Category Archives: writing

May 1, 2024 · 6:00 am

Active prose #writing

Verbs are the engines that power our prose. They can push the action outward from their nouns or pull it back inward. Verbs show the action but have shades of mood and tone.

Verbs there is no tryWhen I am writing poetry, I look for words that contrast vividly against each other. I choose action words that begin with hard consonants and emotion words that begin with softer sounds.

If I can do this for poetry, I should be able to do this for narrative prose. Unfortunately, my poetic brain goes on vacation when I am trying to write a first draft.

Writing the first draft is difficult enough, but when that draft is finished, the real work begins. At that point, I must turn a choppy mess of a manuscript into something worth reading. There will be good passages, but they are interspersed with bald statements of action and response.

This stage of the process involves working on several layers:

  • prose
  • plot
  • character arc

So, besides ironing out plot holes, beefing up scene transitions, and fine-tuning character arcs, I must focus on the prose. I must use my words as creatively as possible to show the most with the least.

oxford_dictionaryVerb choices and the use of contrast in descriptors are crucial at this stage.

Power verbs push the action outward from a character. Other verbs pull the action inward. The two forces, push and pull, create a sense of opposition and friction. Dynamism in word choices injects a passage with vitality, vigor, and energy.

When we employ verbs that push the action outward from a character, we make them appear authoritative, competent, energetic, and decisive.

Conversely, verbs that pull the action in toward the character make them appear receptive, attentive, private, and flexible.

Concise writing can be difficult for those of us who love words in all their glory. So, I must use action words to set the mood. To do that, I must use contrasts.

  • dwell on / ignore
  • embrace / reject
  • consent / refuse
  • agony / ecstasy

A part of my life was burned away. I was destroyed, but now I was reborn in ways I’d never foreseen.

My action words are burn, destroy, and birth. The above character’s entire arc is encapsulated in those three words. In the opening pages, his verbs are darker, his actions more inward, and his demeanor sometimes brooding.

ozford american writers thesaurusAt the end of his story, events and interactions have changed him despite his wish for a calm life. His journey through the darkness brings about a renaissance, a flowering of the spirit.

Many power words begin with hard consonants. The following is a short list of nouns and adjectives that start with the letter B. The images they convey when used to describe action project a feeling of power:

  • Backlash
  • Beating
  • Beware
  • Blinded (adjective)
  • Blood
  • Bloodbath
  • Bloodcurdling (adjective)
  • Bloody (adjective)
  • Blunder

Some of the nouns are also verbs, such as beating or blunder.

When things get tricky, and the characters are working their way through a problem, verbs like stumble and blunder offer a sense of chaos and don’t require a lot of modifiers to show the atmosphere.

When you incorporate any of the above “B” words into your prose, you are posting a road sign for the reader, a notice that ahead lies danger.

Quill_pen smallIf I want to create an atmosphere of anxiety, I would use words that push the action outward:

  • Agony (noun)
  • Apocalypse (noun)
  • Armageddon (noun)
  • Assault (verb)
  • Backlash (noun)
  • Pale (modifier)
  • Panic (verb or noun)
  • Target (verb)
  • Teeter (verb)
  • Terrorize (verb)

If I want to show the interior workings of a character without resorting to a dump of italicized whining, I could write their internal observations using words that draw us in:

  • Delirious (modifier)
  • Depraved (modifier)
  • Desire (verb)
  • Dirty (modifier)
  • Divine (modifier)
  • Ecstatic (modifier)

So why are verbs so crucial in shaping the tone and atmosphere of a narrative?

Think about this sentence: Selwyn walked away.

We have three words indicating someone has departed, but they don’t show his mood.

Selwyn is a person (noun). He performs an action (verb).

steampunk had holding pen smallThat action affects both Selwyn and his objective: leaving. Away is an adverb (modifier) denoting distance from a particular person, place, or thing. It modifies the verb, giving Selwyn a direction in which to go.

We can write it several different ways still using only three words, and each indicates that Selwyn has left the scene. Each time we substitute a synonym for the word walked, we change the atmosphere of that scene.

  • Selwyn sauntered away. (He departed in a carefree, leisurely manner.)
  • Selwyn strode away. (He walked decisively in a particular direction.)
  • Selwyn stomped away. (Selwyn left the scene in a bad mood.)
  • Selwyn ambled away. (He walked slowly.)
  • Selwyn slogged away. (He departed but had to work at it.)
  • Selwyn slipped away. (Selwyn departed in a stealthy manner.)

Many verbs cannot impact a character or object directly. These are called intransitive verbs. They are as crucial as transitive verbs because they show a mood or condition, a state of being, or a reflex (automatic response).

Consider the word “mope.” Mope is an intransitive verb that means discouraged and apathetic. It’s an action word that goes nowhere.

  • Selwyn moped. (He was dejected and apathetic.) (Boring.)

We can have our character in a bad mood but with variations:

  • Selwyn pouted. (He was whiney, and we don’t want to read anything more about him.)
  • Selwyn languished. (He did nothing and stagnated, and we still don’t care.)
  • Selwyn sulked. (He was angry and self-pitying, and we will close the book on him.)
  • Selwyn fretted. (He was in a neurotic mood, and we tell our friends the book sucks.)

Some intransitive verbs in the family of “mope” are more robust and carry greater force:

  • Brood (a dark, obsessive mood.)
  • (Obsessively thinking about it, suffering.)

We can perk Selwyn up when we add a strong intransitive verb to a powerful transitive verb. Then, we have action and mood:

  • Selwyn strode away, brooding. (He left the scene, and someone will suffer.)

So, verbs and nouns must have modifiers and connectors to show a scene in the most visual and evocative way possible.

oxford_synonym_antonymThe trick is to choose the descriptors and the verb forms that have the most impact. The selection of modifiers and connecting verbs can enhance contrasts or weaken a sentence.

Making revisions is a lot of work. But taking the time to examine the layers of plot, prose, and character arc is required to take your manuscript from first draft to finished novel.

I suggest keeping a thesaurus on hand. I also have a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms because I want my words to say what I envision. Having a list of word forms and their synonyms enables me to express my ideas with fewer modifiers.

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April 29, 2024 · 6:00 am

Modifiers, descriptors, and crutch words #writing

Note to self: write dynamic prose and avoid crutch words.

MyWritingLife2021BOne thing I notice when listening to an audiobook is crutch words. One of my favorite authors uses the descriptor “wry” in all its forms, just a shade too frequently. As a result, I have scrubbed it from my own manuscript, except for one instance.

