Finish Writing

You can't manage, what you don't measure

You should be mindful of the length of your sentences. Short sentences have a purpose, and so do long ones, but too many of either will leave your reader frustrated, whether or not he knows why. The proper flow a reader is used to feeling comes from a combination of short and long sentences. This is a general rule, unless you have a good reason to break it.

Here is an example of a short paragraph made of all short sentences.

There are short sentences. Like this one. And this one. See Dick run. See Jane fall down. You remember those. Listen to the sound. Feel the rhythm. It bugs you. This sentence has five words. Others have less. It’s choppy. Stop reading. You want to.

The short sentence stop the flow of the reader. It draws attention. You will see authors use this often in the form of one word paragraphs when they want to give the reader a clue about something. Too many short sentences strung together create a choppy flow. They agitate, and annoy. Don’t over use them.

Here is an example of a paragraph with all longer sentences:

The long sentence crept up on the writer like a bad habit, starting with his description. The sun arose and crawled up the sky trying to peak over his window, spilling enough inspiring light into his room to help him write the next bit of long winded description he could pluck from his surroundings. The problem is, he thought, that all of the inspiration I get is long winded, and if I don’t vary the length of my sentences, the reader will lose interest quickly; just like with the short sentences.

Longer sentences give information, and allow the author to go on and on. If they are not broken up with shorter sentences, the reader will not only become annoyed, but possibly confused. The shorter sentences give the reader a breather. Be mindful of your reader.

Take a look at your prose. Count your sentence length even! You can’t manage what you don’t measure. There is a time for short sentences, and a time for long ones. If you vary your sentence length properly, the reader will feel the rythmn he is used to, and will have one less thing to get distracted by. You want him lost in your story, not your words.

Give it a try. Write a couple of paragraphs. One paragraph focuses on sentences less than five words long. The other focuses on long sentences. Try to get gauge what it makes you feel when you read and write them. It’s a fun exercise, and can be eye-opening.

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Happy writing!

Justin

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Many years ago Joseph Campbell wrote a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces (click the picture to get a copy of the book). In the book he describes the typical mythical hero, how he discovers who he is, and how he overcomes his personal challenges to come off conqueror of himself, and the world he lives in.

After the hero has been separated from the world he knows, he enters the road of trials. The road of trials is one of the most interesting stages of the Hero’s Journey. This is when the hero’s initiation really begins. He has been taught from the wise helper, and  receivedsupernatural aid. He is now to be tried and tested.

The hero must face his trials. These could be weaknesses, or just a matter of facing himself. As the hero is tested, it is not uncommon for him to fail once or twice in his goals, and his weakness is exposed further. This is a period of introspection. The hero has to work through the weakness. This is the purpose of his trials. Perhaps he has to face a fear, overcome a temptation, or turn a disability into an ability. Whatever the case, the hero must overcome, if he is to become a hero. The hero must get to know himself as he is, before he can become the hero.

With his weakness exposed, the hero is humbled. He may find himself literally put in “the belly of the whale” or some other dark place that nearly consums him. He may have a period of reflection to process what is happening to him on his journey. Remember, as much as this road of trials is a physical trial, the true trial is internal. The trials will forever change the hero. Afterall, he isn’t the hero yet, but is a hero in the making.

Each time the hero conquers a trial he receives an amulet, or some endowment necessary to move forward toward his real goal. These amulets can be anything from new knowledge to new powers or abilities. Regardless, he changes, and he grows as he rises to defeat challeneges. All of this is necessary to prepare him to meet the ultimate challenge - his mirror self in the enemy. 

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Thanks, and happy writing
Justin

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Goals are a fundamental part of success. They are linked. They go hand in hand. If you are new to writing, you may not have considered how goals can help you achieve your desired outcome in your writing career. Perhaps you want to be a novelist, but you never read, and you don’t write often. How are you ever going to write a novel if you don’t read or write? It’s not likely to get done.

