Tag Archives: Writing Tips

Today’s Writing Tip

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There are two types of analogies, metaphors and similes. Metaphors compare two entirely different things, such as comparing the stages of life to the four seasons. They make the reader think and provoke deeper, more philosophical insights that add depth to your story. They are often difficult to come up with, which is why they’re so valuable.

Often the best time to gather ideas is during times of meditation or contemplation, such as during a walk in the woods, visiting an awe-inspiring location such as a National Park, or somewhere you seldom go that stimulates your imagination.

This is when the advise noted a few days ago to keep a writer’s notebook is worth its weight in gold. You definitely want to have them on hand when you need them, which might not be for a while.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Keep a notepad handy everywhere to jot down ideas, whether for a new story, plot twist, or vivid description. When inspiration strikes, don’t ignore it. You might think you’ll never forget it, but often such things are quite elusive. Don’t take a chance on losing a true gem–write it down!

These also come in very handy if you get stuck at some point and need an infusion of creativity. For example, short story contests or opportunities to contribute to an anthology come along on a fairly regular basis. If you already have a list of ideas, it won’t be as difficult to come up with one when the opportunity arises.

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Keep a notebook of descriptions you find that stand out because they stimulate your senses. This is especially helpful for new writers. Use them as inspiration as needed. There’s nothing like someone else’s creativity to spark your own.

It’s important to remember that the more senses you incorporate into your narrative the more vivid the imagery will be. As an exercise, spend a few minutes observing your environment with all five senses and note how you would describe it in writing. The tendency is to rely on sight and hearing, but that is not the only way you perceive the world around you. Smell and taste are powerful memory triggers. If you describe one that’s familiar to your reader, they are likely to remember your story as well.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Read a variety of books and genres, those written by those more skilled than yourself as well as those less skilled. You can learn something from both. Sometimes the glaring errors of most amateur writers call attention to some silly thing you do yourself, but have been blind to. It also allows you to see how far you’ve progressed. To paraphrase a favorite quote, “No book is ever wasted. You can always serve as a bad example.”

However, it’s important to read well-written stories as well. A steady diet of poorly written stories may help you identify pitfalls so you can eliminate them, but that alone won’t make you a better writer. If anything, it will make you a frustrated reader. Nothing takes the joy out of a good story faster than when it’s poorly written.

Believe it or not, you can pick up a certain amount of writing skill by osmosis, simply by repeatedly exposing your brain and subconscious to strong writing. However, a well-written story that flows well sucks you in, but you probably would have a hard time explaining why it worked. It’s a lot easier to see something that doesn’t work when you trip over it. But you’d be surprised how you can assimilate those skills.

As with so many things, variety is the spice of life.

Today’s Writing Tip

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You want your dialog to sound convincing. Think about how people actually talk. One thing most of us use on a regular basis is contractions. Not using them can make it sound stilted. For example, would you say “I am going to the store. Would you like to go along?” or “I’m going to the store. Want to go along?”

Saying it aloud helps. We don’t always pronounce all the letters in a word, either. Back to the previous example, how many would actually say, “I’m goin’ to the store. Wanna go along?” Using an apostrophe to indicate missing letters shows it’s not a misspelling.

If one or more characters have an accent, be sure to reflect that phonetically as well, even if your spell-checker gags a bit. This is another way to differentiate between speakers, if your characters have distinctive speech styles.

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In long conversations, remind the reader who’s speaking from time to time. It annoys readers when they have to go back and figure it out. This is even more frustrating when you’re reading an ebook since flipping back is not as easy as with a print book. This is another thing that throws a reader out of the story, which IMHO is the #1 faux pas.

This is not to say that you should say “he said” or “she said” with every line of dialog. When there is a clear flow to the conversation such that it’s obvious who is saying what, then there’s little need for it. However, I’ve seen a page or two of dialog that wasn’t  attributed and left me entirely lost.

Using a variety of synonyms for “said” such as stated, commented, noted, and so forth, or answered or replied, helps break the monotony. Another trick is to occasionally insert the person’s name into the dialog itself. If you say “Listen, John, I told you that before” it’s clear that John isn’t the speaker. You can also break it up with some action, such as saying “John rolled his eyes”, again indicating who’s doing what.

Today’s Writing Tip

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As you’ve probably figured out if you read these on a regular basis, one of my pet peeves is homonyms. This is one way to separate the amateur writers from the pros. It’s your job to know the difference between they’re, there, and their; your, you’re, and yore; flare and flair; bare and bear; alter and altar; hanger and hangar, just to name a few.

Words are a writer’s tools of the trade. Your vocabulary should be broad and expanding all the time. The other day I was in a group setting where I threw out what to me was a simple word, counter-intuitive. I was a bit surprised when someone was impressed. I just shrugged and said as a writer it was my job to know the right word for a given situation.

If you’re dyslexic, I’m sure this is a considerable challenge. I don’t know how I keep them separated. I do know that sometimes when I’m writing my first draft that I get the wrong word, but I definitely keep an eye out when I start editing. Don’t ever underestimate how smart and/or observant your readers might be. Messing such things up can often be all the justification an astute reader needs to give you a poor review.

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Feed your inner editor by reading others’ work with a critical eye. Often what jumps out is something you do as well. I have had many an “Aha!” moment tripping over something awkward in a story, then realizing I was guilty of the same thing.

I admit that always reading in critique mode has a downside, but when you’re an editor at heart, you can’t help it. I know something is well written when I don’t keep stumbling over things that throw me out of the story. I can’t always tell you what they did right, but I definitely know it worked.

Thus, you can learn a lot from less skilled writers. There are so many typical mistakes such as overuse of adverbs and prepositional phrases, awkward dialog, clumsy flashback transitions, viewpoint swaps, and so forth. When ever something jolts you out of the story, take a few moments to identify exactly why.

On the other hand, reading well-written stories has a more subtle effect. You can become a better writer by osmosis when you familiarize your brain and subconscious with strong writing.

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you’re writing a series, refresh your memory of previous events by rereading the book’s predecessors. You’ll be surprised at the new ideas that come your way! I did this when I was writing the final volume to my Star Trails Tetralogy. It had been a while since I’d written the others, so I decided to read them to get myself into the flow to assure continuity, consistency in details, and so forth.

It was so worth it! I found an amazing number of little details to tie into the conclusion. At the time, they were just part of that particular episode, but when they fit future events, it was tremendous fun to find them.

Tying story arcs together in small ways feels good as an author and pleases your loyal readers as well. They’ll appreciate the reminders and when you tie everything together it leaves them more satisfied. It also brands you as a skilled, meticulous, and clever author. Life is full of interesting details, coincidences, and serendipity. Your stories should be as well.

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Watch for mixed metaphors! “Her eyes flew across the room” is a classic example. If this doesn’t conjure up eyeballs springing from someone’s head and soaring across the room, like often seen in cartoons, I don’t know what does. While the reader is likely to know what you mean and may not even catch it, this is one of the things a pro will avoid. Metaphors are great, but need to be constructed with care.

This confusion can also happen with misplaced prepositional phrases. Make sure they’re in the most logical order or they can have a similar effect. I know that my thought process as an author is often not linear, which can cause this to happen. I get quite a few laughs when I start editing.

What works for me is to make sure related phrases are kept close to whatever they describe. If it relates to the character, then make sure it is next to the subject, not trailing along at the end of the sentence. This also serves as another indictment on prepositional phrases, which generally should  be used judiciously and avoided when another literary vehicle will do the job more effectively.