Like Morgan, I'm on crunch time to finish some books on deadlines, but I'm trying to work in the time to write some articles to post here. It's a nice break, especially when my book is giving me fits, which it is.
Is there anything in particular members want information/tips/pointers on?
A bit too cryptic that one Gypsy, even for me!
Would anyone here like some advice about a particular writing related topic?
There was a discussion in another forum (Ask The Author, I believe) about writing in the present tense. Lots of people said how they found this style difficult to read, but others commented that it can be very effective when done well.
I think a lot of people might benefit (I know I would) from an article on how to write good present tense prose, when it is appropriate and what effects it can create. Just a thought.
I write for my own enjoyment but would love to become a published writer of erotic short stories. Are there publications that welcome new authors?
Way back when, I posted an article in Writer's Resources(?) with a title along the lines of "How To Be A Happy Hooker" which rambled on about opening lines 'hooks' in fiction. Based on a random sampling of recent Lush story openings, another such effort might be in order. Just a thought.
Rumple
RUMPLATIONS: AwesomeHonky Tonk and Cyber Bar
Home of the Lush "IN" crowd: indecent, intoxicated, and insolvent
a place to gossip, share news, talk sports, pimp a story, piss & moan, or just grab a drink. Check it out.
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwords. -- ROBERT HEINLEIN
I think we're on the verge of a new story category: Underpants Gnome Sex. Think of the ratings if you made said gnomes incestuous!
At the very least, we've got a new competition on our hands, right?
Just finished a story that might have earned a five had it not been for virtually every other sentence beginning with an introductory prepositional clause: Putting down the book..., Getting off the couch..., Walking into the room..., .
This rather arcan subject may just be my peeve, however, and not of interest to many others. Just a suggestion.e
RUMPLATIONS: AwesomeHonky Tonk and Cyber Bar
Home of the Lush "IN" crowd: indecent, intoxicated, and insolvent
a place to gossip, share news, talk sports, pimp a story, piss & moan, or just grab a drink. Check it out.
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwords. -- ROBERT HEINLEIN
I'm with you, Rumple, repetitive types of sentences quickly come to your attention and distract from the story. You've got to mix it up, people.
A couple of other things I know we've discussed here before but I'm not sure they ever got an entire post:
Dialogue Mechanics
Tenses
I see a lot of stories where every single line of dialogue is appended with "he replied", "she demanded", "he stated" etc. I wonder if a piece on dialogue mechanics pitched at a more basic entry level might be helpful.
Regarding tenses, it's all very well discussing the pros and cons of present and past tense and so on, but there are plenty of stories submitted here where the author has struggled to simple stay in a consistent tense. From what I've seen most people get hung up on the "-ing" suffix thinking that it is, in itself, present tense (or past tense), but actually that suffix can be any tense depending on the context. I think an entry level piece on tenses might be be good as something we could point these authors to as a place to get advice, along with explaining why staying in a consistent tense is important.
These are both things I'd be up for taking a stab at myself and posting in the writers resources section, if anyone would be interested.
Perhaps an article on removing the most often overused word in story writing would be beneficial ?
Said
That's not a bad idea FtlMale.
I use the thesaurus a lot. I was taught not to use the same word twice in a sentence. That also goes for paragraphs, although you get more leeway there of course.
I seem to recall an article (probably by White) in which he was talking about either Time or Newsweek magazine. He said, "Backwards ran the sentences, until reeled the senses."
"There's only three tempos: slow, medium and fast. When you get between in the cracks, ain't nuthin' happenin'." Ben Webster
Thanks Alan, I bookmarked it...
But sometimes even a thesauruses isn't able to help...
"Helicopter" once is fine, but chopper, eggbeater, whirlybird? Somehow using them in the same line, paragraph or even story just sounds wrong.
But then I am still trying to figure out Capitonym. Do I drink Scotch or scotch?
