Wit & Travesty

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6 Things Editors Want You to Understand

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things editors wish other people understood via wit and travesty

I imagine there are two types of people prepared to read this piece: people who are sick of self-proclaimed Grammar Nazis, and Grammar Nazis about to be called out on their antics. Either way, hello and welcome.

I’ve been editing full-time and on the side for four years now. As I’ve reflected on how much I’ve grown as a writer and editor, I’ve also grown tired of people who think they can publicly correct people on grammar without the same training and background as me and my fellow colleagues.

So I’m putting on my sassy pants and I’m about to drop some major truths that your editing and writing friends wish you learned yesterday. Buckle up, word nerds.

1. Being an Editor Is More than Understanding Grammar Rules

Let’s get this out of the way: being an editor is more than being a human spellchecker. It’s more than being a rule keeper. Okay, I don’t have the Chicago Manual of Style memorized. The main goal of editing is to make the writer look good—plain and simple. Whether you’re working for an author, a company, or whatever, your editor ensures that everyone sounds smart and intelligible.

So why are there so many grammar trolls that opt to play editor just to mock writers? If no one asked you for your opinion or if you’re not being paid for your services, sit down.

When I work with fellow authors, I’m not just an editor—I’m also a cheerleader and a therapist. Writing is difficult. Also, not every person likes to write but many do it anyway for their jobs or classes. So when you get the opportunity to work closely with these writers, they need encouragement and constructive criticism to see the project through. I’m putting emphasis on “constructive.” I think if you’re using grammar rules to be petty or put people down, you’re not an actual editor. Let us do our jobs, okay?

2. We Only Edit When We’re Paid for It

No, I’m not editing your words as they come out of your mouth or whenever I get a work email. I’m a professional, so I edit when there’s a paycheck tied to it. Clear and simple. I seriously did not go to college so I could be a party pooper.

My top pet peeve is when someone is suddenly afraid to talk around me when they hear I’m an editor. Some have literally said things like “I’ll try to clean up my grammar around you” or “I better use fancier words.” Excuse me, I want to be a good friend! Thus, I’m going to use my brain to listen to what you’re trying to say rather than look for mistakes.

Also, fluent speakers understand more about the English language than they realize. Meaning, I will likely always understand what you’re trying to say because we’re two fluent speakers conversing with one another. And I don’t get a high from pointing out errors for free, okay. I’ve already done an unpaid internship, so I charge for my editing services now.

I will tell you this right now: whenever someone chooses to call out grammatical errors online, it’s mostly done by someone who didn’t major in English. They just “have a love for the English language” or something. You also can’t major in editing; you can get a minor or choose an emphasis, but you can’t get a full-on degree in editing. This means that very few people can call themselves editors on a professional front. You can’t just say you’re good at spelling words and call yourself an editor. I paid money to learn my craft and I don’t pretend like I know someone else’s craft.

So here’s the main message for all of you who are insecure about your grammar: a real editor would not drag you online unless you’re a big jerk. If you’re trying to live your life and you make a simple mistake, professional editors will not take the bait; only a troll will.

3. Grammar Errors Are Not a Good Debate Tool

How many times have you made the mistake to read the comment section on social media? And how many times are people picking apart someone’s grammar and using that against the original writer? Errrrr, wrong.

Equating someone’s grasp of grammar with their grasp on the argument is a logical fallacy and frankly, a lazy debate tactic. Imagine if this were someone speaking English as their third language and they conjugate a verb wrong—does that mean they’re stupid? Absolutely not.

Again, real editors have learned proper debate tactics (I took a whole class on this for my minor) and know the better way to debate with people online. And I don’t speak for all editors; we like to play casually and be jerks online, too. But again, the majority of people who mock someone’s argument because they spelled a word wrong are likely not real editors. Just real jerks. Let’s try to get to the meat of the debate and start there, not with the fluffy stuff.

