all write - fiction advice_ september 2013

2/23/2015 AllWriteFictionAdvice:September2013

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SUNDA Y , 2 9 S E PT EMBE R 2 0 1 3

Doestherehavetobeamoraltoeverystory?

Everystoryhassomethingtosayandeverystoryconveysamessagetothereader,whetheritssomethingabouttheworldingeneral,oraboutthehumancondition,andthekindofissuesthatrelatetoallofus.Theseareallrelayedthroughthecharactersthatinhabitthestory.

Anyintendedmessagecanbeovert,subtleorimplied.Themoralofastoryisnottobeconfusedwiththeauthorspersonalthoughtsandfeelings,becauseasarule,anauthorshouldneverpersonallyintrudeastory.Instead,moralsaretheproductsofourobservationsandtheissuesthatimpactallofus,andhowwecanlearnandgrowfromthem.

Thinkofthesnippetsofwisdomgiventoyoubyyourparentsorgrandparentsthesearethebasisofvariousmoralsadaptedbysocietyandusedforgenerations.Ourlivesaredictatedbymorality,andfictionisnodifferent.

Evenfromthedawnoftime,storytellershaveincludedmoralsintheirtalestheyallwanttogiveusamessageofsomesort,whetherthatmessageisaboutloveorkindness,bravery,courage,loyaltyortrust,behavingintherightwayorlearningfromonesmistakesetc.

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Soyou'veembarkedonyourfictionwritingjourney.

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

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Eventhemostbasicstorieshavesomethingtotellus,but,contrarytobelief,constructingastorywithamoraltemplateisntascomplicatedasitsounds.Writers,onthewhole,tendtomakeitcomplicatedwhenthereisnoneedto.

Sohowitisdone?Howdoyouconveythatimportantmoralmessage?

Tobeginwith,everywriterneedstothoroughlyunderstandthekindofstorytheyrewritingbecausefromthatbasis,theheartofthestoryanditscentralthemes,andthecharacterspersonaljourney,formthemoral(s)ofthestory.

Forexample,ifyouhaveastoryaboutbetrayalorrevenge,youmayhaveacharacterthateventuallycomestorealisethat,intheend,forgivenessisbetterthanvengeancebecausealthoughrevengemightfeelsatisfactoryintheshortterm,itdoesntalterthesituationinthelongrun.Themoralofthestory,therefore,isthatforgivenessisbetterthanvengeance.

AlexHaleysRootshasmanystrongmoralthreads,particularlytheinjusticeofslaveryforthemaincharacter,byhavingadifferentcolouredskin,andhisstruggletobecomeafreemaninalandofwhitepeople.Themoralsherearethatskincolourmakesnodifferencenomanismasteraboveanotherbecauseweareallbornequalanditiswrongtoprejudgesomeone.

Thinkaboutotherstories.ToKillaMockingbirdalsoexploresracismandprejudice.

HemingwaysnovelForWhomtheBellTollsisamoralstoryaboutthebrutalityofandpointlessnessofwar.Itsasimplemessage.

Throughouthistory,writersandpoetshaveusedmoralitywithintheirtales.TherearecountlessmoralstoponderinAesopsfables,whileHomersOdysseyislitteredwithmoralisticdilemmasforOdysseustoovercomeandlearnfrom.

ProbablythemostfamousexamplesofanymoralisticstoriescanbefoundintheBibleandKoran.Manyof

measure.Iamprivilegedtohaveeightshortstories/poemspublishedinthisbook,soifyoulikeyourdamesalittledarkanddangerous,thisisthebookforyou.

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WISE WORDS . . .

Writingislikebeingmarriedyouhavetoworkhardatmaintaininghappinessandequilibrium,butinvariablyonealwaysendsupinthedoghouse.

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thetalesinvolvepeoplewhoembarkonajourneyandlearnsomethingaboutthemselvesandtheworldaroundthemsothattheymaybecomebetterpeople.

Yourmaincharactersstoryinvolvesapersonaljourney.Bytheendofthatjourneytheywillhavechangedinsomeway,theywillhavelearnedaboutthemselves,andsotheirbehaviourwillchangetoo.Allthisisinterwovenwiththecentralthemesofthestory,bethemlove,hate,revenge,jealousy,murderetc,toformthemoralthread.

Asyouwriteyourstory,youwillseehowsuchmoralsareformedbywhathappenstoyourcharactersandhowtheygoaboutachievingtheirsetgoals.Sometimeswehavefirmideasaboutthemoralswewantinourstories,whileothertimestheynaturallyemergeasthestoryiswritten.

