Tag: writing tips

How to Write Better Dialogue

file0001934509658Last week, Big Al treated us to his vast experience on what not to do with dialogue and dialogue tags. That got me all excited to talk about one of my favorite topics: how to write better dialogue. Here are just a few tips:

1. Get a stronger handle on how people talk to each other. This is your best tool in your dialogue toolbox. Dialogue isn’t an exact replica of human speech. We’d have to contend with a lot of verbal tics and repetition if it were. But spending some time listening will improve your ear. I like to do that by eavesdropping on conversations. Legally, of course. Listening will also help you learn to craft dialogue that will differentiate one character from another. Continue reading “How to Write Better Dialogue”

Tips on Creating a Story Bible

story bible book mistakeSo, you’re editing the last part of your novel and mention a character’s sister named Annie. Or was it Annabeth? Or did you give in to that wild idea of changing the sister’s name to Rasheeda? You can’t remember, because you only mentioned the sister once–in chapter three. So, what do you do now? You could do a search for all three names. Or you could turn to your story bible.

What’s a story bible? Like the persistent bestseller it’s named after, the story bible is a guide book of sorts. It’s a compilation of all the crucial facts about your book. It lays out character backgrounds, story setting details, pertinent acronyms and everything else you need to know in one easy to find place. This is very useful when editing. And it’s downright essential if you’re writing a sequel, either a series or serial, as Stephen Hise discussed not long ago. Continue reading “Tips on Creating a Story Bible”

In Defense of Short Sentences

short elfBack in broadcast journalism school, I was taught that the shorter and simpler the sentence structure, the better. Subject-verb-object ruled the day. Semicolons were verboten. I was told to count the words in my sentences to make sure I had no more than twenty words in each. (I’ve since heard the new rule is ten words per sentence. Yikes.) It made sense to keep sentence structure simple because we were writing for the ear – and a pretty distracted ear at that, given that the audience is probably either getting the kids off to school or driving to work in rush-hour traffic, with the radio as background noise.

Now that I write fiction, my sentence structure has gotten a little more involved. Narrative passages replete with adjectives and adverbs are fine (although I still try to go easy on the adverbs, preferring active verbs instead). I might even throw in a modifying clause here and there. But I find that short, punchy, subject-verb-object sentences still have their place.

It all has to do with what you’re trying to accomplish in the scene you’re writing. A complex sentence takes longer to read; a paragraph full of complex sentences, even longer. If what you’re after is lyrical prose that makes your reader stop to savor every nuance, then complex sentences will suit you just fine.

But if you want to move the action along, the use of short sentences will help your reader race through to the end. Like this: Continue reading “In Defense of Short Sentences”

Watch Out for the Cliff!

cliff signBack when I was a little teeny writer, I read a lot of Nancy Drew books. I loved them – they were stories about a smart and resourceful heroine who faced a little bit of danger that wasn’t too graphic, and she always caught the crooks in the end.

But they aren’t terribly well-written. Here’s an example from The Bungalow Mystery. Nancy and her friend Helen are picked up by a girl named Laura, who is rowing them to safety in a storm when things take a dangerous turn:

Another zigzag streak of lightning disclosed the shore line more distinctly. A short distance out from the land and directly in front of their boat stood the ugly protruding nose of a jagged boulder!

End Chapter 1. What a cliffhanger! I need to keep reading! So I flip to Chapter 2 and – hey, look! They’re still in the boat: Continue reading “Watch Out for the Cliff!”