Writers: 5 Golden Rules to Make You Better

by: Adrian Cobon (Guest Writer)

There are thousands of rules, suggestions, tips, and guidelines on the Internet detailing how to write. Most of these are written through the lens of “it works for me, it should for you.”

I do not have that philosophy, instead I believe that every individual should develop a unique writing style that suits his or her capabilities and goals. Instead of telling you what to do, I wish to give you the tools necessary to create your own rules.

 

1)    Acknowledge the amount of time you have to work on the project.

It is vital to recognize if you have the time necessary to actually write the document. To use an extreme example, it is impossible to write a full length novel, including editing, in a few short days. I have found that the best way to determine how much time you should dedicate to a project is to type one thousand words without regards to any specific goal. Multiply that time by three, and you will have a rough idea on how long it will take you to write a competent first draft of a thousand word document. For instance, if the formula gives you three hours then it will take two hundred and ten hours to write a seventy thousand word first draft.

2)    Determine exactly how much you still need to know to finish the project.

The best way to do this is to write an essay describing everything you know on the topic. After typing it, look for any gaps in your knowledge. For instance, if you are writing about the civil war but have very little information on any battles you have a good place to start researching. This is also a good time to reach out for outside help, for there is always someone with more information.

3)    Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Every project is unique. I have written stories using: the snowflake method (go from simple to complex), the free-write first draft then edit like mad method, and most recently a start from the ending method. Each has worked, and each has presented their own challenges.

4)    Acknowledge the no first draft is perfect.

Budding writers almost always become irritated over redoing something they thought was perfect. Here is a little fact of life: Nothing is perfect. By receiving feedback and working on the defects of the document you will be left with a much better document more apt to receiving positive reviews.

5)    Be ready to handle criticism.

Everyone is a critic, regardless if the item being criticized is a basket full of kittens or your document. Some comments will be scathing, that is to be expected. Pay attention to what is being said, and improve from the feedback. If people complain that your grammar is terrible, pick up a grammar guide. Same with formatting, spelling, vernacular (vocabulary), and genre choice.

These five ideas are not rules, nor guidelines. They are tips designed to help you formulate your own unique set of rules for writing.

Writing: Developing a Memorable Character

By: Richard Hoffman (Guest Writer)


Hemingway, Sinclair and Steinbeck a few of history's great authors whom I believe would agree with the adage great characters make even greater authors.  Why? Simply their legacies were created by developing complex and compelling characters.  For example take Shakespeare's passionate Prince Hamlet, Rod Sterling's  punch drunk boxer Harlan (Mountain) McClintock, Requiem for a Heavyweight or Victor Hugo's tormented Quasimodo featured in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Each of these great characters were given life well before their famous authors became well known for their works.

It can said character development begins well before the ink hits the paper and constructed properly this ongoing process creates characters well remembered long past the final page of a book or closing scene of a movie. Character building can be compared to Di Vinci painting his Mona Lisa. His stoke of the brush on canvas carefully applying colors for depth and shadow giving her forever life. As a writer you are that painter and have absolute carte blanche. Just remember your characters must have depth, be multi-faceted and have the ability to become larger than life.

Character development doesn't happen on page one of a novel or a movie script but is an ongoing organized process of bits and pieces and must remember characters are not all good or bad just a reflection of society. No matter protagonist or antagonist characters drive your storyline to the very end.  Whether your characters have deep personal conflicts, physical deformities or simply a lack personal or moral responsibility or simply a psychotic degenerate  they must reach great highs and lows. We respect characters who fail both themselves and us but respect them more when through the sheer power of their passion and human spirit redeem themselves. If writers have worked their magic properly, characters failing in the end, make us shed tears. For example Victor Hugo's Quasimodo, the physically hideous hunchbacked Bell-ringer of Notre Dame suffering through his conflicts of unfulfilled love and acceptance. Failing in the end, Quasimodo dies of starvation joining Esmeralda in death. A final act of personal sacrifice for love loss.

