all write - fiction advice_ april 2012

2/23/2015 AllWriteFictionAdvice:April2012

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SA T URDA Y , 2 8 A PR I L 2 0 1 2

AuthorIntrusionItsoneofthosethingsthatsometimessneakintothenarrativewithoutthewriternoticinganditsnotuntilaneditorpointsthemoutthatyourealiseyouhaveaproblem.

Butwhatexactlyisauthorintrusion?

Primarily,itiswheretheauthorpersonallyintrudesthestory,quiteoftenunwittinglytheyplacealargeproportionofthemselveswithinthenarrative,eitherthroughdescription,actionsorthroughtheircharactersanddialogue.

Authorintrusionisverycommon.Intruth,thereisalwaysatinybitofusinourcharacters,buteverycharactershouldbeindividualanddifferent.Andmoreimportantly,theyshouldbeverydifferentfromthewriter.

Theykeytospottingthemistounderstandwhattheyareandhowtheyaffectyourwriting.Thereareseveralwaysintrusionhappens.

Firstly,writersveryoftenusetheirownpersonalopinions,personalprejudices,theirjudgementsorsubconsciousthoughtsintheirwriting.Opinions,likes,dislikes,passionsandpetpeeveshavenoplaceinfictionalwriting.If,forinstance,youarevehementlyantismoking,youmustnotletyourpersonalviewsonitpervadeyourcharactersbyhavingthemspoutantismokingviews,(unlessyouspecificallyhaveacharacterwho,byhisor

A LL WR IT E F I C T IONADVICE

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It'soneofthehardestthingstodocreateawhole,believableworldforotherpeopletoenjoy,especiallyifyou'renewtowriting.It'salsooneoftheloneliestjobs,especiallywhenthereisnohelporadviceorsupport...sorightheretherewillbehandyarticles,examplesandsimplestepbystepguidestohelpmakethecreativeprocessthatmucheasier.

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hernature,isthatwayforavalidreasonconnectedwiththestoryandonlythentheirviewsshouldnotinvadethestory).Thisisthemostcommontypeofintrusion.

Dontlikecertainreligions?Thatsfine,butdontletyourpersonalviewintoyourwritingbyhavingallyourcharactersdislikingreligion.Cantstandsport?Dontletyourdislikespillintoyourcharacters,theiractionsorthesurroundingstory.

Remember,youarenotyourcharacters,andtheyshouldcertainlybenothinglikeyou.Thatmeanshavingcharactersthatarereligiousorspiritual,ortheylovesport,andthattheydoandthinkthingsverydifferentlytowhatyoudo.

Neverletyourcharactersbecomeyourpersonalmouthpiece.Ifyouhavecharactersspeakingyourdirectopinionsandviews,thenyoullfindyourselfmouldingothercharacterstosuit,becauseallofyourcharactersaredefinedbyactionsandreactions.Thatmeansyoullhavecharactersrespondingtothingsthatwould,essentially,seemoutofcharacterforthem.Andthemomenttheystartdoingthat,youstarttolosethecohesionandintegrityofyourstory.

Thekindofthingsthewriterreallylovesorispassionateaboutmightalsocreepintothecharactersheorshehascreated.Apassionforcarsmightmanifest,oraloveofanimalsetc,andthenbeforethewritercancontrolit,charactershaveturnedintosomeonecompletelydifferenttheircreator.

Justbecauseyoumightlovedifferentthings,doesntmeanyourcharacterswill.Thiskindofintrusionisindulgence.

Anothersortofintrusiontakestheformofknowledgeandawarenessthekindofknowledgeonlythewriterwouldpossess,notthecharacter.Thesekindsofintrusionsallowcharacterstoknowpreposterousthings,suchasacharacterhavinganintimateknowledgeofcomputertechnology,whensheismerelyanordinaryhousewifebringingupbaby.Orperhapsalowlycabdriverthatknowsallabouthitechweaponrybythetimeheturnsreluctantheroinchapter12.

Ifitsoundsridiculousandunbelievable,thenitlikelyis,

measure.Iamprivilegedtohaveeightshortstories/poemspublishedinthisbook,soifyoulikeyourdamesalittledarkanddangerous,thisisthebookforyou.

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andthereaderwillspotthisstraightaway,evenifyoudont.Ifyoustepovertheboundariesofwhatisnormalandlogicalwithinacharactersexperienceinrelationtothestorythenyouriskwritingsomethingthatisneitherbelievablenorcredible.

