Manuscription Musings

One Blog Too Many

2009-11-18T11:13:00.001-08:00

I'm having trouble keeping up with this blog as well as my fashion blog, so I am now closing both in favor of a new blog which will host both topics. I hope to see what faithful readers I have left over there.

~ Katherine Anne

Simultaneous Submission Etiquette

2009-11-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last week I received the following comment on the subjects of queries:

Question. How many query letters should I send out?

Instead of just replying to the comment I decided I would write my reply as a post so others can benefit from the answer - and since I don't know the commenters name or email (by the way, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a web address next time, if you have one, since I would love to check your blog/web site out.)

First of all, I want to make a note that you should write one query for each project. Do not write a query to pitch more than one project. This is not appreciated by agents - so don't do it.

As for how many queries you should send out for the same project, the number varies depending on you and your project. Many agents now a days are open to simultaneous submissions, which means you can query as many agents as you want. (But you should check the guidelines of each agent to make sure it's fine, since there are still some agents who want exclusive queries.) Just make sure you do your research about the agent. Don't send your query out to a random handful of agents - you'll end up wasting your time as well as the agent, and irritate them. The publishing industry isn't as small as it may seem - something like this has a chance of getting around - see this post for an excellent example.

Hope this helps! Questions are always welcome - just drop me a comment!

~ Katherine Anne

Query Letters - Why You Need Them and How to Write Them

2009-11-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finally got around to writing a post for my new blog Publishing Advice. I though I'd post the article here as well:

Query letters - I've know the term for years, perhaps you have too.
But those aren't for me, you may argue, just as I did, that's for big, professional writers; I'm just going to go to the quicker, easier way and send my whole manuscript.

Wrong!

The fact of the matter is that agents and publishers today are swamped with query letters. Many, many people want to be published, and agents/publishers simply don't have the time to read whole manuscripts anymore - some are even refusing to accept them anymore. Instead, the publishing industry has turned to query letters.It takes a lot less time to read a query and the agent/publisher will also get an idea of your writing capability. If you want your book to get ahead; if you want to succeed as an author, a query letter is the way to go.

So what exactly should be included in a query letter? I'll tell you:

Greeting:
One sure-fire way to irritate the agent/editor right off the bat is start the query by saying "Dear Madam," or, "To Whom it May Consern," - oh, and you can substitute "madam" with "sir", "agent" or "editor". Do your reserch and find the name and title of agent/editor you are querying. You should be able to find this on the agency/publishers web-site.

Paragraph One:
The first paragraph of a good query letter should either include the title, word count, and genre of your book -
I am seeking representation for ABIDE WITH ME, a 57,000-word crime novel about friendship, community, football, hope, and biscuits. Oh, and gangsters.

- or a hook to get the publisher/agent's attention:

While Josie Moore hasn’t exactly made peace with her decision to give up her baby boy, she has learned to accept it. She lives her life as if on hold, impatient for the day her son Austin turns eighteen and she is finally allowed to contact him.
In the first paragraph the agent/publisher finds out a lot about this book: is it a genre they represent/publish? Is the word count within their specifications? With hook query the agent will (hopefully) be instantly intrigued - why did Josie Moor have to give up Austin? What will happen when she gets to meet him? These sorts of questions will compel the agent to continue reading the query.

But literary agent, Janet Reid, the Query Shark has a warning about starting your query:
Don’t start with a rhetorical question. You’re talking to really sardonic people in New York City, and they’re not going to answer the question how you expect.

Paragraph Two:
In paragraph two you should start the synopsys if you didn't in the first paragraph - if you did than you can either stop it to give the genre, word count, and title now, or finish the synopsis first. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that your synopsis should not be more than two or three paragraphs - you don't need to tell the whole plot, just give the editor/agent enough to make them want them to read more. Here are som words of wisdom about writing a synopsis for your query from literary agent, Rachelle Gardner:
To figure out how to do this, read the back-cover-copy or flap copy of your favorite books. The goal is not to give a detailed synopsis, but instead to write something interesting and informative enough that I want to read more.

Paragraph Three:
Either finish your synopsis, or give the word count, genre, and title now.

