they have formed for the sole purpose of selling the genre.

These are …

Read moreFresh Formulas
Category: Agency, Branding, Craft, Creativity, Genre, Get Published, Romance, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Craft, Genre, Ideas, Proposals, Romance, Tamela, Writing Craft

What Does That Mean?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 26, 2012
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Some time ago, I was writing a story and used a variation of the sentence, "He wished he could be fly on the wall when they had that conversation." This puzzled my critique partner, who didn't know it meant. She had never heard the expression "fly on the wall" before and didn't know it meant the character could be an unobtrusive observer. I decided to change the sentence for fear others wouldn't …

Read moreWhat Does That Mean?
Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Humor, Southern Expressions, Tamela, Writing Craft

The Bestseller Code

By Steve Laubeon January 23, 2012
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Take the Bestseller Code test. I dare you.

The web site www.thebestsellercode.com is fascinating. Through some mysterious algorithm it evaluates about 500 words of your novel and grades it on a scale of one to twenty (1 to 20).

Does it work? I gave it a try with a recent proposal from a bestselling client. I took the first page and a half and plugged it into the test. It scored 20.0. A …

Read moreThe Bestseller Code
Category: Craft, Get Published, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Bestseller, Craft, Get Published, Proposals, Writing Craft

How Many Critiques Spoil the Broth?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 12, 2012
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Today I'll give my opinion on a question sent to our blog:
When an author is trying to find the right Genre to write in for a particular subject, is it profitable to listen to only one critique? 
Discover

The author who posed this question is in the discovery phase. Writers who read lots of books and have developed a love for many types of stories often have trouble deciding what to write. …

Read moreHow Many Critiques Spoil the Broth?
Category: Craft, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Get Published, Rejection, Tamela, Writing Craft

Beautiful Words…100 of Them!

By Karen Ballon November 9, 2011
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As someone who has studied other languages (French, Spanish, and Russian), I love the physicality of words. When you speak either French or Russian, your whole lower face gets a workout. It's as though you're tasting the words as well as speaking them.

Happily, English has words like that as well. Consider the following:
• impecunious
• circuitous
• mellifluous
• exsanguinate
• …

Read moreBeautiful Words…100 of Them!
Category: Craft, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing Craft

Loving to Laugh

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 29, 2011
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At least once a week I'm asked if romantic comedy is currently marketable. While sometimes this category seems hot and then cold, I'd say that sharp, witty, well-executed romantic comedy can find a good home no matter what the publishing season. Note that I take the adjectives I used seriously. This is not a category that most writers can whip off with little effort. Successful writers of romantic …

Read moreLoving to Laugh
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Genre, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Ideas, Pitching, Romantic Comedy, Tamela, Writing Craft

En-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part One)

By Karen Ballon August 17, 2011
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One of the most difficult—and important—things we did when I worked in the publishing house was come up with titles for our authors’ novels. Sometimes it was a breeze, either because the author’s title was spot-on or because the story lent itself organically to a certain title. But more often than not, it was a long process of back-and-forth with the author, marketing, and sales. So how can you, …

Read moreEn-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part One)
Category: Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Craft, Karen, Pitching, Titles, Writing Craft

Show or Tell: How Do You Know?

By Karen Ballon August 10, 2011
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As we discussed last week, it’s okay to tell at times, but in fiction you want to show the important, emotion-laden scenes. That way the reader gets the vicarious experience along with the character. So how do you know when you’re telling rather than showing? Here are a few tips:

Beware the dreaded –ly adverbs.
“Get out of my novel, you –ly adverbs!” Alice said angrily.
Ah-ah-ah! Any time you …

Read moreShow or Tell: How Do You Know?
Category: Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Karen, show don't tell, Writing Craft

Show, Don’t Tell

By Karen Ballon August 3, 2011
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I’m From Missouri—SHOW me!

Okay, truth be told, I’m from Oregon. But in the 30 years I've been editing fiction, I've discovered a number of issues almost all writers face, regardless of how much they've written or been published. If I had to pick the top issue I see over and over, it would be Show, Don't Tell.

What, you may ask, does that mean? It's actually pretty simple. It's the …

Read moreShow, Don’t Tell
Category: Craft, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Karen, show don't tell, Writing Craft
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