Grammar Brigade: That vs. Which

Ever engaged in a bout of which-hunting?  Confused as to whether which or that should take the place of honor in your sentence?

The answer depends on whether or not your clause is restrictive.  No, I don't mean handcuffs.  I mean, does the phrase change the meaning of the sentence?

"The car that was painted with flames along its sides could go up to 120mph."  This sentence implies that there are multiple cars, so it's necessary to specify which car could go 120mph (the one with flames on its sides.)  In this case, your clause is restrictive, because you need to specify which one of the cars can go that speed. 

"The car, which had flames painted along its sides, could go up to 120mph."  This sentence implies that there is only one car that matters.  You could throw out the phrase, and the gist of the sentence would still be understood (the car is fast!)  Therefore, your clause is nonrestrictive. 

In other words, if your phrase clarifies which object is being discussed, use that.  If your phrase is simply adding another description to an object, use which (and usually commas.)
Examples:

My clock, which was on my bed stand, kept me awake all night.  (Non-restrictive: you already know which clock is mine.)

The clock that is on the bookshelf is hideous.  (Restrictive: there is more than one clock in the apartment.)

The Canadian goose took the bread that was stale.  (Restrictive: the goose did not take the bread that wasn't stale, but there was some non-stale bread around.)

The chipmunk stole the rest of the ham sandwich, which was very tasty.  (Non-restrictive: there's only one ham sandwich.  It was sadly missed, and no other sandwich will ever be as delicious again.)


Exception:

If you've already used that to introduce a restrictive clause in a sentence, you may use which to introduce the next.  Ex:  My die that was blue which always rolled poorly mysteriously disappeared yesterday.  (This sentence implies that I have several dice, several of which are blue, and several of which roll poorly.)

Questions?  Comments?  Examples?  Eulogies for dearly departed ham sandwich?


References:
Who vs. Which vs. That from GrammarBook
Which versus That from Grammar Girl
That Vs. Which from DailyWritingTips

A new set of online classes

Another set of classes for writers:

What's in a Name?
Discover resources that will give you a quick sketch of your entire character just from the name, learn how to deepen characters with a few simple tools, locate your character's Goal, Motivation and Conflict with a set of simple questions, discover how to create a more powerful plot from your character, discover subplots hidden in your character's background
Runs: August 15-Sept. 14
cost: $25

Making Sexual Tension Work for You
 During the course of this class two Harlequin authors – one Presents and one Blaze – will discuss their approaches to sexual tension – how they differ and how they’re similar. We’ll use movie clips to help us recognize and evaluate what makes good sexual tension and learn how to apply those lessons to our own writing. We’ll discuss what sexual tension is, what it isn’t and how you can manipulate the 12 steps to intimacy in order to increase the stakes and tension for your characters.
Runs: August 15-August 29
Cost: $20

Everyone needs a Name
Tricks, hints and sources for finding names, whether you are writing a contemporary romance, historical fiction, fantasy, or even about a world far, far away.  The course will include help in coming up with names for places, things, and even your character’s pets.  You'll even get to choose a pen name for yourself.  If you're having trouble renaming your characters after reading common first-novel mistakes, then this might be a good class for you!
Runs: August 29-Sept. 12
Cost: $20

Classes with the Low-Country RWA
Microsoft Word for Writers
Sept. 5-30
Registration deadline: Sept. 2
Cost: $16

Avoiding the common first-novel mistakes

Today's post is a summary of two posts on Storyfix.com: 5 Creative Flaws That Will Expose Your Lack of Storytelling Experience, and 5 More Mistakes That Will Expose You As a Rookie. 

Don't want the agent you're querying to know that this is your first novel?  Then don't tell.  I don't mean just skipping the line in your query letter, either - I mean don't make the mistakes that most debut authors make.

I'm taking the top 5 tips from Storyfix's two articles and sharing them with you.  If you want the whole list, then check out the articles!  These are things that most new writers do.  There are a few of which I used to be guilty (although I would like to believe I've broken myself of the habits over the years.)  Chances are, you're as guilty as I once was of at least one of these.  So read the list of newbie tell-tales, and break yourself of these habits before you begin making them!

