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

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part B)

In the second half of the Alice in Wonderland reading she encounters the Mad Hatter at a Tea Party along with the March Hare and a dormouse. Their iconic conversation ensues and reading it now at a later point in my life it actually starts to make more sense. There is a lot of word play and selective hearing going on during the conversation which makes it very hard to follow.

A Mad Tea-Party

• Alice finds the trio sitting at a large table with plenty of room for several more people but when she approaches they notice her and yell out that there is no more room
• Alice sits anyways 
• The March Hare asks Alice to have some wine, she remarks that she doesn't see any wine.
• The Hare then tells her that there isn't any and Alice claims that it wasn't kind of him to offer something he didn't have
• The Hare retorts that it wasn't nice of her to sit down without being invited
• May want to write a story including this kind of humor from the Hare
• this group is very particular on wording things exactly as people's thoughts are intended
• if you use a "saying" it is taken literally
• the Hatter says something that would lead us to believe that time in Wonderland remains the same although days and years pass through
• it is always "tea time" for them
• the speak of Time as if it is a living being, a male in fact
• Mad Hatter says that depending on your relationship with Time, he will speed up or slow down time to help you if you are on good terms
• once the Mad Hatter sang for the Queen and she didn't like it and mentioned that he was murdering time so now Time doesn't care for the Mad Hatter and makes sure it is always 6 o'clock for him

Depiction of Alice when she learns Time is a "He".

The Queen's Croquet-Ground

• Alice uses a flamingo to hit the croquet ball which is actually a hedgehog forming a ball
• the game is incredibly hard as the flamingo and hedgehog don't get along with each other, much less everyone else's
• Alice finally gets a chance to talk to the White Rabbit but never even asks what he was doing in her world in the first place
• The cat appears to her while she plays the game but only allows its head to be visible
• the King dislikes that cat and asks for it to be executed which causes some confusion since it has no body at the present moment already
• We find out the Duchess is in prison for boxing the Queen's ears
• she seems to be the only character who physically assaults the Queen and isn't too afraid of her

Alice's Evidence

• Alice sits through a lengthy, absurd court hearing about who stole the Queen's tarts
• Finally she has enough and confronts the King and Queen claiming they are "just cards" at which point they all fly up in the air and swarm here
• she wakes up soon after to find herself next to her sister on the bank just like at the beginning
• it was all a dream

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Mad Tea-Party here

Croquet-Ground here

Alice's Evidence here

Image Information: Alice at the Tea Party found on flikr

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part A)

This week's reading will be of the original Alice in Wonderland story. The first section covers Alice spotting the rabbit, chasing it down the hole, and entering Wonderland.

Down the Rabbit-Hole

• Alice was reading with her sister on the bank of a lake or river and is bored because the book her sister was reading had no pictures
• Alice is young and simple
• It was a hot day, and it made her "sleepy and stupid"
• She spots a white rabbit with pink eyes who mentions how late he is and pulls a stop-watch out of his waistcoat-pocket
• Alice immediately gets up to chase the rabbit and jumps down the hole
• I wonder what her sister is thinking at this time
• Alice falls down the hole for an extremely long time
• the hole is lined with shelves full of books and jars, some with labels some without
• Alice begins talking to herself quite a bit and exhibits her creativity and imagination with some of the thoughts she has
• As she gets closer to the bottom of the hole, she gets the feeling that she is starting to doze off and get sleepy
• She lands at the bottom of the hole just in time to see the rabbit hurrying down a long passage and she chases him only to lose him around the corner
• Alice is in a hallway lined with many doors
• She finds a table with a key, and a bottle labeled "drink me" sitting on it which she drinks to become smaller
• Alice eventually goes through the door and enters Wonderland and meets the caterpillar smoking hookah

Advice From a Caterpillar

• the caterpillar peppers Alice with existential questions
• Alice can't answer the questions and becomes frustrated and angry
• Alice claims she can't remember things so the caterpillar asks her to recite a rhyme she should know
• Alice is having memory loss
• Eventually the caterpillar tells her to eat the mushroom to grow bigger again
• one side makes her smaller the other bigger
• Alice eats some of the mushroom and her neck grows so long she is mistaken for a snake by birds

Pig and Pepper

• Alice meets the Duchess and the Cheshire cat
• she takes care of a baby which turns into a pig
• perhaps all the snorting the baby does due to the pepper causes it to make pig noises and therefore turns into a pig

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Image Information: The grin of the cheshire cat Alice encounters at the house of the Duchess. Found on flickr