all write - fiction advice_ january 2012

2/23/2015 AllWriteFictionAdvice:January2012

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SUNDA Y , 2 9 JA NUA R Y 2 0 1 2

WhyyoushouldntalwaysgivethereaderwhattheywantAttheriskofsoundingcontrary,thisisactuallygoodadvice.Butwhatdoesitmean?Andarentwriterssupposedtogivethereaderwhattheywant,ratherthantheotherwayaround?

Well,no,notalways.

Youneedtogivethereaderwhattheywantintermsofdeliveringthecompletestorywatertightplot,roundedandbelievablecharacters,backgroundandpacing,lotsofconflictandtension,atmosphereandemotionetcbutwhenawriterdeliberatelydoesntgivethereaderwhattheywant,itsbecausetheyareteasingthereaderandpromptingthemtowanttoknowmore.

Thestoryisatwowayconnectionbetweenyou,thewriter,andyourreader.Youlaythefoundationsandpaintthebackground,youindulgethemwithinformationanddescription,buttheyalsohavetodosomeoftheworktoobytryingtofigureoutwhatmighthappennext,whatthecharactersmightdoandhowthestorymightendetc.Thatspreciselywhatkeepsthereaderturningthepage.

Thetrueartofwritingisinvolvingyourreaderfromthemomenttheyreadthefirstparagraph,untiltheclosingsentenceattheendofthestory.Thatmeanstheyhavetobewillingtoworkalittleforthateffortforthemtoberewardedwithagoodstory.

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

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TheArtofHoldingBack

Holdingbackfromyourreaderisratherlikeplayingmindgameswiththem.Asthewriter,youneedtoimpartinformationthatsrelevanttothestorybutnottoomuchotherwise,youblowyourchanceofsurpriseandrevelationlaterinthenovel.

Deliberatelywithholdinginformationistheperfectwaytodanglethecarrot,tostokethereadersinterest.

Crime,horrorandthrillerwritersemploythistogreateffect.Theyplantcluesandsnippetsofinformation,buttheyholdbackfromtellingthereadereverything,becauselaterinthestory,theymighthavearevelationtosurprisethereader,andinthemeantime,thatkeepsthereaderguessing.

Otherwritersholdbackonrevealingeverythingabouttheircharacters.Othersholdbackcertainelementsofthestorythatcouldformatwistlaterinthenovel.

KeepingSecrets

Howwellcanyoukeepsecrets?Thisisanotherdeviceemployedbywriterstosustainthetension.Thisiswherethewriterletsthereaderinonsomethingthattheprotagonisttheheroorheroineofthestorywontknow,butthewriterdoesntgivethefullpictureofwhatitis,sothereaderisleftguessingtheoutcomelaterinthenovel.

Again,thisdeviceisdesignedtokeepthereaderinterested.Theyknowsomething,butnoteverything.Keeptheminthedarkaboutstuff.

DanBrownsTheDaVinciCodeisagoodexampleofthis.Hethrowsinbitsofinformationforthereadertopiecetogether,wherenecessary,thensurprisesthereaderfurtherintothestorybycompletelywrongfootingthem,whilethestorytwistsinanotherdirection.

Healsoletsthereaderinoncertainaspectsofthestorythattheprotagonistisntawareof,therebyleadingthereadertokeepreadingtofindoutwhathappens.Theyhavetokeepreading.

Thisisaprimeexampleofnotgivingthereaderexactlywhattheywant.

measure.Iamprivilegedtohaveeightshortstories/poemspublishedinthisbook,soifyoulikeyourdamesalittledarkanddangerous,thisisthebookforyou.

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WISE WORDS . . .

Writingislikebeingmarriedyouhavetoworkhardatmaintaininghappinessandequilibrium,butinvariablyonealwaysendsupinthedoghouse.

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Foreshadowing

Droppingcluesforthereadertoworkoutwhatmighthappenisanotherwaytoteasethereader,andagainthishelpssustainthetensionandkeepthemreading.Hintingatthingstocomeisanageoldmechanismusedinliteratureandmoviesalike,butagain,yourenotgivingthereaderexactlywhattheywant.Yourewhettingtheirappetitebydeliberatelyremainingcoyandnotgivingthemalltherelevantinformation.

Ifwewriteastorythattellsthereadereverythingtheyneedtoknowfromtheoutset,thenthereaderhasnotruereasontokeepreading.Manynewwritersdothisintheearlychaptersoftheirnovelstheyexplaineverythinginthemisguidedbeliefthatswhatthereaderwants,butitmeanstherestofthestorycrumbleslateronbecausethereaderknowsprettymucheverything.Thatmeanstherewillbefewsurprises,twistsorrevelations.

