Using Adverbs Effectively

Not every writer is a fan of adverbs. According to Stephen King, "the road to hell is paved with adverbs."

There have been many campaigns led to "kill the adverb."

But, in all that blunder and huff, did it ever occur to anyone that the adverb can also be used effectively when writing?

I'm not saying we should pepper our writing projects with adverbs, but used judicially, they can be very effective and help progress your story.

So, what does an adverb do, actually?

1. An adverb tells us more about a verb.

2. An adverb describes or modifies the verb in some way.

3. Many adverbs end with the suffix "ly" but not all.

4. Adverbs often tell us how something happened.


A good way to identify an adverb is to look for the "ly" ending, however not all adverbs end in "ly".

Here is a short list of some adverbs that do not end in "ly".

Fast 
Often 
Very 
Quite 
So 
Well

We use each of these words "often", don't we?

According to the website Emphasis ".. good, clear writing is more about communicating your meaning efficiently than banging your point home – and that means only using adverbs that add genuine, useful information. Whenever possible, show, don’t tell."

It makes sense, right? In whatever we write, we need to always make sure we are "showing" and not "telling" to get our point across. So, a smart move would be to only use adverbs in the add genuine, useful information.

From the Daily Post at Wordpress.com I found a great post about adverbs:

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and sometimes even other adverbs. They’ll often tell us “how” something was done, e.g., He walked slowly. Or, He walked very sowly. But, do adverbs clarify, or are they crutches for lazy or rushed writers who rely on adverbs to do their verbs’ heavy lifting? What if, instead of using adverbs to tell us how the man walked, we swapped in a stronger verb to show us how he walked?

Consider these alternatives:

• The man plodded.
• The man ambled.
• The man trudged.

In each instance above, our new verb not only better describes how the man moved, it creates a picture in the reader’s mind. Stronger verbs can also convey emotion more effectively, which makes for stronger, vivid writing.

If you're looking for some extra exercises on helping understand modifiers go here.

Always remember this, your purpose in writing your story is to show as much as possible to the reader. If all else fails, reach for an adverb, but try in every way to find an alternative first. For stronger writing, use stronger words.

Writing Tips - Writer's Block

Calvin & Hobbs cartoon excerpt

Everyone has it. Staring at a blank page. Finding the motivation and spark that will fill that page with words, sentences, and life. Writer's block can last a moment, a day, or longer. Click if you want a detailed description of Writer's Block.

You must be the one to break it and discard it.

How, do you ask?

Good question. We will explore Writer's Block and discover what may be holding us back and some tips to help alleviate Writer's Block.

Are you ready?


"I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible." -- Roy Blount, Jr.

Is that what writer's block is to you? Are you afraid you are going to write something horrible?

Get over that dread by allowing yourself to write anything. Horrible or not. Write what spews forth, whether it is garbage or gold. Just write.

Your writing muscle will lose mass if you do not exercise it every day. It doesn't matter what you write, only that you write.

Flex that writing muscle.

Listen to Monica Wood, from The Pocket Muse, she says, "Nobody has to see that first draft but you. You can eat it when you're done. You can make it into origami animals and decorate a table. You can dunk it in hot water, stir it up, mash it back into pulp. You can build a fire, line a birdcage, stuff a pillow. You can't do any of this, however, until you write the thing."

"All glory comes from daring to begin." -- Eugene F. Ware

Are you afraid of something? Is that why you can't start writing? Fear is normal. We all have it.

Do you have the fear of rejection?

It's a common fear. Probably the most common fear of all writers. Listen to what Jurgen Wolff from Your Writing Coach has to say, "Here's the hard truth about rejection: You can't avoid it. There isn't a single successful writer who hasn't had work rejected at one point or another. Most of them had many, many rejections before they had their first success."

Rejection Successes:

J.K. Rowling took a year to find a publisher for the first Harry Potter book. Only one publisher offered to take a chance on it. The publisher told her, "You'll never make any money out of children's books, Jo."