Paragraph Four:
Now is when you should tell the agent/editor a little bit about you, and anything you may have published before. You should use, caution, however, when mentioning self published thins - many agents and editors don't have much respect for self published books, so unless it's done really well, I wouldn't mention it.
Some other things to avoid mentioning from Rachelle Gardner's blog:

"My mother [best friend, husband, Great Aunt Matilda] told me I needed to write my story."
"For years, all my friends have been telling me I should try to get my work published."
"God told me to write this book." ...

Believe it or not, none of this is relevant in a query. It doesn't help an agent make a decision. It doesn't make your query any more attractive. Our experience tells us that there is rarely a correlation between how many people told you to write your story, and how good or publishable that story really is. And yes, this even includes God.

And since so many people say these things in their queries, once again you sound cliché if you say them...

They might truly love your work. But they most likely don't know the publishing biz.

(And for those of you who may have been offended by the bit about not mentioning that God called you to write it, Mrs. Gardner posted about that here.)

Closing:
Thank the agent/editor for taking their time to read your query (they're busy people you know!) but don't ask them to respond quickly, as a quick response usually means a rejection, since they'll need time to consider it if they're interested!

For more tips on writing a query letter you can visit Janet Reid's 20 Tips on Query Letters and Rachelle Gardner's post How to Write a Query Letter.

~ Katherine Anne Dawn

Credits and copyright notice: both query examples come from the Query Shark blog, number 123 and 117, both are copyrighted to their respectful authors and are used with Janet Reid's permission. All other writing in this post except where specified is copyrighted to me, 2009.

NaNoWriMo Troubles Already

2009-10-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

I wrote this earlier this afternoon:

In a last desperate attempt she put her iPod on shuffle and decided to take a different path than usual. Turning the corner she walked slowly, listening to songs she had not heard in ages and thinking thoughtfully of why she could not come up with any inspiration - or enthusiasm . Then, she caught her breath. There, just across the street from her there was a little corner of the world where the grass was hidden from veiw by a layering of leaves - pink and orange and red blending to make an unmatched hue of peace and calm.
The tree above still held some of it's precious leaves, which created a roof of the same color. And there, dancing and spinning and twirling in joy was Maud - her muse. She looked enviously as she walked past, thinking of all the ideas waiting there with Maud, and thinking of her characters - wishing the feeling would never leave. But as she looked to the left of her, there was inspiration too. Was it possible to have two muses, she wondered? For there, alongside the cool gray stone mansion, surrounded by pale green grass was another muse - different, but just as inspiring - sitting atop a small pile of small boulders, with a carpet of yellowing leaves at his feet.
That could be Callan's manor, she thought happily.
She walked up and down the street for several more minutes - then took a quick stroll down the middle of a street. It was then that it hit her - or rather, Emily appeared again. For the first time in a year Emily was before her again - begging for a second chance. Willing - even - to become older, wiser, more mature; and, to take a friend along - a chum.
But her authoress could not decide. She had promised Callan a last try - he deserved one, didn't he? But how, oh how! was she to write a book for which she had no inspiration, no motivation - and very little desire?

The above is a creative, rather coded way of saying that I am torn between several stories - Emily's, Callan's and then Bayards (he wasn't mentioned in the above :D). I have no idea which story to do and NaNo is only two days away! *screams*

Should I write a brief summery of each? I think I will:

"Callan's" Story

Adrianna has loved to sing from an early age, but she doesn't love her family knowing. Shy of doing it in front of them she goes everyday to the town center to preform with her friends, who call themselves the 'Carnelian Faeys'. Her dream is to preform for the king, but her closest family and even some of her friends don't think she can. Now, torn between her desire to prove them wrong and her deepest wish that her family would know and support her, will she make the right decision? And what Callan, her good friend? Is he really just a friend, or something very more?

Emily's Story

Emily was a normal teenage girl - well, if you can consider an authoress normal, that is. She had her her school work, her hobbies, her music, her friends and of course, her writing. Until - that is - her characters and her muse materialized. Other people could see them now - sounds great, right? Not great. They don't listen to a word she says. They're falling in love with other characters, buying apartments and all but a few loyal ones are completely disregarding all she says. On top of that nobody believes that she's the one who actually created them, not even her best friend, Alex. But what'd she expect? Being an authoress just wouldn't be the same without everyone thinking you're crazy!

