Welcome to Gaia! ::

I know, there are probably a ton of these in other places, but we don't have one here yet... and really, a writing advice column needs to be stickied somewhere... wink (I'm sorry to be so rude if there is one posted somewhere that I haven't come across! sweatdrop )

Do you find yourself recommending the same sort of thing over and over to writers here in Gaia? I've been here a little over a month and find I've already fallen into this slump... xp Perhaps this is a fault of mine, but it'd be much easier to just direct a person to a topic where other people could also offer 'general advice'.

For instance:

Poetry Advice --

• To check the rhythm and flow of your poetry, read it out loud
  
  
• Write down what it is you want to say in free-form before you try and make it rhyme. This helps to prevent word choices based solely on trying to keep to a rhyme scheme.
  
  
• If you find yourself stuck on a 'often used' word or phrase (e.g. blood, tears, rain, dream, dreamer, razors, glass, love, hate, dark, etc.) try doing a stream of consciousness writing based on the concept. (This is sort of a 'free-writing' exercise where you start with one word or phrase and then write whatever comes to mind for about five or ten minutes. Longer if you wish.) Just write until you come across an image or idea that you might be able to substitute for the one you're stuck on.

(P.S. - Please don't post your pieces here. If you have advice to give or a question to ask, that's perfect - Post Away!)

To find inspiration, try to think of an obscure concept never done before. Yeah, I know everyone loves adventure, but there are only SO many twists you can pull.

Also, if you can't find something entirely original in plot, go for something different and quirky character wise or in any other variable necessary for story writing. ^_^

These apply mainly to fiction prose, but are useful for other types of writing as well. They are advice I've heard given in one form or another many, many times, and they ring true.

1. integrate action and dialogue/ internal monologue and action/ internal monologue and dialogue.
Not integrating action and dialogue makes for jerky, lifeless prose.

2. Adjectives, adverbs and prepositions are like fuzzy dice hanging from a reariew mirror. They don't do anything for the performance, tehy simply clutter up the interior.
To me, nothing screams amateur fiction as loudly as the overuse of descriptors like "very", "up", "down", "some", "a bit", "just" and the like.
When you catch an adjective, kill it -- Mark Twain

3. How often have you read loving descriptions of people getting dressed, of tea being poured, flowers arranged, of clothes and dances and journeys? Do these scenes help further teh plot or character development? more often than not, the author simply got carried away with describing everything.
Fiction is supposed to be like real life, but with the dull bits removed. Every scene needs conflict and movement to give it life. So examine your work, and test every scene.

4. Related to 3, often people will pad their work to make a word count. Don't write tours of the countryside, long rambling chats, characters making travel preparations, or retracing their steps ("I forgot the food!"). Grip your audience. make tehm want to read on. Don't stop your action just ebcause you need a 600 word filler paragraph on the heroine's silky hair and how she braids it.

5. Show, don't tell. This should really be the first point on the list. It's so important in all writing, yet it's one of the most common shortcomings of people's writings. Don't spell everything out for your readers. Let them immerse themselves in the moment.
If the man with the brooding eyes glares at our hapless heroine, I don't need to be told that he wants to tie her up and molest her. Chances are if you don't tell me, my mind will come up with a stronger image, one more personal to me, and thus all that much more intense. Set the scene, but leave some creativity with the reader. Make your audience feel smart and involved in your story or imagery.

That's all I can come up with for now. Hope that helps. I know it sure helps me. 3nodding

most of those tips i read in alot of books, i haven't read this, but i also heard that Stephen King has a book that devotes a chapter to exstensively explaining why adverbs and adjectives shouldn't be used ever in writting.

sadly my school used the six traits system, which means if you leave them out you get points off. it angers me like nothing else can. Don't always trust your school.

These tips are great and pop up often for a good reason. i end up writting 10,000 words for a 4000 word short story because of all the stuff i edit out, but it always is for the better.

Oh yeah, I was going through my things, and I found this worksheet that I must have gotten... jeez, sophomore year of high school I bet ~is an insane packrat~ in English class. I think it's a very good "check list", if you will, and thought I'd share it with you all.



To this last list, I might also suggest you check:

• The Beginning - Does it draw your reader in? Make them want more?

The sheet goes on to suggest questions you should try to ask a reviser when they are reading your poem:



Great, so now I know what to look out for, but how do I FIX it? Anyone have any suggestions?

Ah, here it is, I knew I'd seen one of these floating around:
Poetic Advice Thread

Now really, I think I'm going to go out and get a life now. sweatdrop

*claps* Thank you! ~gets ridiculously excited about having one of her threads stickied~

In poetry:Sure, it's fun to write about "love" and "depression" and "hatred", but what do these things mean? They're far too broad to use just passingly. Let's look at the difference between these two poems:

Death, depression and madness
are consuming my very soul.

or

A murky end to half-baked
cyanide cysts and slowly ticking
Arabic alarm clocks gobble up
tiny, divided portions of my
gentle beating heart.

Now, the second poem may not be a picture of perfection, but it's sure better than the first one. Both say the same thing, but I don't think there's a person out there who doesn't find the second one more vivid.