HowdoyouidentifyandcontrolauthorIntrusion?

Sometimesitisdifficulttospotbecausewedontreallylookforitwheneditingweretoobusylookingatplotflaws,characterisation,grammar,dialogueetc,butthisiswhereeditingbecomeanimportantandintegralpartofthewritingprocess.Youshouldlookoutforthefollowing:

Socialviewsviewsthatyouasthewriterhaveintherealworldfindtheirwayintothefictionalworldandhavenobearingonthestoryorthecharacters.Thatmeanspolitical,religious,strongsocialviewsetc.Whentheybecomeprevalent,thatsauthorintrusion.

Knowledgeandawarenessdonthavecharactersknowamazingthings(unlesstheyactuallyworkinajobthatrequiresspecialistknowledge)justbecauseyouareanexpertinsomething.Avoidthesameifyouhaveperiodcharactersfromasetera.Peoplein1911wontknowaboutstuffthatyoudo.

DialogueUsingthekindofwordsandphrasingthatyouuseineverydaylife,ratherthanthecharacterwouldusehowtheywouldtalkandreact.Makingthemyouwontwork.

IndulgenceLavishingyourknowledgeofsomethingintothenarrative,eventhoughitdoesntfitthestoryorcharacters,likealoveofart,orbyendlesslygoingonandonaboutyourloveoftreesforexample,butdonethroughyourmaincharacter(whoprobablywouldntcaremuchforecosystemsanyway).

FalseimpressionsByhavingcharacters,usuallythevillain,thatbecomegrosslyignorantandespeciallyfoolishbecauseofyourownopinionsforinstanceablackcharacterbeingmadetoseemstupidorcriminalincontrasttothewonderfullyangelic,Godlike,whitemaincharacterrunstheriskofmakingthemhorrible,hideouscaricaturesthathavenoplaceinreality,letalonefiction.

Narrationyouaretellingastory,notpreaching,not

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teaching,notconverting.

Yourpersonalopinionsoryourpersonalagendasshouldneverfindtheirwayintoyourfiction.

Apartfromdamagingyourcredibilityasawriter,suchintrusionsarequitedistractingforreaders.Someintrusionsmightseemdistasteful,disrespectful,outofplace,disproportionate,toomuch,andsomewhatjarring.

Theresultwillbethattheeditorwontbotherandyouwontbepublished.Thegoldenruleofthumb:Narrate,keepitsimpleandtellthestory.

Nextweek:Whytitlesmatter.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, APRIL 28, 20124COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST

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SA T URDA Y , 2 1 A PR I L 2 0 1 2

CreatingImmediacyInordertocreateimmediacy,awriterneedstounderstandwhatitmeans,howimmediacyworksandhowitimpactsnotjustthewriting,butalsothereader.

Immediacyisthedelicateandintimateconnectionbetweenthestoryandthereaderifawriterlacksimmediacywithinthewriting,thenthereadermightnotbeabletoemotionallyconnectwiththecharactersorthenarrative,andifthathappens,thereaderisunlikelytoenjoythestory/novel.

Itisoneofthoseelementslargelyoverlookedbymanywriters,butitsanimportantelementthatshouldntbeignored.

HowdoIcreateimmediacy?

Immediacymeanscloseness.Inotherwords,itslookingattheclosenessofyourcharactersandyourstorytoyourreader,andhowtomakethereaderfeelasthoughtheyarenotjustreadingyourstory,buttheyareapartofit.

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Tocreateit,youhavetounderstandthatyourreaderwantstobecometotallyabsorbedbythefictionalworldyouhavecreated.Theywanttobeabletolovethehero,fallinlovewiththeheroineandhatethevillain.Theywanttobesweptupbytheemotionandaction,theywanttofeelthetensionandconflict,theywanttoenjoythedescriptionsthatbringplacesandscenesalive.Thewantthewholethingtoleapoffthepageatthem.

Butinordertoachieveallthat,youhavetoaccomplishanumberofthings:

Characterisationfullydevelopedcharacters,completewithflawsandfoiblesandwellresearchedbackgroundsthekindofcharactersthereadercanidentifywith,tohelpthereaderbondemotionallytothem.

WatertightplotAfullydevelopedplot,withsubplots,helpstocreateacompleteandflawlessstorywithoutthekindofplotholesthatcanjarthereaderandputthemoff.