Bayard's Story

Bayard's story takes place in a very Edwardian culture, but in a fictional world. He's been best friends with Isolda since they were children, but now it's more than that. The only problem is, she loves a mutual friend of theirs. On top of that she's deathly ill. He wants to help her so badly, but how can he?

It's mostly the first two I'm wrestling between. This is my last chance to save Callan, but I'm not inspired for his story, and I am for Emily's. Besides that, I'm not sure if I even want to save Callan's story anymore, but I can't bare to let go of it! Any sugestions would be great!

~ Katie

YA Contest and Entry

2009-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I found this awesome YA contest on the NaNoWriMo blog, and thought I would be nice and pass it on. :D

I also thought I would take a moment to post my entry for the contest. Constructive criticism is ~~required~~ very welcome.

"You can stay here," the pretty red-head told Audra causally, motioning to the guest room.
Audra was surprised at the finery of it; the walls were a soft yellow and there was a large dark blue rug with a pattern of of pink and yellow flowers on the hard wood floor. The white frame bed in corner was spread with a thick pink quilt and had many pillows propped up against the head board; while the vanity across from the bed held a white pitcher and basin atop it.
Gordana walked up to the vanity and, picking up a book and a glass filled with a transparent, green liquid - which smelled of pickle juice - said, "Lativia has a gown you can borrow. I'll go get it." She then walked out, leaving Audra alone.
She walked slowly about the room, admiring the pretty things, before sitting quietly on the bed. It was a miracle for her to be in such a nice room after what had happened. She was eternally grateful to Gordana and her siblings - especially Emeric, but she wished that there was some way she could repay them; some way that she could earn her room and board. She hated getting charity, but what else was she to do? She had never felt so alone as she did then, with nowhere else to go, and no one else to turn to - she only wished to be with her family.

On a side note, there is only six days until November. I am very excited/happy.

~ Katherine Anne

Studying the Present

2009-10-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I stayed up very late watching several movies with some of my good friends. One of the movies was titled "The Fly" in short it's about a scientist who accidentally turns himself into a fly when one of his experiments goes wrong. This got me thinking about the science and how I would rather study the past then the present. But today I noticed something - I do study the present, only in a different way.

Writing, I believe, is the study of the present - the observation of how things look, emotions feel, scents smell and how we can best describe these things by choosing the right words. I am constantly on the look for inspiration in the world around me, and I always try to think - right then and there when I see it, feel it, hear it, or smell it - how I would describe it.

Aside from that - last month I finished the story for my YA novel, Audra. All it needs now is a whole lot of editing. I feel a little lost now. I can't start a new novel until November - but I don't know what to do until then. I don't like this feeling, and I just want November to come.

Speaking of, if anyone wants to add me to their buddy list on the NaNoWriMo site my username is "vintageauthoress".

~ Katherine Anne

The Desired Length of Books

2009-09-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well I guess it's about time I post, huh?

This past weekend I spent the majority of my free time trying to finish the third draft of my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel. I succeed, only to decide last night that the book is not long enough. 43,000 words isn't even a true novel - it's too short. By finishing the book at this length I would be
a) selling myself short
b) minimizing the chances this book has at doing well and
c) cheating my readers.

One of my favorite books is Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery. It was a delightful book with only one real fault - it wasn't long enough. Despite my attempt to read it slowly I still finished it within six-and-thirty hours of it's arrival in the mail. I don't want to do this to my readers.

I think the best length for a book of my kind is between 70,000 and 90,000 words. The basis for this hypothasis is the fact that Persusasion by Jane Austen is a little over 80,000 words, and Anne of the Island is 77,000 words. I've read both of these books and I think they are the perfect length - not so long that they are intimidating, but long enough that I had to work really hard to get them done in just two or three days.

