You may think that your editing ceases with punctuation and passive voice. Think again. There are many writer pitfalls that are acceptable in the real world, but not so in fiction. Take a look at my compilation of weak words and phrases you need to cut from your writing right NOW to take it to the next level.
(P.S. don't know what I mean when I say passive voice? Check out this previous post.)
#1: I feel/ I believe/ I think
Reason: It Kills Tension
These are extraneous words we use in dialogue so we don't sound too arrogant on a day to day basis. Women especially have problems over using these words in writing because we're taught not to be "bossy" by our society. However, the best and most tense fiction is bossy. The reader picked up your book because they want you to be the boss of your story and to share that story with them.
Solution:
If you had: "I believe that's an excellent point"
Change it to: "That's an excellent point."
Note: The only acceptable reason I feel/ I believe/ I think should enter your word count is if it's in dialogue and it is used for characterization. So, if you're making an insecure character who is unsure about sharing her thoughts, having her constantly say I feel/ I believe/ I think would make sense. Just make sure it's done enough that it doesn't seem like a sloppy mistake.
#2: Very
Reason: Useless
Prolific author Florence King once said, "“Very” is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen. For example, would you rather hear the mincing shallowness of “I love you very much” or the heart-slamming intensity of “I love you”?" (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/341956-very-is-the-most-useless-word-in-the-english-language) That sums it up nicely. "Very" not only is completely unnecessary for your fiction, but it may even lower its quality.
Solution:
You can simply cut "very" from your piece entirely like Ms. King suggests or pull out your thesaurus. Did you write "very afraid"? Switch it to "terrified". How about "very large"? Change it to "enormous".
#3: Really
Reason: Useless
So there might not be a quote with this one, but "really" falls under the same trap. It's vague and, quite frankly, doesn't serve a purpose.
Solution:
Rather than writing: "Amanda really did well in the spelling bee."
Write: "Amanda did well in the spelling bee."
Same impact, better execution.
#4: People
Reason: Vague
Could anything be more unspecific than "people"? With all the shapes, sizes, genders, races, ethnicities, and smells we come in, why confine yourself to the vaguest of vague pronouns? You can do better.
Solution:
See your scene and your characters. Rather than writing, "A person walked past the window" say "A squat man walked past the window" or "A weeping child that smelled of porridge walked past the window".
I can hear you protesting already, "I used the word 'people' because that person isn't a main or supporting character, they're just passing through." After I ask you to seriously consider why you even have this tidbit of info in your scene if that's the case (seriously. Think...), I would still implore that "people" is unacceptable. Write, "a girl walked past the window." Or "a shadow passed the window." Resorting to "people" is like saying "Shakespeare had a thing on his desk." A thing? A THING? What thing? It's distracting in its vagueness. Your readers deserve more.
Now that you're armed with the tools to cut out tension killers, as well as vague and useless words, get back to it. After you're confident seeking them out in finished work to destroy them, it'll become second nature not to use them in your first drafts as well.
Showing posts with label Quotes from a Classic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quotes from a Classic. Show all posts
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Books That Inspired Me To Write: The Amazing, The Terrible, and The Oh Hell No
Throughout the years I've read many books that are amazing and great for countless reasons. Books that I adore. Ones that force me to start devoted Pinterest boards, draw the main characters, or collect their overpriced action figures.
I've also run into a grand number of books that are terrible. These can be just as inspiring as the great books - some even more so. By reading the terrible books - even when I wanted to stop - I learned what NOT to do in my writing. I learned exactly what I didn't want readers to think while they read my stories. I understood how important amazing writing needs to be before a book is published.
For example: passive language needs to be eliminated whenever possible, but when the writer doesn't know this and the editor lets it go, rampant passive language is excruciating to deal with.
Also, description can bring the reader into the story in great depth. The correct type of detail in the correct way can make a story magical and transcend the page. However, overly excessive detail or a lack of description all together both make the reader confused and frustrate that reader to no end.
So, I've found that it's important to read both the good, the bad, and the those books you grip so tightly in your hands, you think you're going to tear the binding because they're so painfully horrible.
