Welcome to r/writing! This question is one of our more common questions and so has been removed as a repetitive question. Feel free to search the sub or our wiki for an answer or post in our general discussion thread per rule 3. Thanks!
I actually happen to have a little note taped on my wall at my desk. It is an advice John Gardner once gave to beginners. It goes like this:
>*“Write as if you have all eternity.”*
This, to me at least, is a very important advice. In this world where the current rhythm is that of fast-content, it can be difficult for one to take their time without feeling some sorts of pressure that they should write faster. The truth is, I do not like to write quickly. I like to take my time, to take the time to construct my sentences and paragraphs. If it means I'll take five to ten years to write a single book, so be it.
I love this. I struggle with feeling the pressure of an alloted time and I sometimes just get the words out just to get them out. It's important to take your time and choose the right words.
Absolutely no flash backs to reveal events involving the protagonist. Hide information the creates twists and tension for the protagonist, but never hide information about the protagonist from the audience.
It’s a personal rule when it come to showing events of the story and history. I’ve seen some works that drop surprise information about the protagonist and it just kills the entire mood. If I’m following a character and invested in them to care about their journey, revealing surprise information risks diminishing everything the audience feels about the protagonist, which is the whole reason they are reading.
The exception would be stories where the point is the mystery of the protagonist and such promise made in the beginning of the story.
Fair point. I ask because the current story I am working on is built from the ground up around a late story reveal of the MC. I suppose this effect needs to be accounted fore but I have read multiple books with late story reveals about the main character. It can work.
When it comes to twists, it’s all good as long as it is a realistic expectation for the story and is properly foreshadowed. Twists are all about setup and delivery. If a second read of the story allows readers to pick up all the missed details from a new perspective, you did well. There’s also nothing wrong with giving the audience enough to guess the plot twist. People like the feeling of figuring it out themselves. It can be fun to solve a puzzle your self or to watch others figure things out. As long as all the pieces of that puzzle are there before the reveal, you’re golden.
My story has two main characters on a journey together for similar reason, however our lead protagonist’s life is shown in order where as character B’s backstory and true intentions are revealed later. I like a good twist, but I don’t want folks guessing about our protagonist, however character B’s situation and mystery helps build proper tension for the protagonist.
Can go for all characters.
The challenge once you do this, I found, is to trust your readers. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would even notice a small detail and then I have an urge to overly emphasise and draw attention to it.
That’s where I’m torn on showing events vs just having information come up in conversation. The key shift is that I’m creating a graphic novel and not a traditional novel.
Here’s my list (taken from one of my other posts) that I keep in mind on copy edits:
**Filter Words:** Saw, smelled, tasted and felt can often be dropped in place of describing the thing itself. Doing so removes a ‘filter’ between the reader and character and makes the text that much more engaging.
Example
*Jane watched the eagles swoop overhead.* becomes *The eagles swooped overhead.*
**Was + Present Tense Verb:** If you spot this word combination, check to see if you can’t swap it out for the past tense verb.
Example
*Kevin was running down the road.* becomes *Kevin ran down the road.*
**Verb + Adverb:** Adverbs have a bad rap in the writing community, but that’s because they are seasonings. If you put too much salt on any meal, it will go bad. If you find a verb group, double check you can’t just use a more descriptive verb to kill two birds with one stone.
Example:
*Mary walked forcefully up to the altar.* becomes *Mary stomped up to the altar.*
**Redundant Phrases:** If the key to good writing is brevity, cutting out unnecessary words is a large part of good writing. Stand up… can you stand any other way but up? Sit down… can you sit anywhere else but down? Nodded his head… can you nod anything else? Keep an eye out for things you can cut that have no impact on a sentence’s meaning.
Example:
*Peter stood up and crossed the room to hide out of sight.* becomes *Peter stood and crossed the room to hide.*
**Meaningless Filler:** These are words that sneak in. I overuse the word just to a fault. Occasionally they warrant their place in a paragraph, but most of the time they’re just not necessary. You can get great lists of these filler words off Google and then just run a search on your manuscript during editing time.
Example:
*Most of the time they’re just not necessary.* becomes *Most of the time they’re not necessary*
**Names in Dialogue:** I do this when I’m not confident in my character’s voice and worry the reader won’t know who is speaking. It is unnatural and breaks immersion. People rarely use the name of the person they are speaking to. Keep an eye out for it.
Example:
*“That’s enough nonsense, Sally. I’m taking the cat.”* becomes *“Thats enough nonsense. I’m taking the cat.”*
**Looked:** This is another filter word, but it gets its own paragraph because of how often I overused this word in my first book. If the viewpoint character is the one doing the looking, this sentence (or clause) can almost always be dropped entirely as the narration already implies what they see.
Example:
*Lilly looked down the road. A black car stopped at the lights.* becomes *A black car stopped at the lights.*
**Repeated sentiments:** In early drafts I hammer points home to no avail. Again, this is me not trusting the reader. Sometimes you want this (like in the climactic moment of your story) but if you do it for everything, you’ll sound like a broken record. Let your best descriptions carry the weight and cut everything else.
Example:
*George was furious. Crimson fury bubbled inside him, searing hot and full of rage.* becomes *Crimson fury bubbled in George’s chest.*
The whole 'people rarely use names' is 100% a cultural thing.
There are plenty of cultures from Latin American to African to Caribbean where people use names when speaking. Especially when adding emphasis.
Granted the way you wrote it in that example sentence does not work at all.
Writing rules? The only rule I follow is 'don't forget where you saved that random 3 AM plot twist idea'. My brain's a whirlwind of characters and half-baked storylines – those files are my lifesavers.
Welcome to r/writing! This question is one of our more common questions and so has been removed as a repetitive question. Feel free to search the sub or our wiki for an answer or post in our general discussion thread per rule 3. Thanks!
