Carter Jefferson |
© 2004 Carter Jefferson Writing Tips--for my classes and anybody else who's interested Be sure you understand that these are "tips"--not unbreakable rules. Beginners would do well to follow them, but experienced writers violate the "rules" all the time, for good reasons, and sometimes doing so pays handsomely. What you'll see here is pretty much the current "standard" advice; over time, it has changed and will change again, but this is for now. It's good stuff for everyone to know, but, again, these are guidelines, not "rules." These are just a few; you'll hear of others as you go along. 1. Hundreds of books have been written on "how to write." Such books are useful for some people, not for others. Many of them make good suggestions; many of them make bad suggestions--often the same book does both. There is no writing bible, so view these manuals with skepticism. The only sure way to learn to write is to read, carefully, analytically, the sort of thing you might want to write. Then write, and write, and get as much good criticism as you can. 2. Stories are about people; a memoir is about you. If you write about your travels in Antarctica, make sure you're telling us about you and your reactions, not simply writing a guidebook. Same goes if you write a story about people travelling in Antarctica; the story has to be about the characters, and the setting is just the setting, no matter how beautiful or august it might be. Example: a. Several years ago in northern Maine, kids got days off from school to pick potatoes at harvest time. Adults argued about this--some thought they'd be better off spending their time in class. b. When I saw school kids picking potatoes in northern Maine several years ago, I starting wondering whether it was better for them to know what life is really like, or to sit in classes and learn from their books--they'd get plenty of time to work later. On the whole, I finally decided, they were better off in the fields. The second example is longer, but readers are learning more about what kind of person I am. The first paragraph might be part of a formal essay on education; the second could be part of a memoir, story, or "personal essay." 3. Make sure you get the feelings in, whether it's a memoir, a character sketch, or a piece of fiction. In a memoir, or a first-person story, you don't know what another person's feelings really are--you can say what they seemed to feel, but not what they felt. But you not only can, but must, show or say what your feelings, or the first-person narrator's, feelings are. A memoir or story without feelings is dry. In fiction or memoir, try to show the person's actions, thereby giving away the feelings, rather than simply telling what they are. 4. "Show, don't tell." You'll hear those words constantly in writing groups. The advice isn't bad, but don't take it literally. Basically, the people who say that are telling you not to produce a series of long paragraphs telling the reader this happened and then that happened. That can get old fast. Use dialogue and "business"--the little shots of information you give between speeches--to show what's happening. Sometimes, however, you want to slow things down, give the reader a breath. Then you use a paragraph or two of "telling." When you read a story, watch for this. The only way you can learn to do it "right" is to keep trying various ways until you get one that suits you and your readers. Moreover, the ratio of "show" to "tell" depends entirely on the kind of work you're writing. Many writers of modern literary fiction use more "telling" than do writers of thrillers. In memoirs, vary your "telling" by varying the content of paragraphs or sections. Tell about action, then about thoughts, then about actions. Long, unbroken sections of description, philosophy, or explanation get dull fast. Sometimes these things are called "info dumps." Write in scenes. When something happens, it has a beginning, a middle and an end. Make that clear. What "show, don't tell" really means is dramatize. 5. Use simple language. The old saying is "Use Anglo-Saxon words"; unfortunately, that's impossible. But don't write: "I exited the room." Say: "I left the room." Don't write "I was suffering discomfort" when you mean "My head hurt." Many of those fancy words tend to be vague. "I was suffering discomfort" doesn't tell us what's hurting--it might be your leg or your arm or your head. Try to be as specific as you can. Don't write, "A vehicle arrived." Say: "A big truck drove up." 6. When you're writing a story, or a chapter in a memoir, don't change tenses. Start in present or past, and stay in whichever you choose. Wait until you're an experienced writer to switch back and forth--then you'll have learned how to do it so it works. 7. Points of view. This has to do with how you're telling the story. a. First person. The narrator is involved in the story -- the "I" point of view. "I walked into the room. George looked up from his newspaper and I wondered what he was going to say." The narrator can be the protagonist--the main character--or simply the story teller, telling the reader about somebody else, who is the main character. Whichever it is, the narrator knows only what he or she sees. She can't say "George was thinking about supper." She can't say "Meanwhile, in Tennessee, his mother was thinking about him." b. Second person. The narrator uses the reader as a character throughout the story. "You came into the room, and you sat in the big chair." This is almost never done well--don't even think of trying it until you're a veteran. c. Third person. The narrator is not involved in the story at all--he is just the unknown voice telling the story. There are two varieties of this, third person limited and third person omniscient. In third person limited, the story is told from one person's point of view--that person knows only what she sees, hears, feels. Here's third person limited: "George walked into the room and sat down. He wondered what was on Jane's mind." In third person omniscient, the narrator knows everything. Here's omniscient: "George walked into the room, wondering what was on Jane's mind. She, in turn, feared greatly that he'd be upset by what she was about to tell him. Meanwhile, in Tennessee, her mother was worrying about her." Once you adopt a point of view, stick with it. In some novels, writers change from one point of view to another in each chapter, and that's fine. But don't change it in the middle of a short story until you have a lot of experience. Don't think first person is easier, either--doing it right is difficult. 