Let’s define what a goal is. If we don’t have a working definition, then we all might be working from different vantage points. So, let’s level set our definitions. Dictionary.com says that a goal is:

The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

This is a good definition, however, I’m going to break it down even further. A goal is a desired result due to an effort you put out there. The simplest way I can word this is:

Behaviors = Results   and   Results = Behaviors

This is a universal truth, and you have heard it before. Every action has an equal, opposite and reaction. You’ve heard of that, right? What goes around, comes around etc. I bet you have heard that too. How about input equals output? We are merely putting it in context now.

When approaching your goal setting, you want to be SMART. SMART is an acronym for your goal setting approach. SMART goals should be:

S pecific

For you reach your goals, you need to identify the proper behaviors you need to implement in order to get the results you want. Specific behaviors yield specific results. Once you have identified these behaviors, you can make your goals specific to those behaviors. For example, consider weight lifters - they have a very specific exercise plan. They know how much weight they will use for each exercise, and they know how many sets and repetitions they will do. They are probably counting calories as well.

M easurable

Taking those same behaviors, you must find a way to measure them. As the old saying goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. It’s worth your time to research any tools that might be available for you to measure your specific goal as well. For example, if you are trying to write a certain number of words per day so that you can complete your novel, you can look on the Internet and find free excel spreadsheets that you can use to track your progress, and estimate when you will accomplish your goal. Knowing if you are on track to meet your goal gives you the visibility you need to make any adjustments that might be necessary.

Achievable

If you don’t think it’s important to keep your goals achievable, go find someone you know who has been trying to loose 20 lbs. We are all human, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If your goals aren’t achievable, you will frustrate yourself, give up, and you might not try again. You can avoid that effect by considering your goals carefully, and making them small, and taking them one day at a time.

R ealistic

Just because you should keep your goals realistic, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for your dreams. Realistic goals, however, are goals that are within striking distance. It may not be realistic to think you will publish the next Harry Potter novel, until perhaps you have accomplished your goals of learning to write, going to college, and publishing a few short stories. Once you have done that, the goal of writing the next hit novel seems much more realistic.

Time-bound

SMART goals have to be time-bound. How many homework assignments do you think would get done if the teacher never communicated a due date? By having a milestone, or a due date, you put positive pressure on yourself to accomplish your goals. Making your goals time-bound is one of the easiest facets of goal setting to let slip. Don’t let it slip, it’s critical.

It’s well known that you will be better off setting goals, than if you don’t. Goals keep you focused, and help you achieve your desired outcome. SMART goals are the way to approach your goal setting. The acronym is easy to remember, and if you apply the methodology, you will be more likely to accomplish your goals, and be where you want to be in life.

Now, go make your dreams come true, one SMART goal at a time.

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Happy writing.

Justin

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To its or not to its, that is the question

Another simple grammar mistake that is commonly made is that of it’s versus its. Do you put that stinking little apostrophe in there or not? That is the question. How often have you either second-guessed your own writing, or read someone else’s where this error just stuck out painfully?

Well, the answer is really rather simple. The word is either a contraction (It’s is short for it is, or it has) or the word is a possessive pronoun (Its means that something belongs to it, or is of it).

Consider these examples:

It’s been a great trip. (Notice It’s is a contraction for it has)

It’s an ugly cat, man, even though it looks like a cute rat. (Notice It’s is a contraction for it is)

The confusion probably comes into play because our possessives tend to have an apostrophe. One example is this: This is Justin’s blog. Don’t be confused, however. When you are writing a possessive with the word its, there is NO apostrophe. Yes, that’s right, it’s backwards. NO apostrophe.

Consider these examples:

The 300zx is much faster than its predecessor. (Notice Its is a possessive.  It shows ownership, and you cannot change it to it has or it is and have it still make sense.)

The cat just stepped in something, and got its paws dirty. (Notice Its is a possessive.  It shows ownership, and you cannot change it to it has or it is and have it still make sense.)

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Happy writing

Justin

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