Melody Beattie' non-fiction book Co-dependent No More was turned down by 20 publishers. It went on to sell five million copies.

Joanne Harris wrote three books that failed to find a publisher. Her fourth book, the novel Chocolat, became an international bestseller and spawned an equally successful movie.

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill was rejected by 15 agents and 26 publishers before Wynwood Press agreed to publish it at a mere 5,000 copies. The book wasn't a success until after Grisham's next three, which were hugely successful.

Wilbur Smith's first novel found no publisher, and he decided that writing wasn't for him. Eighteen months later, his agent convinced him to try again. That book sold, and since then his novels have sold 84 million copies.

The list goes on and on about those that have tried, tried again, persevered and against all odds became a huge success.

Is your fear that you won't be good enough?

This is a fear that can stop writers before they start.

Remind yourself, "that your writing doesn't have to be great literature to have value to your readers." This quote is from The Writing Coach by Jurgen Wolff.

Write your books to bring pleasure to yourself and to others. Write for your Ideal Reader. If you don't understand who your Ideal Reader is, reference On Writing by Stephen King.

Do you fear success?

Don't laugh. That's a legitimate fear, and more common that you'd think among writers. It might be because we fear change. Change can be good or bad. We all know that. It's how you deal with it, that makes it great or horrible. There is only one fact: the only constant is change.

Are you afraid you're too old to write a book?

Sure, everyone wants to see a sexy photo of an author on the back cover of a book, but hey, not all authors find their prime writing until they are more mature. For example, Annie Proulx, Penelope Fitzgerald, and Mary Wesley all started late and became a success.

If you're afraid you will "sound" old in your novels, don't even consider that. Your characters will help you find the right voice for your novel. Let your characters do what they do best: create your story and move your plot along.

What you need is courage. Courage to step up to your desk, sit down, put hands to keyboard and start writing.

Rollo May, from The Courage to Create said this, "If you do not express your original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself. Also you will have betrayed our community in failing to make your contribution to the whole."

Did you know there are other helpful sites for writers? I could spend days listing all of them, but here's one that was brought to my attention. First Site Guide

According to Nina Borovic, First Site Guide they have a plethora of resources available for writers. I suggest you hop on over to their site as soon as you can and settle in for some informative reading.

They have many resources for writers. I'd suggest using them as a starting point. Then, the Internet search world is your oyster!

Do you have a different fear?

What is holding you back from writing?

Can you put a voice to your fear? Maybe it's just the actual "act" of starting your writing? Maybe you need to read writing from other authors and possibly be inspired?

Inspiration. It can go along way.  Do you need inspiration? If so, read a magazine or newspaper, watch TV, go outside into the public and listen in on conversations, draw from your dreams, apply "what if" questions to common situations.

Don't know about "what if" prompts? Let's discuss them next week, shall we?

Until then,

Writing Tips - beginning a new series

"The Lease You Should Know" series is over.

Awwww.

Yes, I'm sorry, but it is. I have given you all the information I can about the least you should know about grammar. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be happy to run a post on any question you might have.

For our next series, we are going to run writing tips for you.

Yay!

Okay, the applause was actually in my head, but that's okay. I heard it and it counts.

I'd like this to be an interactive series. If you find writing tips, please include them in your comments or contact me with them and I'll pass them along to my blog readers.

So, without hesitation, our first tip. Of course, it's from Stephen King. My all time favorite person to go to when I need a writing tip.


"If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

Image credit: Buzzfeed.com

Other authors have said the same thing in different ways.

A Christian novel author, Karen Kingsbury said, "If you want to write a mystery, read mysteries. If you want to write a Christian romance, read Christian romances. You must be well versed in the type of genre you wish to write. Editors and agents will expect this."

Zadie Smith, the freshest and most ambitious voices of her generation said this, "When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else."