8. Dialogue. Some memoirs contain a great deal of dialogue. Some contain almost none. Both kinds have won Pulitzer prizes. Stories and novels often have a great deal of dialogue, but that's up to the author. "Dialogue tags" tell the reader who's talking. The best dialogue tag is "said," all by itself. Amateurs write this way: "It's hot," he said as he shrugged off his coat and looked around for a place to put it, all the while wondering what would happen next. Or, "It's hot," she said breathlessly. Or, "It's hot," he steamed. Pros tend to do it this way: "It's hot," he said. He shrugged off . . . . Or, "It's hot." He shrugged off his coat . . . . This is called an "action tag." You don't have to say someone said something, because the speaker's action tells you who she or he is. Finally, if it's clear who's talking, don't use any tag at all. Readers never even think of "said," but as soon as you embellish it in any way, you're likely to mess up the rhythm or look silly. In an earlier day, writers used the "amateur" ways as a matter of course, but fashions change. Modern writers occasionally use the elaborate ways, but they have their reasons, and most tend not to do it often. Use dialect sparingly--it's very difficult to deal with. Even if your character speaks in almost impenetrable dialect, show that to us in the first couple of speeches, and from then on just throw in a word or two to remind us later. Again, in older works, writers often tried to make each speech faithful to the dialect or accent; that's no longer "in." Use contractions in dialogue and in first person, unless your character is some kind of compulsive English prof. That's the way people talk, and that's what first person is all about. Don't say, "I am not ready yet, Papa," unless your character is a Victorian maiden. Say: "I'm not ready yet, Papa." Format dialogue correctly. Give each speech (not each sentence) a separate paragraph, like this: "Get me a beer," he said. "I'm dying of thirst." "Get it yourself." She turned away abruptly and picked up her book. When a character says more than one sentence, and you're using a dialogue tag, put the tag after the first sentence, as indicated in the example just above. Don't do it this way: "Get me a beer. I'm dying of thirst," he said. 9. "Fine Writing." Some writers want to use as many six-bit words as possible, and others feel unfulfilled if there aren't three similes and two metaphors on every page they write. If your mind runs toward this kind of thing, do it, but try not to consciously seek figures of speech--they can overwhelm your story. Some very good writers use them hardly at all. If you do use them, keep them fresh--few things stick out more than a chiché. In case you've forgotten: Simile--Her long, straight hair was like golden sunshine. Metaphor--Her long, straight hair was golden sunshine. Actually, that's a pretty tired example. 10. Passive voice. You'll be told constantly in writing groups, "Don't use passive voice." What it ought to mean is simply this: use passive voice only when it's appropriate. People use passive in speech all the time: "We got rained on that day in Athens." Don't turn yourself into a pretzel avoiding passive; just don't overdo it. Another, perhaps clearer, example: Passive: "The rain in Athens that day will always be remembered." Active: "I'll always remember the rain in Athens that day." Active voice is more upbeat, stronger--active. 11. If your work is not reasonably free of grammatical errors, or you use words in ways not usually considered proper, you will lose readers. No editor will take your work seriously. Use a good dictionary, and a good book on usage and grammar. (See the reference list on the "links" page.) On the other hand, you can learn grammar and usage; don't worry about not being sure of yourself at first. Get a friend who knows grammar to read your stuff and help you clean it up. Do the best you can, but you'll learn as you go along. Plenty of people know grammar backwards and forwards and can't write a story anyone could stand to read. 12. Some little things: a. Don't describe your characters, whether in fiction or memoir, by saying they're "wonderful" or "warm" or "pleasant" or "hateful." Instead, try to show the reader which adjective applies by letting the character do or say things that will get the idea across. b. There's a notion that it's bad to start a story by describing the weather. There are exceptions, but you'd do well to heed that for a while. c. Capitalize Mama and Papa and Doctor only if they are used as titles: "Mama, come here." "Papa, where are you?" "Doctor, please help me." If they are used otherwise, no capitals: "My mama is gone." "Where is our papa?" "Is the doctor in?" d. Don't abbreviate states. Correct: I have lived in Boston, Massachusetts, for thirty years. e. Spell out numbers under 101, and the even hundreds after, except in the case of age, weight, etc. "He's 30." "The group includes fifty-two people ." 8. Formatting manuscripts. This can be complex if you're submitting something to a publication; in that case, find out how the publication wants it done. For classes, you need know only a few things. a. Put your name and a page number on each page. b. Double-space everything. c. Triple-space between paragraphs. ************* |
