Monday, August 24, 2015

Writing Tips pulled from library books

Here are some of the tips I got from "The Book of Writing-The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well" by Paula LaRocque.

AVOID VAGUE QUALIFIERS

Try writing without using: Very, extremely, totally, completely, wholly, entirely, utterly, really, quite, rather, somewhat, slightly, fairly. - If you do then take them out because they are used to weaken a statement and no one wants that.

PRUNE PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are vital but most be limited and controlled or they'll fill the sentence with chaff, disrupt flow, and force its rhythms into an annoying singsong.

QUICK, GET A CAMERA

Writers should be able to describe a person/thing/place as if it's been captured on film. Work on your strong adjectives to get your images to pop into the mind of the reader instead of a flat detailing that will be forgotten in mere moments.

WRITE FAST, EDIT SLOW

Write Fast - If a scene needs research then try to do it before you sit down to type the scene out. Reduce your scene down to the main goal and then expand from there. Do you have the beginning/middle/end to each scene, even if in your head? Did you make any outlines?

Edit Slow - Artists can be so passionate that they bore you to tears on a specific scene that doesn't move you as well as the artist themselves. After catching the picture from above, got back over it slowly so you can whittle it down to the pinpoint of what you need to show your reader. If it doesn't "move you" then it may not "move them".

For me, I need to work on prepositions and more outlines. What about you?

)))Corset Hugs(((
Ginny Lynn
Wench Writer

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