So now I am back to my Google Doc, filling up the extra space with many, many ideas I had for this book but never put in. I meant to put them in later, more towards the climax - after Emeric's rival comes into the story - but it never worked out. I realize now that that's the way it is with most books like mine - in Ella Enchanted very little happens after Ella refuses Char; and in Anne of the Island Roy Gardner is hardly in the book except for mentioning that he was here or there. It also seems to me that in books such as these the climaxes are very short - the climax of Ella Enchanted is only a little more than a chapter; the climax in Anne of the Island is only two chapters; and the climax of Persuasion is between one and two chapters in length. No, no, my climax is fine, I need only to lenghten the time of Emeric and Audra's friendship.

I know this book won't be boring on account of the extra words - I have enough interesting scenes to keep the reader hooked - I'm just disapointed that I'm not done yet.

So what about you? How long are your books, and how long have you been working on them? Please comment and let me know.

~ Katherine Anne

Writing from Experiance

2009-09-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Your life story would not make a good book. Don't even try.
~ Fran Lebowitz

You write about what you know.
~ Larry David

I used to think these two quotes contradicted each other. One says to write about what you know, but the other says that your life story would not make a good book. Taking the first to mean "don't write about your life" and the second to mean "write about your life." it would appear that they contradict each other.

In my earlier writing I wrote wild, extravagant things and I shied away from writing normal, daily life things that might happen to me - the "boring" things, I thought. But after finishing the second draft of my novel I have realized what - I think - both of these writers meant.

My life is not very exciting. By the time my work is finished I usually have some things around the house that need doing, then it's dinner, cleaning up, TV time, some online chatting and blogging, and then to bed early so I can get up at 5am and write for an hour and a half before my day starts again. I have some excursions, and little "adventures" the renaissance fair this year was fun, my summer vacations are always packed with interesting scenarios, my friends and I have been know to get into some odd predicaments - but my life would make a rather boring story.

How then, am I to write about what I know, while still keeping it interesting?

"...everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. "
~Sylvia Plath

By changing some few little details of my life, and adding to it, and have learned to create a rather interesting novel. I write about what I know, but do not write entire life.

Consider the following scene when my main character, Audra, is fleeing as her hometown burns - with all of her family in it, too, probably.

She took off running, running as fast as she could till she came to the top of a hill. There she looked down into the valley and wondered what she should do. The sun had set quite far by now, and the hill was nearly completely black, a raider could be lurking anywhere, unseen in the valley below her, but where else was there to run? She stood there, wavering, until she realized that there was nothing for it. Her father had bidden her to run, had died to save her, she could not now act foolhardy and die - that would mean he died in vain.
Stumbling and tripping she ran down into the valley - nearly falling twice, but managing kept her balance all the same - she went with as much stealth as she could.
She reached the bottom of the hill and ran through the valley, ever aiming for the creek directly West of her family's farm, passing through the valley and climbing up the mountain a bit, she found cover in some bushes. There she stopped, waiting and listening for any pursuers. The mountain was all quiet except for the crickets and early whip poor will, and the bull frogs by the lake but far in the distance, up the hill and past her family's farm she could hear woman screaming, dogs barking and men yelling. There was a glow on the horizon, and she knew that it had gone ill with her town, for it was burning now, and her family as well, most likely. She wanted to just sit there and sob, but she knew that would be foolhardy, the raiders would surely find her then. So picking herself up, she took off running through the trees for the creek again.

Now, obviously I've never had to run headlong down a hill worrying whether or not I'll be killed when I get to the bottom, and I've never lost all my family and friends, but I have run down a dark hill at night, worrying about whether or not there were coyotes hidden in the shadows, have heard whip-poor-wills call out into the night, their sound mingling with the bull frogs and crickets.

So you see, with a little imagination, exaggeration and maybe some extra characters here and there, this otherwise pointless, rather boring scene in my life, can become a very important, gripping scene for my book. It only takes a little thought and creativity to turn the scene around. This works especially well with quaint little books similar to Anne of Green Gables, or any of Jane Austen's work where the detail is so essential.

I hope you will experiment with this technic as a result of this article, as it is a very fun way to write. And because it can be very helpful to use something close to one's self when one becomes stuck on a particular scene. And now, before closing I'd like to leave you one more - less adventurous, though no less enjoyable - scene in which I used this technique.

