Lucid Writing Advice II

Susan groped for the slender long silver chain behind her, but found only the dense air of the summer morning. A scream caught in her dry throat. It was supposed to be there.

With an untrained eye, you would think nothing wrong with the above passage. But yet it fails the test of clarity. Let us examine the opening sentence.

We have three adjectives modifying the word chain, and all but one of them can be deleted. If we were to take out ‘slender’ and ‘silver’, the reader can read the sentence and not miss out on anything. Having too many adjectives for one word will hinder your writing, and as with the passage above, can be tongue twisting at times. Even if you read it in your mind and not aloud.

The second sentence:

If the fact that Susan has not had anything to drink for quite some time, then it matters little if you the writer mention that her throat is dry. Omitting the word serves justice to the sentence, and quickens the pace.

The third sentence:

We know from reading the previous sentences that the chain was there, or else Susan couldn’t have known it was long. Such a sentence can be rewritten.

If the entire passage is reworked to the objective of clarity, we arrive at this:

You write to entertain. The reader and writer are two totally different people: One caring and devout, hoping to create something that will satisfy his or her creative mind. The other: phlegmatic, wanting only to laugh or fill the weight of sorrow.

When you write, you must keep in mind that people will read it. People read what will entertain them, what will give them enjoyment.

Having characters hiking to the summit of a majestic mountain can be exhilarating. But bogging the scene down with talk of plant types inhabiting the mountain side, and given in-depth description of the fauna and rock accumulation, can turn the story into an article fit for a science journal.

Keeping the story simple and concise will make an enjoyable read.

Maybe I should say good characters, unless your Tolkien or Dickens who can make wonderful characters.

Characters are like ravioli , when you bite through the fleshly noodle of the story, you arrive to center of what makes it worth reading. Good characters are a must if you want your story to be read and enjoyed. No one can be truly ruthless, and no sorcerer can cast a spell and make it work a hundred percent every time. You must create characters that readers will enjoy knowing about, someone they will care about.

With your main character, you can accept nothing less. The following are vital attributes that any character should have:

• Emotions
• Enjoyable
• Having problems we can relate to
• The ability to change at the end of the manuscript.

The last two are what readers can directly relate to. You should always keep these attributes in mind when designing your characters.

Without good characters, you have some rather disgusting ravioli.