ConflictTheresnothinglikeconflicttogetthereadersattention.Everystoryshouldhaveplentyofdifferentconflicts,becausethatinturncreatesournextitem

EmotionNostoryiscompletewithoutthis.Emotionisaverypowerfulforceeverybodyfeelsthis,whetheritslove,hate,passion,sympathy,funetc.Charactersarenodifferent,andtheyshouldelicitemotionwiththereaderthroughtheirownemotions.Yourreadershouldfeelwhatyourcharactersfeel.

EmpathyTiedinwithalltheaboveelements,thisiswhatyouwantyourreaderstofeel.Greatroundedcharacters,tightplotandinterestingsubplots,fantasticstorywithlotsofconflictandemotionallmeanthatthereaderwillunderstandthecharactersjourney,theywillempathise.Thiscreatesimmediacy.

Viewpoint1stperson,3rdpersonetc.Firstpersonisagreatwayofcreatingimmediacymoreintimatelythan3rdperson,itspeaksdirectlytothereader.1stperson,however,shouldonlybeattemptedonceawriterisexperiencedandconfidentenoughtotackleanovelorlongstorybecauseoftheverbandtenseconfusionsthatarise.

Howdoesimmediacywork?

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Itcreatesaconnectionforthereaderemotionallyandmentally.Itsthedifferencebetweenthemlikingyourcharactersorbeingcompletelyuninterestedanddetachedfromthem.Ifthereaderbecomesdetachedfromthestoryandthecharacters,thenthereisnoimmediacythere.Thereaderwillendupdislikingyourstory.

Inanutshell,itkeepsreadersfullyimmersedinthestory.Immediacydoesthefollowing:

ItcreatesemotionalattachmenttothestoryItcreatesempathybetweenyourreaderandyourcharactersItallowsthereadertoengagewithyourcharactersonanintimatelevelItcreatesasenseofbeingthererightinthethickofitforthereader

Writersdontalwaysthinkaboutthingslikeimmediacy,butitreallyissomethingthatwritersshouldpayattentionto,itsthedifferencebetweensomeonelikingyourstory,orhatingit,andmoreimportantly,itsthedifferencebetweenacceptanceandrejection.

It'sworthrememberingthatifaneditororagentcantconnectwithyourcharactersandstory,thenthegeneralreadingpubliccertainlywont.

Nextweek:Authorintrusionhowtoavoidit.



SA T URDA Y , 1 4 A PR I L 2 0 1 2

TakinginwritingadvicewillhelpyoubecomeabetterwriterEveryoneneedsadvice,especiallywhenyouarefairlynewtosomething.Itsalwaysgoodtoknowthatthereissupportandexperienceavailabletoyou.

Thosenewtowritingneedlotsofadvice,supportandencouragement,andthereisplentyoutthere.Theamountof

Chapter&NovelLengthsJusthowlongshouldachapterbe?

Whatsthebestlength?Anddoesanovelhavetofitintoasetamountofwords?Thesearejusttwoo...

FlashbacksWhatisaflashback?Flashbackis

oneofthoseusefultoolsthatawritercanusetoenhanceastory.Itenrichesand,inasense,nourish...

SubplotsImoftenaskedbynewwriters

howsubplotsshouldevolve.Somewritersfindsubplotsdifficulttogettogripswhileothersareputofftry...

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resourcesnowavailabletowritersisnothingtowhatitwasalmost30yearsagowhenIfirststartedout.Therewasnosuchthingandinstantaccessthroughtheinternet,sincetherewasnointernet.EverythingIhavelearnedhasbeenthroughthreedecadesoftrialanderror,readingcountlessnovels,gainingtheexperience,dealingwitheditorsandpublishersandofcourse,dealingwiththatcharacterbuildingthingcalledrejection.

Whethertheadviceyoureceivecomesthroughwritingmagazines,throughbooks,viateachers,oreventhroughblogarticlesetc,itisworthtakingnoteofthatadvice,integratingitandlearningfromit.

Ofcourse,thestrengthofthatadviceisimportant,becausenoteveryonewhodispensestheadviceknowswhattheyretalkingabout,anditsvitalthatanyadviceisconstructiveandbeneficial,ratherthandestructiveorunhelpful.

NegativeImpact

TheoneproblemInoticedisthatsometimes,writingadviceisgivenbypeoplewhohavenoexperienceortechnicalknowledgetodoso,thereforetheadvicegivenisactuallyinaccurate.Thiscanleadtoanegativeimpactonwriting,becausethewriterwillwronglybelievetheyaredoingtherightthing,soitbecomesafalsehood.