This brings me to the next book that inspired me to write. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
I started Mrs. Dalloway with high hopes. I knew that this book was revered amongst the literary community for having some of the best writing and language around. It was known not only as a great book but as a true work of art. These praises got me so excited and ramped up to read that by the time the book arrived in the mail, I had convinced myself I loved it.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
I found the stream of consciousness narration to be confusing at best. The descriptions were muddled by interjecting thoughts - most of them half unfinished - the punctuation was weird, and the story jumped around between the points of view of Clarissa Dalloway, Peter Walsh, and Septimus Warren Smith. When more than one character was in the same room, it was difficult to decipher who was thinking what.
I ended the novel in a state of slightly angry confusion. How was this book supposed to make any sense at all? If it didn't make sense, why was it called beautiful - a work of art?
I would have dropped the book then, giving it a lower than low score in my mind if not for one roadblock: Mrs. Dalloway was a book assigned by my AP English class. I had a 25% grade weighted essay to write about it. I couldn't give up now or risk something lower than an A in English class.
So I read it again.
And it still didn't make any more sense.
I was nearly in tears over this book because it was so terrible and I needed to understand it so badly.
But then I found another book:
Mrs. Dalloway: Mapping Streams of Consciousness by David Dowling was published in 1991. I found it in 2012, but it had such an impact on me that I can't sing its praises enough. Suddenly, through his even and steady breakdowns and comparisons, I was able to understand the events of Mrs. Dalloway. I was able to literally "map the streams of consciousness" from Woolf's many characters. I understood their motivations and their desires. I understood what made them tick.
I read through Mrs. Dalloway again and saw it for what it truly was: one of the best books I've ever read. A true masterpiece of twentieth century art.
Mrs. Dalloway (accompanied by Dowling's amazing analysis) was the first book I learned to love slowly. It was the first time my opinion on a literary work changed over time. Unlike The Stranger, which I viewed as a favorite from my first read-through, Mrs. Dalloway grew out of an understanding of the author, her art, and her experimentation with form.
Above all, Mrs. Dalloway taught me that literature could be thought-provoking as well as entertaining. It taught me that not all novels are meant to be gobbled down in one bite. It taught me that sometimes I needed to slow my pace and truly savor a great work of art.
Mrs. Dalloway also taught me one of my most important literary lessons: Metaphors.
Prior to reading Woolf, I had mastered the simile and thought that I was pretty great at metaphor too. But after reading, I knew I hadn't even scratched the surface of metaphor's potential.
One of my favorite Mrs. Dalloway metaphors (and one that hit me with so much impact, I'm surprised I missed it the first ten times I read through the novel) comes near the end of the novel.
NOTE****passage below contains plot spoilers****
After Septimus commits suicide, Clarissa Dalloway looks out her window. She has been contemplating death throughout the novel and hearing of Septimus' suicide she thinks, "...the sky. It will be a solemn sky, she had thought, it will be a dusky sky, turning away its cheek in beauty. But there it was - ashen pale, raced over quickly by tapering vast clouds."
In Clarissa's moment of illumination she stops constantly worrying about death. She is able to let go of her fears and live in the present once again.
Then, on the last page, Clarissa's former lover Peter sees her at her party. He thinks, "It is Clarissa, he said. For there she was."
This is the last line of the novel. Until truly understanding Woolf's mastery of metaphor, I thought the piece unfinished. But now, I see it as it truly is, a wonder of craft and emotion. In just four simple words, Woolf conveys to the audience that Clarissa is a changed woman. From her view of the sky to Peter's finally seeing her for the woman she is now, "For there she was" and "But there it was" is so powerful and wonderfully complete, it catapulted Mrs. Dalloway into a spot of love in my heart.
****spoilers over****
After already deciding that I was going to be a writer in every sense of the word and action, it was Mrs. Dalloway that was my first literary breakthrough. I understood the benefits of experimental fiction. I fully grasped the importance of metaphor, and I learned that not everything I saw at first light is going to stay that way.
