S.J.Budd

Writing cover letters when submitting short stories isn't as hard as you think. A lot of inexperienced writers wrongly assume that your cover letter needs to describe your submission. What's the purpose of a cover letter? Try to consider that the process of submitting short stories for journals magazines or competitions is the literary equivalent of applying for a job. The purpose of attaching a cover letter is to very briefly introduce yourself in a professional way, but always check the submission guidelines of the publication you are applying to, as many have their own strict criteria. A checklist for writing a top cover letter Always try to address your cover letter to a specific person, usually the fiction editor. Their name can be easily found out by checking their website. If you can't find their name, make it addressable to a colleague so it will show you at least tried. Your cover letter will be forwarded to the correct person. Include your name,

What's an apostrophe? An apostrophe is used to either contract words or to illustrate possession within a sentence. What are the functions of an apostrophe? To indicate a word contraction To indicate possession How to use an apostrophe in word contraction? An apostrophe is used in a sentence when one or more letters have been removed from a word. Do not = Don't Have not = Haven't It is = It's Who is = Who's Take care not to overuse apostrophes and remember that they should not be used in academic work. How to use an apostrophe to indicate possession? Apostrophes to show possession are often over used, and is a common mistake to make. If it is a singular noun, proper noun or common noun that does the possessing this is indicated by - 's Tom's magical cat was amazing. The castle's walls were beginning to crumble. Cornwall's pixies were notorious for littering. If using an apostrophe to indicate possession by

What is a hyphen? The use of a hyphen is often overlooked but when used properly can give your work a more professional feel. Hyphens are used when combining words in a sentence. What are the functions of a hyphen? To combine the word self with a noun To illustrate adjectives that are formed by combining words How to use a hyphen to combine the word self with a noun? This is really simple. Self-confidence Self-loathing How to use a hyphen to illustrate adjectives that are formed by combining words? The pedlar was a nik-nak man. He was a new-age wizard.

A semicolon is an often misused piece of punctuation but is very simple to use. Take care not to over use a semicolon in your work. What are the functions of a semicolon within a sentence? To help organise a complicated list To separate two closely related  independent clauses How to use a semicolon to organise a complicated list? A semicolon should be used in a sentence to organise complicated lists when one or more of the items contains commas. The witches and wizards at the conference had come from Scotland, Wales; Cardiff, Ireland; Dublin, and Cornwall. Not The witches and wizards at the conference had come from Scotland, Wales, Cardiff, Ireland, Dublin and Cornwall. How to use a semicolon to narrow the gap between two closely related independent clauses? The semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses but also to show that the two clauses are related to one another. Ethel rarely used her broomstick; she was afraid of flying. To use a semicol

The colon like the comma is a commonly misused piece of punctuation that is usually confused with the semicolon. Quite often it is overused, a colon  should only be used sparingly. What are the functions of a colon? To introduce a list within a sentence To introduce an idea within a sentence To introduce quoted material within a sentence How to use a colon to introduce a list within a sentence A colon can be used to introduce a list of series of items. The first item in the list that appears after a colon does not need to be capitalised, unless it is a proper noun. When using a colon the clause that precedes it must make sense with its corresponding list. Frodo had packed everything he needed: food, drink, maps and sunglasses. The clause, Frodo had packed everything he needed , makes sense on its own and so a colon   can be introduced after it. Avoid using a colon to introduce a list when it directly follows a verb or preposition. I need: dragon's blood

The comma is often misused, and a comma splice is one of the most common mistakes made. A comma splice is when a comma is wrongly used to separate two independent clauses There are many simple methods that can be used to avoid this mistake. The unicorn liked the fairy, she was kind. The two clauses in the above sentence are independent and can form stand alone sentences. They do not need to be connected by a comma. The unicorn liked the fairy. She was kind. The above method of separating two independent clauses using a full stop is the simplest, but there are other ways to do it. A semi colon can be used, but take care to not overuse them in your work. The unicorn liked the fairy; she was kind. A semi colon shows that the two independent clauses are linked. A conjunction can be used to connect two independent clauses. The unicorn likes the fairy as she is nice.

