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Post by Cary on Apr 25, 2005 8:38:23 GMT -5
Lesson 1: Taboo Words
Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a serious writing discussion. Every so often... as in whenever I manage to think one up, I shall give a small lesson on the do's and do not's of writting. Today, I have a small lesson... Words you should never use in a writing. (Remember, as always, unless explicitly mentioned, these rules to not apply to people talking, but to everything that isn't quoted in your story.) I expect to hear at least one person say, "but you've done that in your writings before." Yeah, and these lessons come from realizations about the stupid things which always urked me in the past. Now I'm figuring them out.
If you think I'm being silly with some of these lessons, go reread a book you find genuinely enjoyable. Like Harry Potter or something. You should notice that these things I talk about hold are true almost constantly (there will be exceptions, like with any rules).
In these lessons, I will be taking the following sentence... "Mary and Jack talked while walking" ... and I will constantly improve that boring sentence into a gradually more interesting sentence into an interesting passage as I continue these lessons.
Anyway, onto the lesson...
THE NUMBER ONE WORD TO NEVER USE IN ANY STORY:
Suddenly
... The word suddenly is the one word which should never be used. If something does happen "suddenly," then let it happen suddenly, without the word "suddenly" spoiling the suddenness. As soon as you type the word "suddenly," then delete it. Don't try to replace that word with something else. It will have more of an effect if you don't warn the reader first. Where ever you want to use the word suddenly, don't use it. The number one mistake of beginning writters is that they tend to abuse the word "suddenly." It's one of the easiest ways to tell a amature from a professional. You'll rarely, if ever, see the word "suddenly" in published writings.
See in the following re-writing of our sentence how the word suddenly does nothing for the sentence.
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Jack and Mary were walking along, talking about nothing, when suddenly, Jack tripped and fell face first into a mud puddle.
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Jack and Mary were walking along, talking about nothing, when Jack tripped and fell face first into a mud puddle.
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Simple, short, the sentence is still kinda boring and uninteresting, but it is stronger without suddenly. Suddenly doesn't add tension to a story, it spoils the surprise.
OTHER WORDS TO AVOID USING:
Love
Beautiful
Ugly
Tenderness
Scary
Anger
Happiness
other such words...
These words are very obscure... You say in a story that a teacher loves her students... so what is that going to do? Nothing. Show that love in the actions of the people. Don't say that the woman your man just met was the most beautiful person he ever saw. That is boring. Tell through his observations and his actions how beautiful that woman is. These words aren't as big a problem as "suddenly," and are acceptable to use. But it will be much better if you don't use them. Don't tell us what it is, let the reader understand the impression or emotion through what they say and do. It is a more interesting story that way. (Maybe I'll give a passage describing this later. Depends on my mood. It'll be a better than the last one, I promise you.)
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Post by Butterscotch on Apr 25, 2005 9:24:56 GMT -5
This is great advice. I know I've been guilty of using suddenly a few times in my writing, but I'll try and work on that.
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Post by Cary on Apr 25, 2005 10:19:05 GMT -5
This is great advice. I know I've been guilty of using suddenly a few times in my writing, but I'll try and work on that. ... Have you had your account hijacked by M#? OMG! Shessy! Eh... I was hoping I'd get back to finish it off and edit it back up before someone read it. I'll go and do that now before anyone else gets to see this. |
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Post by Ember on Jul 23, 2005 10:20:01 GMT -5
V. Interesting, but ya know it is only gonna change a couple of people
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Post by Candyapple on Jul 23, 2005 14:50:46 GMT -5
that little lesson is good advice. i will try harder to do what you just said.
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Post by Dragonic Darkness on Mar 25, 2006 2:48:50 GMT -5
Whoo! My new chapter is suddenlyless! ^o^
*is proud of self*
^-^
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Post by Butterscotch on Mar 25, 2006 10:16:08 GMT -5
I wish Beez would make more of these workshops
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Post by Dragonic Darkness on Mar 25, 2006 10:29:34 GMT -5
Same here... ._.
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[M:14]