Wry is a modifier. It means using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humor: “a wry smile.”

“Sardonic,” a word he also uses a bit too frequently, is a relative of the word “wry” and means grimly mocking or cynical.

Both are good words, but they are easily overused when we are trying to show a character’s mood in a bleak situation.

Grin and smile are also first draft crutch words we use to show a mood. I do a global search and then tear my hair out trying to show my protagonist’s mood without getting hokey.

The way we use modifiers and descriptors (and their frequency) plays a significant role in how our work is received by a reader.

Use Active ProseThe words authors choose add depth and shape their prose in a recognizable way—their voice. They “paint” a scene showing what the point-of-view character sees or experiences.

And yes, in order to do that, they must use modifiers and descriptors, also known as adjectives and adverbs.

Modifiers are like any other medicine: a small dose can cure illnesses. A large dose will kill the patient. The best use of them is to find words that convey the most information with the most force.

What do we mean when we refer to modifiers?

A modifier is any word that modifies (alters, changes, transforms) the meaning and intent of another word. These words change, clarify, qualify, or limit a particular word in a sentence to add emphasis, explanation, or detail.

Some of these words are useful as conjunctions, words to connect thoughts: “otherwise,” “then,” and “besides.”

poetry-in-prose-word-cloud-4209005What are descriptors? Adverbs and adjectives, known as descriptors, are helper nouns or verbs—words that help describe other words.

What is a quantifier? They are nouns (or noun phrases) meant to convey a vague number or an abstract impression, such as very, a great deal of, a good deal of, a lot, many, much. The important word there is abstract. It is a thought or idea describing something without physical or concrete existence.

Modifiers, descriptors, and quantifiers are easily overused, so these words are often reviled by authors armed with a little dangerous knowledge.

One of the cautions those of us new to the craft frequently hear are criticisms about the number of “ly” words we habitually use. The forms we use can weaken our narrative.

First, examine the context. Have you used the word “actually” in a conversation? You may want to keep it, as dialogue must sound natural, and many people use that word when speaking.

490px-2014-10-30_11_09_40_Red_Maple_during_autumn_on_Lower_Ferry_Road_in_Ewing,_New_JerseyHowever, if you have used “actually” to describe an object, take a second look to see if it is necessary.

  • The tree was actually covered in red leaves.

Would the sentence be stronger without it?

  • Red leaves covered the tree.

Some descriptors are easy to spot, especially those ending in “ly.” When I begin revising a first draft, I do a global search for the letters “ly.” A list will pop up in my lefthand margin. My manuscript will become a mass of yellow highlighted words.

This is where I look at each instance because “ly” words are code words the subconscious mind uses in the first draft. They are a kind of mental shorthand that tells us what we need to expand on to fully explore the scene we envisioned.

Or they tell me something needs to be cut.

Context is everything. Please take the time to look at each example of the offending words and change them individually. I’ve said this many times, but I like to nag: You have already spent months writing that novel. Why not take a few days to do the job well?

Sentence structure matters. The placement of an adjective in relation to the noun it describes affects a reader’s perception. Modifiers often work best when showing us what the point-of-view characters see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.

Sunlight glared over the ice, a cold fire that cast no warmth but burned the eyes.

In the above sentence, the essential parts are structured this way: noun – verb (sunlight glared), adjective – noun (cold fire), verb – adjective – noun (cast no warmth), and finally, verb – article – noun (burned the eyes).

So, we try to lead with the action or noun, followed by a strong modifier (one without the “ly” ending). The sentence conveys what is intended. It has modifiers but isn’t weakened by them.

ok to write garbage quote c j cherryhThe scene I detailed above could be shown in many ways. I took a paragraph’s worth of world-building and pared it down to 19 words, three of which are action words.

So, now you know what occupies most of my attention during revisions.

As writers, we all want to be accepted and have others like our work, which means we must meet our reader’s expectations.

Writers must write from the heart, or there is no joy in writing.

That means using modifiers, descriptors, or quantifiers when they are needed. It’s a balancing act. We must be mindful of the form and the context of how a modifier fits into our phrasing.

Below are two images. They are lists of code words I seek out and re-examine when I begin revising a first draft. Some words are quantifiers. They are adverbs of degree, words that describe how much of something, such as “I’m dreadfully unhappy.” Quantifiers (also known as adverbs of degree) have their place but can weaken a sentence. So, they are code words for you to look closely at when you get to the revision stage.  

Adverbs_of_degree

“Adverbs of manner” are qualifiers, words that “qualify the manner of what we are talking about.” They can intensify or decrease the degree of something, such as “I rarely go out.”

Adverbs_of_Manner

It seems like an overwhelming task, but it isn’t. I look at each instance of a modifier and see how it fits into that context. If a word or phrase weakens the narrative, I rewrite the sentence. I either change it to a more straightforward form or remove it. For example, bare is an adjective, as is barely. Both can be used to form a strong image, depending on the words we surround them with.

I have found that participating in a critique group has been crucial to my growth as an author. Most writing groups are made up of people who love reading and want your work to succeed. They won’t micromanage your manuscript because they are aware that too much input can remove the author’s unique voice from a piece.

Credits and Attributions:

IIMAGE: Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:2014-10-30 11 09 40 Red Maple during autumn on Lower Ferry Road in Ewing, New Jersey.JPG,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:2014-10-30_11_09_40_Red_Maple_during_autumn_on_Lower_Ferry_Road_in_Ewing,_New_Jersey.JPG&oldid=751843290 (accessed April 28, 2024).

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April 24, 2024 · 6:00 am

My #Writing Life – Forest Fires, Prose, and W.B. Yeats

Spring has sprung, and the world here in the Pacific Northwest is turning green. We have rain today, and should for the next few days, but so far, April has been unusually dry. Drought this early doesn’t bode well for summer. Snowpack levels are currently at 68% of normal.

MyWritingLife2021We rely on water generated by glaciers on Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountains in general, so the low snowpack means trouble later down the road.

Dry forests in this part of the world mean dry underbrush—if we remain in drought conditions, we could have a repeat of 2018’s West Coast Wildfires. 2018 Washington wildfires – Wikipedia.

That August, one couldn’t escape the smoke. We thought we would find fresh air by going to the beach, but it was just as bad there. The following is an image I shot on August 23, 2018, in Cannon Beach. That year, smoke from wildfires burning all over the West was so thick one could barely see the water from our beachfront condo.