How to use a comma? Most people wrongly assume that the comma is a simple piece of punctuation. The comma is extraordinarily complex.  This is because it has many different functions which have been listed below. The biggest misuse of comma is that many writers believe that a comma should be inserted in every pause and tend to overuse commas in their work. Don't get caught out. Writers wrongly assume a comma is just a pause. It is so much more than that. What are the main functions of a comma? To separate adjectives within a sentence To separate introductory elements within a sentence To separate contrasting clauses within a sentence To separate dates and years, towns and counties within a sentence To separate parenthetical elements within a sentence To separate direct speech or quote elements within a sentence To separate a list of three or more items within a sentence To separate two independent clauses within a sentence How to use a correctly us

Citadel by Kate Mosse Kate Mosse is a brilliant writer who brings the past to life. I love historical fiction, especially when blended with supernatural elements. Who isn't intrigued by the past events that have helped shape our world today? I've read Kate Mosse's previous books in this trilogy, Labyrinth and Sepulchre as well as The Winter Ghosts , so I knew I'd be in for a treat. The setting of the novel is in Carcassonne, the south of France during the second world war. Straight away Citadel is strikingly rich and vivid in detail but not bogged down with endless information dumps and soon you're transported to the author's world of war time France. Kate Mosse is a master of conjuring imagery. She can paint a thousand pictures with one word. The pace is quick and there are many intriguing characters with their own secret pasts and hidden agendas. It's an exhilarating read and hard to put down. As you continue to read you really feel with the

What's an author's bio? So recently I have been very busy re - evaluating my current library of short stories to send them off into the world. I've decided to change tactics slightly and as well as entering numerous short story competitions, I'm having a go at submitting some of them to magazines and journals for publication. For the third time today, I've been asked to include a brief author's bio. The prospect of writing one fills me with dread. I've never been very good at selling myself. I have no idea how to write an author's bio or what a really good one looks like.  Suddenly I feel so less sure of myself. As a writer I haven't really achieved anything, I haven't won any competitions or ever been published. I can hardly call myself a writer. I have no literary achievements to actually include, other than the obligatory - I love writing. But then what writer doesn't? I feel silly for even thinking of putting it in. I l

What are prepositions? A preposition is simply a word within a sentence that indicates either a location or relationship between a noun and other parts of a sentence. The cat was hiding behind the curtain . In this sentence the preposition was behind. The noun was cat, or object of the preposition. The object of the preposition is the noun or pronoun that is associated with the preposition. In most sentences the preposition will usually goes before its corresponding noun or pronoun, but they can go afterwards. Where did the evil witch go? In this sentence the preposition go, is after it's corresponding noun witch. How to use prepositions correctly There are a few prepositions that need to be used with care. Like , is a preposition that means similar, or similar to, and should be followed by either a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, not a subject or verb. It's best to avoid using like with a verb. You smell like a rotten toad. Rotten toad is the n

What's an adjective? Adjectives are words that we use to describe a noun or pronoun. Without adjectives sentences would be very dull. You can use adjectives before and after a noun or pronoun. There was a vicious storm . Here the adjective is vicious it is describing the storm which is the noun in the sentence. The storm was vicious. The adjective is vicious and can be used after the noun storm . The three forms of an adjective, and how to correctly use them Adjectives come in three forms; positive, comparative and superlative. Let's use wise , as an example to explain what these different forms are. In it's normal form, the positive degree, we would simply use wise . The wizard was wise. If we were to use wise in its comparative degree which is as straightforward as the term suggests we would use wiser. The wizard was wiser. To use the adjective wise in its superlative degree, we would use wisest . The wizard was the wis

It is often the simple mistakes that writers make that can cost us dearly. When short stories and/or manuscripts are submitted into competitions or sent to literary agents, magazines and publishers, it will be the little mistakes that will expose you as an unprofessional, inexperienced, amateur author. To use who, that and which correctly you'll need to remember the following; Who and sometimes that refer to people in a sentence. That and which refers to groups or things in a sentence. Gandalf is the wizard who is mighty and powerful. Who is correct as it refers to Gandalf who is a person. It was the army of Orcs that caused an awful mess. That is correct as it refers to a group of Orcs. That is used in a sentence to introduce an essential clause. An essential clause adds vital information to a sentence. I do not trust that Orc who is mean. That is correctly used as it introduces the essential clause of the Orc being mean, which is why he can'

