Nuts 'n Bolts: In-Depth Writing Techniques
Tips on grammar, syntax, word choice, and other technical aspects of the writing craft.
Melissa arrived at the office five minutes late, as usual. She opened the door and walked down the hall. She put her laptop down on her desk and sat in her chair. She double-clicked on her Outlook folder, and brought up her cluttered to-do list. Stage Directions Blog was written right at the top. Great. She’d been looking forward to this for a long time. But first, she had to do something about breakfast. It was no good writing on an empty stomach. She pulled her whole wheat bagel out of her backpack and unwrapped it. She put a napkin in her lap. She tore off a chunk of bagel and put it in her mouth. She chewed. She swallowed. Soon, the bagel was gone, and it was time to write the blog entry. She opened Microsoft Word (despite the program’s nightmarish incompatibility with Typepad’s text editor), and put her hands on the keyboard. She began to type.
Cut!
You follow all that, readers? Or did you scan right down to the bottom, thinking, “All right already with the napkin in your lap! Get to the good stuff!”
If you answered the latter, I don’t blame you. That paragraph is a living, breathing specimen of a prose writer’s mortal enemy: Stage Directions.
Any time you narrate a physical action that gets a person from point A to point B, you’re using Stage Directions. Of course, sometimes it’s necessary to include some stage directions. But many writers – especially novices – use far too many stage directions in their writing.
The term Stage Directions comes from – you guessed it – playwriting, where stage directions are used to tell actors what they should do with their bodies during a play. Some plays include more stage directions than others. The most basic stage directions provide cues only for when a character enters or exits the stage. But plays never provide detailed directions for every single action a character should make during the play. Why not? Because actors and directors would revolt! “Don’t micromanage me!” they would exclaim. “I can create my own interpretation of my character’s actions! Give me some creative freedom!”
Your readers are sort of like these actors and directors. If a person you’re writing about goes from the kitchen table to the back door, you don’t need to tell your readers about how they stood up, walked around the table, walked into the hall, opened the door to the laundry room, etc. Your readers are perfectly capable of filling in the blanks with their imaginations. In fact, the process of doing this is one of the major pleasures of reading. Don’t rob your reader of that pleasure by micromanaging his or her imagination.
How do you know what stage directions to put in, and which to leave out? Practice, practice, practice. You might start by putting a lot of unnecessary directions in, and then taking them out in editing. Wise, helpful readers can help you find places in your writing where you use too many stage directions. As a general rule, you should include only those physical actions which are absolutely necessary for a reader’s comprehension of a scene; and those which reveal something interesting about your character or his/her situation. If you’re still uncertain, pretend your characters are capable of teleporting both through time and space. If you can teleport them somewhere without totally confusing your reader, or missing something crucial in the story, don’t describe the steps it would take for them to get there.
Now try this on for size:
Melissa arrived at the office five minutes late, as usual. She glanced at her cluttered to-do list: Stage Directions Blog. Great. She’d been looking forward to this for a long time. But first, she had to do something about breakfast. It was no good writing on an empty stomach. She tried to make her whole wheat bagel last, but before she knew it, it was time to write the blog entry. She opened Microsoft Word (despite the program’s nightmarish incompatibility with Typepad’s text editor), and began to type.
By Julian_Finn
Never use language in your prose that's noticeably more complex than your characters.
As writers struggle to find their voices and develop definitive styles, it's tempting to use "impressive" vocabulary -- sort of a textual scream that says, "See! See! I English good!"
Instead of focusing on showing off your language chops, it's usually a good idea to use language that syncs with your characters. If you're writing about gruff, gritty, morally complex characters, make your prose gruff, gritty, and sharp. Alternatively, if you're writing about pretentious, snobbish characters, it makes more sense to be more stylish and haughty with your language.
This rule is especially true if you're writing in the first person. It makes no sense for your rude, uneducated doormat protagonist to use five syllable words to describe a tree.
So you want to write a short story, but you don't know where to start? No worries - today's WEbook Writing Secret is here to help.
The key to overcoming writer's block is structure. Counterintuitive as it may seem, giving yourself less freedom rather than more can help jump start the creative process. Blame it on humankind's will to overcome obstacles. If you see a mountain, you'll climb it. No mountain? Might as well stay in bed.
As a writer, you have lots of options for finding structure. Deadlines, contests, and writing classes are all good ways to harness your boundless energy into real words on the page. But even if you don't have any deadlines, you can give your writing some structure by using rules or formulas.
Writers having trouble getting started might find a formula called A, B, C, D, E helpful. What's it stand for?
A =
Action
B =
Background
C =
Conflict
D =
Development
E =
Ending
By breaking down the story-writing process into five simple steps, you narrow down the billions of possibilities for starting and writing your story into just one concrete, practical approach. Of course, it's called a formula for a reason. Stick to the plan too rigidly, and your story might turn out...well, formulaic. You and your readers will have more fun when you add complications and twists. But, just like a jazz musician, it's worth practicing your scales before you move onto improvisation.
Here's how it's done:
Action: Start your story with a compelling action. This action should raise questions in the reader's mind. Example: Jack and Jill went up the hill. The reader might wonder, "Why did Jack and Jill go up the hill?" This curiosity gets your reader to turn the first page.