Michael Moorcock said the first rule given to him by T.H. White (author of The Sword in the Stone) was: "Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt."

And, finally, from P.D. James, "Read widely and with discrimination. bad writing is contagious."


So there you have it. Read and Write. A lot.

Come back here next Monday for more writing tips.

Did this tip meet your needs? Do you have other tips similar to this?

Say What?

Dialogue.

It sounds easy right. You get two or more characters together and you start them talking. Ah, but did you know there are rules to writing dialogue?

Of course there are!

But, don't worry, I'll try to make them easy to understand and follow. So, let's get started. We all know that dialogue is plain and simple just easier and faster to read than narrative. It keeps the reader interested and moves the story along.

That's your first rule. Dialogue has to move the story along. As Dwight V. Swain says in The Things They Say article, "...ever and always dialogue must advance the plot. How do you make dialogue do this advancing? By having it give the reader information needed to understand what's happening."

I highly recommend a book titled Dialogue: Techniques and exercises for crafting effective dialogue by Gloria Kempton. I believe this book is the ultimate "go to" for your dialogue needs. Ms Kempton writes, "Dialogue not only creates space on the page, which is visually appealing, but it's also what brings characters to life in a story, which is emotionally appealing. We're much more interested in a story's setting when it comes through a scene of dialogue."

Yes! I totally agree. I don't know how many times I've said to my writers, use dialogue to set your scene. For example:

"The water is so warm!" Maureen said as she stepped slowly into the gentle waves.
"What did you expect when we came to Florida, you silly old girl?" Kay laughed at her friend.
"I wasn't sure, I mean, living next to Lake Michigan all my life, didn't even prepare me for this. But, " she paused as she bent down to pick up a pink seashell. "After Harold died and left me all that money, I knew I wanted something different."
"This is different." said Kay with a wry smile.
Maureen lifted her face to the bright sun. "It's so wonderful here." She shaded her eyes. "I just wish those darn seagulls would go find someone else to bug!" She laughed as a bold seagull dived hoping to snap up a tasty treat.

Do you see how we learn from this simplistic example that the scene is set in Florida at the seashore, and we learn even more, the characters are from somewhere in Michigan and they're probably older. All done without using narrative.

Just as important, while you're moving your story along with your dialogue, don't wander. And, no chit-chat for the sake of adding dialogue.

According to Ms Kempton, there are seven functions of dialogue.

Characterizes/Reveals Motives
According to Ms Kempton, "The most effective way to reveal your characters' motives is through their own mouths." In that same vein, the best way for you, the writer, to introduce a character to a reader is to use dialogue. You can use the same things you use in real life when you're interacting with other people: facial expressions and body language.

Remember, as Dwight V. Swain reminds us, "There are things a writer must think about, be aware of. If the words he puts in his story people's mouths are out of character, he'll be hard put to rise above them. Those words should reflect such factors as sex, age, occupation, status and background."

Sets the Mood in the Story
As the writer, you're in charge of setting and controlling the mood in your story. When characters interact, they exchange feelings and emotions. You should also be educing an emotion from the reader as well in order to hold their attention; to keep the reader turning that page.

Intensifies the Story Conflict
According to Ms Kempton, "Every scene of dialogue, in some way, needs to move the story conflict forward." That's a tall order, right? Just keep reminding the reader by using dialogue to show how critical it is for your character to achieve his/her goal.

Dwight V. Swain tells us this, "By the words your people say and the manner in which they say them, dialogue should characterize and individualize them, give information to advance the plot, reveal and build the emotion that galvanizes the story."

Creates Tension and Suspense
Ms Kempton says it better than anyone else, "Effective dialogue always, always delivers tension."

Tension and suspense must the at the core of nearly every scene. You might characterize these scenes with shorter words or shorter sentences to create more tension.

Speeds up your Scenes
That all elusive plot point - pacing. Yes, you can control pacing with dialogue. Used correctly, dialogue can move the story along quickly. Narrative, on the other hand, will slow the story down.