When Emeric returned from his walk he found Audra and Gordana making breakfast. Audra was cracking eggs into a bowl, while Gordan sliced cheese into another.
Gintras walked and asked "What are you making, girls?" as he reached into the bowl of cheese and took a bite.
"Omelets," Audra answered without looking up, "so unless you want to be put to work, I sugjest you get out of here."
"Alright, miss! No harm meant!" Gintras exclaimed, putting up his hands and walking away.
Emeric sat down on the bench, flipping open his copy of The Shepherd and the Quest for the Throne. He sat reading for several minutes before he became aware of Audra and Gordana's hysterical shrieking.
He looked up quickly, afraid of some horrible catastrophe, and beheld Gordana scrambling through a trunk to find something.
"Ah ha!" she cried, holding up a spatula, and running back to the fire, "I shall save the day!"
"Hurry! Flip it!" Audra cried, bent over double with laughter.
"Dah! It's sticking!" Gordana exclaimed in fright, "help me!"
"I can't!" Audra was laughing so hard Emeric could barely understand her.
"It's not funny, Audra!" Gordana insisted, finally managing to flip the omelet, which was slightly brown on one side.
"Yes it is!"
"Oh! How I got to be so bad in the kitchen I'll never know! Mother was always so good at cooking," Gordan lamented, "And so is Lativia."
"They didn't talk in it as much as we do," Audra pointed out, getting a confused look from Gordana.
"What?"
"I said, your mother and Lativia didn't talk in the kitchen as much as we do."
"Oh!" Gordana breathed, "I thought you meant the food! But that makes a lot more sense!"
Audra just fell to laughing again at this speech, and had to support herself with a hand on the counter, while Gordana watched the omelet like a hawk - bent over staring unblinking at it.

Both of the above scenes are copy writed 2008 to me. Neither can be used without my consent.
Disclaimer: both of the above scenes are still rough, and have not undergone fine editing yet - just thought I'd point that out. :)

Six Tips for NaNoWriMo

2009-09-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well, since NaNoWriMo has been on my mind a lot lately I thought I would take the opportunity to write my own list of six tips for participating in it.

1. Be open to change.
You may think that you're the boss, but you're not. Your characters totally rule the story and if they want to change it it's best to let them have their way.

2. You can fix it later.
When you come to a stupid/lame/cheesy/horribly written part just remind yourself that you can fix it later - now is not the time. Right now you want to focus on quantity, not quality. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy this part. Once you get used to it it really is fun to write without caring how it sounds.

3. You can't wait for inspiration.
You need to chuck inspiration out the window and make due with motivation - and when that fails see the next tip.

4. Write or Die is your best friend.
You may be a bit intimidated by this at first, but you have to try it at least once; I guarantee you'll be hooked to it. It's an amazing experience to write without any distractions or worrying about how it sounds.

5. Get as much written in the beginning as you can.
The first days are some of the nicest in the whole month - use them to your advantage. Try to get 10,000 the first two days, and yes, this is possible (see the next tip). and try to get as much as possible in the first weeks as well - you'll be glad you did when it comes the third and fourth weeks when you're so tired you'd love to do anything but write.

6. Push yourself to extremes.
If you had told me last October that I could get 5,000 words written in once I'd have called you crazy - but on the 28th of November last year I wrote a total of 7,000 words. Never underestimate yourself when you have motivation.

Well that's all I have for now, not large, long grand post, but it's something at least.

~ Katherine Anne

Why I Believe that Fiction Writing Cannot, and Should Not Be Taught

2009-09-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

Today, while looking at some writing blogs I stumbled onto this post. In it the author wonders why people believe that fiction writing cannot be taught. I disagree with him when he implies that the majority of people believe this, but I also disagree with him in the matter of whether fiction writing can be taught. Since I have had this on my mind a lot lately, I could not close the tab which held this post without first commenting and informing him of my opinion, and after writing the comment, I decided to post it here. It is as follows:

"I’m one who most wholeheartedly believes that fiction writing cannot be taught. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and the like can, and should be taught – and I am doing my best to learn them before I go and edit my novel. But the creative process of going from ideas to a finished product cannot be taught, and it should not be attempted. Everyone must find their own way.