As I have said before in a previous post it is often the simple mistakes that writers make that can cost us dearly. When short stories and/or manuscripts are submitted into competitions or sent to literary agents, magazines and publishers, it will be the little mistakes that will expose you as an unprofessional, inexperienced, amateur author. There's a very simple method that you can use to determine whether whoever or whomever is correct. He = whoever , and him = whomever Whoever broke the spell? He broke the spell and therefore who is correct. Whomever broke the spell was a hero The spell was broken by him and therefore whomever is correct .

How to use who and whom correctly It is often the simple mistakes that writers make that can cost us dearly. When short stories and/or manuscripts are submitted into competitions or sent to literary agents, magazines and publishers, it will be the little mistakes that will expose you as an unprofessional, inexperienced, amateur author. There's a very simple method that you can use to determine whether who or whom is correct. He = who and him = whom Who killed the princess? He killed the princess, so who is correct . It was whom? It was him, so whom is correct. Related posts on grammar use What are compound nouns, common nouns and proper nouns? What are linking verbs, phrasal verbs and helping verbs? What's a subject and an infinitive within a sentence? What is a subject -verb agreement? Tips for writers How to construct a basic a basic story plot Top writing tips for new authors How to stay focused as a new writer Manuscript presentat

Related articles on Grammar What are compound nouns, common nouns and proper nouns? What are linking verbs, phrasal verbs and helping verbs? What's a subject and an infinitive within a sentence? What's a subject- verb agreement? If you're unsure of what a noun is you can brush up on one of the previous posts above.   What's a pronoun?   A pronoun is simply a word used instead of a noun. Here are some examples of pronouns ; I, me, you, he, she, it, that, they, each, who, somebody.   There are three types of pronouns . These are subject pronouns, object pronouns and possessive pronouns.   A subject pronoun is used when a pronoun is the subject of the sentence.   I know my name.   In this sentence I is the pronoun .   Examples of subject pronouns include; h e, she, you, they.   Examples of object pronouns include; him, her, me, them, us.   Examples of possessive pronouns include; his, hers, theirs.   How to use pr

This book is one of a series of  American novels set in a small town Lousiana about a girl Sookie Stackhouse who can read minds. It is these books that the popular television series True blood, is based on. I haven't seen this program but thought this was worth giving a go as no one would base a television series on a book that wasn't great. I'm a big fan of Anne Rice, the undisputed queen of the vampire genre, as well as the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and have long held a deep fascination with Vampires. These wonderful immortal beings that have lived through the ages and been there first hand. I for one would love to be able to step back in time and these creatures have seen it all. I find vampires interesting because they are always trying to blend in with humans and are desperate to fit in despite being so different, something we all feel from time to time. There's also the juxtaposition of being savage beasts whilst also capable of emotions such as lo

In previous posts we've looked at Nouns, verbs and subjects. Please see below for links to past posts. Now we're going to delve deeper into the mind field of grammar rules and look at subject - verb agreements. What is a subject - verb agreement ? A subject - verb agreement stipulates that the subjects and verbs within a sentence must agree with one another in number. The fundamental rule of the subject- verb agreement is that if a subject is singular then its verb must be singular. If a subject is plural then its verb must be plural. When used in the present tense, a singular noun adds an S to the singular verb. The witch chases the wizard. In this sentence the noun, witch is singular and therefore adds an S to the verb chases . The witches chase the wizard. In this sentence the noun, witches , is plural, therefore there is no S added to the verb chase . Simple so far. However this is not the end. This is just the beginning. There are many, many rul