Thinkaboutityouwouldntlistentosomeonetellingyouhowtheywouldperformaheartbypassiftheywerenotaqualifiedsurgeon,wouldyou?Youwantsomeonewhohassuccessfulexperienceofdoingsoandhasstudiedforitovermanyyears.

So,whenadvisedtotidyyournarrativeandcutdownonadverbs,thisnuggetofadviceispriceless.Ifyoudont,youwillhaveawful,badlywrittenanduntidynarrative,howeverifyouaretoldthatsallrubbish,andyoushouldwritewhatyouwant,howeveryouwant,thenthatsfinebutitsbadadviceandyoufollowitatyourownperil.

Doyouthinkthatadverbsarentthatbad?Doyouthinkthatagentsandpublishersarentbotheredaboutlackofdescription?Showingnottellingisaloadofrubbish,right?Characterisationdoesntmatter,really.WhydoIneedcarewhosepointofviewitis?Whonoticestensesanyway?

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Therealityofbadadviceisthatyoumightremainunpublishedorunsuccessfulforaverylongtime.

Badadvicebreedsbadhabits.Itcreatesafalsehood.

PositiveImpact

Adviceistherebecauseagenerationofwritershavebeenthereanddoneitlongbeforeus,theyhavelearnedfromtheirmistakesandtheyhavepassedontheirwisdomtous.Thesearethekindofpeoplewhocanhelpandsupportfellowwritersintheirjourney,byimpartingtheirvastwealthofknowledgeandyearsofexperience,particularlythetechnicalsideofwriting,becausetheonethingthatmanywritersdontalwaysunderstandisthatwritingisaconstantlearningprocess,whichtakesyears(notminutes)ofapprenticeshipandhardworktounderstandandperfectthecraftofwriting.

Writersshouldlearntotakeconstructivecriticismandadvicefromexperiencedwriterspeoplewhohavebeenthere,doneitandwrittenaboutit.Theirinsightwillhelpnewwritersavoidsomeofthepitfallsandmistakesthattheseexperiencedwritersmadewhentheyfirststartedout.

Positiveimpactforwritingcomesfromthefollowing:

Constructivecritiquesfromeditorsorpublishedwriterscanhelppinpointweakareas,improveyournarrativeoutputandhelpyoumasterthetechnicalaspects.Writinggroupshelpfostersupportandadvice,aslongastheadviceisfromexperienced,publishedwriters.Writingmagazinesandbooksonwritingarefilledwithlotsofwellsourcedadvice,writtenbyfellowwriterswhoknoworhaveworkedwiththeindustry.Writingcourseshelpyoulearnthecraft,taughtbypeoplewhohaveanunderstandingofcreativewriting.

Withtheincreasingpopularityofselfpublishing,thereisaworryingtrendofinstantwriterspushingoutthekindofworkthatwouldneverpassanEnglishexam,thekindofwritersthatunwittinglymakeamockeryofthecraftofwriting.Sadly,notallwriterscanactuallywrite.

Therearealsopeoplethatalreadythinktheyknowitall



theydontactuallythinktheyneedadviceorsupport.Ivecomeacrossplentyofnewwriterswhodismissadvice,thinkingtheyknowbetter.Thatsfine,butsucharrogancewillonlyholdthemback.Weallneedadviceandsupport,nomatterhowexperiencedweare.

Valuableguidanceissuchanintegralpartofanywritersjourney,becausewithoutit,wewontgroworimprove,andwecertainlywontunderstandhowhardwritingactuallyis.

Everybodycanwritebuthowgoodyouaredependsonhowmuchyouarewillingtolearn,becauseitsuptotheindividualtotakeadviceonboard,ignoreitordismissit.

Ignoresoundadviceanditmayjustbethedifferenceofyoubeingacceptedorrejectedasawriter,butalsowhetheryoubecomeabetterwriter.

Ifyouarepassionateaboutwritingandwanttowrite,thentakethetimetostudyit,gainexperiencefromitandlearnfromthosewhovebeenthereanddoneit.Therightadviceisinvaluable.

Nextweek:Creatingimmediacy.



