James Piper, Author

Thursday, September 29, 2011 ... a collection of twitters, juste pour fun ... A word cloud created from my twitter account. View larger image here . View interactive version here . Posted 2011/09/29 at 16h05ET in Twitter .

Thursday, September 29, 2011 ... perhaps the word cloud cool factor has faded but ... S ome word clouds based on my novel The Protectors. View album here . Posted 2011/09/23 at 15h13ET in The Protectors (A Thriller) .

Saturday, September 24, 2011 ... sometimes free is not a good price but it is here ... I was researching ISBNs online and came across a common mistake. “How to read an ISBN number.” Or, “How to interpret an ISBN number.” ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number thus when you write ISBN number you are being redundant. Lose the second number. ISBN isn’t alone. I’ve often heard people say PIN number or VIN number. Same problem. Rikki lose that number. For some reason SSN and SIN don’t have that problem. I think it’s because people will say, “Social Security Number” or “Social Insurance Number” and avoid using the acronyms. Posted 2011/09/24 at 09h09ET in Words .

Friday, September 23, 2011 ... we'll you can reach a limit to editing but ... S ome thoughts on editing. 1. There is a direct correlation between success as a writer and time spent editing. Editing here means rewrites, cuts and copyediting. This mammoth job takes on a life of its own and requires more time than drafting the outline and writing the first draft. 2. When in doubt, cut. 3. When in doubt, look it up. 4. Give yourself space between each go-through. You need to clear you mind and come at the material with a fresh look. 5. Use a speech-to-text application to give yourself a different view on your work. Kindle. Final Draft (A script writing program). 6. The same can be said for changing the font and font size of your material. Typically we stick to the same font. By changing it drastically, it tricks the mind and you’ll see your work in a different way. 7. Create an e-book file of your work and read it with your e-reader. 8. Know your trou...

Thursday, September 22, 2011 ... learning other languages is a good thing ... I ’ve never formally studied the Italian language, but from my music studies I know piano means quiet or soft and forte means loud. Put them together to create pianoforte, the original word for piano. Somewhere in a forest the forte ran away. It shouldn’t be confused with fortepiano. A forerunner to the modern piano. It also ran away. From music to film we pick up certain words. I can still hear Roberto Benigni saying, “Principessa” in Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella). When Dean Martin sings in Italian I learnt, no, scratch that, there’s just the hangovers. While we learn any language by listening, we gain insights by reading. This week it was a lesson in Italian. Graffiti is an Italian word and is plural. Whereas, graffito is the singular form. Anyone who knows Italian understands this distinction. To write, “The graffiti was…” or “There was graffiti on” sounds right, but to someone ...

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 ... I don't like it when someone says a certain spelling isn't correct when it is ... I tend to use towards in my writing and not toward. A fellow writer told me there shouldn’t be an S on the end. “That’s not right,” she said. I didn’t argue and steered the conversation somewhere else. Which is it? With or without an S? Either. Both are correct. Towards is used more British. Toward more U.S. Don’t believe me? Here is an authority on the issue: Common Errors in English Usage Posted 2011/09/21 at 08h14ET in words.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 ... sometimes google gets it right and then they go south ... R ecently I was editing a novel and came across, “It’s been a while.” I stopped and wondered: should it be two words or one? Satisfied it was correct, I continued my edits, but sometimes I have to stop and check with some authority. But how to check? Pull out a book, right? Now I’ve read any number of books on language, grammar, and style. Each day I’ll read a chunk and store it away in my head, somewhere, I hope, in the non-corrupted sectors. Over time, my polluted mind is either certain on a particular issue or completely fuzzy. Fuzzy seems more prevalent. I love these books, but they don’t work as reference material for me. Even if I remembered what book dealt with a certain issue, I’d have to find the book, then search the pages to find the entry at which point I’d discover it wasn’t quite how I remembered it. Time for the internet. If your not familiar with this site: Co...