1.  Downtime
Scene one.  Action!  Mark and Stacy have a shootout.  Then Stacy goes home, showers the blood off, spends a chapter reflecting about her life, and eats a 3-course dinner.  Finally, scene two  - the next actual installment of the plot - occurs the next morning.

Skip the downtime!  If it's not driving the plot, throw it out or paraphrase it in as few sentences as possible.  "After a shower, a little self-pity fest, and a three-course dinner to unwind, Stacy was ready to face Mark again.  She loaded her gun and stuck it under the pillow, wearing PJs suitable for waking up to an ambush."  There you go.  No need to waste space on unimportant details.  You can always post them online later as extras for fans visiting the website, if you'd like, but don't put them in the book.

2.  Over-description (especially of food)
Sure, the food is great.  Sure, it's historically accurate, and things the reader would never even think about eating.  But it's not important.  Like downtime: just skip it!  Throw in a word about the food over dinner conversation:  "Stacy glared at Mark over a leg of braised lamb.  He grinned back as he poured a little too much gravy over his fried eyeballs.  'Is something wrong, love?' he asked."  And now ignore the food for the rest of the story.  If it's not important to the plot, it's not worth spending words on.

3.  Using a nonstandard font 
Use Courier, Courier New, or New Times Roman.  That's what your agent will want.  That's what your publisher will want.

4.  Not switching paragraphs in dialogue
When you switch speakers, switch paragraphs.

"You're a special flower," Mark told her, reaching over to tweak her nose.

"Screw you," Stacy snapped, intercepting his fingers with a stab of her steak knife.

"I'm starting to think that might be a good idea," Mark whispered from beside her, well out of range of the knife.

She shuddered.  "This is getting weird."  And strangely interesting, too, but she wasn't about to admit that.

5.  Crazy names
Xanphilios and Xanatha are walking through the park... Or was that Xanathan and Xakraphos?  Don't start names with the same letter unless they're drastically different.  You could have a Lou and a Lauralyn in a story together, but not a Louis and a Larry.  Yes, it's tempting to not pay attention.  But if your reader can't keep your characters straight, then they won't get your story.

I wanted historically accurate names for my Bronze Age romance; I purposely chose the shortest, most easily pronounced names I could find, and then promptly gave every character with an unusual name a short-and-sweet nickname.  Why?  Because to a reader, "Xanphilios" turns into "X(reallylongsomething)."  If your characters must have an unusual name, keep it short.  "Xan" would be an acceptable nickname - mention the full name once, and then never use it again.  Because, really, your reader will only pronounce the name once, anyway.  And that's why it's also important not to start names with similar letters.

Some of my historically-accurate character names, and their nicknames:
Zoi -"Zoi"
Adela - "Adela"
Minos - "Minos"
Lygos* - "Lygos"
Vassilios -"Vassil"
Iasonas** - "Iason"

*Lygos is not historically accurate.  The accurate version, "Lykourgos," was too long for a main character, and I'd run out of relatively short names, so I simplified.
**Interesting factoid: I was a precursor to J.  So Iason is an old-fashioned version of Jason. 


Like all writing rules, these aren't set in stone.  Maybe there's a legitimate reason to describe the food - is it symbolic?  Is it used as a direct insult to your character?  Or maybe your 'downtime' isn't actually downtime, but rather a setup.  While Stacy's cooking dinner, there's some strange noises coming from the other room that she thinks is her cat.  Perhaps you've only got one character in your story whose name begins with an "N," so you're okay with him being known as "N(morethantwosyllablessoIwon'treadit.)" 

But there's a reason these are suggestions - take them to heart as much as you can.  Your story should never tell your agent that you're a new writer.  The choice to tell is yours, and if you're a good enough writer, you'll have to say it before they know it.

What other mistakes do you frequently see from debut authors?

Grammar Brigade: homonyms explained

What's a homonym?

Homonyms are two words which sound the same, but are spelled differently.