4. You Can Call Out Errors & Still Be Nice

There are still plenty of opportunities to call out grammar—if you care about the writer’s image and well-being. Take this for example: your friend wants to throw a party on Saturday, May 18th 2018. You’ll notice that May 18th of this year is actually a Friday. If you want to go to that party, you’ll likely want to know what date they meant to share. That’s information that does need further clarification, and thus you really should ask them what’s what.

Here’s the thing: personal messaging is still a thing. Write them a personal message, explain the situation, and let them discreetly make the change. Make them look smart. That’s what editors do for a living.

This seriously reminds me of a horrible Facebook status I posted four years ago after I graduated from college. As an English major with a minor in editing. I wrote something like “I graduated today! I’m officially a BYU alumni!” Someone noticed my typo and wrote in the comment section, “You are not an alumni. You’re an alumnus. Congratulations on graduating.”

I was so angry and embarrassed—considering I put on blast that I majored in English and editing. This commenter looked beyond the message I was trying to deliver and embarrassed me over a single/plural noun typo. It puts a whole new spin on one of my favorite quotes, “kindness unwanted is unkindness.”

I learned that day that I wouldn’t do that to someone else, even if it’s a little thing. In the future, I would handle precious cargo: a resume, a novel manuscript, or a thesis. People care about what they write, so I vowed that I would treat other people’s writing with due respect.

5. Don’t Hate on Slang

Something that many non-editors know is the difference between prescriptive and descriptive grammar. Every editor basically picks a side: will they follow the letter of the law or the spirit of the law. If you’re a prescriptivist (like most online grammar trolls), you primarily focus on what is correct or incorrect grammar. If you’re a descriptivist (like me), you understand that English is a fluid, living language, and thus it changes over time.

Grammar rules have actually loosened up a bit within this past decade to match with how we use English today. For example, a descriptivist would not correct someone for saying “Can I use the bathroom?” instead of using “may” because they know good and well what the speaker is saying. Descriptivists tend to study the culture behind slang, trends, and new sentence structure choices, and understand there is a time and place to say whether that is appropriate. With social media blowing up for self-marketing, audiences gravitate towards brands that are casual, real, and transparent—leaving behind stuffy, formal writing styles.

But of course, self-acclaiming editors wouldn’t get all that. They’re stuck on the do’s and don’ts they learned back in elementary school or high school. Since they already think it’s okay to be rude and pretentious online, they wouldn’t know that real writers and editors try to embrace the current norms for what they are: a celebration of language.

So don’t @ me with “why are teens ruining the English language” because it’s not like your generation has some weird grammar and vocab choices. *sips tea*

6.  We Aren’t Always Grammatically Perfect

Friends, I can’t tell you how often correct me on the internet. Why? Because I don’t always closely proofread my tweets, FB posts, or Instagram captions. I give a precursory glance and then I post what I have. Not everything is meant to be a measure of my skills and my grasp of the English language.

As I have already mentioned, public speech deserves to be free and unsensored; you really only need to proofread what is connected to your goods and services or important pieces of information. If I’m sharing a gif, I’m gonna use the slang of the day. Otherwise, I don’t sound like myself.

One of the biggest pet peeves as a writer and an editor is that there are enough people that assume that you never make grammatical mistakes. People, I’m not working 100% of my day, and neither is anyone else. I’m allowed to be sloppy and casual, okay! It’s really ironic with non-writers or non-editors are the ones trying to be pretentious when they call people like me out. Who’s the grammar police now? Who gave you that badge, sir/madam?

Understand that when I’m not in work mode, I am in play mode—just like everyone else. Heed my warning and just don’t poke a writer or editor, period. It gives us permission to thoroughly drag you back.

So there you have it. Here’s the real talk you needed today. If you agree with me, share this with the haters. It’d be my dream come true if you drop a link to this post as a response to a troll. Let my words save you the time, please. If you have more to add or if you disagree, let’s chat in the comments or online.

Editors and writers: I salute you. Don’t let the Muggles get you down.

14 Types of People You Meet as a Writer—Star Wars Edition

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people you meet as writer star wars via wit and travesty

Hey writing friends!