I guess, in a roundabout way, it was comprehending Mrs. Dalloway that gave me the courage to start major revisions on works that truly needed it. Woolf was the one who showed me my work could and should be better if I only lost my fear of making it worse.
Photo Credits are both from Amazon.com
Mrs. Dalloway: http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Dalloway-Virginia-Woolf/dp/0156628708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424192309&sr=8-1&keywords=mrs+dalloway+virginia+woolf
Mrs. Dalloway: Mapping Streams of Consciousness: http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Dalloway-Mapping-Streams-Consciousness/dp/080579414X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424193628&sr=8-1&keywords=mapping+streams+of+consciousness
I've also run into a grand number of books that are terrible. These can be just as inspiring as the great books - some even more so. By reading the terrible books - even when I wanted to stop - I learned what NOT to do in my writing. I learned exactly what I didn't want readers to think while they read my stories. I understood how important amazing writing needs to be before a book is published.
For example: passive language needs to be eliminated whenever possible, but when the writer doesn't know this and the editor lets it go, rampant passive language is excruciating to deal with.
Also, description can bring the reader into the story in great depth. The correct type of detail in the correct way can make a story magical and transcend the page. However, overly excessive detail or a lack of description all together both make the reader confused and frustrate that reader to no end.
So, I've found that it's important to read both the good, the bad, and the those books you grip so tightly in your hands, you think you're going to tear the binding because they're so painfully horrible.
This brings me to the next book that inspired me to write. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
I started Mrs. Dalloway with high hopes. I knew that this book was revered amongst the literary community for having some of the best writing and language around. It was known not only as a great book but as a true work of art. These praises got me so excited and ramped up to read that by the time the book arrived in the mail, I had convinced myself I loved it.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
I found the stream of consciousness narration to be confusing at best. The descriptions were muddled by interjecting thoughts - most of them half unfinished - the punctuation was weird, and the story jumped around between the points of view of Clarissa Dalloway, Peter Walsh, and Septimus Warren Smith. When more than one character was in the same room, it was difficult to decipher who was thinking what.
I ended the novel in a state of slightly angry confusion. How was this book supposed to make any sense at all? If it didn't make sense, why was it called beautiful - a work of art?
I would have dropped the book then, giving it a lower than low score in my mind if not for one roadblock: Mrs. Dalloway was a book assigned by my AP English class. I had a 25% grade weighted essay to write about it. I couldn't give up now or risk something lower than an A in English class.
So I read it again.
And it still didn't make any more sense.
I was nearly in tears over this book because it was so terrible and I needed to understand it so badly.
But then I found another book:
Mrs. Dalloway: Mapping Streams of Consciousness by David Dowling was published in 1991. I found it in 2012, but it had such an impact on me that I can't sing its praises enough. Suddenly, through his even and steady breakdowns and comparisons, I was able to understand the events of Mrs. Dalloway. I was able to literally "map the streams of consciousness" from Woolf's many characters. I understood their motivations and their desires. I understood what made them tick.
I read through Mrs. Dalloway again and saw it for what it truly was: one of the best books I've ever read. A true masterpiece of twentieth century art.
Mrs. Dalloway (accompanied by Dowling's amazing analysis) was the first book I learned to love slowly. It was the first time my opinion on a literary work changed over time. Unlike The Stranger, which I viewed as a favorite from my first read-through, Mrs. Dalloway grew out of an understanding of the author, her art, and her experimentation with form.
Above all, Mrs. Dalloway taught me that literature could be thought-provoking as well as entertaining. It taught me that not all novels are meant to be gobbled down in one bite. It taught me that sometimes I needed to slow my pace and truly savor a great work of art.
Mrs. Dalloway also taught me one of my most important literary lessons: Metaphors.
Prior to reading Woolf, I had mastered the simile and thought that I was pretty great at metaphor too. But after reading, I knew I hadn't even scratched the surface of metaphor's potential.
One of my favorite Mrs. Dalloway metaphors (and one that hit me with so much impact, I'm surprised I missed it the first ten times I read through the novel) comes near the end of the novel.
