Writing Secrets

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Do you have writing tricks you wont reveal or share with anyone? Stuff you discovered thats not in any how-to-write manual?

 

[_Lynn_]

Do you have writing tricks you wont reveal or share with anyone? Stuff you discovered thats not in any how-to-write manual?

If I read every single how-to-write manual to know all the tricks in them, I would never have time to write.

But if I thought I discovered a new writing trick, I think would share.

 

[DearEmma]

You can't fool yourself and you can't fool the reader. If you think there's something you should work on, but convince yourself you can get away with it and the readers won't notice, they will.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

You can't fool yourself and you can't fool the reader. If you think there's something you should work on, but convince yourself you can get away with it and the readers won't notice, they will.

No. I'm speaking of tricks that improve and polish the prose that arent obvious to reader or other writers.

Like...hoof nippers. In the sheet metal trade workers use horse hoof nippers to connect air conditioning pipe together.

 

[m_storyman_x]

to be honest, i have no formal writing training, so if you are looking for real writing techiques for grammar and punctuation etc.... i cant be much help

But for me, the best way to write is to close my eyes, build the mental picture of where you are, what the characters are doing and saying, with all the details, and then to paint that picture with words. If you do that, the story will take care of itself.

WHen i picture my scenes, i can picture every detail each air on her head, each bump of her areola, the hardness of her nipple in my hand or mouth, the wetness and taste of her pussy.... Picture every detail as if you were actually there, and then simply paint it with words.

Hope this helps. Not everyone can paint the mental picture, let alone put it into words.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

STORYMAN

Youre describing eidetic imaging; that is, your brain's ability to form photograph-like visuals. Some call it 'photographic memory.' Plenty or morons have the trait, and plenty of them use the trait to pass tests to become MDs and lawyers and politicians. We call them idiot-savants, RAINMAN was one.

But my thread question is about tricks you discover on your own that have nuthin to do with physiology or formal training. I'm talking Houdini NOT Mister Ed.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.

Go right to the source and ask the horse
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mister Ed.

People yakkity yak a streak and waste your time of day
But Mr. Ed will never speak unless he has something to say

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And this one'll talk 'til his voice is hoarse.
You never heard of a talking horse?

Well listen to this: "I'm Mister Ed."

 

[m_storyman_x]

Ouch!!!! I feel like i've been stabbed.... compared to a damn laywer???? how low can one sink?

 

[m_storyman_x]

STORYMAN

Youre describing eidetic imaging; that is, your brain's ability to form photograph-like visuals. Some call it 'photographic memory.' Plenty or morons have the trait, and plenty of them use the trait to pass tests to become MDs and lawyers and politicians. We call them idiot-savants, RAINMAN was one.

But my thread question is about tricks you discover on your own that have nuthin to do with physiology or formal training. I'm talking Houdini NOT Mister Ed.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.

Go right to the source and ask the horse
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mister Ed.

People yakkity yak a streak and waste your time of day
But Mr. Ed will never speak unless he has something to say

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And this one'll talk 'til his voice is hoarse.
You never heard of a talking horse?

Well listen to this: "I'm Mister Ed."

In all seriousness. I have no idea what it is that i have / do. I only know what happens and how i use it. Is it a gift, trick, whatever.. It's how i write.

 

[Dragonlipz]

Do you have writing tricks you wont reveal or share with anyone? Stuff you discovered thats not in any how-to-write manual?

Writing fiction is telling a story. An important part of any story is the action taking place and characters will go about their business: pumping gas, smoking a cigarette, pouring coffee, trimming sheet metal, etc. while the story takes place.
Observation of people performing the mundane tasks that get them through life and the day should be part of any writers' bag'o'tricks...
Someone crossing the street can be inspirational.....especially if she's workin' it right!

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

Ouch!!!! I feel like i've been stabbed.... compared to a damn laywer???? how low can one sink?

You came into this thread without body armor you silly thing?

