Post by Fel on Jul 31, 2011 16:34:58 GMT -5
The title explains the post, these are randoms things that I've found over the years that help with writing better.
-Concrete Details : Even if you do, the readers won't see the tree or the person or whatever you're writing about unless you tell them exactly what it looks like. Don't be abstract either and say she was 'sad' because that's vague and boring. Use small details to explain what the person is feeling without being blunt and just saying it outright.
EX: She was sad. or
The girl pushes damp strands of her hair out of her face. They cling there, sticking to the wet from the tears she hadn't yet managed to dry from her face. The back of her mouth feels swollen and she doesn't open her eyes until she has safely hidden them behind her aviators.
-Telling Vs. Showing : You can't describe every rock, tree, and stone in amazing detail. Some things are relevant (symbols, your characters) and some just aren't. To keep it simple; describe or show what's important but just tell about what isn't.
Show: Jack slams his fist into the pale yellow wall, slightly cracking the paint but also tearing through his skin. He shakes it back and forth, sending drops of blood spinning into the air while he looks around the room.
Tell: We went to the mall and found that Hot Topic was closed. Since there was nothing else to do we just went home and made corkscrews.
-Cliché : Don't use stuff like having characters kiss in the rain unless you are trying to make it funnily bad or something. Twist the cliché into something interesting.
-Believable Dialogue : Lots of people write like they talk, but keep in mind that all people don't talk the same way. People are lazy and don't use proper grammar when they speak, and more often than not they have accents or don't have complete sentences. If it's in "" you can break the laws of grammar.
EX: Weird Dialogue: "I am very sorry that I left you, Anna, for more than a year and that while I was gone I cheated on you with several girls in hawaii."
Normal-ish Dialogue: "Don't look away like that! I know I left... but even if you never believe it listen when I tell you that I'm just so f------ sorry!"
Five Senses : Every person has 5 senses and whether they're aware of it or not they use all of them. If your stuck or don't know what else to write just go through each sense to really let the reader know what's going on.
- Don't use 'very'. Actually, use 'very' very sparingly.
- Knowing Characters : you have to know your characters if you want to tell them what to do. They're people and if you want them to be believable they need to act according to their character. Most of the time everything you know about the character won't be in the writing. The stuff that you know about them that isn't a huge part of your book/thread is the most important. You need to know the address of their first house, their favorite disney princess, or how many skateboard tricks they can do. Stuff like that.
-Earning Emotions : If you've read Twilight, do you remember when lots of people started saying that Bella was too whinny? If your characters issues aren't big enough to warrant a huge breakdown then your character should not have a huge breakdown. Try and really earn the sadness or anger or whatever. It helps keep what your writing from being some kind of sappy romance. (note: the only people I know who fell in 'love' two hours after meeting each other two hours ago had a bunch of relationship issues.)
-200 Word Posts (and how to do them) : the first thing you need to keep in mind is the purpose of your post. Respond to what the person above you said. Use the rules of improve, go with what they say and then add in something new yourself. Once you have that you can go back and work through your character's emotions, thoughts, and opinions. All of that should be in a post, especially opinions. People have opinions on everything, even breakfast, so it's normal for them to be thinking judgmentally. Also, expand on everything. The person you're doing a thread with obviously cares about reading what you write, so give them something to read. If your character is happy or sad explain why and put as much detail in as possible. Once that's done, move onto the 5 senses. Go through each one, though you don't have to use taste unless your character is eating. If you did all that and cannot find anything else to talk about, then talk about the weather, what your character was doing right before the thread, something they'll be doing in the future, or describe your character's looks in more detail. I hope this helps!
That's pretty much it. More to be added. ^^
-Concrete Details : Even if you do, the readers won't see the tree or the person or whatever you're writing about unless you tell them exactly what it looks like. Don't be abstract either and say she was 'sad' because that's vague and boring. Use small details to explain what the person is feeling without being blunt and just saying it outright.
EX: She was sad. or
The girl pushes damp strands of her hair out of her face. They cling there, sticking to the wet from the tears she hadn't yet managed to dry from her face. The back of her mouth feels swollen and she doesn't open her eyes until she has safely hidden them behind her aviators.
-Telling Vs. Showing : You can't describe every rock, tree, and stone in amazing detail. Some things are relevant (symbols, your characters) and some just aren't. To keep it simple; describe or show what's important but just tell about what isn't.
Show: Jack slams his fist into the pale yellow wall, slightly cracking the paint but also tearing through his skin. He shakes it back and forth, sending drops of blood spinning into the air while he looks around the room.
Tell: We went to the mall and found that Hot Topic was closed. Since there was nothing else to do we just went home and made corkscrews.
-Cliché : Don't use stuff like having characters kiss in the rain unless you are trying to make it funnily bad or something. Twist the cliché into something interesting.
-Believable Dialogue : Lots of people write like they talk, but keep in mind that all people don't talk the same way. People are lazy and don't use proper grammar when they speak, and more often than not they have accents or don't have complete sentences. If it's in "" you can break the laws of grammar.
EX: Weird Dialogue: "I am very sorry that I left you, Anna, for more than a year and that while I was gone I cheated on you with several girls in hawaii."
Normal-ish Dialogue: "Don't look away like that! I know I left... but even if you never believe it listen when I tell you that I'm just so f------ sorry!"
Five Senses : Every person has 5 senses and whether they're aware of it or not they use all of them. If your stuck or don't know what else to write just go through each sense to really let the reader know what's going on.
- Don't use 'very'. Actually, use 'very' very sparingly.
- Knowing Characters : you have to know your characters if you want to tell them what to do. They're people and if you want them to be believable they need to act according to their character. Most of the time everything you know about the character won't be in the writing. The stuff that you know about them that isn't a huge part of your book/thread is the most important. You need to know the address of their first house, their favorite disney princess, or how many skateboard tricks they can do. Stuff like that.
-Earning Emotions : If you've read Twilight, do you remember when lots of people started saying that Bella was too whinny? If your characters issues aren't big enough to warrant a huge breakdown then your character should not have a huge breakdown. Try and really earn the sadness or anger or whatever. It helps keep what your writing from being some kind of sappy romance. (note: the only people I know who fell in 'love' two hours after meeting each other two hours ago had a bunch of relationship issues.)
-200 Word Posts (and how to do them) : the first thing you need to keep in mind is the purpose of your post. Respond to what the person above you said. Use the rules of improve, go with what they say and then add in something new yourself. Once you have that you can go back and work through your character's emotions, thoughts, and opinions. All of that should be in a post, especially opinions. People have opinions on everything, even breakfast, so it's normal for them to be thinking judgmentally. Also, expand on everything. The person you're doing a thread with obviously cares about reading what you write, so give them something to read. If your character is happy or sad explain why and put as much detail in as possible. Once that's done, move onto the 5 senses. Go through each one, though you don't have to use taste unless your character is eating. If you did all that and cannot find anything else to talk about, then talk about the weather, what your character was doing right before the thread, something they'll be doing in the future, or describe your character's looks in more detail. I hope this helps!
That's pretty much it. More to be added. ^^