"The nineteenth century is – I believe – one of the greatest times of literature the world has ever seen. In that time we had such authors as Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mark Twain. Yet they did not have writing classes back then. In fact, I believe that that had they heard of such of such a thing they would have thought it extremely comical and frivolous. They learned from their own mistakes and successes, much as I have and continue to do.

"In the last two years of my writing I have learned more about writing than I could have in any class because I have learned not only about style, form and well rounded characters but about my own likes and dislikes when it comes to the kind of characters and plots I write. In every failure I have found at least one thing I did like in that plot or character, despite the stuff I didn’t like; and I have found at least one thing I didn’t like in it, the elements that ruined the good in it. Those likes and dislikes accumulated in my brain, and when I wrote, I didn’t have to try to put the good things back in, or take the bad ones out – it just naturally happened. There isn’t a class in the world that can teach that.

"We all have our own way of writing and one person’s way probably won’t work for another person. I’ve looked at and read creative writing books and found them to be extremely stifling. While reading them I worried so much about whether or not I was doing it the “right” way, that I could not concentrate on my writing. They usually say to create the characters first – and to write lengthy character sketches before one continues on. Then, they say, to imagine up the plot, and write it down in the form of an outline.

"I have tried this way before, and it doesn’t work for me. My characters become one dimensional as a result of my trying to define their characters; and my excitement wanes from knowing what is going to happen. I must leap into my stories without thinking twice and find my way out as I go. I don’t know my characters well when I start, I have very little idea where my plot is going and I write all out of order. And yet – it works. I put a little bit of myself into each character, and they become so much more rounded then I could ever have done had I tried to. My plot takes twists and turns as my characters choose, forming and interesting, and intriguing story. This is my way of writing, it works for me, though few people would advise it. I have learned it on my own, without the help of any writing classes. This is the method that got me a finished novel when no other would. And that is why I believe that writing must be learned on ones own, and not taught."

~ Katherine Anne Dawn

Heaven on Earth

2009-08-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

The past eight days have been a piece of heaven on earth. One of my dearest friends, Heather Nicole Knisley, another fellow authoress, has come all the way from Wyoming to stay with me. This week has therefore been filled with drama (in jest) craziness, and much, much sewing.

On Sunday we went to Bristol Renaissance Faire, which was fun, but it got me very inspired for a town scene, and Emeric and Audra have not yet gotten to the town yet in this round of editing - which is very vexing. Still, I finished the fifth chapter today with much prodding from Heather, and now we are working on a book together - so far we have a little over a page. Yay! :D

Well, she's asking me to add my paragraph now, so I must away, maybe next time I'll post a teaser from one of my books.

Adieu!

~ Katherine

Having Fun - not!

2009-08-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Editing is such a bother. I can't get into it, can't enjoy my story while I'm editing it like I can while I'm writing it. Editing is a chore while writing is a joy. I want to have this book finished and edited, but I worry so that I'll ruin it with my editing. How does one edit and enjoy and not ruin the book all at once? It is a enigma to me.

I also wonder how once bumps up a reading grade level. I know I can do better than fourth or fifth grade! >:(

~ Katherine

Fun vs. Work

2009-07-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I miss last year. I miss not caring weather I wrote or not - not feeling like I had to write everyday. I miss the times when I enjoyed writing.
I have decided to take the third draft of Audra slower. Both in the pace of the story, and in the pace of my writing it. I realized that if I edit only two chapters a week I'll still finish before November - so that is what I am goaling for. In the rest of my free time I shall work on my gypsy story (again).
I was thinking about it today and it occurred to me that I like the version I was writing right before November last year best of all my other versions of TCN. Callan was sweet, and Melora and Adrianna were actually a lot like Lativia and Gordana. So I shall work on that version. I won't fix any of the beginning, just pick up where I left off and not look back till the first draft is finished! :D We'll see how it goes...

~ Katherine

Going Against the Crowd

2009-07-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness.

Edith Wharton (1862 - 1937)

I've only just found this quote, but I like it very much. It sounds like me. People say
"Don't use long sentences,"
I say,
"I don't care what they say, long sentences are good, and I'm going to use them."
It sounds snobby and arrogant I know, but Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, A.A. Milne and so many other classic writers have used long sentences - why should I not, just because people today say I shouldn't, when I like them?