This week I'm continuing with the list of writing tips I discovered in an old notebook. It was such a treat to find them and remind myself to not forget the basics. So here we go with Writing Tips – Part Two
1. Tighten dialog, make it minic real speech, but within reason. If we wrote it EXACTLY as people sometimes speak, it would be atrocious to read.
2. Stagger your paragraph and sentence lengths so it flows better. Make sure they don't start with the same word.
3. If you have a sentence or a word you want to draw attention to, give it it's own line, but be careful not to overuse the technique, or it will become ineffective and an intrusion rather than an enhancement.
4. Break up dialog with white space. It makes easier reading, so the reader doesn't feel like they're wading through the story.
5. Avoid too many dialog tags. An action beat is better. It feels more natural and can showcase the character better. It's like showing vs. telling, but with dialog tags. But as with all rules, use your judgment, sometimes the sentence just flows better to say "he said" instead of a super duper action tag. And many times we don't need any kind of tag if only two people are speaking. Just throw in a dialog tag or action beat every few lines to clarify who is speaking.
6. Tighten sentences. Watch out for qualifiers. (Almost, just, nearly, really) Sometimes they're necessary, but most often, they aren't. I'm terrible about this. I have to go on a search and destroy mission for qualifiers after a book is finished.
7. Adverbs are not the devil, but if you don't limit them, they will damn your story. In some cases they help, but like qualifiers, they shouldn't be used too often. Only use them when necessary or if it fits the character's speech pattern.
8. Make the dialog match the tone of the scene. Use banter between characters when appropriate. This creates white space, makes the story move quickly, and gives the characters and story authenticity. When things get tense, use shorter sentences, punchier. Make it real.
9. Make scenes do triple the work. Move the story forward, showcase something about the character, and introduce a new question or idea to tempt the reader.
10. Use ellipses to show trailing off dialog. Use em dashes to show an interruption of dialog.
That's it for Part Two. I'm having fun with this. It's making me stop and think about those basics that I assume are embedded in my brain. I'm going to continue next week with Part Three. I'm curious, do you stick to the rules or take joy in breaking them? I'm a little of both. There are a few things I'm set in stone on, but for the most part, I consider rules guidelines and have no qualms about breaking them if it suits the story.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
And once again you have given me so much to think about. This one is also being printed for future reference.
Thanks for the refresher.
Wow, great list, Anita! I'm with Lindsay...I'm printiing this sucker out.
Excellent, Anita! thanks.
Lindsay, I'm so glad I discovered the notebooks. As writers, we know these things, but it's easy to forget.
Kari, this has been a great reminder for me. It's easy to forget the basics.
Beth, thanks so much for stopping by. I was so excited when I found these old notebooks. It made me stop and think about my writing.
Anita: You have the beginnings of another whole book here. As for my style, I have a tendency to try and stick with the rules probably too much. I have been told my dialogue is too formal, too proper. I have to bend some of the grammar rules and stylistic rules a bit more to seem more natural. My fingers twitch as I write a sentence that I know contains improper grammar- gotta loosen up over here.
Thanks for sharing your notes! Great reminders.
Cassie, I'm with you about grammar. I do think in complete sentences and upset some folks who think no one does. I will use an occasional fragment, but VERY FEW!
All good advice. But, I wonder if you could clarify, ahem, "Teacher", the difference between em dashes and en dashes and how to use them?
That one always gets me...
wow Anita, I feel like such an underachiever...(LOL). I'm totally hung up on letting the scene do triple the work. BIG downfall of mine. I tend to get wrapped up in everything else, so when I go back to polish - and even something then I don't pick up on it - I have to really analyze the scenes and see if they are doing their part. Sometimes I'm just missing a small element, a sentence or two, that help give it purpose. I swear half the time it's my CP that sees that (Thank you, Kari!!!)
I love these tips. I'm on pins and needles wondering what helpful tips will be showing up next week. Or will you be pointing out more of my flaws?? ha ha (Just kidding!)
Cassy, Good dialog is important. I hear instructors talking about it as much as anything, but we all have areas that we struggle with. I love qualifiers and I will reiterate things over and over. I have to be very careful not to make my plots so big they get confusing.
Hi Mary. I think complete sentences are okay as long as they aren't sound too stiff. Some people go too far the other way with constant broken sentences. It's so hard to find the right balance.
