Book, Novel, Screenplay

2012 Book, Novel | Plot And Structure  |  Free Tips For Writers  |  Writing Screenplays  |  Home

Book mark This Site | Search This Site For Free Writing Tips | Site map

Click Here: Professionally Recommended Books And Software By Writers For Writers

* Double Click On Any Word On This Site For Automatic Definition Or Information *

Give us a review, share, or book mark on:

 

This Instructional Begins Here On Page #1 - Click To Begin

 

By author Of Black Road 2012, a book about doomsday, 2012

Fast, and  Dirty Free Tips For Writers, Page 2

 

"Style is diction; style is cadence; style is syntax; style is word choice and the spectrum of a writer’s vocabulary; style is length of sentences and the careful placement of different length sentences into a paragraph in the way a master stonemason would set stones into an unmortared wall meant to last for centuries; style is repetition and knowing when not to repeat; style is omission; style is misdirection and subliminal suggestion; style is specificity set into deliberate vagueness; style is crafty vagueness set amidst a forest of specificity; style is the motion of the mind at work; style is the pulse and heartbeat of the narrative sensibility; style is balance; style is the projective will of the writer creating a portal of access to the receptive will of the discerning reader; style is the sound our words make on paper." dan simmons

 

(Double-click any word you want defined.)

It's important to have a good cheerleader. Writing is one of the most solitary things you can do--I mean it's just you and you sitting there. You need applause and encouragement.

You don't necessarily need critique or correction in the early stages, but you will need someone to tell you--yes, it's worth the effort, yes, you have to do it.

I thought I'd never complete my 2012 book. All writers think they stink. All writers despair.

What the hell am I doing putting all this time and effort into--what--and for what? This really stinks.

Tips and advice for writers: Find that special cheerleader, not to correct you necessarily, just to cheer you on. Later you will need an editor, but in the beginning--alone against a world of obstacles, frustration, and doubt--you just need cheerful backup.

Avoid the use of passive words. You want your words to be doing things, the entire work in motion, carrying the story forward. For instance, don't say, "He can see them." It's, "He sees them."

See? Simple example, simple explanation. Think about it.

Beware the Killer modifier. Adverbs, adjectives--all those evil little bugs will creep in and multiply, drown your point out.

 

"The sun roared up over the peaceful but eye-blasting scene like a masterless Samurai with a chariot full of red, red rubies, blazing diamonds, and burnished, hammered, flaming, burning gold!"

Or, maybe:

"On December 21, 2012, the sun rose in a line of fire under the black horizon."   

Or, maybe:

"On December 21, 2012, The sun rose, a low bloom."

Or, maybe:

"The sun rose. The morning was silent. It was December 21, 2012."

 

OK, you get the picture (no Pulitzer there either, I guess.)

Keep it simple. Do Not over modify--it carries you away with how brilliant you are really quick, and you lose control and the story.

Don't write, " 'Close the damn door,' he rasped."

Or "he choked, spat, breathed, hissed, said/says he," etc.

It's this: " 'Close the damn door,' he said/says."

See?

Always get to the point. Don't spin off and bore the reader. Know what you are writing and why. It must serve the forward movement of the story or don't write it. Chop it out. Stick with the story.

See?

Free the story from the stone--throw away the useless rubble.

That sounded pretty good..."from the stone..."

In fact just make it plain,  "...throw away the rubble."

You want to keep the reader turning the pages. That's the point of the exercise. The reader has to Want something from you. S/he must Want to turn that page and--this is so cool: See What Happens Next.

You do this through how the characters deal with the situations they are in, build interest and suspense, and draw the reader in.

Remember--this is just quick and dirty tips. I can't go too much further without I, like, write a book or something. What I leave out is up to you Writer.

This whole thing about plot? Plot outline? Character arc? Just write the damn story and don't worry about it. You can do all that later if you have to.

Got Plot?

Got no plot but a burning desire to write? Just do it. Start with a situation and characters and See What Happens Next.

When I was a detective people would say "Ey, yo, Jeff, puddownat fokking cheesesteak, an' fokking tell me, like--yo, cuzzin, like--whas th' goddam answer, hah?"

This would be the insurance executive asking.

After I read the translation in the subtitles, I would always repeat back.

I'd say, " 'Whas th' goddam answer?'--What's the question?"

But, serially, I would say, "I'm not psychic. I don't know. I'll go and take a look."

Set your characters into a situation and watch what they do.

 

Plot line?

We ain't got no plot line.

We don' need no plot line.

We don' ch'ave to show you any steenking plot line.

 

Don't bother describing your characters. The reader doesn't care. They want to fill in their own picture, color the book their own way. It's how they participate and become "drawn" to the character. You can give an age, a main characteristic, but let them help out with the details, do the heavy lifting.

It's like saying, "What do you think, what's your opinion?" throw it off onto the other bloke.

 

"He was a big man, loud, pushed the air ahead of him in a mass when he moved, smiled always looked good. People liked him, he always had a story, always made sense, had a way to touch your arm, bring you in to what he said. He never used his size."

 

See? I made that up--that ^ up there. It tells you everything you need to know, the unsaid. read it again. It's brilliant.

A writer needs self confidence, whether s/he's good or not. Fear nothing. Never take no for an answer. Aceept no unhelpful criticism. Never surrender the damn ship.

Believe.

No writer ever got published--became an author--by Not Writing.

Anyway, don't do this:

 

"He was 6 feet seven inches tall, 325 pounds, red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and had a little scar you couldn't really see, wearing a gray suit, blue tie, black tassel loafers, carnelian socks, a PDA and a cell phone."

 

Keep it simple.

Show them the unsaid, the unwritten.

The space between words--where idea becomes form--where form becomes things.

In the reader's mind.

 

"How'd you do that, make me see that?" she says, eyes wide.

He looks at her.

He says, "Magic."

He's gone--like a turned page.

 

Back To Part 1  |  Next Page, Part 3

More Free Tips For Writers

Plot and Structure   |  Screenplays and Screenwriting

The Book - 2012- The Novel

Powered By Cops Plus