word candy
Mar. 6th, 2013 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catnessBeen reading some textbooks ("Writing Active Setting Book 1: Characterization and Sensory Detail" by Mary Buckham, and "Elements of Fiction Writing - Description" by Monica Wood) and finally I understand the incentive behind "show, don't tell" ! (when not overdone.)
I've always hated reading (not to mention writing) descriptions in police dossier or design specs style. Thought it's something wrong with me (ADHD? visualization deficiency disorder?) Turns out I'm fine, it's them who suck ;) Descriptions are useful, but they shouldn't try to be complementary photo booklets, their main purpose is to provide an insight into the character's mind (or backstory etc) and/or to advance the plot (e.g. foreshadowing). This way they don't overload the reader's brain, and they're not boring.
I've seriously thought this whole subject was a ploy by the writer snobs to harass the newbies. And for the first time in my life I suddenly find it fun to try and follow these rules! It's still deviously hard and a torture and one needs to know a crapload of obscure words, but it's fun nevertheless. Weird.
Now I just need 2-3 more lifetimes to get a knack for it...
I've always hated reading (not to mention writing) descriptions in police dossier or design specs style. Thought it's something wrong with me (ADHD? visualization deficiency disorder?) Turns out I'm fine, it's them who suck ;) Descriptions are useful, but they shouldn't try to be complementary photo booklets, their main purpose is to provide an insight into the character's mind (or backstory etc) and/or to advance the plot (e.g. foreshadowing). This way they don't overload the reader's brain, and they're not boring.
I've seriously thought this whole subject was a ploy by the writer snobs to harass the newbies. And for the first time in my life I suddenly find it fun to try and follow these rules! It's still deviously hard and a torture and one needs to know a crapload of obscure words, but it's fun nevertheless. Weird.
Now I just need 2-3 more lifetimes to get a knack for it...
Every grain of sand in glorious technicolor detail
Date: 2013-03-06 05:25 am (UTC)But it you really want some fun constraints to torment yourself with - what about writing without ever using a single metaphor.
So will you be camping out in Nanoland this April?
PS You would need 23 lifetimes to read even a fraction of all those 'How to" writing books out there
Re: Every grain of sand in glorious technicolor detail
Date: 2013-03-06 07:50 am (UTC)Nah, no Nano yet, freewriting would be only distracting, quantity doesn't turn to quality all by itself. What I currently need is to do a bit of thinking and improve my editing, and although I can "fake" the word count for editing (counting all the words that are changed, added and removed from session to session), it wouldn't be fair to compete with those who count in a traditional way.
Btw one of the books includes a few sample paragraphs from real published novels: the 1st draft (sketchy and bare bones), the 2nd draft (a bit more sophisticated but still primitive) and the final version (all the bells and whistles), to illustrate the directions of improvement. The 1st draft is just like mine!! like "X exits out of his house and drives to Y, to meet Z". So it is possible to work like that!! even though the author probably didn't have the access to the authentic drafts and just recreated them by herself. (But their 2nd draft is about close to my final version... ;) )