#deviantliterature

Token of Appreciation by ~TheLittoralViolet — read by ~91816119

Welcome to the second of the Founder’s Choices audio readings.

Tip the scales Between unbalanced lions, lambs Red feathered birds radiating sun. ~kairesdream 

January Featured Rising Stars: Deviations by writers that show great potential for the future.

 —> Memento Mori by  ~Shuriken95

—> Still Alive by ~WriteByNumbers

—> Still Running by ~Golden-Koi

—> Freedom of Speech by ~Ja-mes

 —> Awkward Tension by  ~kingkelz07

—> Darkness High by *tdog199

—> Character Development by ~Dark-Adrenaline

—> 1-3-12 by ~Whispered-Revolution

Outstanding Contributions: Deviations by writers which show incredible skill and attention to detail, and are great reading material.

—> Werewolf of Emotions: Chapter one. by *MissEilia

—> Addicted to Dreams by ~Midna88

—> Dreaming in Cabaret by *enigmaticsmile

—> colour me scarlet. by ~LustfullyYoursxX

—> Words by ~Aces90210

—> A Dry Country by *DefinitiveContent

Founder’s Choice: Deviations by writers that will simply take your breath away.

—> Candidate: Chapter One (part 1, edited) by *AndrewPom

—> No One Suspects the Writer by ~Aces90210

—> Servant Of The Knight by ~Ashikaga-Keena

A Side Note Thank you for all of your wonderful submissions this month. You can see the March Featured works in the Featured Gallery, until next month’s choices are made. And don’t think you won’t get recognition! There will be a Gallery Folder for each month to display your deviations in all of their glory! So keep submitting, and show us just how talented you are!  The November, December, January and February featured works are now in a suitably named folder in the gallery. 

Writing can be a scary thing. Getting it right, for more than a few, is a prospect more acquainted with sweaty palms and beaded brows than it is of merriment and laughter.

But fear not, dear friends! Help is at hand! We at #DeviantLITERATURE understand the quandary that grips so many writers (even, at times, our very selves!), and have arrived, in proverbial shining armour, to rid you of your proverbial literary demons forever.*

Thus begins a series of Journals designed to address the writing issues you face every time you sit down to scribble/type/inscribe. These will cover all aspects of writing, from grammar to effective character development. So sit down, relax, grab a hot beverage of some description, and prepare to learn the deepest nuances of well written verbal art.

Let’s start simply. The first mend-worthy facet of writing that I have noticed in a large proportion of pieces being submitted to the group gallery is a single piece of punctuation that appears to be a stumbling block for many: the comma.

The comma, for those of you who live on the other side of the multi-verse, is this grammatical symbol: ,

The comma is used in many contexts. There are three main contexts in which a comma is used and that I shall elaborate on henceforth:

1. Separating Clauses.

2. Around speech.

3. Emphasis.

PART ONE

Firstly, commas separate clauses. Clauses are, essentially, sections of sentences. A subordinate (i.e. menial servant to the main) clause can be stuck onto a sentence for effectiveness and flow; the glue is the comma. Example:

Ja-mes jumped off his bed.

Becomes...

Flopping around like a fool, Ja-mes jumped off his bed.

Observe that the comma is being used here to glue the subordinate clause onto the main clause of the sentence. Also note that the subordinate clause will not work as an individual sentence, whereas the main clause will. AND: you can stick a subordinate clause at the start OR end of the sentence, as long as you use a comma to glue it in place. Try experimenting with stacked clauses. See if you can do this in clever ways to really add ‘oomph’ to your next descriptive paragraph!

PART TWO

Smaller, but vitally important: commas are used to signify the end of speech. Too many times I read sentences like this:

‘Eat me’ Ja-mes said.

It is correct grammatical practice to have a comma at the end of the spoken sentence:

‘Eat me,’ Ja-mes said.

You may be asking, ‘But Ja-mes! Surely I should signify the end of the speech with a full stop! It’s the end of a sentence, isn’t it?’

It’s the end of the sentence that the character’s just said. It is NOT the end of the sentence you’re writing. You can put a full stop at the end of the spoken sentence IF it’s the end of your WRITTEN sentence too. Example:

Ja-mes said, ‘Eat me.’

Because the spoken sentence was at the end of the written one, I place a full stop.

I’ll also use the above example to illustrate one more point on commas around speech: a comma goes before speech commences, too. Look at the above example again. See it? Good. Now blind me with your brilliant dialogue.

PART THREE

This is where it gets more subjective. Commas can be used to add emphasis to your sentences.

My bicycle is the best in town because it’s really really fast and is jet black, like my own personal stallion but with less feeding obligations.

This sentence is OK, but we can add emphasis to it in a number of ways using commas. Note that I’ve already identified a subordinate clause, and glued it in place with a comma. What we can do next is read the sentence out loud. Do it now. I dare you. Where do you find you naturally pause when you’re reading? When it comes to your work, I find it helps your reader to have commas in the places where you pause whilst reading, so that they can follow your tone. Let me help you follow my reading pace with this sentence:

My bicycle is the best in town because it’s really, really fast, and is jet black, like my own personal stallion, but with less feeding obligations.

ALTERNATIVE:

My bicycle is the best in town, because it’s really really fast, and is jet black, like my own personal stallion but with less feeding obligations.

Both of these sentences are perfectly fine grammatically, but give different emphasis to different parts of the sentence. Commas are useful in this respect. Give it a go when you want your readers to place emphasis on a particular part of your sentence!

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Oh my. We’ve come to the end of our first workshop.

Thanks so much for joining me for this inaugural felicitation. Be sure to keep following #DeviantLITERATURE’s Journal – weekly workshops will be provided for all, free of charge.

Until next time, fare thee well, friends!

P.S: If you’re really keen, look through what I’ve written in this Journal. See if you can spot what kind of commas I’ve been using! 

On temptation by ~Artravesty — read by ~Ja-mes

Welcome to the third and final of the Founder’s Choices audio readings.

Every month, deviantLITERATURE features artists from the group, with three Founder’s Choices - the three best pieces in the gallery chosen by the Founder and Co-Founders. To make these pieces even more prestigious to achieve, they now also receive a reading of their piece (or extract), recorded and posted here on our tumblr account. 

a feeling of Being Alive by ~willyamPax — read by ~Ja-mes

Welcome to the second of the Founder’s Choices audio readings.

47. Creation - us ver by =Kurea1802 -- read by ~Ja-mes

Welcome to the first of the Founder's Choices audio readings.