Friday Guestblog by Peggy Blann Phifer, author of To See the Sun

ELLIPSES and EM-DASHES --


by Peggy Blann Phifer

The writing process, or journey, is full of potholes, mountains and valleys, streams and rivers, all of which need to be navigated through or around. Agreed? And the beginning writer faces all of them, over and over again.

But we learn by them. Or at least we should. What triggered this topic for today was a blog post I read over at The Kill Zone, a secular blog of suspense writers, including James Scott Bell. Wednesday’s post (in the embedded link above) written by author Joe Moore, recites a long litany of reasons why a writer’s first book will most likely never get published.

Confession: I . . . love . . . ellipses! And I do overuse them. Oh, there’s a proper place for them, with moderation. But they’re so easy to use for emphasis, to set something apart. Here’s an example from my book, To See the Sun: (all examples below are taken from my book.)

She pushed the memory aside . . . again . . . just as she’d been doing for the past ten years.

I like to use them to show stress, or emotion:

“You . . . he . . .” she gripped the table, knuckles white. “He knew where you were? All this time?”

How about a trailing off thought or sentence:

“No one, including me, ever asked to see their identification.” He groaned. “Stupid, stupid . . .”

Em-dashes are fun, too, most commonly used to indicate an interruption. Another example from my book

“Little sister, you can do this. You’ve got more chutzpah than you realize—”

“No, I don’t. She intimidates me.”

Or, it is useful for interjecting a second thought in the middle of a sentence or statement:

Why did Justin—if it had been Justin—put the deed in the safe?

Funny thing, while I was writing this, skimming through the book for examples, I didn’t see as many as I thought were there. And that’s a good thing. Because that tells me that I’ve grown as a writer. From the first, horrible rough draft, through re-writes and re-re-writes, and editing, I’ve learned. I’ll still probably abuse the ellipses and em-dashes, but I’ll be aware when I do, and think through why I want to use it in that particular spot. Chances are, I won’t need it.

So, you writers out there . . . what do you think? Do you use them? Why, or why not? I’d love some feedback.

Bio:

Peggy Blann Phifer is an author and columnist, whose work has appeared on various Web sites and writer periodicals both in print and online. She is also an avid reader and loves to escape between the covers of a good book. A retired executive assistant, Peg now makes her home in southern Nevada with husband Jim.

TO SEE THE SUN is Peg’s debut novel, released January 2012

Contact her at her website at: http://peggyblannphifer.com/

Visit her blog “Whispers in Purple" at http://whispersinpurple.blogspot.com/

Where to buy To See the Sun:

· Amazon.com

· Amazon Kindle

· B&N (nook)

Read the first chapter HERE



Thank you, Rose, for featuring me on your blog twice this week. It’s been fun.

Monday Spotlight on Peg Phifer

I am so happy to welcome Peg Phifer to my blog. I've interviewed her today so we can learn more about Peg, and invite you back on Friday to learn more about her book, To See the Sun.

Tell us about your favorite book as a child and your favorite book as an adult. Can you see a connection between those books?
You know, I can’t really remember a specific favorite book from my childhood. My mother read to us all the time. It might sound strange, but I think the most memorable one from those years was John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Mom read it to us one summer sitting out on the front lawn on Sunday afternoons. As to a favorite book today? Impossible. If pressed to give an answer, I’d have to say Leon Uris’ “Exodus.” And the two have absolutely no connection whatsoever.

I also love Pilgrim's Progress which my 7th grade English teacher read to us after lunch. And I loved Exodus when I read it in high school, Peg. What is your favorite Scripture? Do you also have a favorite Scripture that encourages you in your writing?
My favorite Scripture is both blessing and benediction, best worded in the New King James version:
“The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
The scripture most encouraging to me as a writer (most recently): “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts 20:24

If you could go to any place in the world to research/write a book, what setting would you choose?
Oh, wow. All kinds of places. But, since one of the projects on the back burner, half-way written, the destination would be Chicago and northern Wisconsin to research a historical romantic suspense I really want to finish. It’s been over 30 years since I’ve been in that area and historical research online is less than satisfactory. I’d love to be able to spend several weeks, even months, digging up the facts I need to fill in the blanks I’m currently guessing at.

I often wonder if I would write if I had to do it the old-fashioned way without computers and spell-checks and email. Is there anything about technology that you don't like? Or anything about it that you feel enhances your writing?
If I had to go back to hand-writing a manuscript, I’d have to quit writing. My arthritic hands and fingers just don’t work right. If I had a typewriter, that’d be fine. Even a clunky old manual. Then I could do it. As it is, I’m grateful for today’s technology.

As a writer how have you had to grow and stretch out of your comfort zone?
The uncomfortable “zone” for me is this marketing thing. I’m not an outgoing person, sometimes hard to get to know. “Pushing” myself to promote my book comes close to giving me hives. That’s why I’m so thankful for people like you who offer the opportunity to present my book online and open a window on me and who I am. Another great benefit of today’s technology, yes?

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly, Peg. What advice would you give to a beginning writer that you wish someone had given you?
Don’t sweat “the rules” you keep hearing. They’ll slow you down, perhaps to the point you won’t write at all. The thing is, there ARE no rules. They’re guidelines. You’ll learn as you go. We all do. Just write the story of your heart. If God is in it, you’ll make it.

Do you want to add anything about your book such as how to order it?
Read the back cover blurb and first chapter at:
http://peggyblannphifer.com/my_books.htm

BIO:
Peggy Blann Phifer is an author and columnist, book reviewer and author interviewer, whose work has appeared on various Web sites and writer periodicals both in print and online. She is also an avid reader who loves to escape by diving between the covers of a good book. Peg enjoys handcrafts of all kinds and her home shows off some of her work, though most end up as gifts for friends and family. A retired executive assistant, Peg now makes her home in southern Nevada with husband of 25 years, Jim.

TO SEE THE SUN is her debut novel, released January 2012

Contact her at her website at: http://peggyblannphifer.com/

Visit her blog “Whispers in Purple" at http://www.whispersinpurple.com/

Facebook.com/pegphifer

Twitter.com/pegphifer

Where to get To See the Sun:

· Amazon.com

· Amazon Kindle

· B&N (nook)