From Tumblr’s Writeblr
I joined Tumblr years ago because Fandom was–and still is–an important part of my life. However, it also acted as my first online writing community. I learned a lot during my early years as a new writer because of Tumblr.
Recently, I decided to gather up all the posts that influenced me the most and made me a better writer in the hopes that they might help you too.
Let’s get started.
First up, reducing filler words.
1 | Reducing Filler Words
This post by @thewritingumbrellas suggests opening up your manuscript and searching for the words “there is” or “there was” (depending on your chosen perspective).
They go on to state:
Find all the description or action that starts with “there” and change it.“There is a strike of lightning,” becomes “Lightning strikes the sky.”“There is panic building in his chest,” becomes “Panic builds in his chest.”
You do not have to do this every single time. But it can help declutter your writing.
2 | Paragraph Spacing and TiPToP
I generally knew how to separate paragraphs when I started writing, but it was based more on vibes than actual writing techniques. So, this post on TiPToP changed the game for me.
TiPToP is an acronym for:
Time
Place
Topic
Person
This means every time one of the above changes you enter down to a new paragraph.
3 | “The bigger the issues, the smaller your write.”
This next post was just a quote from author Richard Price, but it is a powerful quote.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.”
While this advice can come in later during edits, I like to keep it in mind when I’m drafting. I end up using my imagination and creativity more when I remember to write small.
4 | Good and Bad Adverbs
This post is from the book Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark. I haven’t picked up this book yet, but it’s on my TBR, and for good reason.
Clark states:
To understand the difference between a good adverb and a bad adverb, consider these two sentences: “She smiled happily” and “She smiled sadly.” Which one works best? The first seems weak because “smiled” contains the meaning of “happily.” On the other hand, “sadly” changes the meaning.Remember the song “Killing Me Softly?” Good adverb. How about “Killing Me Fiercely?” Bad adverb.Look also for weak verb-adverb combinations that you can revise with stronger verbs: “She went quickly down the stairs” can become “She dashed down the stairs.” “He listened surreptitiously” can become “He eavesdropped.” Give yourself a choice.
I am terrible with adverbs. I know I use them a lot. I cringe a little inside whenever I type in that “ly.” But sometimes you just have to have them there. So, I think back to this passage. If I’m going to use an adverb, might as well at least make it a good one.
5 | “Wiggle your pencil.”
My 12th-grade creative writing teacher offered similar advice. But here’s what Tumblr user @sailordivinity has to say:
The best writing teacher I ever had wasn’t the one who taught me grammar and spelling. He wasn’t the one who taught me outlining and paragraph structure, nor was he the one who taught me about themes, motifs, and symbolism.He said, “Wiggle your pencil.Put the tip of your pencil on the paper and keep the eraser end wiggling.If you have nothing to write, write that: I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, and eventually, by force of boredom, something else will come out.We would take 30–45 minutes every day to ‘wiggle our pencils’ in our wide-ruled notebooks, during which time, he was silent except to remind anyone who stopped to keep that pencil moving.
6 | “Your daily, friendly reminder.”
Ever wondered where to actually place that comma or how to integrate dialogue into your writing? I have, and Google never gave me a straight answer. Thankfully, Tumblr did.
“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during your story’s dialogue,” she said with a smile.“Unless you are following the dialogue with an action and not a dialogue tag.” He took a deep breath and sat back down after making the clarifying statement.“However,” she added, shifting in her seat, “it’s appropriate to use a comma if there’s action in the middle of a sentence.”“True.” She glanced at the others. “You can also end with a period if you include an action between two separate statements.”“And–” she waved a pen as though to underline her statement–“if you’re interrupting a sentence with an action, you need to type two hyphens to make an en-dash.”
7 | Five Words
If you are a writer, you’ve probably seen this passage already, but it’s worth sharing because it allowed me to incorporate variety into my sentence structure.
“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals — sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
8 | The Writing Equivalent of a “Lens Flare”
This writing advice came from The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth, which I have read and highly recommend.
The post begins…
“Writing a novel when you imagine all your stories in film format is hard because there’s really no written equivalent of ‘lens flare’ or ‘slow motion montage backed by a Gregorian choir.’”
Another user reblogged with a very detailed answer.
You can get the same effect of a lens flare with close-detail descriptions, combined with breaks to new paragraphs.
Your slow-motion montage backed by a Gregorian choir can be done with a few techniques that all involve repetition.
First is epizeuxis, the repeating of a word for emphasis.
Example:
Falling. Falling. Falling. There was nothing to keep Marie from plunging into the rolling river below. She could only hope for a miracle now, that she would come out alive somehow despite a twenty-foot drop into five-foot-deep water.
Then there’s anaphora, where you write several phrases with the same words at the beginning.
There were still mages out there living in terror of shining steel armour emblazoned with the Sword of Mercy. There were still mages out there being forced by desperation into the clutches of demons. There were mages out there being threatened with Tranquility as punishment for their disobedience, and the threats were being made good upon. Mages who had attempted to flee, but knew nothing of the outside world were forced to return to their prison out of need for sustenance and shelter. Mages who only desired to find the families they were torn from. Mages who only wanted to see the sun.
This kind of repetition effectively slows the pace of your writing and puts the focus on that small scene. That’s where you get your slow pan. The same repetition also has a subtle musicality to it depending on the words you use. That’s where you get the same vibe as you might get from a Gregorian choir.
Final Thoughts
I haven’t published any of my fiction (yet), but I’ve been writing for several years and I get better with every sentence. And a piece of advice I come across on Tumblr.
While you should take most advice with a grain of salt when you’re first starting, it’s also helpful to test out different tips and techniques like the ones above. It’s how you find your unique style and voice as a writer.
What writing tips or advice do you have? Share them in the comments below. I might have years of experience behind me, but I still love learning and testing new techniques.
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