Sun_in_Smoky_Haze_Cannon_Beach_08212018_©Connie_Jasperson_All_Rights_Reserved

At the time the photo was taken, the sun was still an hour above the horizon, and it should have been full daylight instead of noxious twilight.

The brown haze was so dense that the above image appears grainy and overexposed. But as you can see by the red sun, brownish-gray smoke obscures the view of the ocean, hiding the rocks of Tillamook Head. The temperature had risen to 90 degrees at the surf’s edge, an unheard-of temperature for that area of the Northern Pacific coast. Those of us with asthma suffered, as the sun was obscured for most of the day, with intense humidity not helping.

In so many ways, the scene in Cannon Beach that day was unreal, apocalyptic.

The following image is the same view of Tillamook Head as seen from the same condo on August 13, 2016. That was a year of fabulous sunsets, deep blue skies, and perfect kite-flying winds.

2016-08-12 21.26.16

Sunset at Tillamook Head, Copyright 2016 Connie J. Jasperson

But spring always brings the hope that better days are ahead, that the rain will fall, and that the traditional methods of forest fire management as practiced by our tribes will keep our forests safe. Indigenous Fire Practices Shape our Land – Fire (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Drought is something thing I can’t change. It’s a thing to consider for world building, a distraction for when life gets crazy here at Casa del Jasperson. Some medications my husband has been taking are not working as well as we wished, and some have caused severe problems. He’s improving since we stopped the offending meds, so life is good.

Writing happens in short bursts. I have several manuscripts in the works so I work on whichever one interests me. I have basically scrapped one novel that had too many storylines. I’m parting it out into several novellas, which has rekindled my inspiration.

Alas, poetry has infiltrated my senile brain again, my secret love affair. I love the many ways words can be manipulated on a blank page. To me, poetry is something beautiful and visually simple, a thing that looks like it should be uncomplicated. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

Yeats Mural and quoteI grew up in an isolated rural environment, and summers could be lonely. My sister and I would get away from family dynamics by reading. My favorite “We Don’t Have Anything to Read” book was the volume of collected works by William Butler Yeats. That book shaped my view of poetry and literature in general.

Yeats was an unconventional person. His penchant for finding romance in most things meant his personal life and politics were sometimes messy. And yes, his love affairs were famous, especially his enduring but unrequited love for the Irish revolutionary/actress Maud Gonne.

Some might call that an obsession.

Yeats was probably not an appropriate literary hero for a ten-year-old girl in 1963, but he was just that to me.

As I grew into young adulthood, I admired how he struggled against the conventional morality of his day, as did all free-thinking artists and writers. It seemed as if his troubles and those of his contemporaries powered their writing.

Yeats’s poetry has rhythm and rhyme, and some consider it too old-fashioned. But while modern poetry doesn’t always rhyme, it must have tempo and rhythm.

Some might ask, “If it doesn’t rhyme, what makes poetry ‘poetic?'” It is prose with syllabic tempo and visual words. It conveys images, both auditory and visual.

manfred-lord byronSometimes, poetry is long, even epic in length. The epic poem, Manfred, by George Gordon, Lord Byron clocks in at around 250 pages and contains supernatural elements, as ghost stories were popular in England at the time. It is a Romantic-era closet drama, a play that is intended to be read aloud by one narrator rather than performed.

Poetry is a primal form of communication in the human species. It’s a literary invention that emerged as soon as we had words. Before we had written languages, poetry preserved our thoughts and feelings. It conveys them in an abstract way, passed down verbatim from generation to generation.

Our species remembers the words and the stories our ancestors told. Nowadays, we consider those sagas of the gods and heroes as allegories to explain historical natural occurrences.

We who write fantasy draw upon and recreate those stories in our image.

poetry-in-prose-word-cloud-4209005Poets select words for the impact they deliver. An entire story must be conveyed using the least number of words possible. Choices are made for symbolism, power, and syllabic cadence, even if there is no rhyme involved.

I try to do the same when I get to the revision process, eliminating weak passages and strengthening others. Sometimes, I have better results than others, but I keep trying.

So, now you know where I’m at in my writing life, the worries and little things that either hinder or spur creativity. I hope your writing is going as well as mine is.

Credits and Attributions:

Images © 2018-2024 Connie J. Jasperson, All Rights Reserved

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April 22, 2024 · 6:00 am

Self-editing – a 3-step process #writing

As an editor, I saw every kind of mistake you can imagine, and before that, as a writer, I made them all. This is why I rely on an editor for my work. Irene sees the flaws that my eye skips over.

WritingCraft_self-editingWhen prepping a novel to send to Irene, I use a three-part method. This requires specific tools that come with Microsoft Word, my word-processing program. I believe these tools are available for Google Docs and every other word-processing program. Unfortunately, I am only familiar with Microsoft’s products as they are what the companies that I worked for used.

What follows are three steps that should eliminate most problems in a manuscript.

Part one: Beta Reading is the first look at a manuscript by someone other than the author. I suggest you don’t omit this step unless you can find no one who understands what you need. A good beta reader is a person who reads for pleasure and can gently express what they think about a story or novel. Also, look for a person who enjoys the genre of that particular story. Your beta reader should ask several questions of this first draft (feel free to give them the following list).

beta read meme 2Part two: Once I have ironed out the rough spots noticed by my beta readers, this second stage is put into action. Yes, on the surface the manuscript looks finished, but it has only just begun the journey.

In Microsoft Word, on the Review Tab, I access the Read Aloud function and begin reading along with the mechanical voice. Yes, the narrator app is annoying and mispronounces words like “read,” which sound different and have different meanings depending on the context. However, this first tool alerts me to areas that were overlooked in the first stage of revisions.

ReviewTabLIRF07032021The most frustrating part is the continual stopping, making corrections, and starting.

I use this function rather than reading it aloud from the monitor, as the computer screen tricks the eye. I tend to see and read aloud what I think should be there rather than what is.

  • I habitually key the word though when I mean through or lighting when I mean lightning. Each is a different word but is only one letter apart. Most (but not all} miss keyed words will leap out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all run-on sentences stand out when you hear them read aloud.
  • Most but not all inadvertent repetitions also stand out.
  • Most of the time, hokey phrasing doesn’t sound as good as you thought it was.
  • Most of the time, you hear where you have dropped words because you were keying so fast you skipped over including an article, like “the” or “a” before a noun.