NOTE****passage below contains plot spoilers****
After Septimus commits suicide, Clarissa Dalloway looks out her window. She has been contemplating death throughout the novel and hearing of Septimus' suicide she thinks, "...the sky. It will be a solemn sky, she had thought, it will be a dusky sky, turning away its cheek in beauty. But there it was - ashen pale, raced over quickly by tapering vast clouds."
In Clarissa's moment of illumination she stops constantly worrying about death. She is able to let go of her fears and live in the present once again.
Then, on the last page, Clarissa's former lover Peter sees her at her party. He thinks, "It is Clarissa, he said. For there she was."
This is the last line of the novel. Until truly understanding Woolf's mastery of metaphor, I thought the piece unfinished. But now, I see it as it truly is, a wonder of craft and emotion. In just four simple words, Woolf conveys to the audience that Clarissa is a changed woman. From her view of the sky to Peter's finally seeing her for the woman she is now, "For there she was" and "But there it was" is so powerful and wonderfully complete, it catapulted Mrs. Dalloway into a spot of love in my heart.
****spoilers over****
After already deciding that I was going to be a writer in every sense of the word and action, it was Mrs. Dalloway that was my first literary breakthrough. I understood the benefits of experimental fiction. I fully grasped the importance of metaphor, and I learned that not everything I saw at first light is going to stay that way.
I guess, in a roundabout way, it was comprehending Mrs. Dalloway that gave me the courage to start major revisions on works that truly needed it. Woolf was the one who showed me my work could and should be better if I only lost my fear of making it worse.
Photo Credits are both from Amazon.com
Mrs. Dalloway: http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Dalloway-Virginia-Woolf/dp/0156628708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424192309&sr=8-1&keywords=mrs+dalloway+virginia+woolf
Mrs. Dalloway: Mapping Streams of Consciousness: http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Dalloway-Mapping-Streams-Consciousness/dp/080579414X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424193628&sr=8-1&keywords=mapping+streams+of+consciousness
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Books That Inspired Me To Write: The Exact Moment I Became a Writer
Since childhood is so fundamentally important to a person (and a writer's) later life, I'm going to detail one more book series that inspired me during my fundamental years.
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park were the first books I loved that not only had a female author, but a female protagonist. Junie B. didn't have magic powers, wasn't orphaned, and went to regular 8-3 school. In short, she was a lot like me. Plus, she was hilarious.
Junie B. Jones taught me that my life could be funny and fascinating and captivating too, even without magic wands or monsters. She taught me that I was strong enough to create a story (and a series of them!) using only the tools I had within my grasp. It was the first time I liked to "write what I knew".
She also taught me that my point of view mattered. She was the one who taught me that if I saw the world a little differently, I wasn't weird, I was creative. Being unique was a good thing, no matter what my peers said. Finally, I was confident enough not to react to every situation the way everyone else did. I could have my own opinion and my own way to problem solve, and it was perfectly alright.
So, in a way, Junie B. not only became an inspiration for my writing, but for me as a person.
Wow, this series is getting deep.....
While we're on a roll, let's not stop there. The next book that inspired me to be a writer was one I read, ensue dramatic music, in school.
From the moment I entered high school, I was in the advanced English program. I tested immediately out of all grammar classes and was thrown into class with the sophomores. I only went on from there, taking Advanced English 10, Advanced English 11, and then the final class, AP English 12.
Within those classes, I found some books I was surprised I loved: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. However, above and beyond them all, my favorite find was The Stranger by Albert Camus.
Camus was my first introduction into true literary fiction. To this day, if you were to ask me, The Stranger would land in my top 3 favorite books of all time. And Camus would be up there with JK in my favorite author category.
Here's why it inspired me so:
First, this was the book that I truly realized the perfect beginning and ending mattered more than perhaps anything else in between. We've talked about how hard it is to begin a story on this blog before. We've talked about the need for perfect beginnings. Ends are just as, if not more, important than that.
But I never truly understood that until I read The Stranger.
The first two sentences of this novel read as follows:
"Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure."