What would happen if the Star Was trilogies were actually allegories for the writing process? Wonder no more! In our efforts to motivate ourselves to write novels and get them published, we’ve highlighted some characters from Star Wars and how they translate to people we meet in our writing experiences. We’d love to hear about the people in your life that have helped you get to where you are today.

Yoda—Your realistic but trolling mentor.

They’re highly experienced at writing and get to write Star Wars canon novels whether or not you like them. Their methods are a bit off the wall but they’re self-assured on what they want to write and how they want to pass on what they have learned. So probably Chuck Wendig? Probably Chuck Wendig.

Luke Skywalker—The bestselling wonder that made fiction cool.

Back in the day, fiction/fantasy was too nerdy for the average reader. Then comes the Lukes in your life who make fantasy writing a career and becomes a legend practically overnight. They also grew up with people who thought that English majors can’t support a family, so there’s that.

Rey—The sensational new writer that came out of nowhere.

Literally coming from nowhere, the Rey writers are super humble but also wicked clever. They’re writing new fiction that supersedes all tried and true plots and genres. They have so much potential—they just need a literary agent to help show them their place in the publishing world. They’re also super adorable and share uplifting quotes on Instagram.

Kylo Ren—A bit of a self-publishing maniac.

As much as they want to get rid of the pressure to go traditional, they’re not very realistic about modern self-promo tactics. Like, they want to make a lot of money without putting in the work of joining a community, creating ads, or determining their target audience. They might get kind of self-righteous and think they know more about publishing than you do.

Finn—The non-white portion of the writing community.

I mean, there was already one black Jedi in the prequels, so we don’t need anymore, right? Snark aside, the Finns in your life just want to write and publish, but work twice as hard to stand out from the white army of aspiring authors. All the puns intended.

Poe—Published authors who are still super chill with the community.

The Poe Hot Damerons in your life are super well-liked by other writers, traditionally published or otherwise. They lead podcasts, freebies, seminars, and Facebook live videos to ensure other writers make their dreams come true, too. They really have to social media thing down and writers constantly ask them for advice.

Ahsoka Tano—Your writing role model who hasn’t published in a while.

Ahsoka Tanos were the shit back in their day—but life happens! They’ve gone years or decades without putting anything out. They still attend conventions, geek out about books, and revel in the good days. With enough encouragement, they write something new that taps into your childhood nostalgia but reminds you why you liked their stuff more when you were a kid.

Han Solo—Realistic but supportive freelance editors.

A Han Solo is likely a freelance editor who just edits but doesn’t really write themselves. They hang out with and work with enough writers to know publishing trends. Don’t get cocky around these freelancers; they may seem like they’re in it for the money but they’re here to help you however they can.

Leia Organa—The female writers who paved the way for future female writers.

They dug through misogynistic filth to get published back in the day. They still get political and put people in their place on Twitter, but now they lead armies of young writers to break the mold and tell their stories.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader—One of the first writers who were sick and tired of traditional publishing and self published.

They publish what they want to write, not what their literary agents thinks is marketable. They have a point but they’re just as zealous as hard-core traditional writers. His self-published bestselling son will mend his heart someday.

Darth Maul—writers who prefer to stick with stable writing jobs.

They’d prefer to write online nonfiction copy, AKA have a stable writing career. However, the desire to write novels puts them at odds with what they’ve been taught about pursuing stable work. You could say Mauls are a bit split down the middle on the issue.

Padme Amidala—Loyal and overshadowed writing group members.

The Padmes were the princesses of your old writing groups. They always turned in their chapters on time, left meaningful feedback, and had a firm grasp on storytelling. However, their zealous team members either copied them or convinced them that publishing wasn’t them for them. They ended up becoming editors instead but could still write good stuff if they felt ready.

Obi-Wan Kenobi—Very talented traditionally published authors of the past.

They keep coming to conventions and encourage younger writers to pursue their dreams. Even though their sass levels are off the charts, they’re not really open to the new social media aspect of promoting books. They have a Twitter because their agent made them get one.