I'm trying to figure out what kind of tip you mean JBJ. In actual story construction? I do outlines that have some breathing room, but tell me where I'm going so that I have and end goal. When I get lost in a scene I step away from the computer and grab a pencil and some paper. A tip I found online on the blog of a writer I like. Apparently changing where you put the information can get you past certain blocks.

Revisions, there's the typical 'read it out loud', but I found a new one I'm gonna try. Reading it back wards. Paragraph by paragraph, scene by scene, chapter by chapter. Doesn't let you get so involved in the story that you miss the mistakes you were trying to spot.

Number one tip for writers IMO, (which isn't a secret) is to read everything you can get your hands on. Words not coming? You don't have enough of them.

Probably not what you wanted. Hope someone found it useful.

 

[DearEmma]

I don't think there really are any tricks. Writing is work not magic, but can be magical. But hey, I'll take another shot.

Keep a notebook & pen by your bed so when you wake up you can catch the wisps of your dreams or subconscious thoughts before they dissipate.

 

[oggbashan]

One trick for editing: Change the font so that the text becomes unfamiliar.

Og

 

[Laurindo]

Tricks?

Can you give an example of a "trick"?

There aren't any "tricks" but there are lots of techniques.

 

[CharleyH]

Do you have writing tricks you wont reveal or share with anyone? Stuff you discovered thats not in any how-to-write manual?

Well, JBJ, if I had any writing tricks that I wouldn't reveal or share before, I certainly wouldn't start doing it now! What works for me, as a writer, does not necessarily work for others. However, I think one good piece of advice for writers of all levels is: take criticism intellectually, not emotionally.

EDIT: OH! PS. One TRICK taught by Paul Schrader (screenwriter of Taxi Driver), "Write stoned and revise sober."

 

[sr71plt]

One of the better "tricks" I've employed (certainly not my own, nor a secret to anyone who can adjust to reality) is to drop imprisonment by many of the "rules" of writing I learned up through high school and work at "speaking" to the reader within their conversational comfort zone without distracting them with needless departure from what their unconscious expects to see in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Can you give an example of a "trick"?

There aren't any "tricks" but there are lots of techniques.

Here's a trick. When I come across an amazing name in real life or discovered in the newspaper I save it in a file for future use. Like 'Lardaz.' You cant make up names like this one. I suspect Charles Dickens did the same.

 

[sr71plt]

Here's a trick. When I come across an amazing name in real life or discovered in the newspaper I save it in a file for future use. Like 'Lardaz.' You cant make up names like this one. I suspect Charles Dickens did the same.

For some reason in this season, I think back to an old high school friend who was named Candy Cane.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

One of the better "tricks" I've employed (certainly not my own, nor a secret to anyone who can adjust to reality) is to drop imprisonment by many of the "rules" of writing I learned up through high school and work at "speaking" to the reader within their conversational comfort zone without distracting them with needless departure from what their unconscious expects to see in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

If I follow you, what you do is a hard task to master.

 

[CharleyH]

Here's a trick. When I come across an amazing name in real life or discovered in the newspaper I save it in a file for future use. Like 'Lardaz.' You cant make up names like this one. I suspect Charles Dickens did the same.

That's not exactly a new trick, JBJ. I think many of us do it. So ... new trick?

 

[sr71plt]

If I follow you, what you do is a hard task to master.

I think the primary problem is finding the groove the first couple of times and then remembering to go there. Perhaps the "secret" part is that readers react best to writing that disappears and just leaves them with the story/characters and experiencing it on their own ground. To do that, a writer has to put the reader in his/her comfort zone. One example of doing that (but just one) would be letting a cliche or two filter through, meeting the reader where they really are in the world, rather than dropping bag fulls of brilliant new image words and terms on them left and right.