Background: Imagine what circumstances could have led up to the initial action - this is the background. The background should at least partially answer the question posed by the reader in response to the action you started with. Example: To fetch a pail of water. The background section should not be too long in relation to the rest of the story - otherwise, it might seem as if your story is about what happened yesterday, instead of what's happening right now. Your story will be most compelling if you can find a way to convey background without being purely expository.
Conflict: Next, introduce the central conflict of the story. The best, richest conflicts provide a story with forward momentum - they require the character to make an action or choice in the scope of the story, which will have real consequences, changing the character's life or outlook in some way. The conflict should involve both motivation (the character wants something) and stakes (something is at risk). Example: Jack fell down.
Development: The longest part of the story is usually development. Development of what? Of the conflict, of course! This is the "what happens" of the story. As the story develops, the conflict will be exert pressure on your characters, and they will make choices in response. Those choices may involve resolution of the conflict, escalation of the conflict, or the introduction of a whole new conflict! Example: And broke his crown.
Ending: At the end of your story, the conflict must be addressed, if not completely resolved. There can still be a conflict at the end - stories shouldn't all end "happily ever after" - but it should be a different conflict than the one you started with. Something needs to have changed, whether it's something subtle or something big. Some of the best endings are those that could potentially be the beginning of a whole new story. Example: And Jill came tumbling after.
Ready to give it a shot? Write your own story using the A, B, C, D, E formula and share it with your fellow WEbookers by posting it in this project. Bonus: The first five writers to submit a story will receive personalized feedback from yours truly - priceless!
In any list, put the most important item last. This is what your reader will notice and remember. This rule works especially well with humor. You can create a list of ordinary things, and surprise the reader with something unexpected, funny, or absurd at the end. Example: "After a good tumble in the sack, Ted likes nothing better than to smoke a cigarette, drink a glass of orange juice, and polish his lightsaber collection."
Okay, maybe not the funniest sentence in the world, but it's a heck of a lot funnier than: "After a good tumble in the sack, Ted likes nothing better than to polish his lightsaber collection, smoke a cigarette, and drink a glass of orange juice.
Bonus: This is a great rule for job applications and resumes. When listing all the things that make you excellent, put the absolutely, totally, most excellent thing at the end. "Melissa has published stories in numerous literary magazines and contributed two chapters to WEbook's first collaborative novel, Pandora, and last summer she saved the world from imminent attack by hostile aliens, using only a spatula and three slices of cheese."
And every word of it is true!
Point of view (or POV) discussion may seem kind of technical, but it's actually extremely important for any writer of fiction, nonfiction or poetry. Think about it this way: If you're telling a ghost story to your friends, which is more effective- trying to convince them that you were there and survived the acts of a crazy killer in the cabin, or that you heard the tale from your cousin, who attends the summer camp? Your point of view affects the believability of your story, your reader's connection to your characters, and more. Plus, if you want a real writing challenge, give the second person perspective a try.
Let's get down to the numbers, shall we?
1st person: Me, myself and I
The first person POV speaks straight from the mouth of your
characters. If you write your story about a bank robbery, the first person
version could be told by the robber, or the bank teller, or any witnesses to
the event. First person is great because your readers get much closer to the
narrator, and can learn things about them none of the other characters know.
You hear your character's take on every event. Some people say first person
characters are less contrived, and your first person narrator doesn't always
have to tell the truth.
A few classic examples: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
2nd person: You're the one that I want
The second person POV is by far the trickiest to employ and the
least used. Second person storytelling places the story in terms of "you," the
reader. A stellar example is in WEbook user ducktoes'
project Choose Your Own Adventure Story:
You peer through the dust, but as far as you can tell there is nothing out of the ordinary. The kids are still playing, the parents still coaching, coaxing and cheering. The only difference is that now there is a huge, noisy ambulance blaring in the grass next to the game.
Not too many authors use this POV, but if done correctly it immerses the reader into the action and just provides a nice break from "traditional" storytelling. Some examples for curious WEbookers: Italo Calvino's If On a Winter's Night a Traveler, Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City, and parts of Chuck Palahniuk's Diary.
3rd person: View from afar
The third person POV is incredibly popular and, and it gives
you a lot of options for your writing. Third person narrators (who provide an
external voice that explains what happens to the character) can be limited or
omniscient as they refer to the main character, and they can talk about just
one character's experiences or switch off between different stories. There is a
great deal of flexibility with the third person. When using third person
narration an author can be lenient or harsh in his or her description of
characters, kind or cruel. Readers may not emotionally connect to the
characters, however, as strongly as they do in the first person.
A few examples: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and even Pandora, the first ever published WEbook!
By Anowalk
If you find yourself using an excessive amount of adverbs, take a look at your verbs. Often, you can tighten your writing by dropping adverbs and picking a more powerful verb. Adverbs have a time and a place, but they shouldn't shoulder work that could be done by your verbs.
Need proof?
"Alex knocked loudly." vs. "Alex hammered his fist against the door." Which sentence packs more punch?
Got a secret I don’t know about? Share it with the world in WEbook Writing Secrets. To submit a secret, email me or visit my profile and send me a message with the subject line: Writing Secrets. The best secrets will be published here and in the WEbook blog. Authors will receive a byline and a bio.
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