This is a long process that involves a lot of stopping and starting. It takes me well over a week to get through an entire 90,000-word manuscript. I will have trimmed about 3,000 words by the end of this phase. I will have caught many typos and miss keyed words and rewritten many clumsy passages.

But I am not done.

Part three: the manual edit. This is where I make a physical copy and do the work the old-fashioned way.

Everything looks different when printed out, and you will see many things you don’t notice on the computer screen or hear when it is read aloud by the narrator app.

  • Houghton_Typ_805.94.8320_-_Pride_and_Prejudice,_1894,_Hugh_Thomson_-_Protested

    Illustration by Hugh Thomson representing Mr. Collins protesting that he never reads novels.

    Open your manuscript. Make sure the pages are numbered in the upper right-hand corner.

  • Print out the first chapter and either staple it together or use a binder clip. If I drop it, the pages will all be together in the proper order.
  • Turn to the last page. Cover the page with another sheet of paper, leaving only the final paragraph visible.
  • Starting with the final paragraph on the last page, begin reading, working your way forward.
  • With a yellow highlighter, mark each place that needs revising.
  • With a red pen/pencil, make notes in the margins to guide the revisions. (Red is highly visible, so you won’t miss it when you are putting your corrections into the digital manuscript.
  • Put the corrected chapter on a recipe stand next to your computer. Open your manuscript and save it as a new file. (ManuscriptTitle_final_Apr2024.docx.) Begin making the revisions as noted on your hard copy.
  • Do the same for each chapter until you have finished revising the entire manuscript.

I look for info dumps, passive phrasing, and timid words. They are signs that a section needs rewriting to make it visual rather than telling. Clunky phrasing and info dumps are signals telling me what I intend that scene to be. Many times, I must cut some of the info and allow the reader to use their imagination.

I will have trimmed another 3 to 4,000 more words from my manuscript by the end of this process.

By the time we begin writing, most of us have forgotten whatever grammar we once knew. But editing software operates on algorithms and doesn’t understand context.

to err is human to edit divineI am wary of relying on Grammarly or ProWriting Aid for anything other than alerting you to possible problems. Look at each thing they point out and decide whether to accept their recommendation or not. They are AI programs and have no real-life experience to draw on.

You’ll get into trouble if you assume the AI editing programs are always correct. Remember, they don’t understand context. Good writing involves technical knowledge of grammar, but voice isn’t about algorithms.

Novels are comprised of many essential components. If one element fails, the story won’t work the way I envision it. It’s been months since a beta reader saw this mess and much has changed. I take a hard look at these aspects:

  • Characterization – are the characters individuals?
  • Dialogue – do people sound natural? Do they sound alike, or are they each unique?
  • Mechanics (grammar/punctuation flaws will be more noticeable when printed out)
  • Pacing—how does it transition from action scene to action scene?
  • Plot – does the story revolve around a genuine problem?
  • Prose – how do my sentences flow? Do they say what I mean?
  • Themes – What underlying thread ties the whole story together? Have I used the theme to its best potential?

Being a linear thinker, this process of making revisions works for me. It can take more than a month, but when I’ve finished, I’ll have a manuscript that won’t be full of avoidable distractions. It will be something I can send to my editor. And because I have done my best work, Irene will be able to focus on finding as much of what I have missed as is humanly possible.

Editors_bookself_25May2018If you read as much as I do (and this includes books published by large Traditional publishers), you know that a few mistakes and typos can and will get through despite their careful editing. So, don’t agonize over what you might have missed. If you’re an indie, you can upload a corrected file.

We are all only human, after all.

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April 19, 2024 · 6:00 am

#FineArtFriday: a second look at Merry Company by Dirck Hals 1635

Vrolijke gezelschap

Merry company *oil on panel *30 x 51 cm *signed : D Hals 1635

Artist: Dirck Hals (1591–1656)

Title: Merry Company

Date: 1635

Medium: oil on panel

Dimensions: height: 30 cm (11.8 in); width: 51.1 cm (20.1 in)

Collection: Mauritshuis

What I love about this painting:

This group portrait tells us a story. Perhaps we are celebrating the engagement of the young couple on the far right—a fashionably, yet modestly, dressed young woman and a gallant young man holding hands and gazing at each other.

The hostess, in the center, looks up and greets her guests who have entered to the left of us. She gestures to the food on the table, inviting them to sit. Are they the future in-laws?

The host looks directly at us, the viewer. He greets us as his guests and he too gestures to the table—join us! Sit, eat, and we’ll have an evening to remember. A single crystal wine glass shows us that wine is being served but companionship and food are what the party is really about. We are here to meet and get to know each other.

An engagement is a reason to gather and celebrate—so let us join this merry company and spend an evening with friends, partying like it’s 1635.

About the setting of this painting:

Dirck Hals has given us the image of friends partying in someone’s home. This is clearly not set in a tavern, as the walls are clean, freshly plastered and painted, and the fireplace at the far left has an ornate mantel. It is for heating the room only, not for cooking. The mantel’s aesthetics are part of the room’s decor.

The scene is set in a dining room. We see six pewter tankards proudly displayed on the wall above a sideboard, along with large pewter platters, signs that this is an intimate family room. We know they are pewter because of the dark bluish color of the metal. These are serving vessels every home needed in the 17th century, but only the wealthier middle-class could afford pewter.

And if you could afford to have a separate room just for dining, you would have your drinking vessels and platters displayed above a sideboard in the manner we see here.

In the background to the right, a fine, large landscape painting also indicates a prosperous home.

Everyone is dressed in their best clothes. The modest yet stylish dress of the guests also point to a domestic scene rather than a tavern. Their garments are made from expensive fabrics, silks and satins, and they wear the immense ruffs of crisp white lace that only the upper classes could afford. These are prosperous people, traders in cloth perhaps—but no matter what they trade, they are gathered to celebrate something, and we have been invited to join them.

Taverns and the poorer classes had either wooden tankards and bowls or fired clay mugs and platters. If they had an object made of pewter, it would be put away for safekeeping. The innkeepers and owners of public houses wouldn’t keep tankards where they could be knocked down or stolen.

About the Artist, Via Wikipedia:

Dirck Hals (19 March 1591 – 17 May 1656), born at Haarlem, was a Dutch Golden Age painter of merry company scenes, festivals and ballroom scenes. He played a role in the development of these types of genre painting. He was somewhat influenced by his elder brother Frans Hals but painted few portraits.

