These are the bread and butter of any Screenwriting guide book written in the past five years. You can usually tell the type by the name: "The Secrets of Story", "The Anatomy of Story", "Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques". I thought they'd be useful even if I don't write screenplays - there isn't a ballast of novel-writing guides...
Some of the advice in those books is useful. Mostly, it's useful for writing exactly one type of story: a daytime TV comedy or crime drama. If you want to your fiction to be exactly like episodes of Rizzoli & Isles, then this advice is S-tier. For anything else, take it with an even LARGER pinch of salt.
I have to agree with you on most of these tips. I like to try different words. I don't mind long descriptions to emphasize a move I don't mind fancy words to jazz up dialogue. I've.taken what need from the advice and come up with my own style
Some advice that I've seen that is like "start in the middle" is to start with an action scene. You need to start with excitement and high stakes so the reader will care about the characters' fates, but I find a flaw in that. The reader doesn't know the characters yet, so why should they care at the start of the book if they're gonna die or not? For all they know those first characters are just there to die and the main characters are yet to be introduced.
Well said and a very valid point. Btw, I have noticed that so many whacked characters aren't likable, so them getting whacked is actually a relief. This is esp. true in the British TV series "Midsomer Murders."
I could have responded sooner, I know, but I was writing. I don't actually follow any particular guide when it comes to my writing. I can see how starting close to the end isn't a bad thing, and sometimes I actually do that, but it's never on purpose. I write the kind of stories I like to read. I write long sentences, and short sentences, and sentences that convey feelings and emotion. I like to mix them up. I don't have a lot of books about "How To Write." I have Stephen King's book, and something put out by WRITER'S DIGEST some years ago. But as a rule, I don't pay any attention to writing advice from anyone on line. If I read something and it is grammatically incorrect, I put it down. If I read something and it is historically inaccurate, I put it down. If I read something and it's just plain bad writing, I put it down. There are some good writers here, and some not so good. It takes time to learn how to do it properly. Some people don't see that. You have to have lived a little. You have to have experienced life in all its ugliness: Births and deaths, and illnesses; hatred and violence. You also have to know your limitations, and we all have them. That's why I write for myself. I write to entertain myself. Not everybody is going to like what you write. Some will walk away from you because they don't agree with you. That's alright, too.
There are a few of these that I find useful. I am of the "he said" "she said" school. In fact, most of the time, I try to avoid dialog tags at all. Action makes it clear who the speaker is. Long stretches of said, said, said are annoying, but so are "cutesy" dialog tags. Adverbs: I whack them senseless. Very very few are necessary, when they're used they punch harder if they are rarer. Going to contortions to avoid them is also a bad way to handle the problem. And I have started to read my stuff aloud, in final final draft, because, yes, it reveals stumbling stones in the road.
These are the bread and butter of any Screenwriting guide book written in the past five years. You can usually tell the type by the name: "The Secrets of Story", "The Anatomy of Story", "Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques". I thought they'd be useful even if I don't write screenplays - there isn't a ballast of novel-writing guides...
Some of the advice in those books is useful. Mostly, it's useful for writing exactly one type of story: a daytime TV comedy or crime drama. If you want to your fiction to be exactly like episodes of Rizzoli & Isles, then this advice is S-tier. For anything else, take it with an even LARGER pinch of salt.
I... have opinions. Here is my advice to any writers in this comment section:
- I think it's a good technique to start a story in the middle to create intrigue, but only if it's a sequel.
- With the sentences, I think it's good to switch between nice, long, rambling sentences and short choppy sentences.
- Wait, some people just stick with said?! I spend like thirty percent of my writing time trying to come up with alternatives, lol.
- I love adjectives and adverbs. We need more, at the very least three a sentence.
- Go for the longest, obscurest, recherché word
In short, write your way! Bravo!
I have to agree with you on most of these tips. I like to try different words. I don't mind long descriptions to emphasize a move I don't mind fancy words to jazz up dialogue. I've.taken what need from the advice and come up with my own style
And that is as it should be! Bravo!
Some advice that I've seen that is like "start in the middle" is to start with an action scene. You need to start with excitement and high stakes so the reader will care about the characters' fates, but I find a flaw in that. The reader doesn't know the characters yet, so why should they care at the start of the book if they're gonna die or not? For all they know those first characters are just there to die and the main characters are yet to be introduced.
Well said and a very valid point. Btw, I have noticed that so many whacked characters aren't likable, so them getting whacked is actually a relief. This is esp. true in the British TV series "Midsomer Murders."
You managed to succinctly explain frustrations I’ve had with modern writing and actually give great advice. Bravo!
Gee, thanks! I was mainly expressing MY frustrations. Glad to know I'm not alone.
Thank you for this actually useful advice.
I could have responded sooner, I know, but I was writing. I don't actually follow any particular guide when it comes to my writing. I can see how starting close to the end isn't a bad thing, and sometimes I actually do that, but it's never on purpose. I write the kind of stories I like to read. I write long sentences, and short sentences, and sentences that convey feelings and emotion. I like to mix them up. I don't have a lot of books about "How To Write." I have Stephen King's book, and something put out by WRITER'S DIGEST some years ago. But as a rule, I don't pay any attention to writing advice from anyone on line. If I read something and it is grammatically incorrect, I put it down. If I read something and it is historically inaccurate, I put it down. If I read something and it's just plain bad writing, I put it down. There are some good writers here, and some not so good. It takes time to learn how to do it properly. Some people don't see that. You have to have lived a little. You have to have experienced life in all its ugliness: Births and deaths, and illnesses; hatred and violence. You also have to know your limitations, and we all have them. That's why I write for myself. I write to entertain myself. Not everybody is going to like what you write. Some will walk away from you because they don't agree with you. That's alright, too.
There are a few of these that I find useful. I am of the "he said" "she said" school. In fact, most of the time, I try to avoid dialog tags at all. Action makes it clear who the speaker is. Long stretches of said, said, said are annoying, but so are "cutesy" dialog tags. Adverbs: I whack them senseless. Very very few are necessary, when they're used they punch harder if they are rarer. Going to contortions to avoid them is also a bad way to handle the problem. And I have started to read my stuff aloud, in final final draft, because, yes, it reveals stumbling stones in the road.
Life would be really dull without adverbs. gigglesnort
I heartily, respectfully, yet vehemently disagree. But to each his own.
Ouch! gigglesnort