Young Writers Society

These are 7 simple ‘rules’ that will hopefully strengthen your writing.

On a very basic level, what they really come down to is: simplicity, variety, and interest. But telling you to be more simplistic, use more variety, and be more interesting in your writing, is hardly helpful advice.

These are ‘rules’ in the sense that everyone of them can be broken. In reality, they’re guidelines, but as you’re still quite new to writing, I’d recommend following them for now. Once you’ve got them down, you can start breaking them.

(Disclaimer: These work for me. They may not work for you.)

So, onwards!


1) Use said. Said is a brilliant word. Use it more. Forget your ‘whispered’-s, your ‘bellowed’-s, your ‘drawled’-s, etc. Use ‘said’ instead.


2) Use simple language. Writers use big words, right?

No. No. No.

Use simple words. Small words. They’re much stronger. Your writing doesn’t need to be flowery - it needs to be readable.


3) Description is boring. No, really, it is. You don’t need to ‘set the scene.’ That’s boring.

Limit your description to key locations, characters and items. Anything else doesn’t really matter.


4) Make your first sentence interesting. It needs to ‘hook’ the reader, and make them want to carry on.

Describing the weather is not an interesting first sentence. Stop doing that. In fact, as per the ‘description is boring’ rule, try to avoid starting a story with any sort of description. Start it with something happening, or a mystery, or a line of dialogue.

Make the reader want to know what’s going on.


5) Delete as many words as possible. Go through each scene and delete every paragraph you can.

Go through every paragraph and delete every sentence you can.

Go through each sentence and delete every word you can.

Every single word needs a purpose.


6) Delete adverbs. Adverbs are words that modify a verb - or a ‘doing word’ - and usually end with ‘ly’. Adverbs are bad, because they weaken your prose, and make it read wishy-washy, and mark you as an amateur.

Some examples of adverbs: I ran quickly. He said seriously. She slowly fell.

In reality, not all adverbs need to be deleted. You can use a few. However, you need to be very, very selective in the ones you use. And when I say you can only use a few, I mean it. I wouldn’t use more than 2 or 3 adverbs in a 3,000 word story.

If you’re a beginner to this rule, though, I would recommend just deleting every single adverb for now.


7) Don’t have large blocks of uninterrupted dialogue. Throw in a ‘said’ every now and then. Throw in some short description, or action. Always keep things varied.

In other words, the following is bad:

‘It was me that killed your father.’

‘Don’t joke about something like that.’

‘The way he treated you, the way he treated your mother - it broke my heart. I loved you both.’

‘I’ll never forgive you.’

‘Please don’t say that.’


And this is better:


‘It was me that killed your father,’ Byron said.

‘Don’t joke about something like that.’

Byron’s eyes wouldn’t meet mine. He wouldn’t look away from the floor as he spoke. ‘The way he treated you, the way he treated your mother - it broke my heart. I loved you both.’

The world twisted and turned around me. It spun and spun and I wanted to throw up. Without wanting them to, words spilled from my mouth. ‘I’ll never forgive you.’

‘Please don’t say that.’

--------

And there we go. I wrote this because I was bored.

How much description do you need? People said I didn't have enough and you're saying not to write too much. So, how much do you really need?

I've seen this set before, and I still disagree with #1. "Said" is bland. It conveys only that words have been spoken, and requires further description to express volume, emotional quality, and tone of voice. It's one of the things that bugs me most when I'm reading, but especially when listening to books being read. Hearing "said" over and over and over becomes monotonous.

idraax wrote:How much description do you need? People said I didn't have enough and you're saying not to write too much. So, how much do you really need?

You need as much as you need! There's no right amount, really. There's scenic description on the level of Tolkien, where buildings and places are described in epic detail with historical anecdote, but that fits the tone of that story and the author's intent (which was to write an epic mythos for England). Personally, I like to know where the scene is happening and what the place looks like enough that I can build a picture in my head, but what matters more is how the character feels about being there. JK Rowling never describes the interior of the Hogwarts Express beyond mentioning that it has compartments, but I fill in detail on my own.

I've seen this set before, and I still disagree with #1.

I doubt this, as I only wrote it an hour ago. =P


Anyway!

"Said" is bland. It conveys only that words have been spoken, and requires further description to express volume, emotional quality, and tone of voice. It's one of the things that bugs me most when I'm reading, but especially when listening to books being read. Hearing "said" over and over and over becomes monotonous.

Said is bland. That's why it's such a fantastic word.

What's important with dialogue is the dialogue.

'Said' works well, because it's an almost invisible word - the reader barely takes it in at all. Any other word takes the focus away from the dialogue, and instead places focus on the writer's craft, which is not what you want. You don't want your reader noticing how pretty your language is, you want them absorbed in the story.

You mention volume, emotional quality, tone of voice, etc. As far as possible, you should try to present these in the dialogue itself, through your choice of language, content, context, and grammar.

Yes, there are some cases where this just isn't possible, and in these cases its admissible to use a different speech tag to 'said'. These should be the exception, however, and not the rule.

How much description do you need? People said I didn't have enough and you're saying not to write too much. So, how much do you really need?

This is quite a hard question to answer, because how much you need will vary depending not just on the particular scene, but also your own writing style.

You need to be able to describe as much as possible with as few words as possible. Avoid lengthy descriptions, because they're very boring to read. Scatter your description throughout the writing - short description that take place alongside action and narration, not separate from them.

Typically you want your reader to be able to picture: the main characters, the setting, and any important items.

