Greetings,

Have you ever had a little day-dream about leaving the hustle-bustle of your current life and heading off, far from the madding crowd?

Haven't we all!

Did you know that one of our number has actually done this?

As a result of the Fractured Fairy Tale that I posted last week, I got to know about the wonderful writing life that Douglas leads. It's a long story, but we've all got plenty of time ... (that's your cue to roll around on the floor in helpless hysteria).

Leo forwards all these quirky, funny little stories because he knows they appeal to my sense of humour and I forward them to you (for the same reason) and neither of us edits them ... (well, occasionally I substitute a word here and there ... I think you can guess which ones). So the Fairy Tale went out unedited, which resulted in my first email from Douglas:

I hope that story about the princess and the frog was a spot quiz on our editorial astuteness, because it contained the following howlers:

A fairy tale for the healthy woman of the 90's [90s, not a possessive] ... The frog hopped into the Princess' [marginal: most people would expect "princess's"] lap ... and then, my sweet, [Sweet, she an appellation, not a piece of candy here] we can marry and setup [set up = verb, setup = noun] housekeeping in yon castle with my Mother, [should not be capitalized] where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."

That night, on a repast of lightly sautéed frogs legs seasoned ["seasoned" refers to flavor imparted by spices; the word for imparting a wine flavor is "simmered" or another cooking term which refers to liquids] in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled to herself [who else would she chuckle to?]

We continued to chat about writing in general and then about Sri Lanka (which Douglas calls 'home' for four months of every year):

Given the lack of some modernities like all familiar electronic appliances like washing machines-and for that matter
reliable electricity period-it is a writer's hideaway heaven. I spend 4 months here every winter doing the books I go to less splendid locations to research. When I get tired of the keyboard I go snorkeling in some of the most awe-inspiring coral and fish-filled tropical seas you can imagine, or walk through rice-paddy landscape dotted with white Buddha viharas.

I'd like to get a wintertime writer's colony going here someday. My daily wear is 1 swimsuit, 1 tee-shirt, and bare feet. I eat fresh mangoes, papayas, and from 10 varieties of bananas every day. And all this costs me about $500 a month, food included. Beats the commute.

If you'd like to share your writing experiences with the rest of us, please email me and I'll pass on your stories. We can all help each other to keep going when inspiration is in short supply.

Here's something to think about: it ain't what you say, it's the way that you say it....

What thoughts flashed through your mind when you read these words?

What was your impression of the writer? (Now, now ... don't be like that.)

Did you think to yourself, "this is going to be a very informative and erudite treatise on the use of tone in writing"?

No?

Perhaps you thought, "what sort of dingbat uses 'ain't' these days?"

Closer to the mark? I thought so.

You were responding to the TONE of the writing. Tone is one of those difficult terms: we all know what it means, but it's

really hard to explain it.

Tone can best be defined by using an example - when you're trading insults with your best friend, you might say, "I don't

Tone is the pervading atmosphere of a place, or the general impression you receive about something.

Tone is determined by the writer's feelings about the subject matter and the mood he / she was in when writing.

When we speak, we indicate our feelings through the way we use our voice - we can change the pitch, pace and intensity of our voice to show whether we're being serious, sarcastic, sympathetic or sycophantic.

How many times have you heard someone say, "Don't use that tone of voice with me"? 

When we write, we convey the tone through:

• our choice of words
• the length and structure of sentences
• the length and structure of paragraphs
• the punctuation
• the order of ideas presented
• the format we choose to communicate our ideas

Whatever you're writing, the first thing you MUST do is decide on the tone you want to convey.

What impression are you trying to give? Here are some of the many possibilities:

CASUAL

• use short sentences and paragraphs
• include plenty of colloquial expressions
• ask questions of your reader
• use contractions e.g. you're, don't, I'll
• use personal pronouns e.g. I, you, we, us
• choose shorter, rather than longer words e.g. "he's a quiet chap" rather than, "he is a taciturn fellow"
• use the active, rather than passive voice e.g. "you must remember to ...." instead of "it must be remembered that...."
• vary your use of punctuation - dashes (-), ellipses (...), exclamation marks

A casual style is friendly, relaxed and intimate - you feel that the writer is speaking directly to you.

FORMAL

• sentences and paragraphs are longer and more complex in structure
• vocabulary is also more complex and specialised (according to the subject matter)
• punctuation is more formal (no place for dots and dashes here)
• passive voice can be used (but don't overdo it - it can be too impersonal)
• personal pronouns are usually avoided in favour of "it", "one" and "they"

A formal style is business-like, no-nonsense, no time to waste writing. It is designed to inspire confidence in the ability of

the writer to get on with the job.

PERSUASIVE

• makes great use of emotive words - consider your response to these pairs of words: home & hovel; confusion & shambles; unemployed & dole bludger. By choosing the appropriate word, it's possible to sway your reader's feelings to your way of thinking.
• sentences and paragraphs are usually short
• ideas are organised very simply - in chronological or reverse chronological order
• content is carefully selected to present one particular point of view
• personal pronouns are used, especially "us" and "them"

Persuasive writing can be used by advertisers trying to convince us to buy a particular brand of toilet paper or by governments

trying to get us to rush out and enlist!

Tone makes all the difference to the effect your words have on the reader and you should always be conscious of the tone of everything you write.

Here's another of those Immutable Laws (this one from Malcolm Thomas):

The Thomas Law of Getting Green Traffic Lights: Have something on the passenger seat you want to read.

Prepositions often cause problems for some people; add the correct preposition for each of the following:

1. Your hat is similar TO mine.

2. That house is different FROM our home.

3. The judge gave credence TO his story.

4. The accused repented OF his evil acts.

5. Everyone is liable TO error.

6. The campaign will culminate IN a parade.

7. The poem is representative OF her best work.

8. The guide prevailed UPON me to accompany him.

9. His remark was tantamount TO a threat.

10.He is often inconsistent IN his beliefs.

These words have TWO plurals, each with different meanings:

I guarantee you'll be able to use this Latin phrase in the week ahead:

Regards,

Jennifer

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