Thestrengthofvoiceasthewriteralsoplaysanimportantroleinhoweffectivethemoralthreadiswiththereader.Asalreadymentioned,suchthreadscanbesubtle,impliedorevenhiddenwithinthestory.Thesearefarmorepreferableforareaderthanhavingitshovedintheirfacesateveryavailableopportunity.Dontpreachtoyourreader,butratherenlightenthem.Readersliketofigureoutthingsforthemselvesitsoneofthethingsthatmakereadingawellwrittenbooksoenjoyable.

Dontgettoocaughtupintryingtoinventmoralsforthestorybecauseyouthinkthestorymusthaveone.Often,themessageemergesnaturallyasyouwritethestory.Andofcourseallthatdependsonthequalityofthewritingthestrengthofthecharactersandthesituationsthatevokeemotionandempathy,thekindofjourneytheyundertake,thevariousthemesrunningthroughthestory,andofcoursethestrengthoftheauthorsvoice.Yourcharactermustchangebytheendofthestory/novel,andhavingsharedthejourney,thereaderwilltoo.

So,doestherehavetobeamoraltoeverystory?Theansweristhateverystoryhassomethingtosay.

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SUNDA Y , 2 2 S E PT EMBE R 2 0 1 3

Expressingtoneinyourwriting

Settingtoneinyourstoriesisonething,butexpressingitisanotherthingentirely.

Whenwetalkabouttone,itgenerallymeanstheoverallquality,expositionandpitchofthewritingandthevalueitbringstothenarrativeintermsofwhatitgivestothereaderbecausetheyneedtounderstandthetoneofyournovelorstory.

Thetoneisaboutthewritersabilitytocoveythoughtsandfeelingsinrelationtothethemesthatmakeupthestory.Oftenwritersconfusetonewithmoodandvoice,butalthoughtheseaspectscomplementeachotherinfictionwriting,therearesubtledifferencesbetweenthem,andtheybothhavedifferentrolestoplaywithinthenarrative.

Voiceistheessenceandindividualstyleofthewritercomingthroughthenarrative.Moodhowever,(anditscloserelation,atmosphere),istheeffectcreatedbythewritertoevokearangefeelingswithinthereaderhorror,sadness,humour,empathyandcompassionetc.

Therealimportancehereishowwritersexpressthetoneofthestoryandhowtheyachievethis.

HowdoyoucreateTone?

Thinkaboutthetoneofsomeonesvoicewheninconversation.Thepitchoftenchanges,somewordsareemphasisedbyelongationorshorteningthemandtheirsoundschange,dependingonthepersonsmoodandreactions.

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Soinfictionwriting,itsalsoaboutchoosingtherightwordsinordertoconveytherightmeaning.Itsabouttherightexpositionemphasisingwords,changingthesoundofthemandvaryingthepitchandpaceofthemallhelpcreatetone.

Thenatureofastorystoneisalsodictatedbythegenre.Romancewritersleantowardssofternarrativewithandfulsomephraseology.Horrorwriterswillusedarkerwordsandemphasisecertainwordswhilethrillerwritersmightusetight,conciseexpositiontocreateafastpacedtone.

Forinstance,comparethesetwoparagraphs:

Shelookedupfrombetweencrinkledsheetsatthehazylightformingaseductiveveilaroundthefiguresittingbythewindow.Softglowhighlightedhisstrongfeatures

Nowtheotherexample:

Shesnatchedthesheetsasideandgotoutofbed.Therainhadstopped,butlowlightsprinkledthecoolmawthatclungtotheroomandbathedherfaceinagreycloud

Youcanseeinthefirstexamplehowtherightwordsexpressthetoneofnarrative,evenwithoutknowingwhatkindofgenreitiswordslikehazylight,seductiveveilandstrongfeaturesalltellusthetonehereisaboutromance.Whencomparedwiththesecondexample,thechoiceofwordsisdifferent,theexpositionistightandtheuseofdarkcoloursclearlytellsthereaderthekindoftonetoexpect.

Tonecanbedeliveredinthefollowingways:

UsingtherightdescriptivewordsUseofimagerycoloursandsounds,shadows

andlightetc.SymbolismMetaphorPacingandflowofsentences

Moreexamplesexpressingdifferenttones:

Thesoundofhismotherswhimperscarriedthrough

ThePowerofVerbsandNouns

HowImportantisWritingStyle?

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themuskladendarknesslikeacreepingfog,andeachhourthatpassed,herpainwhittledagainstthesilence.Lockedbehindtheatticdoor,helistenedashervoiceslowlytrailedoff

Fromthisexampleyoucanhearthedarkundercurrentinthisextract,emphasisedthroughthechoiceofwords,thepaceandflowofthesentencesandhowtheyrepitched.

