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Friday, December 5, 2014

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN WRITING



1.) GREAT WORD CHOICES:

   It’s not how many big words you know, but carefully choosing words that fit perfectly.


2.) THE ABILITY TO STRIKE THE READER'S FUNNY BONE:

    The above two can be combined.  Take Victor's quip from my last post:

"Alice tells me that blood is really warm.  It's like drinking hot chocolate ... but with more screaming."


3.) READ GREAT WRITERS:

   There’s no magic involved here. 

   The more great writing you can soak up every day, the more your writing will improve.

   Read great writers in your genre, out of your genre, in fiction, and in non-fiction. 


4.)  NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH:

   Even if you are writing Fantasy, you must write true to the human heart.  After all, Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It is a way of understanding it.


5.) CHARACTERS READERS WOULD WANT TO HANG WITH:

   STORY is important of course. 

 But first and foremost you have to craft interesting, fun characters.  

I mean, I would gladly watch a 90 minute movie of the Avengers hanging together as they did in the first 50 seconds of this trailer:


6.) WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

   That should be the question in the mind at the end of every page in your novel.  That is the essence of RIVETING writing.


7.) SPARKLING DIALOGUE:

   Each character should speak in her or his individualistic way with favorite pet phrases and ways of approaching problems.

   Each character should express different viewpoints, senses of humor (or lack thereof), and choice of colorful metaphors (or lack thereof).

   When two people speak, it becomes a dance with individualistic rhythms, repetitions, and rants.

8.) SETTING IS A CHARACTER TOO
  1. Period.
  2. Duration.
  3. Location.
  4. Conflict.
   Those 4 items determines the frame of your novel's story.  

   DEATH IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE occurs in the Victorian Age for a hectic three days 

in 1895 Egypt 

that is boiling over in the conflict of a nation fighting against its foreign overlords ...

   unaware that an ancient evil has awakened to destroy both the invaders and the invaded.


I suggest that if you do nothing else that you ask yourself the following four questions:
  1. “Where in time does my story take place?”
  2. “When does my story begin and end?”
  3. “Where does my story take place?”
  4. “What obstacles does my main character need to overcome?”
I hope this helps in some small way.  

But above all:  HAVE FUN!  :-)

  

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful, helpful pointers, Roland. I especially like the part about reading the great writers--it's always worked for me. But my favorite part was about chocolate, blood, and more screaming.

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  2. Helena:
    Yes, Victor certainly has a way with words ... after all, he is the French Quarters' Crown Prince of Snark! :-)

    Have a great weekend. Me? I'll be working as always! Whew!

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  3. "It’s not how many big words you know, but carefully choosing words that fit perfectly"

    You're absolutely right, Roland :)

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  4. Wendy:
    As Mark Twain says, Getting close to the right word is like picking Lightning Bug over Lightning!

    Always good to see you here!! :-)

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  5. Hi Roland - the cohesive force of story telling ... no forced thoughts or words ... just let the characters tell their tale ...

    Great post, so succinctly put .. thanks - cheers Hilary

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  6. Number 4 is a good example. I didn't think of Fantasy that way.

    Good advice here, which also applies to someone like me who's not an author of books, but still is a writer of sorts.

    This is very good, thank you.

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  7. Hilary:
    Thanks for such nice words. Yes, forcing the characters to be what we haven't crafted them to be sinks many a book! :-)

    Inger:
    Your Canyon has become a character in your posts. And Samson and Faith have taken on real lives for your readers, too. Thank you for sharing your world.

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  8. These are all really good tips. Of course, the last is my favorite, because if writing isn't fun, well why bother with it at all?

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