More power! And some other stuff.

I did a little bookshelf spelunking after posting the last blog entry.  Turns out it was Mervin Block who wrote the tip about the power position in a sentence.  And I misspoke (miswrote?) a little bit -- it's the last word or words of a sentence that stick with your reader.  Number 22 of his Top Tips of the Trade is:  

Put the word or words you want to emphasize at the end of your sentence. And don't take the edge off by ending it with weak, incidental or irrelevant words.

That's number 22 of 33, by the way.  He's also got a chapter called "The Dozen Deadly Sins," and another called "Venial Sins."  Some of his points are specific to writing for broadcast, but many can be applied equally to any type of writing.  Now that I've unearthed the book again, I'll probably post more of his advice from time to time.

Okay, glad that's straightened out.  I feel better now.

I've got a couple of big upcoming events that I wanted to mention.  First, I'll be attending the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego at the end of this month.  I was honored to participate in a panel discussion last year.  Hopefully I will get to do it again this year.  If not, I will definitely participate in the mass book signing Friday night.  Just in case, y'know, you're going, too.

Second, I wanted to put in a quick plug for National Novel Writing Month, which runs from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.  This will be my third NaNoWriMo.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days, which works out to 1,667 words per day.  It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun.  And if you've ever thought to yourself, "I should write a book!" -- this could be the opportunity you've been looking for.  Even if you don't win, you'll be farther along on your Great American Novel than you were before.  Go to nanowrimo.org to sign up.