Thursday, March 29, 2012

Is every word important?

Not only that, every sentence and every paragraph. The first few draft of a project, we write like we talk. For some, that might suffice, some people's talk is meaningful and compact. One of the joys of writing is tightening what you've already written. It amazes me how many different ways a sentence can be phrased. The challenge is keeping it real. Every paragraph has a sentence, and every sentence has words, so how important is every word you write? I suspect, pretty important. If three words change to one without sacrificing ambiguity or continuity, your story sounds polished. That's what is meant by tightening a paragraph. How to do that? Find an amazing thesaurus. You might want to check my favorite one here

Short but sweet. God bless. Until next time.

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13 comments:

  1. Tightening up is brutal. I've also come to the realization hat I've never really considered how much work goes into a novel...the writing, the editing, the beta reading, the agents, the editors. It's amazing.

    Maybe that's why I take so many naps :)

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    1. Something I read somewhere (yes, I'm being purposely ambiguous, though I swear I really read it for something i was researching) said that taking naps helps your brain function a lot better. That it helps specifically with the part of your brain that you use to imagine things...blah, blah. I guess all I'm saying is, "Yay for naps!"

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    2. Naps. I wish it were true and maybe it is, but for me, I only wake up tired and brain-missing. But Lynn is right, tightening a story is brutal and writing is a job, albeit, a fun one, most of the time.

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  2. So I'm also writing about my process of creating a novel, and I'm looking around your blog and loving all your resources, your thoughtful approach to updating readers about what you're doing, etc. I very much want to include your blog in my resources page. I hope you're okay with this?

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  3. This relates to me all the time.

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  5. You have to master vocabulary and grammar. I'm very much behind. By writing you convey images. One good method is to study the classics, or articles written by professional literature critics that study great operas. Also your subjects should not be inspired by other authors. You are the writer of the scenes and also the director. It's hard work. Though writing may appear to many to be just a fad, a time killing experience words are limited, life is limited and not a huge roam of possible combinations and permutations. Take a look at politics it's the most well written piece of fiction ;). Keep writing

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  6. Hey, great post!!! Nice blog and layout!! Keep up the good work!! You are invited to follow or check out my blog anytime!! Have a great day!!

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  7. This is a good tip and one that I must keep in mind. I'm verbose in my speech and that pattern follows my writing. I must learn to be concise with both.

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  8. Ever word counts… It’s so weird when I have to skim a whole bunch of words that don’t mean anything. But then again, it’s also totally annoying when words that need to be there are left out.
    ~Aidyl
    www.aidylewoh.blogspot.com

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  9. I’ve been a follower on your blog for a while now (10 pages back on your follow wedgit)and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation

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