Apr 24, 2024
Nicole Eggert Amanda and the Alien (1995)
seen from Uruguay
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from China
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
Nicole Eggert Amanda and the Alien (1995)
I’ve recently come across a FABULOUS writing resource, Writers Write, especially for beginners, even for more casual writers. Lots of helpful hints, writing courses (both free and paid for courses available - both online and local to Johannesburg, South Africa), workbooks and more.
Writers Write is a comprehensive resource for creative writers, business writers, and bloggers.
This is one of the most recent posts I read - works for books, fanfiction and a lot more.
5 Guaranteed Ways To Bore Your Reader
By Amanda Patterson.
There are times when I pick up a book and I think, ‘I can’t carry on.’ Even though I try to finish most of the novels I start, life is just too short to read badly-written, boring books.
Why are these books boring?
Most beginners overwrite – padding their prose with unnecessary descriptions and characters. This is mainly because they do not have a structured story with well-drawn characters and a cohesive, well-paced plot. I have put together sure-fire ways that will help you if you want to bore your reader to tears.
5 Guaranteed Ways To Bore Your Reader
1. Add heaps of backstory. Every page is important. Readers, publishers and literary agents make decisions about whether to carry on reading a book based on the first few pages. Do not waste anyone’s time with unimportant setting details and character histories. Introduce your main characters. Tell us where we are – briefly. Set up a great conflict with an exciting inciting moment. And write!
2. Do not structure your novel. Reading a book seems incredibly daunting if you are lost in an inexperienced author’s stream of consciousness. A great story does not meander from one unrelated event to another. It needs to follow a path. Otherwise, readers will lose interest. They will worry about wasting their time as you muddle through the details.
3. Do not create empathetic characters. It does not matter if you happen to love your unsympathetic psychopathic hero. The truth is that nobody will continue to read a novel without having an emotional connection to the main characters. They can be heroes, anti-heroes or villains, but they all need flaws and redeeming qualities. Readers read stories because they want to relate to someone in the book. We want to know why the characters are acting the way they do.
4. Leave unnecessary scenes in the book. I walk out of movie theatres when I watch a film where nothing happens. I stop reading books for the same reason. Authors cannot simply place characters on the page, add some dialogue and description and not move the story forward. Scenes should move your characters and your plot to the resolution of your story. If they don’t, cut them. Removing scenes keeps your story focused, your pace intense, and creates tension so that readers can’t stop reading.
5. Describe everything. You do not have to tell readers everything. They are not stupid. Reveal information through action and dialogue. This does not mean that you leave description out. It means that you do not tell us what every character, town, tree, or house, looks like in mind-numbing detail. Your characters should interact with the setting. A reader should be able to see and hear and smell the novel through the words on the page.
Please do not make these five mistakes when you write. Remember that you are competing for a place in a crowded market. The Internet, television, movies, and smart phones have taken their toll and today’s reader will not tolerate long flowery sentences, insipid characters and pages of boring backstory. Writing like this is a guaranteed way to lose your reader in the first few pages.
Most beginners overwrite - padding their prose with unnecessary descriptions and characters. Here are 5 guaranteed ways to bore your reader.
Blog post link https://www.writerswrite.co.za/five-guaranteed-ways-to-bore-your-reader/
What Is A Sub-Plot In Fiction? 6 Sub-Plots Every Writer Should Know
Amanda Patterson What is a sub-plot? Learn how sub-plots strengthen a novel. Explore six types of sub-plots writers can use to add depth, conflict, and emotion to their stories. In this post, I will define a sub-plot and then discuss six sub-plots that will add substance and style to your stories. What is a sub-plot in fiction? A sub-plot is a plot that supports your main plot. Like…
How Writers Use The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices
by Amanda Patterson Who are the four main characters in fiction? We explore how these character roles function as literary devices—and how you can use them to strengthen your stories. One of the easiest ways to tell if you have a plot, and not just a story idea, is by looking at the characters you’ve included in your story. You need to pay special attention to the four main characters who give…
Wanting to be a published writer is one of the most difficult goals you can set yourself.
Writing is a solitary pastime. It is probably not the correct career choice for people who need a lot of stimulation or those who have a short attention span. It takes years of practice and lots of heartache before you get anywhere.
After teaching people to write for many years, I have noticed that sometimes there are things writers should
10 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself As A Writer
Do you want to add layers to your antagonist? Is he or she a manipulative, slippery character? Why not make them an expert at gaslightling?
7 Gaslighting Phrases To Make Your Antagonist More Manipulative
As a blogger, you’re probably not equipped for many of the things you’ll need to do. It helps to know what these things are so you can look out for them and correct them as you go along.
Your blog is your public face. It is how you show the world: This is who I am.
Remember that your presence as a blogger is reflected in all your social media accounts as well. So, how do you avoid making elementary mistakes when you’re a blogger? Look at the list below, and try not to make them.
5 Elementary Mistakes Bloggers Make
According to Oxford Dictionary, to hear is to ‘perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something)’. Sounds are ‘vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s ear’.
You have to use the five senses when you write. Readers want to experience what your characters see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. Using the senses is one of the best ways for writers to learn how to show and not tell.
I have written about words that describe taste, and touch in previous posts, and in today’s post I have included words that describe sounds.
106 Ways To Describe Sounds