Andtryingtoaddtheseasanaforethoughttendstomakethewholethingcontrivedbecausetheydontalwaysseamlesslyfittogetheranddontalwaysmakesense.

Holdbackoninformation,keepsecretsandforeshadowwheneverpossible.Dontbeafraidtoplaygameswiththereaderormisleadthem.Closedoors,putbarriersupandLEAD themonawildgoodchaseifyouwantto.

But,sometimes,itpaystonotalwaysgivethemwhattheywant.

Nextweek:EmulatebutdontcopyWhyyoushouldavoidwritinglikeyourfavouriteauthors.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSUNDAY, JANUARY29, 20123COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST

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DialogueversusDescriptionDialogueversusdescriptionorinsimpletermshowmuch

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ofeachshouldyouaimforinyourfiction?

Thisisacommonquestionaskedbymanywriters,andmoreoftenthannot,ifyouaskaquestionlikethisyouwillgetahundreddifferentanswers,simplybecausetherearenoabsolutesinfiction.Somepeoplesaylotsofdescriptionispreferable,otherssaylotsofdialogueisbetter.Thiscanleavewritersunderstandablyconfused.

Theonethingtorememberisthatfictionisaboutbalance.Thedialoguetodescriptionratiodoesnthavetobeanexactscience,butahealthyamountofbothisbetterthanastorythatreliesheavilyononeandnottheother,whichmayleavethewholethinglacking.Thisthenbegsthequestionwhydoesthereneedtobeabalance?

Dialogueanddescriptiondependoneachothertheycoexist,ratherlikestrawberriesandcream.Onewithouttheotherjustisntthesameandsometimesitdoesntworksowell.

Oneelementimpartsvitalinformationandmovesthestoryforward.Theotherpaintsthebackground,createsafictionalworldandsupportstheentirestorywithaddedlayers.Everystoryneedsbothoftheseelements.

Dialogue

Somestoriesthriveonalotofdialogue,shortstoriesinparticular.Thatsbecausethemarketandgenresometimesdemandsit.Womensmagazines,forinstance,usemoredialogueintheirstructurethandescriptionsimplytomovethestoryalongwithintheshortamountofwordsallocated.Thosekindsofstorieswonthavetimetodwellonlusciousdescriptionswhenkeepingto10005000wordcounts.

Ifthewordcountismoregenerous,however,thenthewritercanaffordtoaddmoredescriptiontobolsterthestoryandthereforehelpbalanceit,sosomethinglike300010,000wordshasmorechanceofbalancebetweenthetwoelements.

Somestoriesneeddescription.Thrillerandhorrorstyleshortstories,forexample,reallydoneedsomethingmoresubstantialthanlargechunksofdialogue,otherwisehowwillyoushowyourreadertheatmosphere,emotion,tensionorsuspense?Romancemarketsalsolikeplentyofdescriptiontocreatemood,emotionandallure.

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Ifyouarewritingastoryprimarilymadeupofdialogue,rememberthatyoucanonlyachievesomuchwithit.

Anovelinparticularneedsmorethanlargeblocksofdialoguetosustainitself,otherwisethereisariskofthereaderlosinginterestsimplybecausethereisntmuchforthemtogoon.With80,000100,000wordstoplaywith,youcanbeverygenerouswithbothdialogueANDdescription.

Description

Anovelorshortstorytopheavyondialoguewillmissacriticalkeyfactorinfictionwriting,andthatistheabilitytoSHOWthereaderwhatishappening,tomovethestoryforward,createasenseofatmosphereandtensionandcreateanoverallpictureforthereader.Dialoguecantreallydothat,butdescriptioncan.

Conversely,ifyouhavetoomuchdescriptionandnotenoughdialogueinyournovel,thenyouriskalienatingthereaderbecausethentheyhavetotrawlthroughlargechunksofit,attheriskofbecomingbored.Pagesandpagesofendlesstextishardworkunlessthewritercanthoroughlyandcleverlyengagethereader.

Andheresastrangething:Shortstoriesmadeupentirelyofwellconstructeddescriptiondoworkbuttheyhavetobeverywellwritten.

Dialogueonlystories,ontheotherhand,dontwork.Thisisbecausethereisnothingforthereadernosenseofmood,nosenseofconflict,noatmosphereandnoemotiontohookthem,otherthanafewdescriptivesentenceshereandthere.Thesetypestendtobesterileandlacklustreanddontalwaysengagethereader.

