Expert Rules for Writing Fiction - WritersLife.org

Expert Rules for Writing Fiction - WritersLife.org      Grab your free writer's toolkit by going to http://www.writerslife.org/toolkit  Where to follow and listen to WritersLife.org:    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerslifeorg/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerslife.org/     Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/writerslifeorg    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writerslifeorg/    Google +: http://www.WritersLife.org/googleplus     Website: http://www.WritersLife.org   Products: http://www.WritersLife.org/shop    Podcast: http://writerslife.org/podcast    Join Our Team: http://writerslife.org/contribute/    Advertise your book and.or writing  https://www.facebook.com/WritersLifeAdvertisingPlatform/?ref=br_rs   Thank you for listening Please Share it. We LOVE to read comments so please leave a comment and subscribe to Our channel:  https://www.youtube.com/writerslifeorg Grab your free writer's toolkit by going to  http://www.writerslife.org/finish-your-book ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi I'm Jodi from WritersLife.org and today we'll be talking about expert rules for writing fiction today we'll be looking at advice given by the experts Elmore Leonard says using adverbs is a mortal sin never open a book with the weather if it's only to create atmosphere and not a character's reaction to the weather you don't want to go on too long the reader is apt to leap ahead looking for people there are exceptions if you happen to be Barry Lopez who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic dreams you can do all the weather recording you want avoid prologues they can be annoying especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword but these are ordinarily found in nonfiction a prologue in a novel is back story and you can drop it anywhere you want there is a prologue in John Steinbeck sweet Thursday but it's okay because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about he says I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks keep your exclamation points under control you are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words never use the words suddenly or all hell broke loose this rule doesn't require an explanation I have noticed that writers who use suddenly tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points don't go into great detail describing places and things unless you're Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language you don't want descriptions that bring in the action the flow of the story to a standstill try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip think of what you skip reading in a novel thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them Margaret Atwood says hold the reader's attention this is likely to work better if you can hold your own but you don't know who the reader is so it's like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark what fascinates a will bore the pants off be you most likely need a thesaurus a rudimentary grammar book and a grip on reality this latter means there's no free lunch writing is work and it's also a gamble you don't get a pension plan other people can help you a bit but essentially you're on your own nobody is making you do this you chose it so don't whine about it you can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book because you wrote the thing you've been backstage you've seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the Hat therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business this friend should not be someone with whom you have a romantic relationship unless you want to break up don't sit down in the middle of the woods if you're lost in the plot or blocked retrace your steps to where you went wrong then take the other road or change the person change the tents change the opening page Roddy Doyle says do be kind to yourself fill pages as quickly as possible double spaced or write on every second line regard every new page as a small triumph until you get to page 50 then calm down and start worrying about the quality do feel anxiety it's the job do give the work a name as quickly as possible own it and see it Dickens new Bleak House was going to be called Bleak House before he started writing it the rest must have been easy do restrict your browsing to only a few websites a day don't go near the online bookies unless it's research Helen Dunmore says finish the day's writing when you still want to continue listen to what you have written a dud rhythm in a passage of dialogue may show that you don't yet understand the characters well enough to write their voices reread rewrites reread rewrites if it still doesn't work throw it away it's a nice feeling and you don't want it to be cluttered with the corpses of poems and stories which have everything in them except the life they need Esther Freud says a story needs rhythm read it out loud to yourself if it doesn't spin a bit of magic it's missing something editing is everything cut until you can't cut No or what is left often springs into life find your best time of the day for writing and writes don't let anything else interfere afterwards it won't matter to you that the kitchen is a mess don't wait for inspiration discipline is the key trust your reader not everything needs to be explained if you really know something and breathe life into it they'll know it to never forget even your own rules are there to be broken don't forget if you're having a hard time writing or finishing your book check out our free writer's tool kit it can help you overcome procrastination get organized stay focused and get your book published just have your http://www.writerslife.org/toolkit to get your   free copy if you enjoyed this video don't forget to give a thumbs up turn on our notifications and subscribe down below and be sure to visit writers life or from writing tips and tricks and I'll see you next time