Let's look a few commonly misused homonyms:
It's vs. its; there vs. they're vs. their; let's vs. lets; you're vs. your; whose vs. who's; capital vs. capitol; principle vs. principal; passed vs. past

It's: A contraction of "it is."  Do not use anywhere you would not use "It is."
ex: It's purple.
Its: The possessive of "it."  Use when "it" owns something.
ex: Its hat is purple.

There: A place.  Should only be used when pointing at something, or in text when "there" has been clearly specified.
ex: It is over there. 
There: A way of starting a sentence in passive voice.  (Why are you using passive voice in your writing?  You'd better have a good reason.  No, really.)
ex: There is nothing worse than getting squashed by a falling toilet. 
They're:  A contraction of "They are." Use only when you would use "they are."
ex: They're in Georgia.
Their: The possessive form of "they." Use when they own something.
ex: Their car broke down in Georgia.

Let's: A contraction of "let us."  Use only as a substitute for "let us."
ex:  Let's go to Canada.
Lets: The present tense conjugation of "let" (as a synonym for "allow") for a singular person.
ex:  He lets me borrow his flour.

You're: A contraction of "you are."  Use only as substitute for "you are."
ex:  You're angry, aren't you?
Your:  The possessive of "you."  Use when you own something.
ex:  Your book bag is heavy.

Whose:  The possessive of "who."  Use when you are trying to determine the owner of something, or when you are using "who" as a pronoun.
ex:  Whose book bag is that?
ex:  I gave it to Jacob, whose book bag needed the extra space.
Who's:  The contraction of "who is."  Use only to replace "who is."
ex:  Who's responsible for the laundry this week?

Capital: A city that serves as the seat of government for an area, or an asset such as wealth, or a capital letter.
ex:  Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina.
Capitol: Only used to name a building; specifically, the building in which the legislature meets.
ex:  We were really bored during our tour of the Capitol Building.

Principle:  A moral purpose.
ex:  It's against my principles to eat raw steak.
Principal:  An adjective meaning most important, or the leader of a school, or the initial investment of money before interest is added.
ex:  The principal objective is to not get eaten by the dinosaurs; after that, you need to capture the flag.

Passed:  The past tense of the verb "to pass."  Use only if someone has physically moved from behind to ahead of something, or passed a test.
ex:  I passed the test with flying colors.
ex:  He passed me in the right-hand lane.
Past: A location; a time period; a preposition; an adverb; "past" locates something in time and space.
ex: I stuck my tongue out as I drove past him.
ex: One look at the funny breeches told him everything: he was stuck in the past, with no way home.
ex: In my past life, I was an osterich.
ex: The days for mourning are now past.
ex: It was half past three.
What are the most common homonym mistakes you see?

Grammar Brigade: Semicolons, the forgotten punctuation

I was going to do a lesson on using semicolons.  However, I cannot possibly outdo The Oatmeal's semicolon lesson.

I can, however, paraphrase it for those too lazy to follow the link, or those who fear being sucked into The Oatmeal's endless supply of ridiculously funny pages.  (Go ahead and bookmark the page for later.  You know you want to.)

Semicolons are usually used to connect two independent clauses together.
ex:  I love morning glories; my mother loves hydrangea.
This should only be done when the two independent clauses are actually related.
NO!: I love morning glories; Sister Anne drove the van to a conference in Italy. :NO!

They can also be used in sentences wherein there are already commas (for the purposes of clarity.)
ex:  I have visted Austin, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Juneau, Alaska; and New York, New York.
ex:  My teacher, Mr. Norris, loved apples; and when finished eating, he would bury the cores under piles of nasty, steamy tar.

Questions, besides why Mr. Norris loves to bury apple cores beneath tar?

Grammar Brigade: Clauses, and why they matter

What's a clause?

A clause is a group of words which contains both a subject and a verb. 
ex: He walks.
ex: while I ran
ex: if you look under the couch

Sometimes, clauses have implied subjects.  That's okay, too - they still count as clauses.
ex: Don't do that!  (implied subject: person addressed)
ex: Run!  (implied subject: person addressed)
ex: don't worry (implied subject: someone who should probably be worried)

Note: Clauses with implied subjects are different from interjections.  Interjections are one-word expressions, usually showing emotion.  They can stand alone, or be added to a sentence.
ex: Oops.  (not a clause!)
ex: Wow!  (not a clause!)