Aspreviouslymentioned,thebalancebetweenthetwodoesnthavetobeexact.Lookatyourfavouritenovelsandthemajoritywillhaveahealthydescription:dialogueratio.

Oneimportantpointherehavingtherightbalanceofdescriptionanddialogueincreasesyourchancesofbeingpublished.Why?Becauseeditorsexpectit,theyarelookingforthatbalancebetweenthetwo,andtheylikedetail.

Ofcourse,thisdoesntmeanyourstoryhastobemiddleof

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DialogueversusDescription

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theroad,orsafe,orconstructedexactlytohowtowritinginstructions,itsimplymeansyouhavepaidattentiontothestructureoftheoverallstoryandmadesureoneelementdoesntovershadowtheother.

Yourwritingshouldhaveahealthybalanceofboth.

Nextweek:Whyyoushouldntgivethereaderwhattheywant.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, JANUARY21, 20122COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


SA T URDA Y , 1 4 JA NUA R Y 2 0 1 2

Dotoomanycharactersspoilthestory?OftenImaskedhowmanycharactersaretoomanyforastory,butthehonestanswerwouldbetoassessthestoryornovelandmakeaninformeddecisiononhowmanycharactersarecentraltothestory.Intruth,thereisnodefinitiverightorwrong.Somenovelshavemanycharacters,liketheHarryPotternovels,andLordoftheRings,whileothershaveabareminimum.

Firstly,toofewcharactersarenotnecessarilyabadthing.Manynovelshavejustafewmainandsecondarycharactersandtheyworkwellbecausethemainfocusisconstantlyonthemthroughoutthenovel.Thatmeanstherearentlessimportantcharactersstealingsomeofthatlimelight,andthusfewersubplotstowriteandtokeepaneyeon.

Inshortstoriesitssomewhatdifferentthefewerthecharacters,thebetter.Thatsbecauseyoumayonlyhavebetween1000and10,000wordstotellthestoryandhavingtoomanycharactersmaycomplicatethewholethingandmakeitdifficultforthereadertokeeptrackofthem.Mostshortstoriesthriveon24characters.

Butwhatabouttoomanycharacters?

Havingtoomanycharactersinanovelcancomplicatethings.Thisiswherebeginnerstendtotripupbythrowinginlotsofcharactersintothemixwithamultitudeofviewpoints,thinkingthatitwillmakethestorymore

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exciting,butthisonlydetractsfromthestoryforthereadertryingtofollowsomanypeople.Theproblemisthatthereisatendencyforthereadernottoempathisewithorrelatetothecharactersbecausetherearesomanyofthemtofollow.

Notonlythat,buttryingtowriteeachindividualcharacter,completewithpersonalitiesetc,canbecomeconfusingforthewriter.Sometimestherearemanysecondarycharacterswithsubplots,andthewriterthenrealisesthatthosesubplotsneedconcludingbytheendofthenovel.Sometimesthiscomplicatesthingsandthewriterneedstohaveamajorcharactercullogetbackontrack.

Theotherthingtoavoidwhenthereisalargeamountofcharactersandthisiscommonisupstaging.Thiswheresecondaryorminorcharacterstakeoverandinadvertentlyshadowthemaincharacter.Ifthathappens,thebalanceofcharactersiswrongandneedscorrecting.Neverallowsecondarycharacterstoovershadowyourmaincharacter.

Aswithmanyelementsinfiction,however,itsallaboutbalance.Thequestionyouneedtoaskishowmanycharacterscaneffectivelytellthestory?

Pivotalcharacterstheprotagonistandtheantagonistarethemainfocusofeverystory.Inaddition,therearethesecondarycharacters,butonlythosewhoarestillcentraltotellingthestory.

Peripheralcharactersminoronesmightonlyhaveafewlinesormaybeappearinthebackground,andsowillnotclogthenarrativewithsuperfluouspadding.Keepingperipheralcharacterstoaminimumiswise.Theruleofthumbisiftheyrenotkeytotheplot,thencutthem.

Inanystory,thewriterislookingforcharacterdevelopmentfullyroundedpersonalitiesthatcanmovethestoryforwardandevokethereadersempathyandemotionsthroughconflict.Itsimportantthatyourreadercaresforyoucharacters.Ifyouhavetoomanypeopleloadingthenarrative,thereaderwontknowwhichcharactertobotherwith.

Inanidealworld,thenumberofmaincharacterswouldbearound4to10.Secondarycharacterswouldbearoundthesamenumbers.Peripheralandbackgroundcharactersshouldbejustthat,flittinginandoutofthebackground.