The Haarlem writer Samuel Ampzing mentions both brothers in his Praise of Haarlem with a poem stating that both brothers were exceptional; Frans painting his portraits “awake”, and Dirck painting his figures “purely”. [1]

About pewter, via Wikipedia:

Lidless mugs and lidded tankards may be the most familiar pewter artifacts from the late 17th and 18th centuries, although the metal was also used for many other items including porringers (shallow bowls), plates, dishes, basins, spoons, measures, flagons, communion cups, teapots, sugar bowls, beer steins (tankards), and cream jugs. In the early 19th century, changes in fashion caused a decline in the use of pewter flatware. At the same time, production increased of both cast and spun pewter tea sets, whale-oil lamps, candlesticks, and so on. Later in the century, pewter alloys were often used as a base metal for silver-plated objects. [2]

Credits and Attributions:

IMAGE: Merry Company by Dirck Hals, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (accessed December 29, 2022).

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Dirck Hals,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Dirck Hals  (accessed December 29, 2022).

[2] Wikipedia contributors, “Pewter,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pewter&oldid=1129247091 (accessed December 29, 2022).

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April 17, 2024 · 6:00 am

Self-editing part 2: rare beasts – ellipsis, em dash, hyphen, and ?! #Writing

The mechanics of writing are the framework that makes a story readable. Every language has specific rules for managing grammar. The language I work in is English, so if you also write in another language, you have my profound respect. You have double the work ahead of you.

MyWritingLife2021BLast week, we talked about how punctuation is the traffic signal that keeps our words flowing smoothly.

Ellipses, em dashes, hyphens, and semicolons are rare beasts in the punctuation realm. Authors who rely on spellcheck may be getting the wrong advice when it comes to the use of rare punctuation.

For instance, Microsoft’s editor app sometimes tells us to use a comma to join two independent clauses when they don’t relate to each other. Microsoft is wrong. That creates a comma splice. The comma splice is a dead giveaway that either the author has skimped on editing their work or they’re not well-versed in grammar. (See Monday’s post, Self-editing part 1 – seven basic rules of punctuation, for a better explanation of comma splices.)

So, let’s talk about ellipses. Many authors use them incorrectly or inconsistently. This is because ellipses are not punctuation and shouldn’t be used as such.

The ellipsis is a symbol that represents omitted words and is not punctuation. The Chicago Manual of Style says that when the conversation trails off, we must add ending punctuation.

Groundfall apples, bruised and over-ripe, lay scattered across the ground. But the apple orchard is across the road, so how did they…?

Hyphens are usually not necessary, although my first drafts are often littered with them. If the meaning of a compound adjective is apparent when written as two separate words, a hyphen is not needed.

  • bus stop

hyphenated wordsIf the meaning is understood when two words are combined into one, and common usage writes it as one word, again a hyphen is unnecessary.

  • afternoon
  • windshield

Some combinations of “self” must have a hyphen:

  • self-editing
  • self-promotion

Dashes are not hyphens and are used in several ways. One kind of dash we frequently use is the ‘en dash,’ which is the width of an ‘n.’

En dashes join two numbers written numerically and not spelled out in US usage.

  • 1950 – 1951

To insert an en dash in a Word document, type a single hyphen between two words and insert a space on either side (word space hyphen space word). When you hit the space bar after the second word, the dash will lengthen a little, making it slightly longer than a hyphen. UK usage often employs the en dash in the place of the em dash.

Em dashes are the width of an “m” and are the gateway to run-on sentences. To make one, key a word, and don’t hit the spacebar. Hit the hyphen key twice, then key another word, and then hit the spacebar: (word hyphen hyphen word space) word—word.

Authors sometimes use emdashes without thinking. Too many em dashes—like salt—ruin the flavor of the prose. It often works best to rephrase things a little and use a comma or a period.

interrobangBut what about !?  These mutant morsels of madness are called “interrobangs.”

Writers of comics frequently employ interrobangs to convey emotions because they have little room for prose in each panel.

More than one punctuation mark at the end of a sentence is not accepted in most other genres. Editors working in the publishing industry will tell you that the interrobang is not an accepted form of punctuation unless you write comic books, manga, or graphic novels.

It’s your narrative, so you will do as you see fit. However, interrobangs are a writing habit writers should avoid in novels and short stories if they want to be taken seriously.

Readers expect words to flow in a certain way, but no one gets it right all the time. If you choose to break a grammatical rule, be consistent about it. Voice is how you break the rules, but you must understand what you are doing and do it deliberately.

Most readers are not editors. They will either love or hate your work based on your voice, but they won’t know why.

Craft your work to make it say what you intend in the way you want it said. Sometimes, you will deliberately use a comma in a place where an editor might suggest removing it. You should explain that you have done this to make something clear. Conversely, you might omit a comma for the same reason.

The editor you hired might ask you to change something you did intentionally. You are the author, and it’s your manuscript. If you know the rule you are breaking, you will be able to explain why you are doing so.

Most editors will do as you ask and will gladly ensure that you break that rule consistently.

Sometimes, the stories we consider powerful writing violate accepted grammar rules. Readers fall into the rhythm of the prose as long as the choices made for punctuation remain consistent throughout the manuscript.

AnneMcCaffrey_DragonflightOne of my favorite authors, Ann McCaffrey, set off telepathic conversations with both italics and colons in the place of quote marks.

:Are you well?:

Spoken conversations in her books are punctuated using standard grammar and mechanics.

Hemmingway used commas but often connected his clauses with conjunctions.

The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.

As readers get into a story, they become habituated to the author’s style and voice. They overlook grammar no-nos because the story captivates them.

I love a good story, but more than that, I enjoy seeing how other authors write, how they think, and how their voice comes across in their work.

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April 15, 2024 · 6:22 am

Self-editing part 1 – seven basic rules of punctuation #writing

Many authors are just starting out and have never written anything longer than a memo or a tweet. Once that first manuscript is finished, they will self-edit it. But what if they didn’t have the luxury of a college education in journalism? Many new writers don’t know how to write a readable sentence or what constitutes a paragraph.

MyWritingLife2021I certainly didn’t. If these authors hope to find an agent or successfully self-publish, they have a lot of work and self-education ahead of them.

Most public schools in the US no longer teach creative writing. While some do have some writing classes, the majority of students leave school with a minimal understanding of basic grammar mechanics.