I think I benefited from an early kick in the ass on this one. I wanted to impress in high school English, so in all of my written work, I followed the rules and formulas to a T and wore out my Roget's. Most always got a B+ for my effort. On the last written assignment of the year, I thought, what the hell, and just let out all of the stops and dashed something out at one go with no concern for spelling, punctuation, or word usage at all. The teacher's comment written beside the A+ grade was "Now, you're a writer." The kicker, though, is that I'd absorbed all of that spelling, punctuation, and grammar stuff so that I could use it without intentionally thinking of the "rules." Learning this "secret" propelled me well into college English.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Here's a trick. When I come across an amazing name in real life or discovered in the newspaper I save it in a file for future use. Like 'Lardaz.' You cant make up names like this one. I suspect Charles Dickens did the same.

At one point all the spam I got for a week had the most wonderfully allegorical "names." I compiled a list of more than 200 names from that week. Never seen another run like it.

Unfortunately, I just don't write allegorical fiction...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I think the primary problem is finding the groove the first couple of times and then remembering to go there. Perhaps the "secret" part is that readers react best to writing that disappears and just leaves them with the story/characters and experiencing it on their own ground. To do that, a writer has to put the reader in his/her comfort zone. One example of doing that (but just one) would be letting a cliche or two filter through, meeting the reader where they really are in the world, rather than dropping bag fulls of brilliant new image words and terms on them left and right.

I think I benefited from an early kick in the ass on this one. I wanted to impress in high school English, so in all of my written work, I followed the rules and formulas to a T and wore out my Roget's. Most always got a B+ for my effort. On the last written assignment of the year, I thought, what the hell, and just let out all of the stops and dashed something out at one go with no concern for spelling, punctuation, or word usage at all. The teacher's comment written beside the A+ grade was "Now, you're a writer." The kicker, though, is that I'd absorbed all of that spelling, punctuation, and grammar stuff so that I could use it without intentionally thinking of the "rules." Learning this "secret" propelled me well into college English.

I think you have the spirit of what I'm after. What you report is the essence of riding a bike or flying a jet or whatever. Writing isnt gem cutting.

 

[_Lynn_]

I think the primary problem is finding the groove the first couple of times and then remembering to go there. Perhaps the "secret" part is that readers react best to writing that disappears and just leaves them with the story/characters and experiencing it on their own ground. To do that, a writer has to put the reader in his/her comfort zone. One example of doing that (but just one) would be letting a cliche or two filter through, meeting the reader where they really are in the world, rather than dropping bag fulls of brilliant new image words and terms on them left and right.

I think I benefited from an early kick in the ass on this one. I wanted to impress in high school English, so in all of my written work, I followed the rules and formulas to a T and wore out my Roget's. Most always got a B+ for my effort. On the last written assignment of the year, I thought, what the hell, and just let out all of the stops and dashed something out at one go with no concern for spelling, punctuation, or word usage at all. The teacher's comment written beside the A+ grade was "Now, you're a writer." The kicker, though, is that I'd absorbed all of that spelling, punctuation, and grammar stuff so that I could use it without intentionally thinking of the "rules." Learning this "secret" propelled me well into college English.

Too perfect is jarring.

Too many errors is distracting.

Fragments, contractions, slang . . . disappear because they're normal.

Right? Or am I not reading you right?

 

[sr71plt]

Too perfect is jarring.

Too many errors is distracting.

Fragments, contractions, slang . . . disappear because they're normal.

Right? Or am I not reading you right?

Sounds right to me.

 

[Liar]

Do you have writing tricks you wont reveal or share with anyone? Stuff you discovered thats not in any how-to-write manual?

No on the first. Yes on the second.

Meaning, I've got tricks. And I'll tell anyone about them that wants to listen.

The only problem is that I'll have to think very hard how to explain many of those tricks so that it makes sense to anyone but me. Since I discovered them by myself, they are more instinctual than intellectual.

Much have to do with how to hadle tempo and information density in a story. How I can vary the prosody of the language and the level of the imagery in certain key passages of a story, to ram otherwise hard-to-digest concepts through the reader's defenses.

Another thing I have discovered, is that "write what you know" has nothing on "know what you write".

Not that I claim that I'm the first to discover any of this. Just that it wasn't anything that I have been taught, nor anything that I have seen being taught since.