For a memorial example of strength of character, we have the seedy and ill-tempered character Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the classic movie The French Connection. A bestselling non-fiction novel adapted to the silver screen sets the stage for Jimmy to enter a seedy, tough New York bar and through strength of character leaves the bar with an Oscar in his hands. Hollywood's typical producing a character bigger than life. On the other side of the spectrum, character building for an antagonist allows for greater negativity of socially unacceptable behavior and nefarious deeds. Schaeffer's Jack Wilson, the antagonist  gunfighter portrayed by Walter Jack Palance torments his adversaries by slowly putting on fingerless black leather gloves prior to a gunfight. This simple "prop" devised by Palance added a an already deeply troubled psychotic killer a further character building enhancement and garnering Palance a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Simple, but tremendously effective.

The most effective way to accomplish character building is to read and take meticulous notes for every one of the Top 100 novels of all time and watch every Oscar nominated movie you can. Don't  miss Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman in The Hustler and the before mentioned Shane, voted the best western of all time. Why, because of the depth of characters. Though neither movie won an Oscar, they are absolute classics. Learn from the masters and then take your brush and add your name to the list.

Writers: Consider These 5 Rules

By: Paul Schwalbe (Guest Writer)

These rules aren’t really rules, but five things you might want consider before deciding to bend or completely break them.

1. Less is More.

         Overly long and wordy pieces that go into extreme detail can be either mind numbing or overwhelming to readers. When writing, keep in mind how many of the words you’re using are actually conducive to the story. Just because there is a lot written doesn’t mean there is a lot happening. A good technique to prevent using too many words is to break down your piece to the bare minimum by removing any words that do not contribute to the story. When finished, you can go back and fill in holes to add to your piece without getting bogged down with details.

2. Show. Don't Tell.

There is quite a bit of truth behind the phrase, “A picture is worth 1000 words.” While you’re writing, be mindful that there is a difference between using words to tell something and using them to show something. Take every opportunity you get to show rather than tell. I know it may seem a bit contradictory to Rule 1., but if you can paint a nice picture with a few words, you're golden, Pony Boy.

3. Write Something/Anything Every Day!

         I shouldn’t really have to explain this one. Practice makes perfect.  

4. Play to Your Strengths.

         Say you’re a right-handed baseball player. The bases are loaded and you’re up to bat. Do you go up and try to bat lefty? Heck no! You go and blast the bejesus out of the ball right-handed, because you know your right is stronger than your left. Similarly, when writing you should know what you're good at and take advantage of it. Emphasize your strengths and let them compensate for your weaknesses. That's not to say ignore any weaknesses you have. Practice still makes perfect, but don’t wait till the bases are loaded to attempt something completely new.

5. Always Proof Read!

         If you’re like me, nothing is more upsetting than finding obvious spelling errors and grammar mistakes in a piece, especially in ones that are already published. I worked as an editorial intern, for a small publishing company, and was amazed at the number of manuscript submissions sent in that had not even been put through a simple Spell Check. Before you ever let anyone read your writing, proof read it at least once.

 

Creating a Compelling Character

by: Robert Johnson (Guest Writer)

In my experience, a successful story doesn’t need a whole hell of a lot to be “Good”, but plenty of aspects to make it “Great”. Here’s a checklist for your viewing pleasure:

 

1   Do you have a plot? Check.

 

“Eh…well…?”

       Fear not good readers, there is hope! A compelling character, one your readers actually give a fuck about, is much like a good stew. It takes a variety of ingredients that slowly cook for a tasty final product!

At its bare roots, storytelling is about power; who has it and who doesn’t. Your characters job is to thrust into this power struggle, whether they seek the power for themselves or have the power and aim to keep it from others, they “must” act on that power. A compelling character aches for adversity. It’s true, ask them! Any great character wants you to test their mantle. You wouldn’t ask them for anything less.

Let me paint you an example with a favorite character of mine from the well known book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. Jamie Lannister (spoiler alert coming up, but honestly, shame on you for being late to the party.) is a very complex person; son to the riches and most influential man in the Seven Kingdoms, a handsome, courageous, expert swordsman that all the woman fall over each other to attract. It is here that he is set up as a typical perfect person, perhaps you may have a character such as this that is a bit of a reflection of what you wish you could be?

 However his heart belongs only to his twin sister, who he has loved and secretly been sleeping with for years. Over the course of the books, he is captured and the status of his past does nothing to help him when he is in the arms of his enemies. He even loses his sword hand, the last bastion of who he was…and at this point is where his character begins to grow, become more interesting. Without all the markers; his money, his name, his sword skill, he has to redefine his place in world. We get to understand how being the heir to an overbearing father can have a drastic effect on ones personality.