Rose Tico—The insanely popular fan fiction writer.

The Rose Ticos in your life are those kinds of writers that get their start as popular fan fiction writers. She says she’s not a writer, but she has a true fan base that will put yours to shame. She’s super nice about it until you trash talk her OTPs.

 

Hope you enjoyed this brief writing break! It was really hard to narrow down such a huge character list, so comment below with your own Star Wars additions.

3 Ways We Can Include Intersectional Feminism into Our Novels

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intersectional feminism via wit and travesty

Welcome back! We’re on an intersectional feminism kick, so you’re reading part two of my 3-part series on intersectional feminism in writing. Just as a quick recap, intersectional feminism is addressing societal inequality through multiple lenses on top of just gender. Thus, when we want to address equality, we want to ensure that everyone gets a piece of the pie. It’s win-win for anyone who thinks you should be nice and fair to literally everyone.

So what does this have to do with fiction writing?

With self-publishing rising in the ranks, we’re seeing a new mix of writers, genres, and characters. Instead of trying to predict what the market will promote, anyone can publish what they want to see now. This means that we’re giving a lot more writers a chance to create fresh stuff.

Chances are, if you’re passionate about writing, you’re likely passionate about inspiring other readers to be smarter, wiser, or more confident. We want to build up our readers. And you can’t go wrong with making your novels intersectional.

I addressed this topic last year with the post, It’s 2017: How Can We Write More & Better Diverse Characters? That post was primarily about giving writers the confidence they need to change up their writing to add diverse characters in their novels. This post will talk about other elements of writing that make a book “feminist-friendly” beyond sticking in brown or gay characters in the book.

Your Characters Show a Wide Range of Human Emotion

Part of what makes a character interesting is their relatability. You can show great care and writing mastery by creating a wide cast of emotionally complex characters.

Part of the stereotypes that still thrive in our community is the types of emotions we plaster on groups of people. And often times, these emotions are negative: loud, violent, abusive, poor, lazy, fat, petty, calculating, evil, impure, damaged, useless, etc. Could you guess which of these words would “match” people’s perceptions of other cultures or races?

In truth, there is a complex history attached to each major group of people whether we sit down to learn it or not. No one’s perfect, but we as individuals are never just the sum parts of our bad attributes.

So how can this translate over to literature? With the free range of options involved in fantasy and fiction, we don’t have to stick with the stereotypes anymore; we can have a bi-sexual prince, a female villain, a black mermaid, or an Asian superhero. This isn’t just throwing darts at a board to create new combinations, but giving people a chance to be complicated by writing their stories.

This is easier said than done–mainly because you can’t really pants these kind of characters. They require some effort to flesh out before they grace your manuscript. I would argue that having the mindset of rejecting stereotypes and encouraging complexity will get you where you need to go.

Here are some examples of books that excel at creating characters with depth and emotion:

  • The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
  • In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang
  • Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
  • Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The Plot Challenges Society’s Expectations

Readers love a good plot twist, right?

Sometimes as writers we like to rock the boat. We want to shake things up and possibly change some minds. There’s no better place to do this than in fiction. Just like a jester in a king’s court, you can easily use your fiction to change a person’s heart. It’s certainly easier than ranting on Facebook.

As I mentioned earlier, there are still a lot of perpetuated stereotypes in society. Sometimes people are genuinely scared of other groups and what their cultures or ideals could do to their own cherished ideals.

If you’re a writer and you want to diversity your cast, don’t be afraid of the characters you want to include. Don’t be afraid of gay characters, characters of color, characters with disabilities, or characters of another faith. Basically, send your biases packing. It’s very difficult and different from “write what you know,” but Google is our friend; we can connect with other people who are different from us, learn from them, and then let them show up in our novels.

