~The Writer's Lounge~

Writing is my talent, however I'm not planning on studying it. I was lying in bed awake last night and thought up a bunch of content for my next essay about how much I hate critics.

Seriously, I won a district competition for my fourth grade story, and continue to write for fun. Writing is so much more fun than reading!

 

Here's a New York Times article that I follow religiously when I'm working on creative writing. It was written by Elmore Leonard, who has written the books Out of Sight and Get Shorty.

Easy on the Hooptedoodle
By ELMORE LEONARD

These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what's taking place in the story. If you have a facility for language and imagery and the sound of your voice pleases you, invisibility is not what you are after, and you can skip the rules. Still, you might look them over.

1. Never open a book with weather.
If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want.

2. Avoid prologues.
They can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. But these are ordinarily found in nonfiction. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want.

There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's "Sweet Thursday," but it's O.K. because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. He says: "I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks. . . . figure out what the guy's thinking from what he says. I like some description but not too much of that. . . . Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle. . . . Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That's nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don't have to read it. I don't want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story.

3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated," and had to stop reading to get the dictionary.

4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said"
... he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances "full of rape and adverbs."

5. Keep your exclamation points under control.
You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.

6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
This rule doesn't require an explanation. I have noticed that writers who use "suddenly" tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points.

7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
Once you start spelling words in dialogue phonetically and loading the page with apostrophes, you won't be able to stop. Notice the way Annie Proulx captures the flavor of Wyoming voices in her book of short stories "Close Range."

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
Which Steinbeck covered. In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" what do the "American and the girl with him" look like? "She had taken off her hat and put it on the table." That's the only reference to a physical description in the story, and yet we see the couple and know them by their tones of voice, with not one adverb in sight.

9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
Unless you're Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language or write landscapes in the style of Jim Harrison. But even if you're g

 

Great article.

#2 is a killer, though, especially for science fiction and fantasy writers. You want to set up the world you've created; give a short historical sketch to introduce the reader to this strange place. Or have a glossary or pronuciation key. But readers do tend to skip over this, unless they're really interested in learning the minutae. If it has to be done, turn it into a appendix and put at the back of the book.

 

Appendixes are the best thing to do. If you're going to have a prologue, you could always find a way to make it the first chapter, or just fit that information into the story. There are clever, smooth ways to integrate that info into parts of the story that coincide with that.

#3 is a problem for me. I hate just saying "said."

Also, never give a lot of detail about a character's history the moment you introduce them. If you have to say who their mother is and what town they were born in, save it for later on.

 

I use to be the Editor for my highschool Yearbook staff. That was a great experience but geez.. what a drag to read all of these horrible articles my staff would sometimes submit.

I gave up the journalistic side of writing when I entered college but I hope to continue in mediums like song, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, epic poetry, and of course, La Novela!

I currently mid way through my first novel and I hope to have the first draft done by the end of summer. Though, I've written many short-stories.

~PAd

 

I hear you on the bad quality articles that high school students sometimes submit.

Care to share any of your short stories with us?

Also, great point in rule #3, Radiohead. As Stephen King said, "he said, she said" is divine. I forget the first part of that, but he echoes that view.

 

I love writing, anything and everything. A little while ago, I was sitting in 4th period and started to write a little scene out.



"I forgive so freely," says the young woman. "So easily." She shakes her head. "Carelessly." The man she speaks to hangs his head in shame and does not meet her eyes. They stand in silence for a long, tense moment.

"I'm sorry," the man finally says, his voice strained and hoarse. His gaze does not leave the floor. The woman closes here eyes. Tears seep through the tightly shut lids. She rubs her right temple with a slender, trembling hand.

"So easily."

Her voice is a whisper.\



Not much, but i had to write it out. My big problem is i don't finish my stories. I get distracted by new ideas and leave the old ones dead and unfinished. *sigh*

 

dang double posts. Gir.

 

Ooooh! I am home!

*falls down on her knees and thanks the Powers that Be for this thread*

I've always loved to daydream, but it wasn't until about three years ago, after the death of my 6th grade english teacher, that I decided to put my ideas into writing. About two years ago, I began writing what I hope to eventually turn into a novel. Has anyone here ever heard of K.A. Applegate? Well, my little story is similar to her Everworld series, though it's not quite as dark (no, I didn't copy her idea, in fact I didn't even start reading those books until after I began writing my own story). If anyone cares, it's about some kids who discover a gateway to something of a parallel dimension, filled with your usual fantastic creatures (elves, dragons, wizards, etc.). I'd go into detail, but I don't wanna clog up this thread with my mindless ramblings.

 

Not much, but i had to write it out. My big problem is i don't finish my stories. I get distracted by new ideas and leave the old ones dead and unfinished. *sigh*

Mine rarely make it any farther than my mind, but I can relate. I think it's good to create isolated scenes like you showed above. Then you can write more around those scenes and ideas, instead of starting from the beginning all the time.

 

I wish I could go back 2 years and change my major from English Literature to Journalism. I still retain some small hope for writing a novel, but I think I might do better as a columnist for a magazine or newspaper. It's not that I lack ideas for stories, I just have trouble articulating them and getting them down on paper. My strongest writing has always been research papers, opinion pieces, and the like.

Still, I do have copious notes for a book I began work on about 18 months ago. If I ever find the time to seriously work on it, it could turn into something good.

 

That's a really great article, Radiohead. Although it really didn't teach me anything new, it reinforced points that I read elsewhere.

 

Thanks. I'm glad I saved it. I think that rules #3 and #10 are the hardest to follow and the trickiest to deal with. Anyone else?

 

I love writing. I spend entire days writing sometimes

A selection of some of my works.

