L.J. Writes

Plot Versus Character by Jeff Gerke is a how-to book for both plot-centric and character-centric fiction writers to integrate these these two aspects of the craft. I have aired my decidedly mixed feelings about Part 1 of the book dealing with character. However, as expected, Part 2 on plot was much more satisfying. Plot is the author's own admitted strong suit, after all. I'll discuss where I found Part 2 helpful and where frustrations and questions still linger for me.

( Some swell chapters and some big problems )

Despite the book's problems, I think Part 2 is still worth a read especially if you keep the book's overall limitations in mind, or have a good internal filter like recommender inkdust does. If you can winnow the chaff from the wheat, discarding the incomplete or flawed parts while internalizing the good, I think this book can serve as a good guide for story structure and how it can integrate with character development.

“When you catch an adjective, kill it."
- Mark Twain

I swear I'm not against all adjectives and adverbs. In fact, neither was Mark Twain, as seen in the context of the above quote. Adjectives and adverbs can be vital tools to make a passage more vivid and accurate.

They are also tools best used sparingly. They can be abused when they become a shorthand for actual description, and especially when used to tell instead of show even when showing is more appropriate.

Therefore the direction in this exercise is to rewrite two passages without using adjectives or adverbs, hopefully changing it for the better.

Examples:

Original: It was cold beyond imagination outside. I never realized it could be this cold.

Rewrite: I turned my collar up against fingers of cold that kept forcing their way down my shirt. Breathing was like sucking an icicle up my nose.

Original: "I don't see how that's relevant," she said coldly.

Rewrite: Her smile flattened out; shutters closed behind her eyes. "I don't see how that's relevant."

The lesson is not that ad-words are Evil, but rather to learn to think without them so they don't become a means to prop up vague writing. I can think of a couple of adjectives that could go into the rewrite versions without doing harm, though I believe the writing is leaner without them.

Below are my prompts; as always, spoiler fold or space out to prevent peeking. Feel free to give prompts of your own along this vein, whether in your own journal or as a comment to this post.

Prompts:

He stood at the window watching for the lights, feeling agitated, afraid, and very much alone.

She stepped lightly over the stepping-stones, her feet barely above the surface of the swollen brook.

One of the rewarding things about leaving reviews is the correspondence I get into with some of the authors. It occurs to me I've exchanged useful writing tips through these private messages, so I've decided to flesh out some of the advice I gave and make them available to those who don't feel like hacking into my FanFiction.Net private messages. I'll be naming names and linking fics in this post on the theory that fanfic writers are generally positive about exposure, but if you don't want to be linked tell me and I'll take the link down.

First off, I'll talk about that dark side of the giddy joy of writing: Critical comments and how to respond to them. I'm going by the assumption that you're interested in improving the craft of writing, so if your goal is solely to have fun and share some squee this post probably isn't useful. In fact I don't think you'll get much mileage out of any post about writing advice if your goal isn't to improve, and I say God bless you. There are so many better things to spend time on than staring at a computer screen figuring out arrangements of words. For the rest of you, here are words that are hopefully of some value:

( Though really, by my own terms I'm preaching to the choir... )

Honest criticism will help you in the goal of improving your writing, and does not mean you are a) stupid, b) worthless, or c) will never write well. If you really can't handle it, it's best to stop pretending that your goal is to improve: You want to be told that you're good writer, which is in not in any way the same thing as writing well.

Not wanting to improve your writing is, as I have said, a valid choice to make. All that's important is to be honest about your choice, whichever it is. If you really do want to improve, you have to be able to take criticism and I hope this article has been of some little help to you.