NOVEL WEB General Notes
I'm not a big fan of loads of pontification by a books characters to explain mechanics and plot of a book. I'm also not as skilled as some authors, so I can't completely disguise it into the narrative. Therefore, I decided on that old trope of putting quotes at the start of each chapter from some book, fictitious or real. If you're not a fan of this sort of thing, then skip them. Just be warned (and don't blame me) if you get a bit lost. If you don't skip them, but still become lost, then yes, you can blame me.
Spelling is Australian. You know, the correct way of spelling things.
Grammar is Australian. Again, the correct way of saying things.
Grandma is your parent's mother.
Sarcasm is never found in Australian humour (yes, this was said with sarcasm).
Should shifter be capitalised? Good way to start a fight at a Grammar Convention. My book, so no, it is not capitalised unless it forms part of a name or title. Should magi be capitalised? Again, my book, so no, unless it forms part of a name or title. Also, magi is usually used as the plural, here it is used as the singular and 'mages' as the plural. if you have a problem with that, take it up with the mages, I'm not silly enough to argue with them.
If you want to start a fight at a Grandma Convention, then ask if scones should be made with milk or cream. My vote is cream, then eaten with whipped cream and jam, preferably homemade strawberry, or blackberry. Yes, jam, not jelly, so it’s got those little seedy bits in it.
Conventions for addressing politicians in Australia:
- All members of the Senate get called Senator (freaky, right?). So, if Mary Mayham became a senator, she would be officially referred to as Senator Mary Mayham.
- All members of the Lower House get 'MP' added after their name. So, if Mary’s sister Martha got elected to the lower house, she would then be called, Martha Mayham MP. Again, to start a fight, officially you should not put a comma before the MP, but since Pollies usually don’t read the rules, they often do.
- Anyone who forms part of the ruling group of politicians (all Ministers, Speaker of the Lower House, and President of the Senate), gets to be known as 'Honourable', usually shortened to 'Hon'. So, if Martha became, say the Minister for Defence, she gets to add 'Hon' to her name, becoming The Hon Martha Mayham MP. Technically, the use of 'Hon' should finish when they are fired/retired, but in common practice, the politicians have been allowed to keep using it afterwards. Like trying to get a favourite toy off a toddler after a visit to kindergarten. And no, I'm not going to make any jokes about using 'honourable' and 'politician' in the same sentence.
- If both Senator and Honourable apply, the word Senator comes first. So, if Mary became the Minister for Rorts and Pork-barrelling she would become Senator the Hon Mary Mayham
Definition of Politics - A parrot that swallowed a clock (polly ticks)