Trythisexample:

Mollyjumpedagainstthesoftwallsofthebouncycastleandsherebounded,fallingintoaheapwiththeotherchildren.Herlaughmingledwithacacophonyofvoices,likeacolourfulkaleidoscopicmelee

Thisexampleismorebuoyantandlighterintone,madeeffectivesimplythroughchoiceofwords.ImagineifIhadusedadifferenttone:

Mollyfellagainstthewallsofthebouncycastleandsherebounded,fallingintoaheapwiththeotherchildren.Herscreamsmingledwithacacophonyofvoices,likethescreechofcagedcats

Seehowthetonehasdramaticallychanged,justthroughtheuseofdifferentwords?Thatswhytoneisimportantinyournarrativetherighttone.

Youcanseehoweasytoneandmoodandauthorialvoiceseemverysimilar,buteachhasitsownroletoplayinthecompositionofastory.Andwheretoneisconcerned,onceyouknowtheprecisenatureofthesceneyouwanttocraftforyourcharacters,thenyoucancreatetherighttone.

Nextweek:Doestherehavetobeamoraltoeverystory?

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSUNDAY, SEPTEMBER22, 20132COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


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ThePowerofVerbsandNouns

Ifyouhaveeverwonderedhowyoucanmakeyourwritingthatmuchstronger,thenthepowerofverbsandnounsmighthelp.Unlikeadjectivesandadverbs,whichactuallyweakenyourwriting,theuseofstrongverbsandnounsmakethenarrativemoredynamic,vibrantand,aboveall,activeinordertohelpstrengthenthenarrativeconsiderably.

Theyareoftenreferredtoasactionwordsbecausetheyareespeciallyusefulforthefluidityandmotionwithinsentences,wherethesubjectisdoingsomething.Sowhenitcomestoinjectingclarity,movementandaction,wordslikewalk,grab,runandchopetc.,conveytothereaderexactlywhattheyneedtoknow.

Theycanexpressthephysical(torun,towalk,tofight),theycanshowastateofbeing(toappear,tobe)ortheycanshowusmentalactions(tothink,toponder).

Theinterestingthingaboutverbsisthat,unlikeadverbsandadjectives,theycanchangeinform,andthereareseveralformsthatbelongtoverbs.Forexample,theverbtowalkhasfiveforms,whichhavedifferentdynamicstosentences:

Towalk,walk,walks,walkedandwalking.TowalkwithTomisfun.

ItookawalkwithTom.

Ourwalkstogetherarefun.

IwalkedwithTom.

IlikewalkingwithTom.

Theseexamplesshowthedifferencewitheachsentence,whetheritistoshowpast,presentorfuturetense,toshowthetoneofthenarrativeandtoconveyactiveorpassivevoice.

Onethingwritersshouldalwaysaimforistomaketheverbactiveratherthanpassive.Therearestilllotsof

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beginnerswhogetconfusedwiththis.Forexample:

Theplantwaswateredbythemanager.

Thewholesentenceisclunkybecauseofthepassivevoice.Itdoesntreadwellatall.

Nowthesamesentence,butwithactivevoice:

Themanagerwateredtheplant.

Thedifferenceisverynoticeableandsomuchbetterinactivevoice.Itstighter,conciseandeasiertoreadandissomuchstrongerthanthepassivevoice.Whataboutnouns?Nounsrefertopeople,places,animalsorthings,forinstancetelephoneisathing,Londonisaplace,adogisananimalandTomisaperson.Forexample:

TomvisitedLondonwithhisdog,Jenny,andusedatelephonetocallhomeoncehehadarrived.

Nounsprovideamultitudeoffunctionswithinsentencesassubjects,asdirectobjects,asindirectobjects,assubjectcomplementsorobjectcomplements.Theyareeverywhere,andwithoutthem,writingwouldbeprettybland.

Howdoverbsandnounswork?

Infictionwriting,verbsandnounsdotheworkforyou.Usingmoreactiveverbsenablesyoutobespecificwithinyourwriting,andnounstellusthepeople,theplaces,theobjects,animalsandthings.Forexample:

Tomgrabbedtheflashlightandlistenedatthedoor.Heheardthesoundinthehallway,dullthuddowneachstair.Hispulsedrummedhardbeneathhisclammyskin,butdespitethefear,heknewhehadtoinvestigate

Thenarrativeinthisexamplehastencommonnounshighlightedinbold.Therearealsosomeverbsinthere,withtheoddadjectivejusttoroundtheoffparagraph.Youcanseefromtheexamplehownounsandverbshelpthenarrativeflow,itsactive,itsdynamicanditalsoconveystothereaderthemoodofnarrative.



