Constant Content

http://www.writersdigest.com/article?p_ArticleId=5387

Some of these apply more to fiction, but others can be applied to all types of writing. My favorite:

10. Be careful of your diction. A single word, like a drop of iodine in a gallon of water, can change the color of your entire manuscript.

#6 is my favorite:

[quote]6. Story is more important than anything. Readers (and publishers) care a lot less about craft than content. The question they ask isn't, "How accomplished is the writer?" but, "How good is the story?"
[/quote]

I remember being intimated about writing or even talking about writing (hard to believe, huh? LOL) on fiction boards because many of the other writers would post these flowery responses and purple prose like crazy. How could my simple language possibly compare to their lyrical words?

But then I snapped out of it and realized that I'd never be a flowery writer (I don't want to be) but I could spin a pretty darned good tale. Now, good luck shutting me up!

Many people try to "hide" behind the flowery language, but the words are meaningless unless they actually SAY something. And there's an insomniac's contribution.

Related: Nabokov was an insomniac and wrote when he couldn't sleep. I wish I could express genius at 4 am!

Ed

As a very young woman, I was extremely shy and rarely contributed to conversations. people would remark on how quiet I was and it worried me. I realised that I was actually thinking of things to say but was also thinking of how to improve the way I said them. I resolved to say the first thing that came into my head to get me started. Although I had a few embarrassing moments, I became much more animated and felt included. It changed my life.

Now I do it in writing, but first drafts only.

I think my favorite is:

"14. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and adverbs; trust the precision of your nouns and verbs. Verb form: the shorter the better. Avoid helping verbs and progressives. Avoid passive voice. Avoid cliche and stock phrases."

There's a bunch of advice in one point that could have been split out. I've got a problem with cliche phrases that bites me regularly. "They don't get to be cliches by being wrong!" I offer in defense, but my sometimes editor (rljudge) doesn't cut me any slack.

Steve

Yep, cliches are difficult on editors. Especially editors who see the same ones day in and day out. It's pretty refreshing when someone can say that their character "sobbed uncontrollably," without using those words.

Cliches are crutches. One crutch writers at CC often use is the introduction, "Subject/topic is important/interesting/9some other non-descriptive word) for many reasons."

Jak - I still have that problem. In this age when everything must be instantaneous, a moment's thought is considered rude or the talker assumes that you didn't hear, especially on the telephone. Being barked at because you haven't responded "pronto" makes a person really not want to speak at all. It's a sad state of affairs when thought is considered a waste of time.

Lately, I've been annoyed at this cliche-like phrase, "it's amazing," or "he's amazing," or "she's amazing." Everyone who winds up on one of the late shows is so freaking amazed by less than amazing things...I can't even say amazing anymore because it sounds so insincere.

And while we're at it, I hate euphemisms too: a preowned vehicle as opposed to a used car--that kind of thing.

What this has to do with writing.....well, Ed, rather than tell me my articles are amazing, why not go with "marvelous, stunning, remarkable," or my favorite, "awe-inspiring?!"

And now, I must get back to earning my monetary rewards (that's a euphemism for work).

JA

Oh, all of your are awe-inspiring. Terrific, admirable!

Ed said:
'Cliches are crutches. One crutch writers at CC often use is the introduction, "Subject/topic is important/interesting/9some other non-descriptive word) for many reasons."'

Which of course sent me into a flurry of activity, checking my own articles for such content...

Steve

Hah! I don't think your articles have ever begun that way.

Of course, everyone is at a different level of development. I'm sure we have all, at one point or another, felt this was the best way to get directly to the point without too much mental anguish. And perhaps, if your goal is to write articles efficiently and with basic clarity, this is okay. If your goal, however, is to improve your ability as a writer, it's always important to stretch yourself and try new things.

How much of what makes a "good writer" is social, fashionable, or consensual, and how much is "objective"? I love to read Lovecraft's work, but if you submitted his work today - or anything written in that style - your work would be bouncing off the sides of the trash can before the editor got past the first paragraph. What bits are "objective" and what bits are "fashion"?

Insatiable curteosity sometimes gets the best of me.

It's like visual art. First you have to prove that you can do the thing as well or better in the way that everyone accepts is the "right" way. Then you push yourself farther and hope that someone else understands that it's something *no one* has ever done before and that you've hit upon a new means of expression.

If you're lucky, you'll start a trend that will become a fashion, and there you will find yourself a place in history.

However, you'll have a lot of hacks following in your footsteps. For example, I would argue that Shelley and Tennyson and Byron were working in a style that was definitive for the era, but Robert Browning was simply copying the trend.