GRAMMATICAL CRIMES I HAVE COMMITTED

                               GRAMMATICAL CRIMES I HAVE COMMITTED                            By Flora Reigada, journalist and novelist

Occasionally, when someone learns I am a writer, they approach me with a big smile. "So, you're a writer. That's great. You can write my book."

Of course, no one mentions anything about paying me. But I can't judge these people because as a fledgling writer, I did the same thing.

No one would write my books, so I did what was necessary--I learned to write them myself and all that involves. This includes hours, days, weeks and even years of writing, re-writing, research and more. Ernest Hemingway got it right. "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." This is said in the Scriptures. "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." (Ecclesiastes 12:12b).

But most challenging for me had been editing. I enjoy painting vivid word  pictures. That is where my husband, Dan, steps in. A meticulous, detailed person, he can spot an error like an eagle its prey. Editing my work, he has well-earned his nickname, "Ol' Eagle Eye."

I keep a log of my mistakes discovered by him, others and even myself. Here are some examples. 

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As Dan and I reviewed Love's Sweetest Revenge, Book 1 in my Castle in the Sun romantic-suspense series, he marveled at a character's strength. "Wow! I can't believe Rosa wrestled a bear into  her car."

That is how the following passage sounded to him. "I did bring my rifle after you told me about this latest bear. It's in the car."

In context, Rosa is speaking to best friend, Liz, about Liz's narrow escape from a bear. Another had been sighted. 

Dan and I had a good laugh, then rewrote the passage as follows: "After you told me about this latest bear, I brought my rifle. It's in the car."                         

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In Love's Sweetest Truth, Book 3 in the series, coming soon, I wrote the following: "Carlos returned to his room, immaculately cleaned by hotel workers." Dan asked me if they had scrubbed him with a big brush.  We re-wrote as follows: "Carlos returned to his hotel room, finding it immaculately cleaned by hotel workers."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------While writing a newspaper story about how a historian became acquainted with Florida history when she thought the state was new, with little or none, I wrote: "A move to Titusville, Florida and the historic LaGrange Cemetery would challenge that perception."Dan asked, "How did she like living in the cemetery?"

The sentence was re-written as follows: "A move to Titusville and a visit to the historic LaGrange Cemetery would change that perception."

Well, that is all for now. More to come.

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Please check out my books, published by MillerWords.                            

How could a life and death encounter with a bear, lead to a locket filled with secrets, a vacation in paradise and romance? Find out in Love's Sweetest Revenge, Book 1 in the Castle in the Sun romantic-suspense series.                 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0785FWH5P/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_WKI3EbX                                                                                                                                  

    

"The outside world slips away as you read," a reviewer wrote of 

Love's Sweetest Deliverance, Book 2 in the 

Castle in the Sun, romantic-suspense series.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BBFRHJT?fbclid=IwAR336mGPTHieznX6dRte2

Might that dream you had mean something? What about that stranger who came to help at the right moment? Find out in Where Your Heart Meets God's.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X37MVX/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_