Writing Fiction
A few golden rules...
Sentences: When writing a short story try not to waffle – if it doesn’t move the plot along you don’t need it. Check that your sentences fulfil the following criteria.
If you remove a word from a sentence and the sentence still stands up, you didn’t need that word anyway. Don't be tempted to fulfil a required word count with superfluous words - an editor will spot "padding". Do a bit more careful "polishing" instead.
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Characterisation: know your character inside out - here are a few pointers that you might include to 'show not tell' the nature or mindset of your character. Lengthy description is not always the way to engage your reader. Have your characters doing and telling in a particular way to portray their personality.
In medias res ( ‘into the middle of things’)
If a story is not working or seems laboured before getting to the point – try enlivening it by chucking out the first few paragraphs and begin in the middle – i.e. begin with the conflict. This ploy can give you an interesting opener and the story will have more pace.
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Be objective:
When you have worked hard on a piece of writing it is sometimes
difficult to evaluate it yourself.
Put it away for a while – days or weeks – then read it with fresh eyes and an open mind. It will be much easier now to see where improvements can be made.
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Try to avoid…
Tautology:
(Gk‘the same saying’) Redundant words or ideas. Repetition of words or ideas, as in the common phrase ‘I myself personally’. We all seem to fall into this little trap, probably because we are hearing it all the time. two twins - rising upwards - pair off in twos - 7.30 pm in the evening - gather together.
Pleonasm:
(Gk superfluity) Redundant use of words, e.g. ‘in this day and age’ instead of ‘now’, ‘today’ or ‘nowadays’.
Solecism:
(Gk) A deviation from conventional usage in grammar, syntax or pronunciation.
For example ‘I ain’t done nothing’; ‘I never ought to have come’; ‘You didn’t ought to do it’.
Having said that we can break the No Solecisms rule if it happens to be a character trait that needs to be revealed.
If you are going to use dialect and colloquialisms in direct speech, don't overdo it, too much can be irritatingly tiresome to the reader.
Sentences: When writing a short story try not to waffle – if it doesn’t move the plot along you don’t need it. Check that your sentences fulfil the following criteria.
- Give information
- Reveal emotions or thoughts
- Advance plot
- Characterise the speaker or the character spoken to
If you remove a word from a sentence and the sentence still stands up, you didn’t need that word anyway. Don't be tempted to fulfil a required word count with superfluous words - an editor will spot "padding". Do a bit more careful "polishing" instead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Characterisation: know your character inside out - here are a few pointers that you might include to 'show not tell' the nature or mindset of your character. Lengthy description is not always the way to engage your reader. Have your characters doing and telling in a particular way to portray their personality.
- Overall appearance
- Disposition
- Gait
- Mannerisms
- Voice – volume, accent, tone
- Dialogue
- What he/she does ¨
- Reputation¨
- Motivation
In medias res ( ‘into the middle of things’)
If a story is not working or seems laboured before getting to the point – try enlivening it by chucking out the first few paragraphs and begin in the middle – i.e. begin with the conflict. This ploy can give you an interesting opener and the story will have more pace.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Be objective:
When you have worked hard on a piece of writing it is sometimes
difficult to evaluate it yourself.
Put it away for a while – days or weeks – then read it with fresh eyes and an open mind. It will be much easier now to see where improvements can be made.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Try to avoid…
Tautology:
(Gk‘the same saying’) Redundant words or ideas. Repetition of words or ideas, as in the common phrase ‘I myself personally’. We all seem to fall into this little trap, probably because we are hearing it all the time. two twins - rising upwards - pair off in twos - 7.30 pm in the evening - gather together.
Pleonasm:
(Gk superfluity) Redundant use of words, e.g. ‘in this day and age’ instead of ‘now’, ‘today’ or ‘nowadays’.
Solecism:
(Gk) A deviation from conventional usage in grammar, syntax or pronunciation.
For example ‘I ain’t done nothing’; ‘I never ought to have come’; ‘You didn’t ought to do it’.
Having said that we can break the No Solecisms rule if it happens to be a character trait that needs to be revealed.
If you are going to use dialect and colloquialisms in direct speech, don't overdo it, too much can be irritatingly tiresome to the reader.