This is a book I've been meaning to read for ages. Since its publication in 2004 it has been short listed for and won many awards such as the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Plus Neil Gaiman, who needs no introduction once said this about it. " Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic to be written in the last seventy years. It's funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical, a journey through light and shadow - a delight to read." Its a pretty hefty book with nearly 1,000 pages. One of those rare books in which you can completely immerse yourself in,  you can almost step in to the page and explore a different world. I like to think of this book as a bit like JK Rowling's brilliant Harry Potter series but for adults. The book is set in 1800's London and has a real Dickensian feel to it. The narrative is utterly charming, though it did, at first take a few pages to get int

In my previous posts we've looked at nouns and verbs.(See below for links.) In this post we will be looking at how nouns and verbs are correctly used within a sentence. Within a sentence a subject usually refers to the noun, pronoun that performs the verb. I read a book In this simple sentence the subject is I. I was the pronoun that performed the verb, which was to read. The evil witch turned me into a newt. In this sentence the subject is witch, the verb is turned as that was the action of the sentence. From behind the sofa, a gremlin popped out. The subject is gremlin , and the phrasal verb is popped out. Now things can get slightly more complicated as many sentences can contain more than one subject and verb. Let's take a look at the next sentence. Birds eat spiders and spiders eat flies. In this sentence there are two subjects . They are spiders and birds. Flies are not a subject as they do not perform a verb. There are two verbs, eat

I always thought I had a fairly good grasp of grammar and punctuation. I have a degree and write constantly, but it was only when I thought it would be a good idea to give myself a refresher's course on the subject, that I realised there was a lot of work to do! I thought verbs were really simple. I mean, they're basically ,"doing words," Right?  They're are many types of verbs....... A verb is defined as a word, or a set of words that shows actions, feelings or a state of being. I am busy . I am happy . I am The use of verbs can get complicated as they can consist of more than one word, and this is where phrasal verbs and helping verbs come into play. A phrasal verb is simply a verb that contains more than one word. I have been busy improving my grammar and punctuation. In this sentence, the phrasal verb is ," busy improving"   It is the action within the sentence.  A helping verb is used to explain the phrasal verb, in this

The lost art of writing short stories Many budding writers tend to overlook writing short stories, and they're making a big mistake. It can take years to write a first draft of a novel, and many more shaping it into a manuscript to be proud of. Short stories on the other hand can take as little as a few hours to write once you become seasoned at it. And it also allows you to quickly develop a writers' skill set of planning, plotting, writing and rewriting. Basically short stories are tiny novels. A novel is defined as a piece of fiction writing consisting of at least 60,000 words, but a short story can have as little as 1,000, and flash fiction has only 500. You can learn a lot more from writing short stories than spending all your time writing your novel. The other added benefit is that all the skills you learn from writing short stories you can apply to your book. Here's some more reasons why writing short stories is a great way to improve as a writer; They&

I always thought I had a fairly good grasp of grammar and punctuation. I have a degree and write constantly, but it was only when I thought it would be a good idea to give myself a refresher's course on the subject, that I realised there was a lot of work to do! I was taught at primary school, many, many moons ago, that a noun was word used to describe an object. Which although true is a very simplistic view. There are many types of nouns........ Today I will be talking about, compound nouns, common nouns and proper nouns . There's also such a thing as pro-nouns, but that's another story for another day. So, a noun is defined as a word or a set of words used to denote a person, place, thing or idea. Easy! A compound noun , is simply a noun that consists of more than one word to describe a noun. E.G. Shoe shop, Car seat. Try to remember back to your chemistry classes at school where a compound is defined as a mixture, and then a compound noun is a mixture

I find the process of sending off hopeful short stories into writing competitions rather like applying for jobs when you're destitute. You put a lot of hard work in and never get anything back, not even a reply to say it was been received. It can all be very disheartening. With the promise of a new year I  decided I would set myself new targets for 2015. One of them being to win, or be shortlisted, for at least one short story competition. Surely this can be achievable? After all there's 365 days in a year and a lot of competitions out there. To help with this target I resolved to commit myself to reading more short stories, those of a high quality. But where can you find them online without having to pay for an anthology? So imagine my surprise when I looked at my post this morning and there was a thick white envelope with a gorgeous little book waiting to be read. My first thought was, "Bloody hell, have I won something?" The answer was no, but I didn