  • They know when they read something that is poorly written, but they don’t know what grammar error makes it wrong. It just feels awkward, so they stop reading.

We who love to read know good writing when we read it. We might have the idea for the best story and the dedication and desire to write it.

However, getting our thoughts onto paper so other readers can enjoy it is not our best skill—yet.

But it soon will be. First, we must think of punctuation as the traffic signal that keeps the words flowing and the intersections manageable.

Trying to learn from a grammar manual can be complicated. I learned by reading the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the rule book for American English. Most editors in the large traditional publishing houses refer to this book when they have questions.

chicago guide to grammarIf you are writing in the US, you might consider investing in Bryan A. Garner’s Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. This is a resource with all the answers to questions about grammar and sentence structure. It takes the Chicago Manual of Style and boils it down to just the grammar.

There are other style guides, each of which is tailored to a particular kind of writing, such as the AP manual for journalism and the Gregg manual for business writing. The CMoS is specifically for creative writing, such as fiction, memoirs, and personal essays, but also includes business and journalism rules.

However, the basic rules are simple.

Punctuation seems complicated because some advanced usages are open to interpretation. In those cases, how you habitually use them is your voice. Nevertheless, the foundational laws of comma use are not open to interpretation.

Consistently follow these rules, and your work will look professional.

First, commas and the fundamental rules for their use exist for a reason. If we want the reading public to understand our work, we need to follow them.

Wrong-Way-Traffic-Sign-K-101-1Let’s get two newbie mistakes out of the way:

  1. Never insert commas “where you take a breath” because everyone breathes differently.
  2. Do not insert commas where you think it should pause because every reader sees the pauses differently.

Second: How do we use commas and coordinating conjunctions?

A comma should be used before these conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, yet, or, and so to separate two independent clauses. They are called coordinating conjunctions because they join two elements of equal importance.

However, we don’t always automatically use a comma before the word “and.” This is where it gets confusing.

Compound sentences combine two separate ideas (clauses) into one compact package. A comma should be placed before a conjunction only if it is at the beginning of an independent clause. So, use the comma before the conjunction (and, but, or) if the clauses are standalone sentences. If one of them is not a standalone sentence, it is a dependent clause, and you do not add the comma.

Take these two sentences: She is a great basketball player. She prefers swimming.

  1. If we combine them this way, we add a comma: She is a great basketball player, but she prefers swimming.
  2. If we combine them this way, we don’t: She is a great basketball player but prefers swimming.

The omission of one pronoun makes the difference.

You do not join unrelated independent clauses (clauses that can stand alone as separate sentences) with commas as that creates a rift in the space/time continuum: the Dreaded Comma Splice.

Comma Splice Meme

Boris kissed the hem of my garment, the dog likes to ride shotgun.

The dog has little to do with Boris other than the fact they both worship me. The same thought, written correctly:

Boris kissed the hem of my garment.

The dog likes to ride shotgun.

The dog riding shotgun is an independent clause and does not relate at all to Boris and his adoration of me. It should be in a separate paragraph. If you want Boris and the dog in the same sentence, you must rewrite it:

Boris and the dog worship me, and both like to ride shotgun.

Third, a semicolon in an untrained hand is a needle to the eye of the reader. Use them only when two standalone sentences or clauses are short and relate directly to each other.

Some people (including Microsoft Word) think a semicolon signifies an extra-long pause but not a hard ending. The Chicago Manual of Style and Bryan A Garner say that belief is wrong. Don’t blindly accept what Spellcheck tells you!

Semicolons join short independent clauses that can stand alone but which relate to each other. When do we use semicolons? Only when two clauses are short and are complete sentences that relate to each other. Here are two brief sentences that would be too choppy if left separate.

  • The door swung open at a touch. Light spilled into the room. (2 related short standalone sentences.)

  • The door swung open at a touch; light spilled into the room. (2 related short sentences joined by a semicolon.)

  • The door swung open at a touch, and light spilled into the room. (1 compound sentence made from 2 related standalone clauses joined by a comma and a conjunction.) (A connector word.)

strange thoughts 2All three of the above sentences are technically correct. The usage you habitually choose is your voice.

I generally try to find alternatives to semicolons. they’re too easily abused because Microsoft Word and most people don’t know how to use them.

Fourth: Colons. These head lists but are more appropriate for technical writing. Colons are rarely needed in narrative prose. In technical writing, you might say something like:

For the next step, you will need:

  1. four bolts,
  2. two nail files,
  3. one peach, whole and unpeeled.

Technically speaking, I have no idea what they are building, but I can’t wait to see it!

Fifth:  Oxford commas, also known as serial commas. This is the one war authors will never win or find common ground, a true civil war.

When listing a string of things in a narrative, we separate them with commas to prevent confusion. I like people to understand what I mean, so I always use the Oxford Comma/Serial Comma.

If there are only two things (or ideas) in a list, they do not need to be separated by a comma. If there are more than two ideas, the comma should be used as it would be used in a list.

We sell dogs, cats, rabbits, and picnic tables.

Why do we need clarity? You might know what you mean, but not everyone thinks the same way.

I accept this Nebula award and thank my late parents Irene Luvaul and Poseidon.

That sentence might make sense to some readers, but not in the way I intended. The intention of it is to thank my late parents, my editor, and the God of the Sea. If I don’t thank Poseidon, he’ll pitch a fit.

I accept this Nebula award and thank my late parents, Bob and Marge, my editor Irene Luvaul, and Poseidon, the God of the Sea.

Sixth: We use a comma after common introductory clauses.

After dark, Boris would change into his bat form and go hunting for enchiladas.

Seventh: Punctuating dialogue: All punctuation goes inside the quote marks.

  1. A comma follows the spoken words, separating the dialogue from the speech tag.
  2. The clause containing the dialogue is enclosed, punctuation and all, within quotes.
  3. The speech tag is the second half of the sentence, and a period ends the entire sentence.

The editor said, “I agree with those statements.”

If the dialogue is split by the speech tag, do not capitalize the first word in the second half.

“I agree with those statements,” said the editor, “but I wish you’d stop repeating yourself.”

stoplightWhy are these rules so important? Punctuation tames the chaos that our prose can become. Periods, commas, quotation marks–these are the universally acknowledged traffic signals.

If you follow these seven simple rules, your work will be readable. If your story is creative and well-written, it will be acceptable to acquisitions editors.

