A Call to Writers! And readers! And random people!

There are so many times I've wanted to blog and haven't gotten around to it, or wanted to rant about something and then gotten over it before I had a chance to blog. :) Well, today I actually have time (at least I think I do) so here I am!  Hi!!!

Recently I've been frustrated / saddened / disturbed / whatever by the lack of good books!  I have read so many good books, but lately I have had trouble finding any.  I don't go to the library as much as I used to, which might have something to do with it (hey, the song I was listening to just said "do"...), but still.  I put in an amazon.com order the other day and of course, tried to order a bunch of stuff I didn't really need so I could get the free shipping (for orders over $25, I think).  I know of an very, very good series that recently came out with another book.  I ordered it, but I was sooo disappointed.  Not only was it written differently, it also had language issues. I read it because I am still loyal to the first few books of the series, but I would not recommend that book in particular. 

I have read some really good Christian books lately, which I hope to review.  I also enjoy reading classics, but since they can sometimes be a little tedious, I like to have an "exciting" book to read at the same time.  

Well, I'm not here just to complain.  I'm here to tell WRITERS: Never stop writing!  This world needs good, morally sound books.  This is a (somewhat lame) call to authors not to give up and to keep (hey, the song I'm listening to just said "keep"!) up their work!  To READERS, keep supporting good books.  Review the ones you like and tell others about them.  Also, you really should consider writing!  Some people would disagree with me but I think everyone has SOME kind of writing talent, whether it's poetry, storytelling, novels, song lyrics, etc. And even if you are not "meant" (okay, the song just said "meant"!  I should stop talking about the songs I'm listening to...) to be a writer, that's cool too!!!  RANDOM PEOPLE: Go read / write a good book.  Do it.

"Klarabelle"

Oh yes, and I'm considering making a separate writing blog, BUT, is that insane to have so many blogs?  I've had some ideas for a bunch of writing articles / rants / whatevers and didn't know if I wanted them completely taking over my personal blog. Thoughts?

For the Good of the Book Pt. 5 and BONUS! Pt. 5.5!

December 4, 2011

Hi, peoples!

I'm actually excited for today's writing tip - it's something I feel rather strongly about :)  So I'll forgo the long introductory paragraph and get started!

Don't litter your writing with figures of speech.


That's it, peoples, it's time to go to church! :) 

December 22, 2011

Uuuggghhh...I meant to blog later, continuing this writing tip, but I didn't (obviously)...until now...  Thanks for being patient, nice peoples!

Continuation of the lamely short writing tip:

Figures of speech or commonly used descriptions such as, "then it dawned on her", "butterflies in my stomach", "I racked my brain [for the answer]", "light as a feather", "latch ditch effort"...etc. might ease our writing load, per say, but, I believe in writing we should exercise our creativity.  We should make up our own idioms and quirks, not rely on overused expressions to relay our descriptions or meanings to our readers.  Writing is an activity through which we can create our own languages, worlds, characters (and more!  Oh my!), so there's no reason to describe a girl in love as one who felt "as light as a feather".  Why not call her "a girl who flitted through her day with such effervescent happiness, she reminded those around her of a carefree child"?

Which leads us to our second writing tip of the day!  I think you deserve it after I left my random and unexplained writing tip on my blog for...a long time.  :)  

Since I'm challenging you to avoid figures of speech and am encouraging you to make up your own expression, try exploring new words.  If you read or hear a word and don't know its meaning, write it down (and if possible, the context or sentence you heard it first used in) and look it up in the dictionary later.  Then, try and using your new friend (aka the word) in a sentence.  If you decide to put a more obscure word into your writing, try to explain the meaning of the word in the same sentence.  Are you confused?  Use my sentence a couple paragraphs above, for an example.  You might wonder what "effervescent" means, but as you continue reading, you can deduce from the context it might have something to do with 

a. happiness!!!

b. being carefree!

You can go look up the word now :)

I realize that I could've used better example but I wanted to use the word "effervescent"!  Even so, another way to write a word explained in context would be...

Her new found joy filled her with such effervescent, contagious, overflowing happiness that she couldn't help but share her joy with everyone she met.

So there you go!  Writing tip 5 and 5.5 of today!!!  (More like, "Writing tip of the month"!  :p)

Talk to you later!
"Klarabelle"

3. Writing Tip of the Day!

Hi everyone!

I tried to blog about a writing tip last night, but I couldn't think of one.  As I was working on my book today, I thought of this tip...

When I write, one of my goals is this: a reader focusing completely on my story.  They're so immersed in my tale that they hardly notice anything else...they can't wait to find out what will happen next...and they refuse to put the book down.  They feel as if the characters are their best friends (or, in the case of the antagonist - their deadliest enemy!) and they can't help cheering (inwardly!) for the hero or heroine...

