perk up your prose
TRANSCRIPT
No Bad Writing!
• Example from one of my WIPs: “She screamed at the top of her lungs.”
• It’s cliche.
• It’s telling.
• It’s unemotional (a.k.a. BORING!).
• It’s wordy.
• It’s not even physically possible.
• Besides -- what did her lungs do to
• Polish the PUGS
• Resist the Urge to Explain
• Trim the Fat
• Weed Out Wordiness
• Prune Prepositions
• Avoid Backing In
• Cut Clichés
• Patch POV Glitches
• Show, Don’t Tell
• Ditch the Danglers
• Ready, Set, Action!
• Eliminate the Great Backstory Dump
Part I -- Breaking Bad Habits (The Dirty Dozen)
Resist the Urge to Explain
• Readers are smart -- give them credit.
• Explaining the already explained bogs the story with excess baggage.
Trim the Fat
• Prefer the familiar to the far-fetched
• Prefer the concrete to the abstract
• Prefer the specific to the vague
Weed Out Wordiness
• Certain words fly the red flag of wordiness
• Vague qualifiers
• Unnecessary adverbs
• Redundancies
Avoid Backing In
• Begin sentences with subjects and verbs -- and then branch right (old journalism rule).
• John Steinbeck was a master at this technique.
Cut Clichés
• Clichés are:
• Almost always “telling.”
• Boring because they’re predictable.
• Lazy writing.
Patch POV Glitches
• Whose story is it, anyway?
• Limit one POV per scene (and to one POV for short stories & essays).
• Who would think that?
Ditch Dangling Modifiers
• Dangling modifiers have no object.
• Many dangling modifiers result from passive voice.
Ready, Set, Action!
• The problem with passiveness . . .
• It’s telling.
• It’s boring.
• It’s not specific.
• It’s often lazy writing.
Eliminate the Great Backstory Dump
• Place backstory as late in the story as possible.
• Make the reader wonder.
• Introduce backstory bit by bit.
• Ground the Reader
• Do You Hear What I Hear (see, feel, etc.)?
• Emotional Impact
• Literary Devices
• Think Like a Cinematographer
• Set the Scene
• Storytelling vs. Reporting
• Listen to Your Critics
• Funny Thing, Research
• Dynamic Dialogue
• Create Cliffhangers
• Brainstorming Tips
Part II -- Rev Up Your Writing
Do You Hear What I Hear (See, Feel, Taste, Smell)?
• Does each scene include sensory details?
• Be specific and if possible, attach the sense to an emotional experience.
Emotional Impact
• You’re not paid to be nice!
• Are You Motivated?
• Go for the Goal!
• Stacking the Dominoes . . .
Literary Devices
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification
• Simile
• But wait -- there’s more!
Think Like a Cinematographer
• Pull back the lens and shift your focus.
• Aerial View
• Establishing Shot
• Middle Distance
• Close-up
Storytelling vs. Reporting
• Reporters convey information; stories create experience.
• Reports transfer knowledge -- stories transport the reader.
Listen to Your Critics
• No one enjoys criticism -- especially of a creative work.
• Use all critiques as a positive learning experience and you will grow as
Funny Thing, Research
• Search for the Truth -- because someone will know if you don’t.
• Don’t Scream, “I did my research!”
Dynamic Dialogue
• Tag, Don’t Tell
• Talk Like a Man (or woman, or child . . .)
• Adding “Oomph”
• Basic format
Internal Cliffhangers
• Leave the reader in suspense by ending with a dramatic element before breaks in action.
• Dare the reader to stop reading.