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So,canyoustillengageyourreaderwith,say,25characters?Canyoudoitwithlessthan10?

Thinkcarefullyabouthowmanyofyourcharacterscantellthestory,thinkabouttheirdevelopmentandconflicts,anddecidewhatwillbebestforyou.Findtherightbalanceofcharactersandrememberwhoiscentraltoyourplot.

Nextweek:Dialogueversusdescription.



SA T URDA Y , 7 JA NUA R Y 2 0 1 2

TheImportanceofFeedbackThisisasubjectpreviouslytouchedupon,butitdeservesanotherlook.

Theprocessoffeedbackisveryimportantforawriter,whetherthefeedbackisnegativeorpositiveitstillformsanintegralpartofawritersjourneyandtheirabilitytolearn.

Itcanbedauntinglettingsomeoneelsereadyourwork,becauseyouarenotentirelysurewhethertheywilla)understandit,b)dislikeitorc)likeit.

Handingoverworkforfeedbackistheactofopeningyourselfupfortheworstcriticism,butbylettingothersreadyourwork,youareinvitingtheiropinion,theirresponse,andwithoutit,orindeedconstructivecritique,youwillbeunabletogrowasawriter.

Oneofthemostimportantreasonsforfeedbackistoenableotherstoseeerrorsinyourstorywhicharenotalwaysapparenttoyou,theywilltellyouifthestoryworks,theywillcommentonyourcharactersanddescription,theywilltellyouofitallmakessenseandsoon.

Thisprocessallowsyoutounderstandyourstoryfromanobjectiveviewpointbecauseafreshpairofeyeswillguaranteetofindflaws.

Receivingfeedbackiseasy.Acceptingfeedbackis

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altogetherdifferent.Intruth,noonelikestobecriticised,butwritershavetoacceptthisaspartofthejob,whethertheylikeitornot.Sometimeswererightandsometimeswerewrong.Itsacceptingthatwegotitwrongthatseparatesthetruewritersfromthosewhovaluearroganceaboveallelse.

Thefeedbackthatismostignoredbywritersisthekindoffeedbackthatheorshefindshardtoaccept,becausetheywillfindahundredexcusestojustifyit,suchastheydidntunderstandwhatIwastryingtosayortheydontappreciatethegenreorIdeliberatelywroteittobelikethat

Feedbackhighlightstheissuesthatthewriterhasntspotted,soitdoesntmatterwhetherthereaderdoesntunderstandthegenre,orwhethertheyaretheworldsgreatestgrammarian,whattheyaregivingisanhonest,openopinion.Allwritersshouldrespectthisandthenreexaminetheworktoseewheretheycanmakeimprovements.

Itdoesntreallymatterwhoprovidesthefeedback,whetheritisafriend,anavidreaderorwhetheritsaprofessionalcritique,eachoneisstillareader.Anditswhattheythinkoftheworkthatcounts.

Andofcourse,onceyouhavesomefeedback,itshowyoudealwithitthatisimportant.Doyoushrugitoffwitharrogance?Doyoutakeonboardtheircomments?Doyouexaminewhatyouneedtodoinordertoimprove?

Whatyoudodeterminesthekindofwriteryouare,andhowmuchyouwanttolearn.

Rewritingandeditingfollowingreaderfeedbackisjustasimportantasthecreativepartofwriting,becauseitallowsyoutotakeacriticallookatitagain.Theabilitytoreflectonyourownworkisafundamentalprincipleofcreativewriting.Thismeansyouneedtobeabletoedityourworkappropriately,youneedtobeabletotakeonboardanycommentsandmakeyourworkmuchbetter.Somewritersprefertoeschewthisprocessandploughonregardless.Thesewritersareseldompublished.

Antisthenesoncesaid,Nottounlearnwhatyouhavelearnedisthemostnecessarykindoflearning.

Antisthenes,onceapupilofSocrates,wasontoagoodthingthere.Inotherwords,bynotlearningfromyourerrors,you



willneverlearn.Andifyoudontlearnfromsuchmistakes,youneverimproveandgrow.

Thereisaverysimpleprocesstofollowwhetherthefeedbackisgood,badorindifferent.

Onceyouhavewrittenyourwork,giveittopeopletoreadtogaintheiropinionsandviews.Theirresponsesmightbeverypositive,theymightbeverynegative,ortheycouldbeconstructive.Onceyouhavethatfeedback,itsimportanttoreflectonit,tounderstandwhyorhow,tointerprettheiranalysisandtoformobjectivejudgementbasedontheirviews.Onlythencanyougoback,editandimproveaslongasyouarenotafraidofhumilityandyouhavethedesiretolearn.