SA T URDA Y , 7 A PR I L 2 0 1 2

UseofConjunctionsAconjunctionreferstoawordthatconnectsorconjoinspartsofsentences,phrasesorclauses,andformspartofarelationshipwithinthesentence.Therearethreebasictypesofconjunctions:

CoordinatingconjunctionsTheseareusedtoconnectwords,phrasesandclausesAnd,So,Yetetc.

SubordinatingconjunctionsThesejoinasubordinate(dependent)clausetoamain(independent)clause,e.g.Janewentwalkingoverthefields,althoughitlookedasthoughitwouldrain.

CorrelativeconjunctionsThesecomeinpairswhichlink

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words,phrasesorclauseswithinthesentence,i.e.notonly,butalso,justas,eitheroretc.

Aswithprepositions,andtheevershiftingtastesofpresentdayfiction,itissometimesdesirabletohaveconjunctionstobeginasentence,andjustaswiththecorrectuseofprepositions,theycanaddacumulative,overalleffecttothenarrative,dependinghowyouusethem.

Sometimesweusethemforcontrast,sometimestomakeastatement,sometimestheycanrepresentconsequenceandsometimesweusethemtooffercontrastingideasorintent.Theymayonlybetwoorthreeletterwords,buttheireffectcanbeconsiderable.

Butwerentwetaughtnottousethematthebeginningofsentences?

Onceagain,itsacaseofpushingasidethedatedadvicegivenbyyourEnglishteachersaboutstartingsentenceswithconjunctionsandprepositions,andinsteadusingbothofthesetoolstoyouradvantage.Conjunctionshavetheabilitytomakethenarrativealittlemoreinteresting,itpreventsitfrombeingflat.

Thecommononesusedare:

AndForButOrYetSo

Allofthese,forexample,mightappearlikethis:

So,theyhadliedtoherafterall.

Forthelongesttime,thesoundoftheplaneshummedabovethem.

Butnowthetableshadturned.

Orwassheimaginingit?

Yet,armedwiththetruth,herealisedtheycouldntbetrusted.



ByfarthemostcommonlyusedconjunctionisAnd.Notonlyisitthemostcommon,butoneofthemostpowerful.Butwhyshouldthisunassuminglittlewordbequitesoinfluential?

Whenusedatthebeginningofasentence,itseffectismultipliedbyhowitsused.Aswithprepositions,itsnotjustaboutwhereitsplaced,buthowitsusedandwhy.

Andisoneofthosewordsthatbringsbrevitytoasentence,itcanbreatheasenseofatmosphereintothesentence,butitsalsoarathereffectivewayofendingachapter,too,becauseitmakesaneffectivestatementofintent,leadingthereaderintothenextchapter.

Comparetheeffectivenessofthesetwosentences:

Thelightswentout.

Andthenthelightswentout.

Thefirstsentenceisperfectlyacceptable.Itdescribesexactlywhatitneedsto.Thesecondsentenceisalsoacceptable,buttheonlydifferenceisthatitaddsalittlebitofgravitaswiththeadditionofand.Thisadditionalsochangesthewaythereaderreadsandinterpretsthesentence.Itsalsoquiteeffectivejoinedwithotherwords,likeAndsoorAndthenorAndyet.

Thefollowingexcerptisfromashortstorythattakesthepremiseofandtoaddsomethingextratothenarrativeitrepeatsitthroughout,givingthereaderasenseofthepassageoftime,anditscalledAndThen.

Legsmoved,andarmsandhands.Hisheadfeltsoheavy.

Theminutesevaporated.

Andthenthatstrangesensationrushedthroughhimagainwhenhetriedtomovehisheadremainedskewed.Somethingtrickledintohisstomach,floodedhisabdomenandhewincedagainstthesicklyeddy,triedhardnottovomit...

...Thentheminutesstopped.

Amidthesuffocatinginnersilence,hisfinalmoments



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vanishedintotheencroachingdarknessandhisvisioninstantlyturnedintoaninfiniteblackness.

Heslumpedbackagainstthecoldtarmac.

Andthen...

Nothing.

Remember,itsnothowmanytimesyouusethemthatmakethenarrativebetter,buthowtheyareused,sothinkcarefullyabouttheeffectyouwant,thestatementyouremakingandtheintentthatyouwanttoshow.Usedeffectively,conjunctionsaddthatlittlebitextraandhelppreventflat,uninterestingnarrative.

Nextweek:Whypayingattentiontoadvicewillmakeyouabetterwriter.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, APRIL 07, 20121COMMENT: L INKSTOTHISPOST


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all write - fiction advice_ april 2012

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