Here’s an example: in the latest Disney film, Beauty and the Beast (2017), they let LaFou be queer. LaFou flinches and feels uncomfortable when Gaston leaves Belle’s father, Maurice, for dead. LaFou even mutters that he wonders who the true beast really is. In this movie, this queer character has better morals than the straight one, Gaston. That can ruffle some feathers, right? The point isn’t to show that one sexuality is morally better than another, but it challenged what many people think about queer people.

Quick note: this is not permission to fetishize certain groups of people. Please don’t do that!

Here are some examples of novels I enjoy that changed my outlook on life in an effective way:

  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
  • The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
  • The Desertera series by Kate M. Colby

Your Novel Champions Supportive Friendships

Often, it’s not enough to create the queer/black/Asian/female best friend. Sure, it’s progress when they show up on the page, but are they just there to be the sidekick, the voice of reason, or otherwise there to provide purpose to the main character?

An easy way to give your characters depth is to show supportive friendships. Two people who will support each other, not just one way. You can play with the quirks, strengths, and weaknesses of the friendship to show that these two people are on the same level.

Another way to show some intersectionality is by showing characters–especially female characters–supporting each other and their endeavors. Too often, it’s the pretty vs. the smart characters who duke it out rather than let each other thrive. That’s just a personal pet peeve of mine; a lot of books in the 90s had a lot of characters that couldn’t be both attractive and smart. One trait was sacrificed for the other. Stepping away from some of these stereotypes will lead you to discovering and creating characters that step out of the mold.

Here are some novels that rock excellent friendships:

  • The Lumberjanes series
  • The Paper Girls series by Vaughan Chang
  • The Ingenious Mechanical Devices series by Kara Jorgensen
  • Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
  • Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston

So here’s the quick overview of writing feminist fiction. I noticed that as I was listing out my examples that there is still more room for intersectionality in my TBR. This is just to show that this is something I strive for; it’s not something I’m perfect at. And that’s okay!

Am I telling you to never read a book with a male protagonist again? No, I’m not about to tell you what you can or can’t read. This isn’t about who is more woke than the other, but showing how you and I can be better readers, writers, and humans by diversifying our reads.

If you want to read my other posts on feminist fiction, check out 4 Reasons Why We Need More Intersectional Feminism in Literature. My next post will be how to be more intersectional and feminist in how you interact with your readers, fellow writers, and more.

If you have questions or suggestions, start sharing! I also want to give y’all shoutouts online if you’ve been talking about this already. I know I’m not the only one who came up with this idea.

Did I cover everything in this checklist? What makes a book feminist or intersectional to you? What choices do you make in your writing to inspire your readers?

TESTIMONIALS

I won a contest via Wit & Travesty in the summer of 2017. The prize was a professional edit of the first 100 pages of a WIP. My middle grade fantasy was only 90 pages, so she read the entire manuscript. She was communicative and positive about the project. Her edits markedly polished up my manuscript and were easy to understand.
Rachel Barnard
Whitney and I worked together in a writing feedback group some years ago and have remained in touch since then. From the beginning, I was struck by her absolute responsibility as an editor. Even in the capacity of a group member, not even being employed or contracted by me to edit my work, Whitney was unerringly punctual, thorough, and accurate with her feedback. Her advice is genuinely insightful and I believe the marketability of my work was noticeably increased due to her guidance. I so value her skills that I still turn to her as a resource after three years of working with her in-person have passed.
Jonathan Baker
Whitney did a copy-edit on my third novel, Checkmate. She was a pleasure to work with, and helped me give my novel that final polish that it needed before publication. Put her on your list for editors that help your work shine!
Angelika Offenwanger
Whitney McGruder has created a vast and imaginative world in Destiny Seeker with surprises to delight the reader at every turn. Readers can settle in to devour the diverse and ingenious magic Destiny Seeker has to offer. I highly recommend it.
Jessica Frazier
Whitney helped me with two short projects written for children, and she was very pleasant to work with. She has an eye for detail, helping me with small grammar errors as well as insights about adding scenes that would enhance my story. Her turnaround time was extremely quick, which I really appreciated when on a deadline!
Brittany Olsen
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