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April 10, 2024 · 6:00 am

Making effective revisions: the short story #writing

In the past few weeks, we have looked at the structural elements of the story, such as theme, narrative mode, point of view, and the author’s voice. We’ve talked about showing emotions and writing believable drama. We have dissected how a story flows from scene to scene.

depthPart1revisionsLIRF05252021So now, we realize that we must submit our work to contests or publications if we ever want to get our name out there. We have looked at our backlog of short stories and gone out to sites like Submittable or the Submission Grinder to discover contests or magazines that we’d like to send them to.

After all, some of these old ramblings could be pretty good if we dusted them off and polished them up a bit.

So now we’re going to look at the structural elements of a story that has been sitting for a while. Let’s have a look at one of many short works I wrote during lockdown but forgot about.

Author-thoughtsThe first thing we’re going to look at is the problem. Is the problem worth having a story written around it? If not, is this a “people in a situation” story, such as a short romance or a scene in a counselor’s office? What is the problem and why did the characters get involved in it?

The following is the core plot of a short story that came in just under 4,000 words.

A messenger, Oriana, and her partner are on a mission to a local ruler from his brother, the king. Before they arrive there, her partner quarrels with her and attempts to steal the coins that belong to the king. She knocks him out, retrieves what he had stolen, and continues her quest to take the coins to the king’s brother.

At the brother’s town, Oriana collects a small jewel, one that is really an item of great magical power. The king will use it to end the drought that has been crippling the country. Now, she must convey it back to the king.

Oriana meets a wanderer, Geran Rose, who, unaware of what she is carrying, joins her. They travel together, but then the next day, the former partner shows up, accompanied by a demon. Now, the messenger realizes what the thief is really after. She can’t let the demon have the jewel but knows she can’t defeat him. However, a dragon can. So, she and her companion lead the demon into dragon country, knowing that they could die as easily as the demon.

First, I look at believability. It is a fantasy set in a world of humans, elves, dwarves, and dragons, so in that world, would the central event I have detailed really happen? More importantly, would it happen in the way I have shown?

  • The dragons are wild creatures, sentient and, most importantly, looking for a good meal. Why would dragons desire to eat a demon? They love the taste of elves, but they love the taste of demons more. These dragons crave the darkness that the demon embodies in the same way I crave chocolate.

sample-of-rough-sketched-mapWorldbuilding is crucial in a short story. Is the setting I have chosen the right place for this event to happen? In this case, I say yes, that it is the only place where such a story could happen.

I absolutely loved writing the scenes set at the edge of the burning lands. But have I left enough clues in the setting for a reader to visualize the world? My writing group will tell me.

The next aspect I look at is characterization, or how I have portrayed the protagonist and other characters. I ask my characters the same questions that I would ask of those in a novel. Answering these questions also tells me if the plot is believable and relatable.

Are these the right people for their roles? Yes, the elf, Oriana is the only one who could carry this off. The human, Geran Rose is the perfect sidekick, intelligent, and a good fighter. The elven thief and the high-ranking demon were easy to write because they were so outrageously fun.

StoryMemeLIRF10052021Point of view: First person – Oriana tells us this story as it happens. We are in her head for the entire story. Do her actions and reactions feel organic and natural? After some work, I think yes, but again, I’ll have to run it by someone to be sure.

In a short story, conversations and brief moments of mind wandering can be vital in advancing the plot. Are the conversations unique to each character? I hope so, but my writing group will tell me more.

This is a short story, so do these scenes of conversation and internal dialogue show us something about my protagonist’s personality and provide information we need to know without dumping it? Again, I hope so.

What is the unifying theme, the thread that runs throughout the story and ties things together? In this case, it is the many nuances and ramifications of betrayal. Is that theme strong enough to lend believability to the plot?

The last thing I look at is crucial to a reader’s enjoyment of my short story.

How does it end? Is the ending satisfying and finite? I like the way my short story ends, but will my writing group agree?

In your short story, ask yourself if you wonder what could have happened next. Do you want to write more stories around these characters?

I have another story in the works for Oriana and Geran Rose, which involves a traitor, a ballgown, and the universal womanly desire for clothing with useful pockets.

Writing short stories is fun, a way of clearing the mind when I am stuck for ideas on a longer piece. Do make the effort to examine the structure of your short stories and rearrange the scenes as needed.

On Monday, we’ll walk through the steps for revising and self-editing your short work. This final phase of the process is crucial because what you submit must be grammatically clean and look professional.

short story arc

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April 8, 2024 · 6:00 am

What to do with that backlog of unpublished short fiction #writing

There have been times when I wanted to write something but didn’t know what. These are the days when I reach a point where I have nothing useful to add to my still-unfinished novel.

microfictionI am not the only person who experiences these moments of low creative energy. When this happens, I set the longer work aside and go rogue—I write poetry and drabbles and short stories.

And yes, cardinal sinner that I am—some of my poetry rhymes. I can’t help that I was raised on Lord Byron and W.B. Yeats.

There are times when I want to write but have no solid idea what the story could be. Maybe it’s this, or perhaps it’s that. Those are the days when I turn out short stories. For me, writing short stories is like shopping for clothes. I need to try them on to see what fits before I buy them.

strange thoughts 2Maybe you are writing, but so far, you have written nothing novel or even novella-length. Perhaps you have been writing a little of this and a bit of that, and now you have a pile of disparate, exceptionally short fiction, and you don’t know what to do with it.

Two well-known and respected contests that I regularly submit work to are:

A drabble is a microfiction. It is exactly 100 words long.

Extremely short fiction must showcase the same essential components as a longer story:

  1. A setting
  2. One or more characters
  3. A conflict
  4. A resolution.

We have a lot of information to convey and only 100 words to do it. To that end, we must show our story to the reader the way an impressionist paints a picture.

  • We choose nouns and verbs with the most visual impact.

IBM_Selectric (1)Microfiction is the distilled soul of a novel. It has everything the reader needs to know about a singular moment in time. It tells that story and makes the reader wonder what happened next. Each short piece we write increases our ability to tell a story with minimal exposition.

For a longer post on how I write microfiction, see my post of January 31, 2024: Discipline and Micro Fiction #amwriting | Life in the Realm of Fantasy (conniejjasperson.com)

Here are two reliable platforms that list a wide variety of publications and contests with open calls:

Some magazines have open calls for short (well under 4,000 words is best) stories:

There are also opportunities for the visual arts as well as written work:

Submitting to contests is a different process than submitting to magazines and anthologies.

steampunk had holding pen smallWhen submitting to a publication, you send your work directly to the publisher. In return, you can expect to receive a communication from the senior editor, either a rejection or an acceptance.

