Today's post is a short and sweet one by R. Mac Wheeler. Take it away, Mac!
The Value of the Beta Reader
I recently swapped beta reads with the
eloquent India Drummond, who I adore. Her characters are rich and colorful, their
heartache, their love, and anger palpable.
Every pair of eyes brings valuable
feedback. Even the nits that at first glance seem technically or stylistically
counter to how you write may sprout beneficial changes in your writing.
I love white space, and dis-like
narrative that seems crammed together. So I use commas where other writers
wouldn't.
"You often use commas to
indicate a pause, but grammatically they aren't correct."
Of course I balked. My kneejerk
reaction:
"'CMOS Rule 6.18: The
comma, aside from its technical uses in mathematical, bibliographical, and
other contexts, indicates the smallest break in a sentence structure. It
denotes a slight pause. Effective use of the comma involves good judgment, with
ease of reading the end in view.'
"The first rule in the
CMOS on commas, of 44.
"The art of writing is about sharing the context, emotion and subtly
of communication. The comma is the greatest inflection in the author’s tool box
to replace the invisible body language."
After self-reflection and analysis of my
writing (and three edit passes), I found myself removing a third of my commas
which served to indicate a pause in narration or dialogue.
Tiny changes throughout a manuscript.
But India's critique aided me to tighten and improve my prose.
Who is R. Mac Wheeler? A writer of speculative
fiction, fantasy, SF, suspense, and paranormal with rich characters carrying
tons of baggage, including eight series from YA with ogres and trolls, grittier
vampire and werewolf noir, even a family saga. Two stand-alone novels are
screaming for their own series.
If you love nature and life visit my
blog where I post my photography.
Thanks for stepping up first, Mac!
So, ladies and gents, do you know Mac? What's the biggest lesson you've ever learned from critique?
Great guest post! I'm a pain in the neck for many writers who ask me to beta read, as my take on commas also tend to be more "technically based." Many writers come at it with more gut instinct, almost like they're writing a screenplay. Which is okay, but I tend to stumble a little bit reading their stuff.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Mac is fantastic. My CPs have taught me so much. I'm still learning!
ReplyDeleteCommas are important, clarifying meaning that would otherwise be ambiguous. Misplaced commas and unnecessary commas are common, but sometimes they are absolutely needed to convey the author's meaning.
ReplyDelete'The comma is the greatest inflection in the author’s tool box to replace the invisible body language.' I have no idea what this means.
I couldn't agree more, Mac! I LOVE my betas and would be lost without them.
ReplyDeleteI used to be comma crazy, but now I tend to lead them out. LOL. My betas tell me to put more in!
Congrats to Mac! Commas are very fluid in grammar, which is why we have so much trouble with them, but sometimes less is more. :)
ReplyDeleteI learned another pair of eyes are essential.
ReplyDeleteYep, good beta readers can point something out that even at first remarks, doesn't seem apparent.
ReplyDeleteA great (re)start to the guest posts! We all need critters who can point out changes like these when our eyes stopped computing them 8 drafts ago.
ReplyDeleteHaving your prose filtered through another brain is essential. We just don't "see" things the ways others do. The critical point is to find the right beta reader, someone you can trust to tell you the truth and do so in a way you can digest.
ReplyDeleteReaders are essential. They help us see what we've written, not what we think we've written.
ReplyDeleteCommas :P I never have them where I need them and always have them where I don't.
Hey Misha,
ReplyDeleteSuperb stuff, R. Mac Wheeler. Personally, I'm into grammar anarchy. The more disjointed and nonsensical the writing, the better. In fact, no plot, no protagonist, just a main character named, "Ann Tagonist." I put commas wherever I want A bit of a comma, comma, comma comedian......
Thanks for this, the both of you. Goodbye all, I'm going now................
Gary :)
I think I'm guilty of over-comma-ing. I tend to put them in where I naturally hear a pause in my mind, then take a lot of them out when I re-read and try to get a cleaner flow.
ReplyDeleteCritique partners are invaluable! Biggest lesson I've learned is not to be overawed or browbeaten by "thou shalts". Listen to advice, consider it, but in the end exercise your own judgment.
I have problems with descriptions, as in my world seems vacant without it. I tended to write more like a screenplay than a novel. Something I've worked on over the years.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, commas! Sometimes I use too many, but most of the time, I don't use enough. That is a great benefit of beta readers.
ReplyDelete