Everysentenceyouwritecontainsverbsandnouns,butbecausewriterstendtorelytoomuchonadjectivesandadverbs,whichmeansthattherearenotenoughverbsandnounsinthenarrative,forinstance:

Johnwasterriblyhandsomeandworethickblackruffledshirtandwasdancingaroundthefloor,showingofftothegirls.Hisbrightbluesparklingeyesmajesticallycaughteverygirlsattention

Thiswholeparagraphisstrewnwithadverbsandadjectives.Withstrongverbsandnouns,thesentenceismuchbetter,likethis:

Johnsblueeyessparkledasheshowedofftothegirlsgatheredaroundthedancefloor.Leanandhandsomeinhisruffledshirt,hecaughteverygirlsattentionwithhisdancemoves.

Whileitstruethatyoucanteradicateeveryadverboradjectivefromyournarrativesometimessomeofthesewordsarerequiredyoucanminimisetheamountyouuse.Writersoftenrelytoomuchonadjectives,andthereissuchthingasadjectiveoverload.Alltheydoisclogthenarrative.

Anotherthingwritersdontalwaysseeistheadverbusage.Readthroughyourmanuscript/storyandyouwillfindmoreadverbsthanyouthoughtyouhad,guaranteed.Weedthemout,prune,cutbackandreassembleusingverbsandnounsandseethedifference.

Rememberthemaxim:letyourverbsandnounsdothework.

Nextweek:Expressingtoneinyourwriting.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER14, 2013NOCOMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


SA T URDA Y , 7 S E PT EMBE R 2 0 1 3

HowImportantisWritingStyle?




Toknowhowimportantitisornotitsbesttogetafeelforwhatwritingstyleisallabout.

Plentyofwritersareundertheimpressionthatinordertobeasuccessful,publishedauthor,theymustcreateandpromotetheirowndistinctiveandcharacteristicwritingstyle,butthetruthisbydoingthat,theycouldbecultivatingsomebadhabitsinstead.

Thetruthis,writingstylesarenotsomethingthatwriterstypicallythinkabout,butrathersomethingthatdevelopsnaturallyovertime.

Writingstyleisasmuchtodowithindividualityasitisaboutwriting.Itsabouthowthewriterpresentsthewordstothereader,howwellheorsheknowsthebeautyofthelanguage,howwellafictionworldorfictionalcharactersareblendedtogether,howeachsentencestartsandends,howeachparagraphisunifiedwiththenarrative,hownarrativeanddescriptionareinvented.Itshowwellawritertellstheirtale.

Inordertoforcestyleintotheirwriting,writerstendtobedeliberatelyartyorliterary,orevenworse,theytrytobeclever.Theydothisbycopyingsuccessful,famousauthorsandtheirwritingstyles,littlerealisingthatwhatworksforthepopularauthor,doesntnecessarilyworkforJoeWriter.Thatswherebadhabitscreepin,sopurposefullycreatingawritingstyledoesntwork.

Writingstyledevelopsasthewriterdoes.Awritersworkstartstobecomemultifacetedandmultidimensional,wherebeforeitmayhavebeenflatanduninspiring.Thewriterbeginstonoticeadifferenceinhisorherwork.Thereisagreatforceatworkthemoreawriteractuallywritesselfawareness.

Becomingawareofthenatureofthewrittenwordandtrulyunderstandingtheintricaciescreatedthroughdescriptionisalightbulbmoment.Thatsbecausethestyleofwritinghascometoapointwhereitstandsouttothewriterithasevolvednaturally.

Andonceitdoeshappen,thewriterwillinstinctivelyknowbecausewritingwillbecomealmostseamless,



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andmucheasier,andthewriterwillbecomecomfortablewiththeirwork.

Buthowimportantisit?

Itsonlyasimportantasanindividualwantsittobe.Styleisaboutindividualityandoriginality.Oftenreaderscanspotanauthorsparticularstyle,whetherthatmightbeshortandsuccinct,colourfulandlavish,brashandgritty,orjustplainquirky.Andreadersgettolikecertainstyles.

WhatifIdontdevelopmyownstyleofwriting?

Youwillitjusttakestime.Itsnotaninstantprocess.Sometimesitcantakemonths,sometimesyears.Itdependsuponhowmuchworkthewriterdoes,howquicklytheydevelopandtheexperiencetheygain.Itpersonallytookmealmostadecadetofinallyfindmystyle.ButonceIdidfindit,Ibecameimmediatelyateasewithmywriting.Itwaslikeclimbingintoalovely,comfyseatmouldedjustforme.

Goodwritingandwritingstyleinvitesustoread.Itshouldneverbeabouttryingtobedifferentorcoolortrendy,norshoulditbeaboutfittingintowhatyouthinkpublisherswant,becausetheywillseerightthroughit.

Takethetimetodevelopandcultivateyourownstyle.Yourwritingwillbebetteroffforit.

Nextweek:ThepowerofverbsandnounsPOSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER07, 20134COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


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all write - fiction advice_ september 2013

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