Voices
It is almost always better to use active voice is our writing. Fortunately, most word processing programs have grammar programs built in. They help us to structure our sentences better. So, three things come to mind here. For this month, we are going to write until we drop. Grammar won't be an issue until we get to editing, but it never hurts to start good habits early. We want to use active verbs and remember that our sentence structure generally starts with subject and then verb. If we can easily identify our subject and verb, the rest of the structure tends to fall into place.
The second item involves learning to use our software properly. Do we know how the spell check works? Can we operate the grammar checker? Can we set the parameters for both? Your software can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you have an auto-save function, it is often wise to use it. If something unforeseen happens to your work, you've only lost what you've done since the last auto-save. I'm a big fan of saving often, but when we're in a crunch, saving every few pages takes away valuable time. Auto-save might slow us down for a few seconds, but the system should catch right back up to us.
The spell check and grammar programs are especially good when we want to perfect our work during editing. However, I strongly suggest that we perform both of these functions at the end of each session just so we don't get too bogged down trying to correct spelling in an entire document. Let's say, for example, that we've landed on the wrong keys and typed several lines in this manner. After typing 50,000 words, we may not remember what those lines were supposed to say. We are more likely to remember closer to when we wrote them and can fix them more easily.
I don't mean that we should go over our documents with a fine tooth comb while we're faced with the challenge of so many words. I'm simply saying that it is easier to do a cursory check on smaller, more manageable pieces. We can really rip the document to bits when we get to serious editing. That will come later.
The third thing this brings to mind to is long since forgotten. So, let's review instead. Write until you drop. Write with good habits and sentence structure. Perform a cursory check of your work after each session. Learn the software that you have available to you and how to set it up to meet your needs. Save the big re-writes for the editing phase. Hmm, I think that third thing got mixed in with some of the others.
If we write on a daily basis, these little reminders become easier with practice. After several months, your won't even think about sentence structure and grammar. Not only does our software help us when we deviate from good form, it reminds us what good form is. After several uses, we begin to know what good form is and we start to practice it. We can learn from what these tools teach us. Some of us will never learn how to spell, but that's okay. What we need to watch for is that we are using the correct words. If we've used he instead of him, the spell check won't catch it because both are spelled correctly.
This brings me to one final point. As we write, we are often too close to our own work. We see what we think we wrote and not what we actually did write. Saving the editing and revising for a later time allows us to distance ourselves from the document and enables us to really see what we wrote. This helps us to catch those words we've used incorrectly. This allows us to read what we wrote and not what we know.
The second item involves learning to use our software properly. Do we know how the spell check works? Can we operate the grammar checker? Can we set the parameters for both? Your software can be both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you have an auto-save function, it is often wise to use it. If something unforeseen happens to your work, you've only lost what you've done since the last auto-save. I'm a big fan of saving often, but when we're in a crunch, saving every few pages takes away valuable time. Auto-save might slow us down for a few seconds, but the system should catch right back up to us.
The spell check and grammar programs are especially good when we want to perfect our work during editing. However, I strongly suggest that we perform both of these functions at the end of each session just so we don't get too bogged down trying to correct spelling in an entire document. Let's say, for example, that we've landed on the wrong keys and typed several lines in this manner. After typing 50,000 words, we may not remember what those lines were supposed to say. We are more likely to remember closer to when we wrote them and can fix them more easily.
I don't mean that we should go over our documents with a fine tooth comb while we're faced with the challenge of so many words. I'm simply saying that it is easier to do a cursory check on smaller, more manageable pieces. We can really rip the document to bits when we get to serious editing. That will come later.
The third thing this brings to mind to is long since forgotten. So, let's review instead. Write until you drop. Write with good habits and sentence structure. Perform a cursory check of your work after each session. Learn the software that you have available to you and how to set it up to meet your needs. Save the big re-writes for the editing phase. Hmm, I think that third thing got mixed in with some of the others.
If we write on a daily basis, these little reminders become easier with practice. After several months, your won't even think about sentence structure and grammar. Not only does our software help us when we deviate from good form, it reminds us what good form is. After several uses, we begin to know what good form is and we start to practice it. We can learn from what these tools teach us. Some of us will never learn how to spell, but that's okay. What we need to watch for is that we are using the correct words. If we've used he instead of him, the spell check won't catch it because both are spelled correctly.
This brings me to one final point. As we write, we are often too close to our own work. We see what we think we wrote and not what we actually did write. Saving the editing and revising for a later time allows us to distance ourselves from the document and enables us to really see what we wrote. This helps us to catch those words we've used incorrectly. This allows us to read what we wrote and not what we know.
posted by Vickie at 10:48 PM
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