It's a simple beginning, but one that holds infinite amount of information. In one moment we're aware of just who the protagonist is. We understand what he thinks and feels. The characterization is breathtaking. We also know the setting of the first scene (a funeral). But perhaps the most important piece of information from the beginning is the reader's understanding that the protagonist is going to give what information he likes in the way he sees fit. He's unreliable for a complete, unbiased picture.
The end, I can't possibly do justice with a single quote. You must read it.
Seriously.
Read it.
Find it now.
I'll wait.
Go to the library if you must.
Okay. Back?
The end of The Stranger is so amazingly fitting for the protagonist that it takes my breath away. It was the first time in my life that I read a story and didn't long for less or more. As a reader, I was fulfilled. The catharsis was PERFECT. As a writer, I was inspired to do that much justice to the books I wrote.
Second, The Stranger by Camus was very much in line with what Junie B. and Barbara Park had taught me earlier in life. In The Stranger, the reader literally follows the protagonist around his daily routine for much of the first half of the book before the murder. Like Junie B., I learned that the mundane events of life could be captivating to an audience when written correctly.
But most importantly, these books taught me I could steal.
Yes, steal.
As in theft.
You've heard that all good writers steal, right? It's common knowledge and a famous quote. But I didn't know it until reading The Stranger. Perhaps it was the combination of mundane events with truly superb writing, but The Stranger taught me that I needn't come up with every snippet of dialogue or every metaphor, simile, and descriptive passage on a whim. I could steal the words of my family and friends, or the beautiful things I heard others talking about in coffee shops. My everyday life was lifted and used in my writing.
I started surrounding myself only with those people I truly connected with. My time went into friends who were funny, poignant, or had interesting POV's on the world.
Suddenly, my everyday life wasn't just lived to get me through - you know, eating, reading, sleeping, repeat - but as a true writer. Everything I did could be applied to my writing. Every conversation I had was free game. Every event I went to or new experience I acquired was cataloged for future use. It was after reading The Stranger that I definitively remember deciding my whole life was to be used for writing. Not just scribbling down stories but the true writing process. Every molecule and atom within me was charged.
It was that moment I became and could seriously claim myself a writer.
It wasn't by chance or grace. It was a decision.
And I've never looked back.
Photo credits both come from Amazon.com today. You can buy these books there, too.
Junie B. Jones: http://www.amazon.com/Junie-First-Grader-Last-Jones/dp/0375815163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423587946&sr=8-1&keywords=junie+b+jones+first+grader
The Stranger: http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Albert-Camus/dp/0679720200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423588541&sr=8-1&keywords=the+stranger+albert+camus
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park were the first books I loved that not only had a female author, but a female protagonist. Junie B. didn't have magic powers, wasn't orphaned, and went to regular 8-3 school. In short, she was a lot like me. Plus, she was hilarious.
Junie B. Jones taught me that my life could be funny and fascinating and captivating too, even without magic wands or monsters. She taught me that I was strong enough to create a story (and a series of them!) using only the tools I had within my grasp. It was the first time I liked to "write what I knew".
She also taught me that my point of view mattered. She was the one who taught me that if I saw the world a little differently, I wasn't weird, I was creative. Being unique was a good thing, no matter what my peers said. Finally, I was confident enough not to react to every situation the way everyone else did. I could have my own opinion and my own way to problem solve, and it was perfectly alright.
So, in a way, Junie B. not only became an inspiration for my writing, but for me as a person.
Wow, this series is getting deep.....
While we're on a roll, let's not stop there. The next book that inspired me to be a writer was one I read, ensue dramatic music, in school.
From the moment I entered high school, I was in the advanced English program. I tested immediately out of all grammar classes and was thrown into class with the sophomores. I only went on from there, taking Advanced English 10, Advanced English 11, and then the final class, AP English 12.
Within those classes, I found some books I was surprised I loved: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. However, above and beyond them all, my favorite find was The Stranger by Albert Camus.
Camus was my first introduction into true literary fiction. To this day, if you were to ask me, The Stranger would land in my top 3 favorite books of all time. And Camus would be up there with JK in my favorite author category.
