You know, you can write nonfiction as one word. There is no space or hyphen needed. And it's usually a good thing to stick with the same tense within a sentence. Just saying.
Nonfiction. Non fiction. Neither got flagged by the webs spell check. Non fiction looks better to me. Why do you care how it is spelled if it is spelled correctly?
How does that tell you that it's spelled correctly? "Non" is a word. "Fiction" is a word. The fact that the web spell check doesn't complain about either of the words doesn't mean that the two together are a legitimate alternative spelling for nonfiction. I can type "heaven's gait", and get no spelling flag; that doesn't mean it's a legitimate substitute for "heaven's gate". It does appear that non-fiction is a legitimate alternative spelling. I don't see anyone at all using "non fiction". If you're wondering why I care about your misspelling of the term, it's because I think that someone who speaks as if he's an expert on a topic should be able to spell the name of the topic.
@ChickenFreak -- Just being in the industry and reading, but I'm sure you can check the AP Style Guide or The Chicago Manual. I would trust those over a google search.
I'm not quite sure what you're responding to here. The question of whether "non fiction" is a normal alternative spelling? Oh. Wait. I was responding to noobienieuw. If you for some reason are currently unable to see his posts, it might have looked like I was responding to you?
What is correct in English? What some self declared authority says or normal usage. Often there are acceptable variations that are all considered correct. Sorry if the missing hyphen bothers you so much. I do not worry about perfection in web posts. I worry more about what will be printed instead.
Well, "nonfiction" appears to be the standard by the authorities and normal usage. But it's interesting that you, of all people, have limited respect for self declared authorities.
I'm getting deja vu. Have you been here before? If we were using text-to-speech, would it be just like we were having a conversation? ETA: Was it joesixpack who'd run a publishing company before? Along with all his other many accomplishments? It's frustrating that once someone's banned you can't search their posts anymore...
I searched on sixpak, but this guy is giving me more of the vibe? https://www.writingforums.org/threads/self-publishers-did-you-create-a-company.147475/page-3#post-1563275
Oh yay, isn't that the guy who said that my publisher must not be too picky if they accepted my manuscript? Good times, man...good times.
They care about spelling? The horror! I take it that the writing that you claim to have published was uncorrupted by correct spelling or grammar? Is incorrect spelling one of your keys for publishing success?
I had a good editor, most of the time. All the factual mistakes were put in by editors not myself. Any spelling problems got fixed by them or my spellcheck program.
Oh, we have DEFINITELY had this guy before! The "all the errors were put in by the editors" part is SO familiar. If it's not joe, it's someone else who got banned...
I don't make any serious changes, any more, till the story is in the final draft. If the advice is still good at that point I'll give it careful consideration especially if I respect that reviewers grasp of my story and style. The great thing about a story is you can try the advice and see if it works without spoiling your own draft. It's not like painting where someone might be peering over da Vinci's shoulder and saying she'd be much prettier as a blonde. You can undo the advice. This is especially true about beginnings -- they're rough to begin with and tinkering with them as you're writing is only going to drive you nuts. You still haven't completed your story and things could change. Ideas might have to be planted early on with foreshadowing, history might be altered, to try and fix it now when you might just have to fix it again is a bit of a waste of time. I knew a few chapters after my opening that it no longer worked. Facts had changed -- my mc wasn't in contact with his absentee father, a bully is now his best friend, his home is now a rental etc. I haven't bothered to fix them because it doesn't need to be fixed till the next draft. And this way when the ending finally does come to me, I might want to go back and drop in some foreshadowing at the beginning -- impossible to do if I haven't got my ending yet.
Excellent post. Even if you don't end up changing how your story starts, there is still no reason to attempt to perfect it till the piece is done. Most of us do end up changing how the story starts, though. I also like your point about being able to change it at any stage as well. A start is more than just a start ...it's a launch. You want to launch the story in the right direction, not just 'begin.' Until you know the trajectory, you can't really get it launched, can you?
That was one of joe's sock puppets IIRC, there have been so many it's hard to keep them straight. Eta , all the errors were introduced by the editor was m Phillip. However I'm virtually certain that m Phillip was joe.
How frustrating to get conflicting feedback from two different judges. Do they not compare notes? I've been told that some people are not big fans of backstory, while many times it's essential to the story. If the backstory is done well (clear and concise), and not too wordy, it allows the pieces of the puzzles to come together. There is no right or wrong way of changing what you have now, or wait until you finish the first draft, to change later. Personally, I like to be somewhat satisfied as I go along. I hope this helps.