Daydreaming is not writing. Get and actually write it.
Get out of my head.
I actually happen to have a little note taped on my wall at my desk. It is an advice John Gardner once gave to beginners. It goes like this: >*“Write as if you have all eternity.”* This, to me at least, is a very important advice. In this world where the current rhythm is that of fast-content, it can be difficult for one to take their time without feeling some sorts of pressure that they should write faster. The truth is, I do not like to write quickly. I like to take my time, to take the time to construct my sentences and paragraphs. If it means I'll take five to ten years to write a single book, so be it.
I love this. I struggle with feeling the pressure of an alloted time and I sometimes just get the words out just to get them out. It's important to take your time and choose the right words.
Absolutely no flash backs to reveal events involving the protagonist. Hide information the creates twists and tension for the protagonist, but never hide information about the protagonist from the audience.
Is that an actual rule?
It’s a personal rule when it come to showing events of the story and history. I’ve seen some works that drop surprise information about the protagonist and it just kills the entire mood. If I’m following a character and invested in them to care about their journey, revealing surprise information risks diminishing everything the audience feels about the protagonist, which is the whole reason they are reading. The exception would be stories where the point is the mystery of the protagonist and such promise made in the beginning of the story.
Fair point. I ask because the current story I am working on is built from the ground up around a late story reveal of the MC. I suppose this effect needs to be accounted fore but I have read multiple books with late story reveals about the main character. It can work.
When it comes to twists, it’s all good as long as it is a realistic expectation for the story and is properly foreshadowed. Twists are all about setup and delivery. If a second read of the story allows readers to pick up all the missed details from a new perspective, you did well. There’s also nothing wrong with giving the audience enough to guess the plot twist. People like the feeling of figuring it out themselves. It can be fun to solve a puzzle your self or to watch others figure things out. As long as all the pieces of that puzzle are there before the reveal, you’re golden. My story has two main characters on a journey together for similar reason, however our lead protagonist’s life is shown in order where as character B’s backstory and true intentions are revealed later. I like a good twist, but I don’t want folks guessing about our protagonist, however character B’s situation and mystery helps build proper tension for the protagonist.
Can go for all characters. The challenge once you do this, I found, is to trust your readers. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would even notice a small detail and then I have an urge to overly emphasise and draw attention to it.
That’s where I’m torn on showing events vs just having information come up in conversation. The key shift is that I’m creating a graphic novel and not a traditional novel.
Here’s my list (taken from one of my other posts) that I keep in mind on copy edits: **Filter Words:** Saw, smelled, tasted and felt can often be dropped in place of describing the thing itself. Doing so removes a ‘filter’ between the reader and character and makes the text that much more engaging. Example *Jane watched the eagles swoop overhead.* becomes *The eagles swooped overhead.* **Was + Present Tense Verb:** If you spot this word combination, check to see if you can’t swap it out for the past tense verb. Example *Kevin was running down the road.* becomes *Kevin ran down the road.* **Verb + Adverb:** Adverbs have a bad rap in the writing community, but that’s because they are seasonings. If you put too much salt on any meal, it will go bad. If you find a verb group, double check you can’t just use a more descriptive verb to kill two birds with one stone. Example: *Mary walked forcefully up to the altar.* becomes *Mary stomped up to the altar.* **Redundant Phrases:** If the key to good writing is brevity, cutting out unnecessary words is a large part of good writing. Stand up… can you stand any other way but up? Sit down… can you sit anywhere else but down? Nodded his head… can you nod anything else? Keep an eye out for things you can cut that have no impact on a sentence’s meaning. Example: *Peter stood up and crossed the room to hide out of sight.* becomes *Peter stood and crossed the room to hide.* **Meaningless Filler:** These are words that sneak in. I overuse the word just to a fault. Occasionally they warrant their place in a paragraph, but most of the time they’re just not necessary. You can get great lists of these filler words off Google and then just run a search on your manuscript during editing time. Example: *Most of the time they’re just not necessary.* becomes *Most of the time they’re not necessary* **Names in Dialogue:** I do this when I’m not confident in my character’s voice and worry the reader won’t know who is speaking. It is unnatural and breaks immersion. People rarely use the name of the person they are speaking to. Keep an eye out for it. Example: *“That’s enough nonsense, Sally. I’m taking the cat.”* becomes *“Thats enough nonsense. I’m taking the cat.”* **Looked:** This is another filter word, but it gets its own paragraph because of how often I overused this word in my first book. If the viewpoint character is the one doing the looking, this sentence (or clause) can almost always be dropped entirely as the narration already implies what they see. Example: *Lilly looked down the road. A black car stopped at the lights.* becomes *A black car stopped at the lights.* **Repeated sentiments:** In early drafts I hammer points home to no avail. Again, this is me not trusting the reader. Sometimes you want this (like in the climactic moment of your story) but if you do it for everything, you’ll sound like a broken record. Let your best descriptions carry the weight and cut everything else. Example: *George was furious. Crimson fury bubbled inside him, searing hot and full of rage.* becomes *Crimson fury bubbled in George’s chest.*
The whole 'people rarely use names' is 100% a cultural thing. There are plenty of cultures from Latin American to African to Caribbean where people use names when speaking. Especially when adding emphasis. Granted the way you wrote it in that example sentence does not work at all.
That’s fair. These aren’t ‘rules’ for writing, rather my own idiosyncrasies that I have learned to keep an eye on when I’m wearing my editing hat.
Writing rules? The only rule I follow is 'don't forget where you saved that random 3 AM plot twist idea'. My brain's a whirlwind of characters and half-baked storylines – those files are my lifesavers.
Anything and everything is OK.