Thursday, April 28, 2022
Sunday, April 24, 2022
The Keys To Great Dialog
The most important thing about written dialog is the flow. When people are verbally communicating, there aren't usually long pauses or five syllable words thrown around. Rule #1 is to keep it simple. Use words that normal people use while talking. A construction worker or a waiter would not use words like "preamble" or "hypothesize." Even if they have the vocabulary, they would sound like they are talking down to people if they use it. So, if your character isn't talking down to people and making an attempt to show off that vocabulary, keep the big words out, unless your she has a PhD in Literature.
The next thing I'd like to emphasize is punctuation. Punctuation is very important for the flow of the dialog. A comma calls for a pause in the thought, and one that has been misplaced can change the entire flow of the conversation, and even the meaning of the sentence. The punctuation is normally placed within the quotation marks like so:
"See Spot run," Jane said.
Notice that the comma is located within the quotation marks, and it marks a pause in thought. It says that the character is done talking and the narrator is taking over. If you are having a difficult time writing dialog, it wouldn't hurt to brush up on your punctuation.
Our last topic on the subject will be on subjects. The subject of sentence will be the person talking. In the above sentence, Jane is the subject. Naming subjects in our writing can become repetitive. Having "Jane said" at the end of every sentence can get monotonous in a hurry. I like to use descriptive words instead of names sometimes, to break up that monotony. If Jane is the older of the two talking, I would say:
"See Spot run," Jane said.
"See Red run," Sue said.
"No, see Spot run," said the older girl.
The audience must already be aware that Jane is the older girl. This technique can be used with any descriptive, such as, taller, shorter, wiser, impatient, or stronger. It is a good way to make your dialog varied, but still keep the reader aware of who is talking.
That's it for today. Let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Leave a comment, and sign up for the feed. Also you can find me on Twitter at @murickansaga or Instagram @murickan_saga. As always, have a great day, and happy writing!
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Hey Lolli Leave Your Adverbs Here
I think that most of us writing types know that the adverb is a creation of the devil, and is to be shunned at all costs. The question that some of us have, is why? Why is the adverb so demonized by the writing community? What has the poor adverb ever done to any of us? Well, I'm here on this Sunday morning to explain it to... probably no one. lol But, I love to write, so I'm going into heavy detail as to why you should never, well almost never, use an adverb in your writing.
Let's start off by going over what an adverb does. An adverb describes a verb. That's it. It simply an adjective for the verb. Like an apple can be red or green, writing can be done quickly or slowly. So, you may ask, why aren't adjectives demonized as well? We'll get into that as well, and hopefully reading this article will help you remember the anti-adverb rule when you're writing, and save yourself a lot of time during the editing process.
The adverb is to be shunned because they are, by and large, unnecessary. They are fluff and dander that pads the word count, but contributes nothing to the message. Adverbs are used to describe things that don't need description. Adjectives on the other hand describe nouns, which are not self descriptive, and need help.
Comparatively speaking, and I mean compared to walking, people run fast. You don't need to add any descriptive words, explaining to the reader, that someone is trying to go fast when they are running. An apple, on the other hand, can be large or small, yellow or green, light or heavy. Nouns don't describe themselves the way verbs do, so the adjective is necessary to give the reader a mental image of the scene.
When I say, "Mary ran," I can picture Mary running. I don't need any other words to describe it, unless she is running in a way that is out of the ordinary. "Mary ran slowly" or "Mary ran awkwardly" may be used, if the context doesn't give us this information already. You still may not want to write "slowly" or "awkwardly" if the reader knows that she is running through knee deep mud. The word running, and most other verbs, are self-descriptive, so most words added for description are superfluous and unnecessary. Even though adverbs may sound good when we are writing, they bloat our work and slow the readers roll.
I hope that you've learned something that will help you improve your writing. Every one of us can improve. That's the wonderful thing about writing, we are constantly evolving and improving as artists. I hope you're having a terrific weekend, and as always happy writing!
Sunday, April 10, 2022
My Story
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Chapter Sixteen
I started chapter 16 this morning. I am surprised to find out how much I enjoy writing about the bad guy. lol I always thought that it would be difficult to jump into the skin of a truly evil character, but it's actually fun. That's because no one irl is being hurt by my antagonist. My wife April is a great help. She reads each chapter as I write it. I'm actually writing the story for her, publishing it afterward just makes sense. lol Anyway, I like to write my bad guy and then see if he brings out any cringes from my wife. If I can get an emotional response from her, I figure that the rest of the audience will know what I'm trying to do with the character, at the very least. I have been really busy with other work over the last couple of weeks, so I haven't posted here daily like I started to in the beginning. Once I grow an audience, I will fine tune this blog to your tastes. If you like these small daily posts, I will continue to do them, otherwise I can do articles once or twice a week. I'm actually going to get back to writing chapter 16. Have a great day.
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Writer's Block, How To Beat It In 7 Easy Steps
Writer's Block is a phenomena that stops us writers from doing what we do best, writing. There are as many different causes of writer's block as there are writers, and therein lies the rub. Because there are so many different causes, there cannot be one sure-fire remedy. For most of us, writing is our salvation. Escaping into our fantasy world, and leaving behind the problems of the real world, is what keeps us going. Therefore, being refused that escape by the elusive Muse, is frustrating to say the least. What I will propose in this article today, is not a way to beat, or fix, writer's block, but a way to own and control it. We cant control the Muse, or dictate to her when she will bestow her gifts, but we can control how we think and what we do about it.
So, I propose that the next time you suffer from writer's block, you answer these questions in as much detail as possible. If you don't know the answer, then make one up. If you do this every time, you are afflicted, you may, one day, even find yourself with enough material for a book on writer's block. Enough rambling, let's get to work.
1: How does writer's block make you feel? Are you angry, frustrated, lonely, happy, or sad?
2: What do you think is causing this particular block? Pressure from work? Pressure from a relationship? Maybe it's just boredom or lack of interest.
3: Write down some things that you think might help remove the block. Jogging, video games, reading, meditation, anything that you think might help. I'm not telling you to do any of these things, just write down your ideas.
4: How do you think that successful authors have dealt with writer's block in the past? Did they wait it out, power through it, or just give up and start another project? You may not know the answer to this for sure, but I want you to write it down, even if you need to make it up. Its about what you think they did, not what they actually did.
5: Are you excited about your current project? If so, why? If not, what excited you about it in the beginning? Why did you want to write it?
6: Write a few sentences about what is going on in your life right now. This will be used as a reference later. You can come back to these pages and look for similarities. Be as detailed as possible. Are you happy overall? Is work going well? Relationships, are they making you happy?
7: Write about a book, a movie, or a song that you have enjoyed recently. How did it make you feel? What was it that made the work good? Do you think that the person who created that work suffered from writer's block? Are you glad that they didn't abandon the project?
You will notice that the main theme of this project is to write. Writing is the only way to get through a writer's block. Going through these seven steps and writing down your feelings will help you open the door to your imagination again. I know that this will help some people, and I hope it helps everyone who reads it. I know that it can help you, if you apply yourself and write, but in the end it's up to you. Have a great day, and happy writing!
Criticism
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I think that most of us writing types know that the adverb is a creation of the devil, and is to be shunned at all costs. The questio...
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