By Morgen Bailey
Are you new to writing or want a refresh? Here are some tools to keep
with you as you write, edit, or re-read your masterpiece before you release it
out to the world.
1. Show don’t tell
The golden nugget in a writer’s armoury. Readers love characters, and by
‘showing’ what the characters are doing rather than have the narrator ‘tell’
the reader the plot will make the story come alive. If Andy is angry it will seem
two-dimensional to tell us how he
feels, but have him slam his fist on the table or shout “Get out!” you are showing his emotions.
2. Distinctive dialogue
Dialogue should play a huge part of the story (at least fifty percent),
especially in fast-paced thrillers. Historical sagas, for example, will have
more description than dialogue but when the characters speak, they should be realistic,
although you should cut down on the ‘um’s, ‘erm’s and ‘well’s. Read it (and the
description) aloud. Does it sound how you would speak or is it too fully
formed? We pause, we interrupt each other. Get a second opinion; ask a friend
to role-play the scene’s conversation.
3. Compelling characters
There are three elements to a story: plot, location, and characters. For
many writers and readers the most important is character because you can have
the most compelling plot, beautiful setting, but if they don’t warm to, or
despise, the characters they won’t care what happens to them then they (the
readers) are more likely to stop reading. Don’t give them any excuse. Make them
want to turn the page to see what happens next. Will Shannon escape the
kidnapper? Will Derek find his true love? (Now they would make an interesting
story!)
4. Research and accuracy
When writing for a certain era you must do your research to ensure the
terminology is accurate. With anything you write, your reader must feel
confident that you know what you are talking about, and if you’ve spent the
past week, month or year researching the topic don’t be tempted to throw it all
in and overload the story to the point where the reader feels you are showing
off. There will always be someone out there who knows more about a topic that
you, as the writer, and will be only too willing to write to you to tell you
where you’ve gone wrong (or leave a one-star review on Amazon sharing their
opinions with would-be readers). Once they’ve found an error they will either
stop or not believe anything else you’re telling them and lose interest so
return the book to their shelf, the library, or the (recycling) bin!
Above all, have fun. Get bored with your writing, this will translate to
the story (and even the characters) and therefore the reader. Writing is
escapism for you and the person holding your book (or their Kindle), reading
the words you’ve slaved over. Regardless of the genre you write, you should
educate and enlighten, but most of all entertain.
___________________________________________________
Morgen Bailey (Morgen
with an E) is an author, freelance editor, tutor, reviewer, blogger, and speaker. Former
Chair of three writing groups, and H.E. Bates Short Story Competition 2015 Head
Judge, RONE and more recently BBC Radio 2 500-word short story competition
judge. Morgen can be found on Twitter,
Facebook, and many others.
Her blog is http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com,
email address morgen@morgenbailey.com,
and her latest books are ‘After
Jessica’, a mystery novella, and ‘Gun’, a
collaborative crime novel in which Morgen wrote one of the ten chapters.
Links used above:
·
blogger
= https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com
·
Twitter
= http://twitter.com/morgenwriteruk
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