This realness is what you want to strive to achieve. You are around people like this everyday, who hide their true natures for the sake of image. Compelling characters are taken out of their comfort zones and are asked “Now what?”, and they will shine if you allow them.

 

Understanding the psychology of human beings is a fantastic boon to your writing skill set. I recommend the book The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits (http://www.amazon.com/Writers-Guide-Character-Traits-Edelstein/dp/1582973903). Within it you can find a bevy of psychological outlines to give your characters depth and realness, answering questions such as “How would a middle child feel emotionally in a family dynamic?”, “What are the internal struggles of my Narcissistic character?”. Especially if you’ve never known or been a middle child or hang around Narcissist everyday.

            Another book I’d recommend is The Plot Thickens, 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life (http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Thickens-Ways-Bring-Fiction/dp/0312309287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376498327&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Plot+Thickens%2C+8+Ways+to+Bring+Fiction+To+Life). I’ve only started reading this book, but it has been a grand eye opener in only the first chapter. Though it’s a book on plot development, in the beginning chapters the authors asks you a series of questions, presenting different situations that any person might find their selves in. You may “know” what your characters look like, but have you ever considered giving them a Police Sketch treatment in their description? What about medical history? Do they never get sick or do they deal with asthma on a daily basis? Things I never considered to incorporate to a person I’m writing, but can add definite drama when they are having an Asthma attack at a highly dangerous moment.

            I hope that I was able to shed some light, and cause a dialogue for the compelling character. They are waiting, patiently, for you to give them life, and your readers are waiting to be enthralled by their exploits.

Reasons to Start a Blog

by: Gretchen Decuir (Guest Writer)

Interested in writing, blogging, words, in general?  Got something to say?  Well dear, a blog is what you need!  With a bachelor's degree in English, words are my thing.  (Shameless plug in 3,2,1…..~~>> www.gm1123.wordpress.com) .  I recently created this blog this past year and early on I knew what subject matter I wanted to feature.  Through the several months that I've had it, that subject matter has switched from a basic photo blog of some of my favorite shots to a mix of subjects of my choice.

Over the past several years I see blogs becoming popular and very much the 'in' thing.  I began this blog, not because I wanted to be popular, and not that I even care about what is new, hip, or 'in.' I began writing a blog because it's something inside of me that must escape via the written word.  So, how do you plant a seed, watch it flourish and have that seed put the reader in a literary head-lock with no want to tap out?  You write about something that compels you, something that you know very much about or something that you WANT to know more about.   

If I could go back and talk to my English 101 freshman self back in the fall of 1999, I’d say, "Self: you should write through whatever experience you have, no matter the subject at hand.  Write until the fire inside is extinguished."  It is, in my opinion, a head start if you can relate to the material given to you.  And if you want to capture an audience, use the experience or knowledge you have to peak the reader’s attention.  Use your love for writing, your love for 'what' it is you are writing about to leave them not knowing where that character or story ends and they, the reader, begin. 

My blog first began with different pictures I snapped from a (borrowed) camera.  Seeing them, most of my favorites ones, grouped together made me happy and proud.  And this blog made me want to continue to shoot pictures anywhere and everywhere.  A row of sugarcane fields as I'm slowly driving down the road.  I zoomed in on a beautiful flower from my sister's landscape, some lily pads down the bayou Teche, a beautiful church lit up with lights and tinsel for the Christmas season.  I've used my family as models; my beautiful nieces and nephews chubby cheeks and perfect grins as my muse.  Sadly, when I had to return the camera to its owner, I began more of the writing aspect of my blog.  For me, it is so much easier to write on a subject I love, one I am familiar with, and one I can relate to. 

Still a little shy and not so confident about my words, I slowly am beginning to add more to my blog.  I can definitely feel it when I am writing about something I love.  I have written about happenings in my life, whatever I am feeling at the moment--my emotions come at me pretty fierce at times, and going with the theme, I must expel them onto paper.  At times like those, when I wake from my writer’s coma the end result is me, the real me. 

What you should hope to deliver via your online journal is your audience getting a sneak peek of you, your heart, to the inside of your mind, to see your emotions via electronic script.  Good luck and enjoy!