 

Radiohead: I'll have to agree with you on rule #3. "Said" is a verb that seems so bland after you use it for the umpteenth time.

 

Did you mean "disagree," as opposed to "agree"?

 

I agree that #3 can be a tricky rule to follow sometimes. I keep thinking, "I've said 'said' too many times now! Isn't there another word?" But most of the time, if I re-read the dialogue, it wasn't strong enough to carry the scene anyway, so I re-write.

Adverbs are another pet peeve of mine. I try to avoid them, but they sneak their way in sometimes and leave me frustrated.

I think that the definitive writing aid is White and Strunk's Elements of Style. Concise and full of practical advice.

 

Alright, I'm gonna post a short little somethin' off the top of my head and ya'll tell me what kind of improvement it needs. That way I can focus on those particular points in my real stories.



There was a succession of loud crashes, a flurry of shaking images, the icy spray of water. The noise was deafening, she could hardly breathe, water was coming in at her seemingly from all sides. She opened her mouth to scream for help but instead received a mouthful of salty water. She sputtered and coughed, desperately flailing her arms and legs as she tried to stay above the water. One hand's knuckle hit the wall of her cabin, sending a brief burning pain across her arm. She didn't notice as she was too happy to have found a stable point in the tumbling and shaking room. Her hand found a bed post and she gripped it tightly, pulling herself towards the bed. Another wave, another crash. Her hand slipped. She went under. For an impossibly long three seconds the water that came cascading through her doorway rushed over her, distorting everything. She tried to swim up, but hit her head on what must have been the floor. Her heart was beating furiously and she felt panic rise up with a burning heat to her throat. She thrashed around in the whirlpool and finally her mouth was able to gulp warm air. She opened her eyes and looked for the doorway. Water was still pouring in, but not nearly as quickly as before. Her bed was floating at the far end of her room, as was the door. She shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts and blinked water out of her eyes. She was still gasping and the occasional spray of salt water had her choking and coughing again. Her arms and legs burned with fatigue. Still, she kept herself above the water, and was relieved when it seemed to stop rising. Finally, the flow stopped and the room was silent. She swam cautiously through her doorway looking both ways down the hallway. Water was everywhere. She wondered what had happened to the ship to cause the breach. The last port had been Martinique. She shook her head again and pulled at her nose to wipe away the water dripping down her face. The hallway was deserted. Various pieces of furniture and personal effects were floating along the 'river', but she didn't see anyone. She swam further, reaching an elevator. The "In case of emergency, use stairs" sign was cracked and barely readable. The stairs to her left were under ten feet of water.

"Is anyone here?" she yelled. There was no response. The soft lapping of water against the walls echoed in the hallway. On a whim, she pressed the 'up' button on the elevator panel. The button lit up with an orange glow and a ding sounded as the elevator door opened. She laughed, a crazy laugh, and swam away, towards the opposite end of the hall. "Anybody? Help!" A muffled noise reached her ears. She stopped and treaded water as quietly as she could. There it was again. A muffled response, coming from the end of the hall. She ducked under the cold water and shot forward, resurfacing several feet away. "Is anyone here?"

"What the hell?" She gasped and turned to her right. A man in full scuba gear tread water beside her. "What are you- You can't be-"

"What? What is it?" she asked. The man seemed at a loss for words, and beyond surprise.

"How long have you been here?" he finally managed to ask.

"Since the boat left port in Miami, what do you mean 'how long have I been here?'" The man's wide eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you hear the alarm?" She shook her head, beginning to get a bad feeling about what the man was going to say.

"This ship has been under water for six hours now. Everyone was evacuated long before that." Her breath left her in a terrified sigh. She looked up and around, refusing to believe that she had been trapped under water for six hours. All of a sudden she could feel the weight of the ocean pressing in on her, beginning to crush the hull of the ship.

"Get me out of here!" she screamed, grabbing h

 

I'm currently trying to decide what story I want to start working on. I've got a couple done all ready, but one of them is trash and the other I'm going to do over from a different perspective.

I've got tons of ideas, and I really hope I can get one of them published at some point.

I'll give you summaries if you want them, but I'm not going to give the books away. You'll have to wait and buy them with the rest of the world in ten years.

 

I am currently working on my first screenplay, which will begin filming after I have finished it.

I have also written two novels and am currently working on a self-help book for people with children with ADHD.

 

I would be most interested in reading about the ADHD book, due to having it myself.

Have you published the novels?

 

Augh! You killed me with rule #2. My prologue is the strongest part of the story, in my opinion. I have to include it, to show how this one character used to be, and how he changed.. well, it's hard to explain.

I probably don't have to include it. But, it's the best part! Besides, all my favorite books have prologues, and it never distracted *me*.

Anyway, I also have trouble with the 'said only' thing. The adverbs, too,but not as much. If you want to see adverb modified dialogue and extreme violation of the 'said only' rule, just read Dragonlance! Heh..

My biggest problem, though, is too many story ideas. I can't decide which one to focus on! My current one lacks a solid plot, but I really like the characters. Another one is my brother's idea, and he wants me to write it for him, which I hesitate to do. Then there is my sci-fi short story, and all my Star Wars fan-fic ideas...which aren't as important but are strongly calling me to write them anyway.

I also have a hard time sitting down to write, and actually getting through a writing project. But I love to write! And I'm always really satisfied with what I do finally finish..

 

What "style" of writing would you say you write (ie, realist, romantic, existentialist, etc.)?

Me? More towards the romantic.

 

For the next month or so, I'll be working on the script version of my story. If anyone's interested, I'd really love it if someone would help me with a novelized version after it's complete. Anyone?

 

Carosel -- I LOVE writing research papers! I love organizing it and finding a thesis and theme and a way to direct it and creating new ideas because of it....oh man, I love it.