That is one sign of success, I'll say that much. BUT, what happens if the magical moment is suddenly broken?  How could this happen?

Well, the root of your trouble could be something as simple as a rhyme.  For example, Prince Charming is about to propose to Princess Charminga from the neighboring country.  He's terribly nervous but it's an adorably romantic scene.  "I love you - every atom of my heart yearns for you to be my bride...  I will always care for you.  My steadfast love for you can only grow, it will never go away.  Don't leave me - stay!"  An attentive reader might stop and laugh, saying to themselves, "'Away' and 'stay' rhyme!"  This ruins the moment, if not disrupting of the storyline.  DON'T DO IT!  Don't disrupt your story, even if it means taking out that description that you worked hard on, or the funny line...  write, add, or take away everything that you must for "the good of the book"!

(My friend Jessica and I love this miniseries where the main character, a Navy officer named Horatio, always makes his descisions for "the good of the ship", no matter how he personally feels.  In writing, an author should do what's "best for the book"!)

Until...another day!
"Klarabelle"

2. Writing Tip of the Day!

Heyyy!  I actually remembered!  Feel free to give me candy, cuz I actually remembered!!!  :) 

Okay, enough begging...  time for ze writing tip of ze day!!!

One thing that bothers my "inner editor" is looong lists of people.  For example: (I'm going to mess around with some descriptions first...bear with me!)


The air seemed chilly and crisp on that fateful day back in December, 1998.  Even so, the winter air did not stop Alice from her quest.  She knew she must finish her Christmas shopping before Christmas Eve-Eve!  She called her five best friends - Katelyn, Talia, Sarah, Sydney and Kara, to go Christmas shopping with her.  Before long, Katelyn, Talia, Sarah, Sydney and Kara were piled into the van alongside Alice.  On the way to the mall, Katelyn, Talia, Sarah, Sydney and Kara sang Christmas carols!  They even rolled down the windows and sang to the people walking by (although there weren't too many joggers or walkers or travelers because of the cold weather!)!  Alice accomplished her task within a few hours - a record for a procrastinator and indecisive girl like Alice! - and before long, Katelyn, Talia, Sarah, Sydney, Kara and Alice were back in the car on the way home.  It was a successful last-minute Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve shopping trip.
  
Okay...  so did anything bother you about that random super-duper-short story!?  Well for me if I read that, what would bother me would be the looong and repetitive lists of names.  I'm not saying lists of names are bad (there aren't a lot of correct ways to write, since creativity is different with every user!), but they can be a little tiring to the reader.  Instead of saying, "Katelyn, Talia, Sarah, Sydney and Kara", you could say, "Alice's shopping companions", "Alice's friends", etc.  Or, you could give them a cool name!  Alexandre Dumas named his characters Porthos, Athos and Aramis the "Three Musketeers".  J.R.R. Tolkien didn't write, "Boromir, Aragorn, Pippin, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, (oooh I just blanked, who are the other guys?  Oh yeah) Legolas, Merry and Gimli" every time he wanted to talk about them as a group.  Instead he said...  that's right, LotR fans, you got it - the "Fellowship of the Ring!"

So there you go.  A writing tip / suggestion of the day! 

Thanks for your sweet comments on my other writing tip...  I hope this one is just as helpful!

Writers Rock!
"Klarabelle"

Writing Tip of the Day!

Hey ya'll!  (Idek...)

What's up!?  I haven't blog-posted in a while...  the "homeschool concert of musical hits" that I was in, "Hello, Broadway!" is over, but I've been busy catching up with school.  BUT...  I had this random idea to do random writing tips!  Except this blog post title is misleading because I probably won't post one tip a day...more like one or two every month.  :p  But you get the point, and it's the thought that counts anyway...right? 

So here's today's tip...
(Drumroll please!)

Try to avoid unnecessary descriptions like, "silver spoon", "green Christmas tree" "white milk", etc.  Of course, if you're comparing different kinds of forks - gold, porcelain, plastic, big, small, etc. then "silver" might be more appropriate.  But if you're just describing, for example, a girl eating her breakfast, "silver spoon" is probably unnecessary.  Milk really should be white unless there's food coloring in it...  And Christmas trees are generally green unless they're, uh, dead.

So there you go, your tip of the day!  Ever since I finally understood how to edit my books, the "editor" button in me got turned on and never turned off!  That means I edit nearly everything in my brain, even other people's books!  But hey, I can also hopefully impart some halfway interesting writing...opinion...thingies... to you!!!

Merry super-duper-early Christmas!
"Klarabelle"