L.B. Clark's Blog, page 10
September 23, 2011
Advice on Writing
I've read just about any and all advice I can find on writing. I've read humorous lists, autobiographical books, weblogs, magazine articles, and textbooks. Out of all of that, here are a few of the best bits of advice that I've stumbled upon.
1. Avoid adverbs. Stephen King once said, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." Other writers agree � adverbs are to be avoided as much as possible and should never, ever be used in dialogue attribution.
2. Avoid passive voice. To do this, you must first know the difference between passive and active voice. A great article on the difference can be found here:
3. If you wouldn't read it, don't write it. Or, as Elmore Leonard put it, "try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip". He went on to explain, "Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them. What the writer is doing, he's writing, perpetrating hooptedoodle, perhaps taking another shot at the weather, or has gone into the character's head, and the reader either knows what the guy's thinking or doesn't care. I'll bet you don't skip dialogue."
For me personally, this means leaving out longwinded descriptions. It also means leaving out graphic depictions of sex that are usually found in romance novels. I don't read 'em, so I don't usually write 'em.
4. Write. It doesn't matter if you're writing a book, a blog post, or a grocery list, the very act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) can unlock the creative part of your brain. By writing frequently, writing becomes a natural part of your life, as essential as breathing.
5. Read. Read everything. Good books encourage us, as writers, to strive to create something just as memorable and moving. Bad books make us say, "I can do better," and then set out to prove that we can.
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1. Avoid adverbs. Stephen King once said, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." Other writers agree � adverbs are to be avoided as much as possible and should never, ever be used in dialogue attribution.
2. Avoid passive voice. To do this, you must first know the difference between passive and active voice. A great article on the difference can be found here:
3. If you wouldn't read it, don't write it. Or, as Elmore Leonard put it, "try to leave out the parts that readers tend to skip". He went on to explain, "Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them. What the writer is doing, he's writing, perpetrating hooptedoodle, perhaps taking another shot at the weather, or has gone into the character's head, and the reader either knows what the guy's thinking or doesn't care. I'll bet you don't skip dialogue."
For me personally, this means leaving out longwinded descriptions. It also means leaving out graphic depictions of sex that are usually found in romance novels. I don't read 'em, so I don't usually write 'em.
4. Write. It doesn't matter if you're writing a book, a blog post, or a grocery list, the very act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) can unlock the creative part of your brain. By writing frequently, writing becomes a natural part of your life, as essential as breathing.
5. Read. Read everything. Good books encourage us, as writers, to strive to create something just as memorable and moving. Bad books make us say, "I can do better," and then set out to prove that we can.
comments
September 17, 2011
The Importance of a First Reader
A first reader, or beta reader, is essential if you want to publish a well-crafted book. Whether you've a degree in English composition or you're in the process of learning English as a second language, you need someone else to look over your work.
So...why? What does a beta reader do?
A decent beta reader will let you know a number of things. He will tell you whether the timing and flow keep the pages turning. He'll catch typographical, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice errors. He can spot plot loopholes, let you know if a character seems like a cardboard cutout, and point out any detail that throws him or her out of the story. He can also find those pesky adverbs that crop up no matter how hard you try to eradicate them. On the opposite side of the coin, he can tell you what bits of humor made him laugh, can point out phrases that he especially liked, and stroke your ego in general.
If you haven't had someone go over your book line by line, marking it up with the ruthlessness of a high school English teacher, then go do it! Find a friend or another writer and ask him or her to edit your work. The comment feature in Word works very well for this, as it allows the reader to point out problems without changing the document. From there, it is up to you whether to accept of reject the suggestions. The important thing here is that you will know in a very specific sense exactly what works and doesn't work for at least one person. This can give you a more clear idea of what will and won't work for your overall audience.
Regardless of your level of experience or how well-written you think your work is, show it to at least one other person (the more the merrier) before putting it in front of the public. This helps you to gain more readers, as most folks can't abide shoddy workmanship. It also helps indie authors in general, as it helps us to build a reputation for quality.
Do yourself, your readers, and your fellow authors a favor; find a beta reader for your work - preferably before you hit the publish button. You'll be glad you did.
comments
So...why? What does a beta reader do?
A decent beta reader will let you know a number of things. He will tell you whether the timing and flow keep the pages turning. He'll catch typographical, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice errors. He can spot plot loopholes, let you know if a character seems like a cardboard cutout, and point out any detail that throws him or her out of the story. He can also find those pesky adverbs that crop up no matter how hard you try to eradicate them. On the opposite side of the coin, he can tell you what bits of humor made him laugh, can point out phrases that he especially liked, and stroke your ego in general.
If you haven't had someone go over your book line by line, marking it up with the ruthlessness of a high school English teacher, then go do it! Find a friend or another writer and ask him or her to edit your work. The comment feature in Word works very well for this, as it allows the reader to point out problems without changing the document. From there, it is up to you whether to accept of reject the suggestions. The important thing here is that you will know in a very specific sense exactly what works and doesn't work for at least one person. This can give you a more clear idea of what will and won't work for your overall audience.