Barbie Jo, I'll let you in on a big secret. I have to really THINK to see if I've used any of these rules. I don't analyze like most people do. When I'm writing I can't concentrate on have I done this or have I done that. I have to look back and see. I'm one of those people who knows they have a good story but if you ask me what the characters' goals were, I have to stop and think. Maybe that's why these rules are such a good reminder for me. I know them, but I don't think about them when I'm writing.
Sometimes, the rules can be so confusing. Thanks for sharing these, Anita. I'm getting ready to start on Book 3, so I will put them all to good use.
Hi Mary R. I didn't even know what those dots and dashes were called until after I'd been writing for a while. The way I understand it, an en dash (-) which is one dash, the size of one letter, like an "n" is used to show a span, for instance in years. 2001-2002. An em dash(--) which is two dashes, the size of an "m", and which your computer will hopefully connect into one long dash, shows an interruption. If I'm talking and someone pounds on the door and I stop speaking, or if someone interrupts me, the em dash would be used. They're also used to show a phrase set apart within a sentence. Here are some examples of ways I used em dashes in Awaken the Highland Warrior.
It was smeared with mud, as were the beige socks—kilt hose—folded below his knees.
He stuck his fork in the scrambled eggs and shoveled a bite into his mouth.
“It’s hot—”
His eyes widened. He took a gulp of milk and did it all over again. Burning hot food, cold milk. It sounded like he moaned, but there wasn’t enough room in his mouth for the sound.
“The next page is missing,” Bree said. “I’d kill to know what Isabel remembered—”
A scream sounded outside.
Bree jumped to her feet, and the falling journal struck her plate, dumping the contents on her jeans before it hit the floor.
“Do you have a horse and carriage?”
“I have a Mustang—”
“It’ll do,” he said, pulling her across the grass, his longer legs forcing her to jog to keep up. His eyes never stopped scanning.
Next she tackled his clothes—noting the lack of underwear—cringing as she applied Spray ’n Wash to his linen shirt and his kilt.
She led him toward the azaleas and pines hiding her red 1968 Fastback from view, dropping back a few steps when he kept glancing at her legs. “There’s my Mustang—”
He stopped so fast, she plowed into him. “I thought you meant a horse,” he said, finally looking at something besides her knees. He approached the car like she would Noah’s Ark, running his hands over the hood, smudging her wax job, pressing his nose to the window like a kid who’d crash landed in the North Pole.
“I’m looking for a man—” Bree started.
“Aren’t we all, dear? All I got’s bread and doughnuts, but they’re the next best thing.”
“I don’t know about that… well, maybe doughnuts. I’ve lost my… friend. He’s tall—six-four—longish dark hair, wearing a kilt.”
“Did you know they have toilets on the wall—” Faelan stopped short when he saw Bree wasn’t alone. His gaze darted between Peter and Bree. He was still several feet away, but it was too late to pretend she didn’t know him.
My computer drives me crazy on em dashes because if they are used in a sencence, my computer only converts the first set of em dashes to a single long dash, but leaves the last one double dashes. My copy editor told me she uses "ctrl" and the dash on the number pad to get the real em dash. It works for me, and I also heard about "alt" and 0151 on the number pad. If anyone knows a better way, please let me know.
Ellipsis marks (...) are used to show a trailing off of speech or an unfinished sentence or thought. Maybe I'm not sure what I'm trying to say so I shrug and don't finish the sentence. That would be ellipses. Or that's how I use them. And I don't use them too frequently. I used to, and Christine had to smack my knuckles with her agent ruler.
“Where? New York, near Albany…” She gulped. “Earth.”
Just when she thought she’d lift off into space, he raised his head and blinked at her, then rolled off so fast she grabbed fistfuls of the quilt to keep from falling off the bed. She sat up, too dazed to move, and tried not to gape.
She’d thought the back view was good…
Here's a site I found that explains all this in detail.
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/dashes.asp
Liz, I agree that rules can be confusing. Even though I edit as I go, I don't analyze as I go, so it's usually in edits where I notice if I've followed the rules I want to follow.
Antia it looks like you've got your post topic for next week. The different punctuation we use or are suppose to use.
And Liz, I thought rules were suppose to be broken that's why they're confusing. I know I break enough of them
Good idea Lindsay. This is a neverending topic.
You mean I actually had a good idea. Miracle of miracles. I thought the story was neverending
Post a Comment