Hi everyone, welcome to another self-publishing blog. Today, I’m going to first introduce you to Beyond The Vale’s most recent published author and then I’m going to talk about qualifiers.
Firstly, The Artistic Spy, by Jackson Molepo
Not since Oscar Wilde’s fascinating novel of Dorian Gray’s obsession with immortality in the Portrait of Dorian Gray has a reader been asked to consider an artist’s work as just more than a painting.
The author links the ‘magical’ number 4 to the passions of 2 main characters that embody everything good and evil in mankind.
This story of the age-old battle for the souls of mankind is given an entirely new twist. Even the ending leaves the reader wondering at the final outcome.
An exciting novel and hopefully the first of many more.
The book contains not just the story, but also the artwork created by the author that inspired the story.
A little about Jackson
Mampheri Jackson Malepo, is owner and director of MJM Auto Services and Battery Station, Midrand, and newly published author.
Jackson holds an honours degree in Business Management and Industrial Psychology.
Where can I buy the Artistic Spy?
Jackson’s novel is available through Amazon, or directly from the author. He can be reached through our website.
Congratulations, Jackson, we wish you every success with your book!
Secondly, let’s talk about qualifiers
What is a qualifier?
Simply put, they are extra words use to modify the meaning of another word. For example
I’m quite hungry
There are a few trees
He’s probably tall
She’s really happy
What does a qualifier do?
A qualifier will take an absolute fact and either:
Reduce the certainty around it – by the use of probably, possibly, quite etc
Or enhance the fact – by the use of very, really, definitely etc
Should I be using qualifiers?
Qualifiers are great where you want to create deliberate uncertainty amongst your characters, or where your characters don’t have the full facts at their disposal.
“He was probably bitten by a dog.”
“There’s around a thousand of them.”
However be careful of excessive use of qualifiers.
Should I avoid qualifiers?
Often, there will be a better word choice than using the qualifier, which will make your sentence more specific and easier to read. For example
Really cold = freezing
Very angry = furious
Running really fast = sprinting
And sometimes, your sentence will be better without them at all – especially if you don’t want to cause doubt.
It was probably a duck – it was a duck.
Conclusion
Be careful with how many qualifiers you use. If you want to create doubt or uncertainty, then great, use them. Consider whether there’s a better word you can use instead.
Happy writing everyone. And remember, if you want to see your story self-published by us at Beyond The Vale, like Jackson did, drop us an email – info@beyondthevalepublishing.com for a quote.