Here's why it inspired me so:
First, this was the book that I truly realized the perfect beginning and ending mattered more than perhaps anything else in between. We've talked about how hard it is to begin a story on this blog before. We've talked about the need for perfect beginnings. Ends are just as, if not more, important than that.
But I never truly understood that until I read The Stranger.
The first two sentences of this novel read as follows:
"Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure."
It's a simple beginning, but one that holds infinite amount of information. In one moment we're aware of just who the protagonist is. We understand what he thinks and feels. The characterization is breathtaking. We also know the setting of the first scene (a funeral). But perhaps the most important piece of information from the beginning is the reader's understanding that the protagonist is going to give what information he likes in the way he sees fit. He's unreliable for a complete, unbiased picture.
The end, I can't possibly do justice with a single quote. You must read it.
Seriously.
Read it.
Find it now.
I'll wait.
Go to the library if you must.
Okay. Back?
The end of The Stranger is so amazingly fitting for the protagonist that it takes my breath away. It was the first time in my life that I read a story and didn't long for less or more. As a reader, I was fulfilled. The catharsis was PERFECT. As a writer, I was inspired to do that much justice to the books I wrote.
Second, The Stranger by Camus was very much in line with what Junie B. and Barbara Park had taught me earlier in life. In The Stranger, the reader literally follows the protagonist around his daily routine for much of the first half of the book before the murder. Like Junie B., I learned that the mundane events of life could be captivating to an audience when written correctly.
But most importantly, these books taught me I could steal.
Yes, steal.
As in theft.
You've heard that all good writers steal, right? It's common knowledge and a famous quote. But I didn't know it until reading The Stranger. Perhaps it was the combination of mundane events with truly superb writing, but The Stranger taught me that I needn't come up with every snippet of dialogue or every metaphor, simile, and descriptive passage on a whim. I could steal the words of my family and friends, or the beautiful things I heard others talking about in coffee shops. My everyday life was lifted and used in my writing.
I started surrounding myself only with those people I truly connected with. My time went into friends who were funny, poignant, or had interesting POV's on the world.
Suddenly, my everyday life wasn't just lived to get me through - you know, eating, reading, sleeping, repeat - but as a true writer. Everything I did could be applied to my writing. Every conversation I had was free game. Every event I went to or new experience I acquired was cataloged for future use. It was after reading The Stranger that I definitively remember deciding my whole life was to be used for writing. Not just scribbling down stories but the true writing process. Every molecule and atom within me was charged.
It was that moment I became and could seriously claim myself a writer.
It wasn't by chance or grace. It was a decision.
And I've never looked back.
Photo credits both come from Amazon.com today. You can buy these books there, too.
Junie B. Jones: http://www.amazon.com/Junie-First-Grader-Last-Jones/dp/0375815163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423587946&sr=8-1&keywords=junie+b+jones+first+grader
The Stranger: http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Albert-Camus/dp/0679720200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423588541&sr=8-1&keywords=the+stranger+albert+camus
Monday, April 15, 2013
Creative Writing: The Mundane Life
Since we've recently been discussing the elements of writing, I think it's important before we get too far that we talk about the purpose of writers. The question we need to ask ourselves is: What is the writer's job?
In school, they tell you that you write to convey information. This is why you are forced to write papers on topics you aren't necessarily interested in, but must research anyway. This type of writing is called expository writing, and you either have taken or will take a course with this very title at some point.
But what happens when we start to write for creative purposes? What about writing created for the purpose of art or beauty? Many works allow exposition to fall to the wayside so that the integrity of the art piece can shine. This happens especially in poetry and experimental fiction and nonfiction. When it is no longer the writer's sole purpose to convey information in the most logical sense, then what should the writer strive for?
I have an opinion, like I'm sure many other writers and readers do. Now, remember that I am not a widely published author, nor have I published any work over 600 words, but I have been writing for years and I have taken many classes and read many books on this very subject. So,
My Opinion:
I believe that the creative writer's job is to make the mundane interesting.
