Writing
Tips
Jacquelynn
Gagne of Ambrosia Arts
Writing
tips and tricks to not just appear- but become a true professional and be taken
seriously as a writer.
Have you
ever read a novel published by a big publishing house such as Penguin or Random
and seen a lot of numeric numbers? Unless the book is about numbers somehow or
an educational book then you rarely will. At most, you will only see a
numerical number if it is a year (even then sometimes it may be written out
alphabetically) unless it is a ridiculously long number such as 86,346, 249.
Writing out eighty-six million three hundred and forty-six thousand two hundred
and forty-nine can just be confusing. One other exception is when it is in
reference to a sign or a time of day. (times we will discuss in a moment) Example: A road. I149 however this could also
be written as interstate one-forty-nine and written as such is perfectly
acceptable. Using numerical numbers may be considered unprofessional in the
case of a standard novel. It can be considered lazy. It can be difficult to
remember if you are already in the habit of going for the number key.
So let’s
take a moment and discuss how to properly write times. Now if we are giving a
general time of day we would write it alphabetically every time. Eight o’clock
in the morning, five o’clock in the afternoon, three o’clock in the morning-
the time was seven a.m., the hour was two p.m. If you are being specific you
can write this out alphabetically but depending on the type of book it may be
accepted numerically as well but it is always advised to write your numbers
alphabetically in a novel. Example: 4:39 a.m. Example four thirty-nine a.m.
On a
side note, since we are discussing times I constantly see a.m. and p.m. written
incorrectly as am or pm, you must include a period dot after each letter. If
your sentence ends with a.m. or p.m. you do NOT add an additional period dot.
As you can look in the paragraph directly above, the last two sentences are
examples of this.
This may
not seem like a big deal and I am not trying to say that it is. However it is
important and can make a difference in you looking professional and amateurish.
If that doesn’t concern you then you may wish to reevaluate your priorities and
decide how you wish to be viewed, not just by readers but in the literary
community. Unfortunately and fortunately our words are how we are viewed as
writers. Books are judged by their covers and writers by our words. The plus
side of this is unlike a bad hair day, we have complete control over our
writing.
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