Most rejections arrive in the form of impersonal emails or (rarely nowadays) letters: “We are not interested in this work at this time. Thank you, and keep writing.”

Contests are large, amorphous entities with a group of writers who have agreed to be readers. They judge submissions based on technical skills as well as creativity. Many contests must charge a fee for submissions.

I’ve said this before, but it bears mentioning again. You have wasted time and money if you don’t follow the prospective contest or publisher’s submission guidelines, which are clearly listed on the contest page or on their website.

We demonstrate our level of professionalism by strictly following submission guidelines. Editors at magazines and publishing houses receive hundreds of unsolicited works each week and have no time to deal with unedited, improperly formatted manuscripts.

Editors (or, in the big houses, their interns) look at the first page and immediately know what they are looking at. They reject the poorly written, unprofessional messes without further consideration.

Veikkaus_LottoTo wind this up—take another look at that backlog of short work. Edit it, read it aloud, and edit it again. Then, consider submitting that work to a contest or magazine. It’s good experience for indie writers, but more than that, you might hit the jackpot!

To paraphrase an old joke, “to win the lottery, you must first buy a ticket.” This is especially true if you want to be published.

Credits and Attributions:

IBM Selectric, By Oliver Kurmis (Self-photographed) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons, accessed Apr. 6, 2024.

Finnish Lottery Tickets, Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Veikkaus Lotto.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Veikkaus_Lotto.jpg&oldid=632154033 (accessed April 6, 2024).

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April 5, 2024 · 6:00 am

#FineArtFriday: Street Scene in Montmartre Vincent van Gogh 1887 (a second look)

Scène_de_Rue_à_MontmartreArtist: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)

Title: Street Scene in Montmartre

Genre: landscape art

Date: 1887

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: height: 46.1 cm (18.1 in); width: 61.3 cm (24.1 in)

Collection: Private collection

What I love about this painting:

Street Scene in Montmartre is a relatively unknown painting by Vincent van Gogh, unknown because it has been held in private collections and not exhibited to the public. It was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2021, and the image was posted to Wikimedia Commons courtesy of that auction.

The scene feels like an afternoon scene in winter, with a man and woman walking, and two children playing.

I wanted to take a second look at this painting because I’ve been reading a great deal about Vincent’s life. His art was an attempt to show the beauty he saw everywhere, especially in the most ordinary of things.

He paid particular attention to the visual construction and texture of the fence, and also to the tangle of garden behind. This is the smaller of two windmills featured in several more well-known paintings in the subset of paintings from Van Gogh’s Montmartre series.

While there are people walking down the dirt lane in this scene, they aren’t the focus. Instead, our eye is directed to the way the windmill rises over the ramshackle fence, neglected garden, and above it all, the flag bravely flying.

The dirt lane, the fence, the winter-barren garden, and the windmill falling to ruin beneath the cold sky offer us a glimpse into Vincent’s mood. He finds beauty in the textures of life, both visual and metaphysical – in the cycle of life, of youth growing old and aging to ruin. The flag flying in the breeze and the children playing offer us the hope of brighter days and new possibilities.

About this painting, via Wikipedia:

The Montmartre paintings are a group of works that Vincent van Gogh created in 1886 and 1887 of the Paris district of Montmartre while living there, at 54 Rue Lepic, with his brother Theo. Rather than capture urban settings in Paris, van Gogh preferred pastoral scenes, such as Montmartre and Asnières in the northwest suburbs. Of the two years in Paris, the work from 1886 often has the dark, somber tones of his early works from the Netherlands and Brussels. By the spring of 1887, van Gogh embraced use of color and light and created his own brushstroke techniques based upon Impressionism and Pointillism. The works in the series provide examples of his work during that period of time and the progression he made as an artist.

In van Gogh’s first year in Paris he painted rural areas around Montmartre, such as the butte and its windmills. The colors are somber and evoke a sense of his anxiety and loneliness.

The landscape and windmills around Montmartre were the source of inspiration for a number of van Gogh’s paintings. The Moulin de la Galette, still standing, is located near the apartment he shared with his brother. Built in 1622, it was originally called Blute-Fin and belonged to the Debray family in the 19th century. Van Gogh met artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Signac and Paul Gauguin who inspired him to incorporate Impressionism into his artwork resulting in lighter, more colorful paintings.

Windmills also featured in some of van Gogh’s landscape paintings of Montmartre.

Montmartre, sitting on a butte overlooking Paris, was known for its bars, cafes, and dance-hall. It was also located on the edge of countryside that afforded Van Gogh the opportunity to work on paintings of rural settings while living in Paris.

When Van Gogh painted he intended not just to capture the subject, but to express a message or meaning. It was through his paintings of nature that he was most successful at accomplishing his goal. It also created a great challenge: how to portray the subject and create a work that would resonate with the audience. [1]

About the Artist, via Wikipedia:

Vincent Willem van Gogh, 30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful, struggled with severe depression and poverty, and committed suicide at the age of 37.

Van Gogh was born into an upper-middle-class family, While a child he drew and was serious, quiet and thoughtful. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often traveling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a Protestant missionary in southern Belgium. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881, having moved back home with his parents. His younger brother Theo supported him financially; the two kept a long correspondence by letter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguished his later work. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As his work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and local landscapes. His paintings grew brighter as he developed a style that became fully realised during his stay in Arles in the South of France in 1888. During this period he broadened his subject matter to include series of olive trees, wheat fields and sunflowers.

Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions, and though he worried about his mental stability, he often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation between the two when, in a rage, Van Gogh severed a part of his own left ear with a razor. He spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression persisted, and on 27 July 1890, Van Gogh is believed to have shot himself in the chest with a revolver, dying from his injuries two days later. [2]

Credits and Attributions:

Image: Scène de Rue à Montmartre, Vincent van Gogh PD|100, Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:Scène de Rue à Montmartre.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sc%C3%A8ne_de_Rue_%C3%A0_Montmartre.jpg&oldid=617922499 (accessed May 19, 2022).

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “Montmartre (Van Gogh series),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montmartre_(Van_Gogh_series)&oldid=1086671125 (accessed May 19, 2022).

[2] Wikipedia contributors, “Vincent van Gogh,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vincent_van_Gogh&oldid=1087073450 (accessed May 19, 2022).

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