45 ways to avoid using the word 'very' Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain‘Very’ is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen. ~Florence KingSo avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. If you enjoyed this, you will love: If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson
Important Infrequently Used Words To Know | Just English Paul V. Hartman (The Capitalized syllable gets the emphasis) alacrity a-LACK-ra-tee cheerful willingness and promptnessanathema a-NATH-a-ma a thing or person cursed, banned, or reviledanodyne AN-a-dine not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull//anything that sooths or comfortsaphorism AFF-oar-ism a short, witty saying or concise principleapostate ah-POSS-tate (also: apostasy) person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.arrogate ARROW-gate to make an unreasonable claimatavistic at-a-VIS-tic reverting to a primitive typeavuncular a-VUNC-you-lar “like an uncle”; benevolent bathos BATH-ose an anticlimaxbereft ba-REFT to be deprived of something valuable “He was bereft of reason.” cynosure SIGH-na-shore (from the Greek: “dog’s tail”) center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn. dilettante DILL-ah-tent 1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge; 2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts Click to read: Like this: Related
How to Find Unique Names for Your Characters Steps Method 1 of 2: Finding Your Own Unique Names 1Use a first name as a last name. Since first and last names usually sound very different, breaking this tradition would make your character stand ever so slightly apart. 8Look up names. Method 2 of 2: Starting with a Letter (or Letters) You Like 1List letters that you must/want to have in the name. 4Add a few more letters. Tips Don't make too many different or strangely spelled names or your readers could end up confused and have less motivation to finish the story.Make sure it's pronounceable. Ad Warnings Don't name your character after somebody who's already been invented, particularly if they have a similar personality.
One Sentence - True stories, told in one sentence. Bad Creative Writing Advice (David Louis Edelman) March 18, 2006 @ 11:40 am The Internet is full of bad advice for creative writers. Here’s just a small sampling of the nonsense you can find if you look for it. “Show, don’t tell.” News flash: writing is telling. It’s a completely linguistic art form. The ironic thing about most of these specious writing tips is that they work quite well for straightforward journalism. But when you’re writing fiction, the ground rules are different. The same probably goes for bloggers, too. Write & Get Paid Get Paid $100 Do you want to earn money online? Listverse was built on the efforts of readers just like you. Readers who didn’t have any experience as writers but decided to put a list together and send it in. So here is the deal: We will pay you $100 for your efforts. You don’t need to be an expert—you just need to have English equal to that of a native speaker, a sense of humor, and a love for things unusual or interesting. It works like this: You write your list (10 items per list minimum), you send it in, we reply and say “Great—we’ll publish it” and send you $100 by PayPal (don’t have an account? Either way you win—your list will be read by us and reviewed, and if it’s amazing it will appear on the front page of Listverse to be read by millions of people a month! We can not accept lists from writers who do not have a PayPal account; this is non-negotiable. The Rules The rules are really pretty simple. Pictures and Video Please note that we publish original articles. Ready to start?
Brain a 'creativity machine,' if you use it right Scientists have long wanted to understand exactly how our brain allows us to be creative. Although there is still a lot left to learn, one thing has become clear in recent years: Creativity doesn't live in one spot. There are sites in the brain dedicated to recognizing faces, moving your left index finger and recoiling from a snake, but having original ideas is a process not a place. "There is a very high level of cooperation between different parts, different systems of the brain so that they orchestrate this process," said Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California. Damasio is leading a panel today on creativity and the brain to launch the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego. There are differences, of course, between creating a painting and creating a new business strategy, writing a symphony or coming up with new ways to comfort a distraught child. Yet imagination depends on memory.