Clauses come in two types: independent and dependent. 

An independent clause is a clause that is, in and of itself, a sentence.  It can stand on its own, although you might want to add more to it.
ex: He runs.
ex: He throws a Frisbee at Mike.
ex: Mike dodges the ninja star disguised as a Frisbee.

A dependent clause is a clause that cannot stand on its own.  By itself, it is just a sentence fragment.  It is preceded by a conjunction or a marker word.
ex: because Mick didn't move fast enough
ex: when Mick dodged
ex: if I do a cartwheel

Dependent clauses must be tacked on to independent clauses in order to be a full sentence (They're kind of needy that way.)  This usually requires punctuation, in the form of a comma, unless one of the clauses is particularly short.
ex: When Mick ran for president, I voted for the other guy.
ex: If I do a cartwheel, I will break my neck.
ex: I'll bake the cake, while you make the icing.
ex: I laughed when Susan dropped flour on Mick.  (I laughed/ when Susan dropped flour on Mick) ("I laughed" is short - no comma is needed in this case!)

Independent clauses may be joined together to form a full sentence, but they require either the addition of conjunctions (and, so, but, yet, for, nor, or), or the use of a semicolon.
ex: I walked to the store, but Mick ran.
ex: I walked to the store; Mick ran.
ex: I planted a gardenia outside, and now my yard smells nice.
ex: I planted a gardenia outside; now my yard smells nice.

Some common words can be added to independent clauses without removing their independent status.  Some of these are words like: however, moreover, also, nevertheless, furthermore.
ex: I walked to the store; however, Mick ran.  (Still need that semi-colon!)
ex: I planted a gardenia outside; nevertheless, my yard still smells like fish.

If you combine two independent clauses with a comma, then you have a comma splice.  This is a type of run-on sentence, and your paper will bleed red when your editor returns it to you.
NO!:  I walked to the store, Mick ran.  :NO!
NO!:  I planted a gardenia outside, now my yard smells nice.  :NO!
NO!: I planted a gardenia outside, nevertheless, my yard still smells like fish.  :NO!

Be supportive for your dependent clauses.  Give them the punctuation they need in order to survive an editor's brutal attack.

(Thanks to Purdue OWL for definitions!)

This Grammar Brigade attack is brought to you by... common comma errors!

Do you have a grammar question?  If I don't know the answer, I'll look it up!

In the Publishing World: Part Two

A two-part post today, because I'm covering a couple weeks' worth of links.

From BookEnds, LLC, Jessica gives us three short glimpses into her world: Don't say, "My book still needs editing,"  don't send a rude reply to a rejection, and find out Jessica's "red flags" that can turn a "yes" into a "no."

Getting worried that your novel has taken a while to sell?  Nathan Bransford has reposted an older blog on why you shouldn't worry if you haven't heard back within four months of getting an agent.  Selling books takes time - frequently, a lot of time.  If you don't want to wait, then self-publish.

If you haven't heard that Borders is closing, you've been on vacation without computers, phones, or television.  Hope you have a nice tan to show for it.

Eric Blank's Pimp My Novel gives an opinion on what this will do the writing market.

USA Today suggests who benefits from the loss of Borders (Obviously, Barnes and Nobles!), why Borders closed, and what that means for the market. (and I personally find the quote "I'm not going to buy another paperback in my life" to be horrifying on a fundamental level.)

On QueryTracker's Publishing Pulse, links to several major blogs worth checking out - including some on Google+.  The rest of the links are pulled from that page, so if you're planning to read everything, just skip to QueryTracker and read their list.

Marian Perera offers the pros and cons of blogging.

Getting onto Google+?  Here's some tips for using the site, courtesy of Robert Brewer.

A list of which literary folks happen to be on Google+, compiled by Debbi Ohi.

Mary Robinette offers advice on having a Writers' Hangout on Google+.

What do you think about the plight of Borders?  Is a death sentence for the physical book market?  Or is it the start of a new era?  How will it affect (or not) your choice of traditional vs. self-publishing?