3 Things to Know About Regular Verbs

1) The forms of a regular verb can be predicted by rules. 

2) There are thousands of regular verbs.

3) Regular full verbs appear in four forms, each have a different role in the clause.

a) BASE FORM: A form with no endings. This is sometimes called the infinitive form - go / look / run / discover / remember.

b) -S FORM: These are made by adding an s ending to the base form - looks / cuts / runs / tries / passes / pushes.

c) -ING PARTICIPLE: These are made by adding ing to the base - visiting / begging / panicking / creating.

d) A form made by adding -ed: This ending is found in the past form and in the -ed participle form - passed / stopped / died / barred / rented / funded

 

3 Things to Know About Verb Phrase Structure

1) The verb element in a sentence comprises of one or more words that make up the verb phrase. For example:

I SAW a cat. 

I HAVEN'T SEEN anything. 

DID I SEE that? 

I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SEEING her.

2) The verb phrase consists of at least one main verb and can have up to four auxiliary verbs. For example:

a) kiss.

b) is kissing.

c) has been kissing.

d) must have been kissing.

e) must have been being kissed. (This is rare).

3) Three types of verb can occur with the verb phrase.

a) Full - Or lexical - These have a clearly statable meaning and act as main verbs:

run, jump, go, look, want, think, find.

b) Modal auxiliary - These express a range of judgments about the events and can only be used as auxiliary verbs:

will, shall, may, might, can, could.

c) Primary - These can be either main or auxiliary verbs and there are three of them - BE, HAVE, DO. For example:

Main use: 

They ARE happy. 

She HAS a dog. 

They DO sums.

Auxiliary use:

They ARE going.

She HAS seen it.

DO they go?

There are certain other verbs that do not fall clearly into these types. 

7 Things to Know About Concords

1) A concord is a way of showing that two grammatical units have a certain feature in common.

2) The most important is the third person in the present tense. This states that singular subjects take singular verbs or plural subjects take plural verbs. For example:

My boy watches television in the evening.

My boys watch television in the evening. 

3) The verb 'be' shows first person concord between the subject and verb in the present tense, using 'am'. This verb is the only one to display past tense concord, with the first and third persons, using was. For example:

I am tired. I was tired. He was tired.

4) Three types of concord:

a) Grammatical concord - This occurs when elements formally agree with each other. For example, a plural concord for plural subjects.

b) Notional concord - This is when the verb agrees with the singular or plural. For example: Two miles is a long way. The verb is singular because 'two miles' is seen as a singular entity. 

c) Concord of proximity - This is when a verb agrees with the number of a nearby noun, rather than the real subject. For example: No one except his football team agree that it was a goal.

5) Concord can be confusing and people are uncertain about it. Traditional grammars insist on grammatical concord, but usage often favours notional concord. Concord of proximity often occurs in spontaneous speech, but is condemned in writing. 

6) Usage is particularly divided over 'none'.

None of the pens is/are on the table.

The plural is more commonly used, but the older tradition insists on the singular. 

7) When two nouns are linked as a subject, you need to decide if you want to consider them as one or two separate entities.

Law and order is/are now established.  

7 Things to Know About Vocatives

1) A vocative refers to a person or persons to whom a sentence is addressed.

2) They could be used to call someone to get their attention. For example

John, your dinner's ready. 

Guys, it's poker time.

3) They can be used to address someone. For example:

Teacher, please tell me that one again. 

Are you sure that you want to do that, love?

Stop it, idiot. 

4) Vocatives are optional in a sentence. They can be added or removed without affecting the rest of the sentence. 

5) They can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. In this way they convey different kinds of nuance. For example:

Mary, I'd like my boy to walk here. 

I'd like my boy, Mary, to walk here.

I'd like my boy to walk here, Mary.

6) Vocatives can be:

a) Names.

b) Family.

c) Markers of status or respect - lord, sir...

d) Labels for occupations - doctor, teacher...

e) Evaluative - darling, love, fool...

f) General labels - guys, gals, boys...

g) The pronoun you - Although this can be very impolite - You, pass me that.

h) Occasionally, certain kinds of clause - Whatever your name is, don't touch it.

7) There is normally only one vocative per sentence because there is no need to keep addressing the same person or group of people. 

Authonomy - A Great Resource for Writers

Authonomy is a website run by HarperCollins - http://authonomy.com - You can upload part, or all of your novel on here. You have to upload at least ten thousand words to make your work 'go live'. Once it's live, it is available for everyone to see and comment on. 

A new book will start at the bottom of the rankings and will climb depending on how many users back it, comment on it, and rate it. If, by the end of the month, your book has made it into the top five, HarperCollins promise to read the first ten thousand words and offer a critque, and possibly, publication. A free professional review!

To get into the top five takes a lot of hard work. Some users try the approach of messaging everyone to ask for backing. This method, surprisingly, does see them climb up the table, but it seems that to get into the top five, you have to offer to review the work of others to get the same in return.   

However, while a HarperCollins review is nothing to be sniffed at, there is a huge amount of value in joining a reading group on this site. There are plenty of active users on the forums that are more than happy to critque your work for the same in return. As a writer, this is what I want. I would hate to get to the editor's desk before my work's ready, and the community are helping me improve my work every day. To have a place where I can get honest and constructive criticism for free is amazing. All of the people I have met so far have been wonderful, and very kind with their criticism, while offering something useful for me to work with. My book is so much better for it.  

Again, there are people who seem to want to progress up the charts and will praise your work to receive the same in return, but if you find a good group, you will meet a great collection of people that will help you improve as a writer. Here is my novella - http://authonomy.com/books/49125/back-to-basics/ - and here is a link to the group that I am a member of - http://authonomy.com/forums/threads/105135/cool-writers-only-group-cwog-/

I hope to see you on the site. 