» 5 Creative Cures for Writer's Block - World of Psychology It’s stressful when the words don’t come, when you’re sitting at your desk staring at the blinking cursor or the barren page. Minutes feel like hours. Hours feel like days. Deadlines loom, and you’re still stuck and staring. “Writer’s block, or any creative block, is really about fear,” according to Miranda Hersey, a writer, editor and creativity coach. Blocks are tough. 1. “Take the pressure off of your writing while you do something else that pleases you creatively,” Hersey said. Choreograph a one-minute dance. 2. If you’re writing fiction and you’re unsure about your direction, write some backstory for one of your characters, said Hersey, who also pens the blog Studio Mothers, a creative community for mothers. “Allow yourself to write 30 pages of something that might or might not show up in your finished work. 3. “Writer’s block is not a problem for me, ever. These are exercise prompts from Abercrombie’s book. “Write about how the weather feels on your skin. 4. 5.
How to Eliminate "To-Be" Verbs in Writing Every English teacher has a sure-fire revision tip that makes developing writers dig down deep and revise initial drafts. One of my favorites involves reducing the number of “to-be-verbs”: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, and been. At this point, even before I begin to plead my case, I hear the grumbling of the contrarians. One of them mutters a snide, rhetorical question: Didn’t Shakespeare say “To be, or not to be: that is the question:”? He used three “to-be” verbs right there! What’s So Wrong with “To-Be” Verbs? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Adapted from Ken Ward’s E-Prime article at Problem-Solving Strategies to Eliminate the “To-Be” Verb 1. 2. 3. 4. A Teaching Plan to Eliminate the “To-Be” Verb 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. After teaching and practicing all four strategies, set the “rule” that from now on only one “to-be” verb is allowed in any paragraph (excluding direct quotes). Be Sociable, Share!
Max Barry | Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel Every year I get asked what I think about NaNoWriMo, and I don’t know how to answer, because I don’t want to say, “I think it makes you write a bad novel.” This is kind of the point. You’re supposed to churn out 50,000 words in one month, and by the end you have a goddamn novel, one you wouldn’t have otherwise. If it’s not Shakespeare, it’s still a goddamn novel. The NaNoWriMo FAQ says: “Aiming low is the best way to succeed,” where “succeed” means “write a goddamn novel.” I find it hard to write a goddamn novel. Some of these methods I use a lot, some only when I’m stuck. The Word TargetWhat: You don’t let yourself leave the keyboard each day until you’ve hit 2,000 words.
100 Mostly Small But Expressive Interjections David Bier Thanks for this – what a fun post considering there’s no actual narrative in it! Cecily Some of these interjections are quite culturally and age specific, so if people need to be told what they mean, they should probably not be using them.For example, to many Brits, va-va-voom is not old-fashioned at all, but instead is firmly linked to the long-running ads that footballer Thierry Henry made for the Renault Clio. Himanshu Chanda Whoa ! What a biiiig list. Kurt Vonnegut -- troubling.info Eight rules for writing fiction: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. -- Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Kurt Vonnegut: How to Write with Style
How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point Arc By Ali Hale - 3 minute read One of my favourite “how to write” books is Nigel Watts’ Writing A Novel and Getting Published. My battered, torn and heavily-pencil-marked copy is a testament to how useful I’ve found it over the years. Although the cover appears to be on the verge of falling off altogether, I’ve risked opening the book once more to bring you Watts’ very useful “Eight-Point Story Arc” – a fool-proof, fail-safe and time-honoured way to structure a story. (Even if you’re a short story writer or flash fiction writer rather than a novelist, this structure still applies, so don’t be put off by the title of Watts’ book.) The eight points which Watts lists are, in order: StasisTriggerThe questSurpriseCritical choiceClimaxReversalResolution He explains that every classic plot passes through these stages and that he doesn’t tend to use them to plan a story, but instead uses the points during the writing process: So, what do the eight points mean? Stasis Trigger The quest Surprise Climax Reversal
CALLIHOO Writing Helps--Feelings Table Character Feelings You can describe your character's feelings in more exact terms than just "happy" or "sad." Check these lists for the exact nuance to describe your character's intensity of feelings. SF Characters | SF Items | SF Descriptors | SF Places | SF EventsSF Jobs/Occupations | Random Emotions | Emotions List | Intensity of Feelings