Adds Bits of Setting/Background
Go back and re-read my example above and see how I added bits of setting and background through dialogue. Most writers want to use narrative to set the scene before starting into the dialogue. That's not necessary.

Ms Kempton states, "Setting and background can actually be made interesting when incorporated into a dialogue scene. The reader experiences the setting through the viewpoint character's observations, and depending on the character, this could prove very interesting indeed. As long as there's tension, of course."

Communicates the Theme
In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King writes, "When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you're done, you have to step back and look at the forest...it seems to me that every book--at least every one worth reading --is about something."

Stephen King is right. That something is theme. You have to know what your story is about and what you want it to convey to your reader.

Conflict + Resolution = Theme

This is what Gloria Kempton says about dialogue and theme, "Dialogue is not only a faster and more effective way to communicate the theme than to use long paragraphs of dry exposition, but it's also more emotional, up-front, and personal with the reader."


Dialogue is one of the most important tools the writer has you should learn to use it properly. Loren D. Estleman in her article Five Ways to Strengthen Fiction With Dialogue, suggests five steps for developing an ear for dialogue.

Write Plays
She says that even if you never sell them, the practice of writing dialogue forces you to exercise speech usage.

Listen to People
Janet Evanovich in How I Write can answer this, "Pay attention to the spoken word. Play it back in your mind. ... Dialogue is everwhere if you just listen."

Read a lot of Dialogue
Read. Read. Read. You've heard it all before. Read lot's of dialogue, see how other authors are doing it.

Read your Dialogue Aloud
Read your dialogue into a tape recorder than play it back. Have someone else read it to you. Listen to it carefully. You'll be surprised at what you hear and how quickly the fixes come to your mind.

Relax
Don't try so hard to make it work. Dialogue must come naturally. You'll know it when you hear it.


Some other DO's and DON'Ts in Dialogue courtesy of Robert Newton Peck and Janet Evanovich
Do keep your sentences and phrases short. People rarely talk in monologues
Don't worry about overusing the word "said".
Do break up your dialogue with an interjection from another character or a thought or action if any dialogue runs longer than three sentences.
Don't add useless "ly" adverbs following each said.
Do use a telling detail to remind us who's speaking when the conversation goes on a long time.
Don't use so many exclamation marks!
Do make sure each character uses different grammar and figures of speech appropriate to who he is and where he comes from.
Don't underline every other word because you think it's important.
Do be sure to use a reasonable balance of dialogue and narrative

That's it. Dialogue in a "nutshell". Now get out there and show the writing world what you've learned!

Dream Your Way to Inspiration

We all dream. Well, I probably shouldn't be so literal.

Most of us dream.

If you work hard at it, you can remember your dreams, as well. And, if you do, they can become a great source of inspiration for your stories. The best way to start remembering your dreams is to put a pad of paper or a journal next to your bed and a pen so that you can write as soon as you awaken from your sleep, before the day begins and you start worrying about what you're going to wear or who's going to take the kids to soccer or what you're going to eat for breakfast.

Write when the sleepies are still in your eyes and the Sandman is still streaking across the sky. Search your mind and remember whatever you can. Scenes. Images. Voices. People. Whatever you can put on paper that will spark an idea later.

It will take practice, but you'll get better and better at remembering your dreams.

Trust me.

I've written two books based on dreams I've had. One dream I had was so vivid that when I woke I immediately grabbed pen and paper and wrote for nearly and hour and when I was finished I had the entire synopsis for my book. When I finished my book, it literally was straight from my dream with a little embellishment of my own imagination.

My second book was also from a dream, although it was a much darker dream with less than complete images. I was still able to come up with the synopsis and complete the book.

My first dream book was titled Trust in the Wind and has been published, and my second dream book is titled Out for Justice and will be released Summer of 2010.

Did you know that Stephen King dreamed the book Misery?

Imagine what success is lurking beneath your subconscious right now?