Regardless of your level of experience or how well-written you think your work is, show it to at least one other person (the more the merrier) before putting it in front of the public. This helps you to gain more readers, as most folks can't abide shoddy workmanship. It also helps indie authors in general, as it helps us to build a reputation for quality.
Do yourself, your readers, and your fellow authors a favor; find a beta reader for your work - preferably before you hit the publish button. You'll be glad you did.
comments
September 15, 2011
The Writing/Music Connection
"For some people, music is just noise, pleasant sound to fill up the silence or drown out what they don't want to hear. To me, it's much more than that. Music can energize me, soothe me, motivate me. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me see things in a new way. It can make me think or quiet my mind." - Elizabeth Morgan, Call Out
When I wrote those words, I had no idea that they'd make their way into my novel. The story didn't even have a premise at that point, only a line of narrative that never made it's way into the book. Eventually, I fleshed out some characters and a plot, and Call Out was born.
Music is a central part of my books (The Hand of Fate and Call Out) just as it's a central part of my life. I didn't set out to write about musicians, but that's what ended up happening. Originally, Brian Kelly was supposed to be working in a bar in Orlando and London Dahlbeck didn't even exist. But as the story took shape, they told me who they really are - rock musicians. And I realized then that I had the chance to do a couple of cool things with my book. I could talk about music - a lot - and I could attempt to paint a picture of rock stars as 'just people'.
But I digress.
Music is not only integrated into my stories, it's the reason those stories made it out of my head and into written words. Without music, I couldn't have written much. Hell, I had to make a playlist of certain songs before I could even write the first scene in Call Out.
Most of the time, I can listen to just about anything (that I like) and it will help get and keep the creative juices flowing. It occurred to me one day that there is a scientific explanation for that; the part of our brains that enjoys music is the same part that sparks creativity. Ain't that cool?
There were times when I did listen to very specific music to help get into the right mindset for writing certain scenes. I made a lot of playlists: angry, sappy, heartbreaking. Sometimes, I would listen to one song over and over and over again in order to get a few short paragraphs to flow the way I wanted to them to.
The most important thing that music did for me, though, was break my bouts of writer's block. More than once, I found that if I just sat down, put on the headphones, and queued up some of my favorite artists, the words would skip through my brain and onto the screen as if by magic. Just like that, writer's block, cured.
So yes, music inspires and motivates me, changes my frame of mind, and tints the way I view the world. For me, there's a very strong connection between music and writing. Without music, there is no writing. Without music, there's not much of anything, really.
comments
When I wrote those words, I had no idea that they'd make their way into my novel. The story didn't even have a premise at that point, only a line of narrative that never made it's way into the book. Eventually, I fleshed out some characters and a plot, and Call Out was born.
Music is a central part of my books (The Hand of Fate and Call Out) just as it's a central part of my life. I didn't set out to write about musicians, but that's what ended up happening. Originally, Brian Kelly was supposed to be working in a bar in Orlando and London Dahlbeck didn't even exist. But as the story took shape, they told me who they really are - rock musicians. And I realized then that I had the chance to do a couple of cool things with my book. I could talk about music - a lot - and I could attempt to paint a picture of rock stars as 'just people'.
But I digress.
Music is not only integrated into my stories, it's the reason those stories made it out of my head and into written words. Without music, I couldn't have written much. Hell, I had to make a playlist of certain songs before I could even write the first scene in Call Out.
Most of the time, I can listen to just about anything (that I like) and it will help get and keep the creative juices flowing. It occurred to me one day that there is a scientific explanation for that; the part of our brains that enjoys music is the same part that sparks creativity. Ain't that cool?
There were times when I did listen to very specific music to help get into the right mindset for writing certain scenes. I made a lot of playlists: angry, sappy, heartbreaking. Sometimes, I would listen to one song over and over and over again in order to get a few short paragraphs to flow the way I wanted to them to.
The most important thing that music did for me, though, was break my bouts of writer's block. More than once, I found that if I just sat down, put on the headphones, and queued up some of my favorite artists, the words would skip through my brain and onto the screen as if by magic. Just like that, writer's block, cured.
So yes, music inspires and motivates me, changes my frame of mind, and tints the way I view the world. For me, there's a very strong connection between music and writing. Without music, there is no writing. Without music, there's not much of anything, really.
comments
August 3, 2011
Characters In Fiction
Characters in fiction are just that - fictional characters. The concept may seem simple and obvious, but there are a surprising number of people who don't fully grasp the concept.
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(ÌýÌý)
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August 2, 2011
Is writing magic?
I stumbled upon one of those "better writing" articles today that began with the statement that writing is not magic. It went on to give a list of tips for writing a novel. That list of tips included this one: write the ending first.
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(ÌýÌý)
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Welcome to Writing Op-Ed
This blog is about writing - more specifically, it is about my views on the writing and editing process. It is my hope that some of the opinions (tips and thoughts) I share here will help other writers and proofreaders in their creative endeavors.
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