Remember:

WriteandedityourworkLetothersreadit,gainsomefeedbackExamineallopinionsandcommentsReflectonyourworkEditandimprove

IllleavethelastwordtoMarkTwain:"Thepublicistheonlycriticwhoseopinionisworthanythingatall".

Nextweek:Dotoomanycharactersspoilthestory?



MONDA Y , 2 JA NUA R Y 2 0 1 2

PassiveVoiceThisisasubjectpreviouslytouchedupon,butstillcausesproblemsforwriters.

Passivevoiceisoneofthosethingsthatgiveallwritersaheadachefromtimetotime,becausesometimesitsneededandsometimesitisnt,butknowingwhentocorrectlyusepassivevoicecausestheconfusion.




Firstly,theuseofpassivevoiceisntalwaysgrammaticallyincorrect.Thiscreatesuncertaintyforwriters,whobelieveitsawritingnono,buttherearetimeswhenpassivevoiceisactuallyrequired,andpreferred.

Butwhatexactlyispassivevoice?

Passivevoiceisproducedbyusinganauxiliaryverb(e.g.tobe),whichisusedwithapastparticiple.Ifyouarenotsureoftheverbformsoftobe,theyareis,are,am,was,were,havebeen,hasbeen,hadbeen,willbe,willhavebeenandbeing.

Apastparticipleisaformoftheverbthatusually,thoughnotexclusively,endsined.Verbsareeitheractiveorpassive.

Inpassivevoice,thetargetoftheactiontakesthesubjectposition,forexample,theplantwaswateredbyJohn,orthedoorwasclosedbyAmy.Inotherwords,bothJohnandAmyaretherecipientsoftheaction,ratherthantheotherwayaround,wherethesubjects(JohnandAmy)aredoingtheaction.

Intheactivevoice,thesesentenceswouldlooklikethis:

Johnwateredtheplant.Amyclosedthedoor.

Inanactivesentence,thesubjectperformstheaction.Johnisthesubjectofthesentencebecauseheisdoingtheaction,thereforethesentenceisactive.

Amyisalsothesubjectofthesentencebecausesheperformstheactionofclosingthedoor.Again,thesentenceisactive.

Youneedtoidentifywhoorwhatisdoingtheactiontherefore,ifthesubjectisperformingtheactionthenthesentenceisactive.If,however,thesubjectofthesentenceisreceivingtheaction,thenyouhaveconstructedapassivesentence.

Thewordtolookoutforthatcontrivespassivesentencesiswas.Avoidtoomuchuseofwasinyournarrative.

Ofcourse,whenwereintheflowofwriting,wedontalwaysspotpassivesentences,soduringtheeditingstageswecan



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gobackandcorrectthembecauseweknowwhattolookfor.

Asalreadymentionedabove,passivevoiceisntentirelybad.Therewillbeinstanceswhereyourspellcheckerwillhighlightapassivesentence(ratheroverzealously)andfillyourscreenwithgreenlittleunderlines.Forinstance,inthesecondparagraphofthisarticlethesentencesometimesitsneededispassive.Inthesecondparagraph,wevebeentaughtisalsopassive,howeveritspreferabletoleavethesentencespassiveotherwisetheflowandfluidityofthewholethingwillbecomeawkwardifchanged,sointhisinstancepassiveispreferred.

Passivesentencesareverycommonindialogue,andaretypicalrepresentationsofeverydayspeech,sothereislittleneedtochangethem,forinstance:

Shehasbeentoldseveraltimes,hesaid.

Hasbeenisthepassivepartofthesentence,butitsinkeepingwithwhatwedsayinreallife,sothereisnoneedtochangeit,otherwisethedialoguewillbecomestiltedifweweretochangeittoToldseveraltimes,shewas.

Sowhilesomepassivesentencesneedeliminating,somearerequired.Learnaboutauxiliaryverbsandpastparticiples,becomefamiliarwiththemtohelpyouspotpassivesentences.Dontalwaysrelyonyourspellchecker.

Onthewhole,limitpassivevoice,otherwiseyournarrativemightbecomeawkward.Keepthewritingtightandconciseandremembertokeepsentencesactiveratherthanpassivewhereverpossible.

Nextweek:Theimportanceoffeedback

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATMONDAY, JANUARY02, 20125COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


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all write - fiction advice_ january 2012

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