We see writers doing this all the time. They portray their characters as everyday humans, going to work, napping, hating school, cooking dinner. Then, they transform this mundane event into something that interests a reader. A roadblock appears in the protagonist's life, a map leads to new adventure, or a divorce is finally happening. An interesting plot transports the reader from where they are in their own mundane lives and gives them something else to think about. And someone will only give you their valuable time if they value your plot, your characters, your story, and your writing.
Even the little things like working, napping, and cooking need to be made interesting by the writer, though. This happens through thoughtful, original descriptions. Take F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as an example. In the first chapter, Fitzgerald describes through his protagonist's eyes, the place in which he will be spending the summer.
"Twenty miles from the city, a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound."
Fitzgerald could have, instead, written something along the lines of: Near Manhattan, I would spend the summer on one of the peninsulas that jut into Long Island Sound.
But he didn't. He chose to take the mundane description of a piece of land and make it interesting. He compares the peninsulas to eggs, the water to domestication, and Long Island Sound to a barnyard. By doing this, Fitzgerald is fulfilling the writer's job by making the mundane events and sights of life into interesting passages a reader will want to spend time with.
In short, the writer's job - to me - is making the mundane, boring life we all know into something new. This can be done partly through plot, but most importantly, it has to be done through writing. The description needs to be great and original. By comparing two things that have never been compared before, the reader is experiencing life in a new way. Not just the protagonist's life, either, but perhaps even their own.
So, there's my take on the description for a creative writer. If you think the writer's job is something other than making the mundane interesting, leave your suggestions in the comments.
(And if you want to read more of "The Great Gatsby" you can find it free, online here)
In school, they tell you that you write to convey information. This is why you are forced to write papers on topics you aren't necessarily interested in, but must research anyway. This type of writing is called expository writing, and you either have taken or will take a course with this very title at some point.
But what happens when we start to write for creative purposes? What about writing created for the purpose of art or beauty? Many works allow exposition to fall to the wayside so that the integrity of the art piece can shine. This happens especially in poetry and experimental fiction and nonfiction. When it is no longer the writer's sole purpose to convey information in the most logical sense, then what should the writer strive for?
I have an opinion, like I'm sure many other writers and readers do. Now, remember that I am not a widely published author, nor have I published any work over 600 words, but I have been writing for years and I have taken many classes and read many books on this very subject. So,
My Opinion:
I believe that the creative writer's job is to make the mundane interesting.
We see writers doing this all the time. They portray their characters as everyday humans, going to work, napping, hating school, cooking dinner. Then, they transform this mundane event into something that interests a reader. A roadblock appears in the protagonist's life, a map leads to new adventure, or a divorce is finally happening. An interesting plot transports the reader from where they are in their own mundane lives and gives them something else to think about. And someone will only give you their valuable time if they value your plot, your characters, your story, and your writing.
Even the little things like working, napping, and cooking need to be made interesting by the writer, though. This happens through thoughtful, original descriptions. Take F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as an example. In the first chapter, Fitzgerald describes through his protagonist's eyes, the place in which he will be spending the summer.
"Twenty miles from the city, a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound."
Fitzgerald could have, instead, written something along the lines of: Near Manhattan, I would spend the summer on one of the peninsulas that jut into Long Island Sound.
But he didn't. He chose to take the mundane description of a piece of land and make it interesting. He compares the peninsulas to eggs, the water to domestication, and Long Island Sound to a barnyard. By doing this, Fitzgerald is fulfilling the writer's job by making the mundane events and sights of life into interesting passages a reader will want to spend time with.
In short, the writer's job - to me - is making the mundane, boring life we all know into something new. This can be done partly through plot, but most importantly, it has to be done through writing. The description needs to be great and original. By comparing two things that have never been compared before, the reader is experiencing life in a new way. Not just the protagonist's life, either, but perhaps even their own.
So, there's my take on the description for a creative writer. If you think the writer's job is something other than making the mundane interesting, leave your suggestions in the comments.
(And if you want to read more of "The Great Gatsby" you can find it free, online here)
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