WRITING TIPS: RENAME THEM

I deal in a lot of placeholders, often writing INSERTWORD or naming a character after their role such as: VILLIAN. READ MORE HERE. But sometimes I do have the names when I start. I might not be entirely sold on the character’s name, but inevitably come to know them as such after spending months calling them that.

This creates a perception of that character in me that can blind me to what a reader reads. What is actually there about the character? What is missing, stuck in my head but attached through this name?

One way to check for this is to rename the character (and let the story rest for a month or so). When I return, this name sneaks up on me. Who is this character that I now feel like I’m meeting for the first time?

You can always change the name back if you prefer the previous name, but this will hopefully allow you to see your story through a new lens.

WRITING TIPS: REMOVING DIALOGUE

Ever read something that reads like a screenplay… or worse, you’re the guilty writer?

While I often have fun creating dialogue-only short stories, and this style can teach you how to include critical physical details in speech, sometimes our characters talk too much. Creating either an exchange that should be cut or feels directionless to the reader.

Other times it seems logical at first to relay information from one character to the next, but if the reader has read it before, they shouldn’t have to reread it.

Beyond simply deleting what is said you have options I call it: SPIT.

  1. SUMMARIZE
    • Have your narrator sum up what is said, i.e. “Bill told Dan everything that happened the night before.”
    • In first person, you could sum it up, “I listened to him rattle on about a strange night. I laughed when he mentioned the fish people.”
  2. PARAPHRASE
    • Have the narrator explain what is told, using less conversational language– yes, this is an info dump, and I am often surprised by really well-written infodumps that didn’t waste my time with banter or were overly descriptive.
  3. IMPLY
    • By jumping forward in a conversation, you can imply that things were said. Whether it’s the end of the conversation or moments later.
    • You can also jump ahead and have a character ask if the other heard anything they said, and then shift to a paraphrase or a ‘I stopped listening once you said . . .’
  4. TRIM
    • Cut out every other response or really edit the conversation down to what needs to be there. In our everyday lives, people talk too much too often, and it can be enticing to mirror that in our writing, but when people ramble, so do the readers’ minds.

Either way, it’s a good idea to strike a balance between dialogue and description. And sorry for the acronym, but it should make it memorable . . . right?

WRITING TIPS: THINK OF IT LIKE AN ARTIST

Having an art background is something that often leads me to apply those strategies to other things–like writing.

If you are like I once was, finding that perfect word to start a story is like staring at a blank canvas. The only way to break that block is to make a mark.

But it’ll ruin that perfect blank canvas!

Sure. Maybe.

But if we’re talking about writing, it’s one word, and you can, and you will change. Start writing. Get to where you wan the story to go, and then come back and fix that opening line.

Always remember, your first words are you sketching. they aren’t they aren’t set in stone.

But take this further. With drawing starting with a sketch, sometimes it goes a step before that where a thumbnail drawing is produced to get an idea of what the overall image should be shaped like. Think of you writing in this way. Design the overall short story, lay it out physically, and then go back and fine tune those lines until it is complete.

WRITING TIPS: OUTLINE DURING

Some plan before they write, and others fly by the seat of their writing pants. Whatever you prefer, you will do yourself a huge favor if you outline during your draft.

How many times have you read a draft and couldn’t fully recall all the details? If you summarize each section or chapter as you write, you’ll have a representation of your novel that you can reference when you go to edit, add, or even rearrange moments.

If you already have an outline, consider this as building on that outline, adding notes like character names, places, etc.

I also find that recording what I wrote is almost like giving a prompt for the next writing session.

WRITING TIPS: LEAVE A NOTE

One of the issues I have with writing is burnout.

I know how to avoid it these days, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get overconfident. My burnout generally stems from having a lot of energy and ideas on one particular day and not pacing myself. I’ve written 10k words in a day and then been completely blank the next day.

And sometimes, what I wrote is not beneficial, it’s me writing myself into a hole that the following day, when energy is down, I’m less likely to find a solution out of.

When I have a ton of ideas about what should happen next, if I’ve achieved my daily goal (whatever that might be, set your own and stick to it), I simply leave myself a note, a prompt.

Sometimes it’s Post-It Note size. Other times, I’ll write it like an outline. But the key is to avoid burnout, so that the story can be completed instead of abandoned.