The Benefits of Writing Every Day

If there's one piece of advice that I've heard from professional writers, it's 'write every day'. Even if it's just a small amount, the practice of flexing your writing muscles each and every day is much more beneficial than writing for a big chunk once a week. As an aspiring professional author, I have lived by this piece of advice, sometimes to the detriment of every other aspect of my life.

So, with my girlfriend's birthday recently, we decided to spend a night in a hotel and I accepted that I would miss a day of writing as a result of the night out. I've been feeling quite burned out lately, so the chance to take a day off wasn't a bad thing. 

What I discovered however, was that because of my writing discipline, my brain didn't want to shut down for a day. This worked out really well, because instead of having something pre-planned to work on, my brain simply wandered wherever it chose to. As a result I felt super excited and refreshed to get back to my writing the next day and have plenty of new ideas for more writing. I have always understood that rest periods are really important, but I forget sometimes. It was nice to get that reminder.  

I suppose it's about learning when to take time off and how much, which is an individual choice. What I will say for the practice of writing every day is that my brain expects to write each morning much like my stomach expects breakfast, and it often seems like it's ready and waiting for me. The practise of writing every day seems like it's paying off. 

“You must write every single day of your life... You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” Ray Bradbury

The Law of Attraction and The Internet

Having read 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne a few months ago, I decided that I should apply it to my writing. I've always had a belief that I'm good enough to earn a living from my passion and I think that self belief in everything is important, but especially in a solitary pursuit like writing. 

'The Secret' is also referred to as 'The Law of Attraction' and the basic premise is that we manifest in our lives what we focus on. If we always focus on being poor, then we will be poor. If we always feel angry then we will attract anger into our lives. If we focus on happiness and peace then that is what we will find. Recently, when I was out walking, I put all of my attention on visualising being published. When I got back from my walk, I had an email with my first acceptance. http://www.raphaelsvillage.com/article.php?story=2012092711495327 In that same week I received news of a competition being run by HarperCollins and I knew that I should enter it because I felt like I was attracting things into my life - authonomy Blog | authonomy writing community: Laurence O'Bryan competition winners - I was selected as one of the three winners. Coincidence? Maybe, but it's working so I'm choosing to stay with it. 

One thing I find hard about the law of attraction is maintaining it. Being a writer can be the most invigorating practice, but it can also be exhausting. When I feel like things are not clicking, it can be hard to stay at the keyboard. However, I still love it, and I take solace if two hours writing produces just one good sentence. In spite of this, the less productive times can lead to me feeling less optimistic. I focus on the struggle of writing, the tiredness that I feel for getting up at four in the morning, the questions of whether I good enough and should I believe that I probably won't make a living from it because that's what a lot of people seem keen on telling me. 

What I need at times is a state change and I found this yesterday when I was searching for a quote for a blog entry. I didn't find the quote that I was searching for, but what I did find was thousands of quotes from writers. Suddenly I felt part of a community and I felt much better about my struggle. My mood lifted, I read more and more quotes and then watched a couple of clips from Neil Gaiman and David Mack. 

I realised that the internet is much like the law of attraction. The words that you put in the Google search box is much like directing your attention on it. When you hit enter, what comes back to you is what you've created. Thousands of quotes, or support, came to me from writers the world over, alive and dead, when I asked for it. 

As I've been trying to let go of judgment, I've invested less in internet trolls and negativity, and focused on my positive online interactions. As a result, I've created a very different internet experience for myself. We are where our attention is. So I suppose now that if I want to feel happy, supported, invigorated, I just need to work what I'm feeling and ask Google for the opposite. My partner does a similar thing with pinterest.  

And finally, one of my favourite quotes from yesterdays searching: "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." - Ray Bradbury. I believe I create that 'reality' that can destroy me.  

After my recent success with the competition on www.authonomy.com I have decided to upload my recently finished novella, 'Back to Basics' to the website. I'm interested to get involved with the community to see if I can both give and receive feedback. I believe that if I approach this with my only intention being to get my work recognised, then it may not pay off, but if I focus on reading many opening chapters and commenting primarily on other people's work, I believe that good things could come of that.

My intention is to read at least one chapter per day and provide constructive feedback.

Following the advice of a published author, I have implemented a new regime for my writing over the past six to eight months. The regime is to make the time for my writing. Being a morning person, I get up now between four and five in the morning to write. It can put a strain on our family when I'm locked away in my study each morning, but it's starting to show results. After being published last month, I have just won a competition run by HarperCollins via their Authonomy website.

Laurence O'Bryan is a published author, his first novel, 'The Istanbul Puzzle' won high praise and the best novel at the Southern California Writer's Conference. His next novel, 'The Jerusalem Puzzle' is due to be published soon and the second chapter was released on the Authonomy blog. There was then an open invite to read the chapter and offer a five-hundred word synopsis of where you would take the story next. Having been shortlisted into the final sixteen for my entry, I was then offered the opportunity to submit a five-thousand word short story for potential publication.

Today I received an email explaining that i would be one of three authors that would be published in a special ebook release of 'The Jerusalem Puzzle', It will be published next summer. I'm so grateful for the opportunity given to me by HarperCollins and I now have the chance to get my work seen by a wide audience. I am also allowed to put my contact and social network details in the with my winning entry. 

The story that i submitted was called 'In the Name of Science' and I had submitted it to 'Talesofworldwarz.com' prior to sending it to HarperCollins. However, it seemed like the right story to send for the competition entry, which is why I submitted it to two places. When I emailed 'Talesofworldwarz.com' explaining that I had been published, they informed me that I was going to be published with the same story by them also.

All in all it has been a wonderful day for writing. I also finished my novella today. 

It would seem that all of the extra work I am managing to get in because of the redeye alarm calls is paying off.