Thursday Thirteen
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| The Top Thirteen Basics I’ve Learned about Writing Fiction in the Past 8 Months:
1. ‘She laughed,’ is not a dialogue tag! (ie: “Get real,” she laughed. Instead: “Get real,” she said with a laugh. Or better, “Get real!” She rolled her eyes and laughed.) 2. Avoid most uses of “he said” “she said” and replace with actions. 3. Head-hopping is a big no-no. Established authors can get away with it, but newbies can’t touch it with a 100 foot pole. (Head hopping is when you write the thoughts of more than one character in the same scene…writers refer to it more professionally as “keeping a tight POV”–point of view) 4. SHOW, don’t tell. Ever ho and hum through a chapter that is all narrative? Jump it up and SHOW what’s happening, don’t say:”He went to her house and threatened her at gunpoint.” Show it with actions and dialogue. 5. Don’t have characters drinking coffee or tea, taking a shower, riding in a car, or spending time in the kitchen in the first 50 pages. (Thanks a lot Donald Maass!) 6. Character arc. Make your character’s inner/outer goals matter and change significantly from the beginning to the end. 7. Don’t kill the dog if you write mysteries. Mystery readers won’t finish the book. Some agents won’t ever give you another chance. Human murder–fine and dandy–but don’t touch precious Fido! 8. POV isn’t just whose thoughts are allowed in “the scene you’re in”…If you are in your heroine’s 25 yo POV and “seeing” things from her viewpoint then you might zoom in on her preference for a mocha latte while her pooch (if you wanted to write from a dog’s POV) would reserve drooling for the leather shoes of the man she’s with… 9. Conflict. Start the story with it, and have some in each chapter. I guess it’s a typical mistake of beginning writers to have a syrupy sweet story. Got to up the stakes. Make the reader care. 10. If you are writing Christian fiction, CBA guidelines want you to pick a generic denomination for your character’s faith. No Baptist, Methodist, etc. More along the lines of Community Bible Church. Guess they don’t want to offend anyone. 11. Drop the adverbs…ly’s and such. Thankfully, I had this one in the bag. 12. Nix the purple prose. Supposedly every new author overdoes the description of “dawn’s rosy fingers”… Don’t make your potential editor cringe. 13. Join a great group like American Christian Fiction Writers to be challenged, motivated, educated and last but not least…to cushion the self-inflicted blows when revision time hits with a vengeance! And if you enjoy things like this, be sure to visit Mir’s Non-Comprehensive Tour of Trouble Spot Tip-Offs. I promise you, you will laugh as you learn! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! nat Lisa christen Les Patty MInTheGap Raggedy Karen Cheeky tbirdonawire MommyBa swilder meredith Mysterious Lady Southern Girl (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) |
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Comment by nat
July 26, 2006 @ 7:13 pm
Interesting! Now, if I ever right fiction, I’ll come back here for hints!
Happy T13!
Comment by Lisa
July 26, 2006 @ 8:10 pm
Great ideas!! Ours is up as well!
Comment by christen
July 26, 2006 @ 8:19 pm
you are right about #7 and i’m not even really a dog person.
happy nearly thursday
Comment by Les
July 26, 2006 @ 8:30 pm
Are you serious about #7?? That is just wild. Never thought about it!!
Happy TT!!!
Comment by Patty
July 27, 2006 @ 1:10 am
Nice
Comment by MInTheGap
July 27, 2006 @ 7:08 am
Mine’ll be up at noon! Happy Thursday 13!
Comment by Raggedy
July 27, 2006 @ 9:24 am
Great list!
But..but..but…I love head hoppping…lol
Happy Thursday!
My TT is up
Comment by Karen
July 27, 2006 @ 9:26 am
what an interesting list! good luck with the writing!!!
Comment by Cheeky
July 27, 2006 @ 9:36 am
Wow - this was very interesting. I am not a “writer” unless you count blogging but I do read a lot
I played too
Comment by tbirdonawire
July 27, 2006 @ 9:56 am
I would never make a good writer. But I admire all of you who do it so well!
Comment by MommyBa
July 27, 2006 @ 11:23 am
Interesting points and lessons. Thanks for sharing it with us
*hugs*
Comment by swilder
July 27, 2006 @ 11:24 am
Guess what? I’m also a card-carrying member of ACFW - for the past five years!
Good luck with your writing. You’re definitely in the best group to do so!
Comment by meredith
July 27, 2006 @ 12:18 pm
Seriously # 7? Seriously? Wow….
This is a cool list!
Happy TT.
Comment by Mysterious Lady
July 27, 2006 @ 12:55 pm
Sounds like you’ve learned alot! Happy Thursday!
Comment by Southern Girl
July 27, 2006 @ 1:51 pm
Great list! Sounds like you have the tools to be a good writer.
My TT is up — hope you can visit.
Comment by Brandi
July 27, 2006 @ 2:53 pm
Hey Mary, like your new place. I changed the link on my site.I really need to get out (in the internet word) more.
By the way happy anniversary. Sorry it’s a little late. Been busy trying to finish the last 4 chapters.
Good to see the important list. Sticking to it can be a pain.
Happy writing.
Comment by Gina
August 17, 2006 @ 11:46 am
You sound like me a couple of years ago. There’s so much to learn! I’m going through Donald Mass’ book right not.
I think you might be interested in a Christian Writer moms web ring I started. Check out http://www.writermominterrupted.blogspot.com
Pingback by T.Bird on a Wire » Thursday Thirteen #2
October 9, 2006 @ 12:16 pm
[...] 1. Mary 2. Raggedy 3. Deb 4. MinTheGap 5. Carmen 6. KarenW 7. noladawn 8. MommyBa 9. Jenn 10. Meredith 11. Bev 12. Mysterious Lady 13. Lindsey 14. Stacy 15. Karen Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! [...]