Story Lab: Writer's Advice

This week I decided to take a look at the writing website to find some storytelling tips! I was able to find a few promising articles that I feel provided some great information that I can use to better my writing. I'm looking forward to implementing these tips in next week's story.

45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very'

• Essentially this post consisted of a large image that had very helpful examples of how to replace using the word 'very' 
• included a few quotes by popular authors that gave me an idea of what kind of opinion a great writer has of the word 'very'
• "Susbstitute '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
• another author claimed that 'very' was the most useless word in our language and that it only weakens your writing (Florence King)

Mark Twain deep in thought.

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

• this article lists the top 5 rules you need to follow when using body language
• one of my favorite arguments the article makes is when it says that over 50% of human communication is nonverbal
• this emphasis how important including details of a characters body language is to your story and to the reader who is trying to understand your writing
• the article also said that body language needs to be used to show your reader something instead of just narrating everything to them
• it gives the reader a break from reading paragraph after paragraph
• the article also has several examples on how to describe the different emotions a character may experience through body language

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character

• There are 3 key character scenes you need to have when writing
• the Monogram scene
• give your character 3 or so qualities
• now write a scene that shows him performing actions that demonstrate he has those character qualities
• Momentum scene
• when your character makes a decision to do something, they always progress towards acting on that decision
• make sure to include the buildup to acting on that decision
• how did your character arrive to the point to be able to conquer their goal?
• Glimpse
• make sure to let the reader know that the character has at least a little humanity or imperfection
• too much of an invincible charisma can put off readers

Bibliography

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character - found here

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language - found here

Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very' - found here

Image Information: Mark Twain pondering. Found on wikipedia