If the thing you are describing is something very normal - let's say a watch - you don't need to dedicate much description to it. If it's something more unusual - let's say an alien spacecraft - you'll probably need to paint a more vivid picture.

Don't overload your reader with lots of information regarding something's appearance, though. They won't be able to remember it all. Just give them a few important things to latch onto. So instead of describing the room's décor and furniture in minute detail, pick one or two important aspects of the room (let us say a chandelier and a bookcase) and describe them instead. The reader can fill in the rest of the gaps themselves.

Ok, because I tried to scatter bits of description throughout the chapters. my reviewers said I needed more though. They didn't really tell me how much.....

Sureal wrote:

I've seen this set before, and I still disagree with #1.

I doubt this, as I only wrote it an hour ago. =P


Anyway!

I swear I've seen something so similar on here somewhere...

Said is bland. That's why it's such a fantastic word.

What's important with dialogue is the dialogue.

'Said' works well, because it's an almost invisible word - the reader barely takes it in at all. Any other word takes the focus away from the dialogue, and instead places focus on the writer's craft, which is not what you want. You don't want your reader noticing how pretty your language is, you want them absorbed in the story.

You mention volume, emotional quality, tone of voice, etc. As far as possible, you should try to present these in the dialogue itself, through your choice of language, content, context, and grammar.

Yes, there are some cases where this just isn't possible, and in these cases its admissible to use a different speech tag to 'said'. These should be the exception, however, and not the rule.

It's mostly the ones that describe volume and tone. To describe a whispered line of dialogue, you can use "said, whispering", "said. It was whispered" or just "whispered". I tend to go for the first and the last options, the last more often when volume and tone of volume is important. There's a different quality to a line that is "said, hissing" and a line that is "hissed". At least in my brain, anyway!

Ok, because I tried to scatter bits of description throughout the chapters. my reviewers said I needed more though. They didn't really tell me how much.....

Is it Alezrani you're referring to?

Glancing over your writing, it's not description you're missing. In fact, you spend too much time describing things that don't matter: that the tables are 'oak coloured' doesn't matter, that the counter is 'slate gray' doesn't matter, etc.

What you're missing is narration. You need to say who Seres is, and what it is he's doing in the coffee shop. What is his relation to the other characters? Because you don't tell (or show) us these things, your reviewers are getting confused about what exactly is happening.

And your reviewers incorrectly think that their confusion stems from a lack of description, but you could describe what the room and characters look like in great detail if you liked, but if anything, that'd just confuse your readers even more.

It's mostly the ones that describe volume and tone. To describe a whispered line of dialogue, you can use "said, whispering", "said. It was whispered" or just "whispered". I tend to go for the first and the last options, the last more often when volume and tone of volume is important. There's a different quality to a line that is "said, hissing" and a line that is "hissed". At least in my brain, anyway!

It would be better (if you can) to make it obvious from the context and the content that they characters are whispering.

But yes, as I said, this is not always possible, in which case you should use an alternate speech tag. This should be a last resort, though.

Also, 'said, whispering' or 'said, hissing' is just horrible. Use 'whispered' or 'hissed' instead.

Yes, it is. I thought that was shown through the dialogue? All right, I'll clear that up. Are there any other problems that have been misrepresented as a lack of description?

idraax wrote:Yes, it is. I thought that was shown through the dialogue? All right, I'll clear that up. Are there any other problems that have been misrepresented as a lack of description?

Not that I can see.

You don't need to stick it in dialogue. You can just say something like:

Seres, a brute of an assassin from the far South, walked into the coffee shop. His target sat at one of the tables, smoking a pipe.

Of course, Seres is not an assassin from the far South, and he's not in the coffee shop to kill anyone, but you get the idea. Simple narration can quickly and cleanly state who the character is, what it is they're doing, and what their relationship to the other character is.

On 'said'-

I'll use it sometimes. But what I use more of is what I call "action tags" which describe the character's body language. If you want to let readers know the tone, use their actions, thoughts, or other cues in mannerisms to let readers determine how they're saying something.

Rosey Unicorn wrote:On 'said'-

I'll use it sometimes. But what I use more of is what I call "action tags" which describe the character's body language. If you want to let readers know the tone, use their actions, thoughts, or other cues in mannerisms to let readers determine how they're saying something.

This is good. Do this.

This is the sort of thing I was referring to when I talked about 'context'.

Awesome Sureal!

I always think I'm not putting enough description in but thinking about it, it's not really needed. lol

Rosey Unicorn wrote:On 'said'-

I'll use it sometimes. But what I use more of is what I call "action tags" which describe the character's body language. If you want to let readers know the tone, use their actions, thoughts, or other cues in mannerisms to let readers determine how they're saying something.

This is my big one, too, and why transitioning to playwrighting was difficult. I kept wanting to describe actions and had to tell myself that was the actors' job! A lot of my dislike of continual "saids" stems from how it sounds when read, which is really grating to me.

Thanks! This really helps!:)

AuroraOrodel wrote:A lot of my dislike of continual "saids" stems from how it sounds when read, which is really grating to me.

"Said" can be annoying. In fact, any large amount of dialogue tags are annoying. I usually try to do things like:

"Really?" She rested her elbows on the table. "You'd do that for me?"

He cocked a smile. "'Course I would. You're my best friend."

Doing this not only let's the dialogue take full affect, but shows both description and action in ways that help you picture the scene and that add to the dialogue, shaping the way it sounds. I'm pretty sure this is what Rosey was talking about before, but I just thought I'd throw in an example.