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Week Four: avoiding the traps of amateur writing
Please welcome back today’s contributing editor Kristin W who tweets as @kdwald and blogs at That Unique* Weblog. If you have any questions or need any clarification on today’s topic or prompts, please feel free to begin a discussion in comments.
If you’re here just to hang out, the yeah write #67 hangout grid opens Tuesday.
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Avoiding the Traps of Amateur Writing
I have no business telling anyone how to avoid the traps of amateur writing. I am an amateur writer. In fact, I like to think of myself as a highly developed amateur writer. There’s a lot of freedom in remaining an amateur writer. It’s safe. It says, “I’m not really trying too hard.” It means writing about whatever I want, however I want. It means that no one is the boss of me. And if that’s enough for you as a writer, that’s cool.
But if it’s not, then read on.
First, let me warn you – as a few of the Yeah Write folks already know – I’m a horrible, no-good, very bad know-it-all. I’m always utterly correct, and I’m often falsely self-deprecating in order to soften the reality of my correctness. More than once, I’ve unintentionally mangled professional and personal relationships when providing feedback on pieces of writing. So, you know, keep that in mind if you choose to continue on. Jumping in now.
Grammar. And, let’s include spelling. Do it well. If you are unsure about punctuation, check it. For quick guides to usage, I like Grammar Girl and the OWL site from Purdue. Spelling and grammar programs don’t catch all errors. So don’t think you’re above checking your grammar and spelling. That’s the easy part. Here comes the tough stuff.
Since most of the posts for Yeah Write are personal, we’re dealing with sensitive material. People love that sort of thing. I love it too. But emotional writing doesn’t necessarily make for good* writing. And when the content is intense, it is even more difficult to edit. But you must. To make it easier, here are a few basic elements to seek out.
1. Repetition. This is easy. Have you used certain words or phrases more than a couple of times? Count them. Give them a hard look, and make a conscious decision as to whether you need them. Change them. Or, better yet, cut them. You can always put them back later. (Ignore the first paragraph of this post.)
2. Clichés. Unless you’re writing a parody or creating a character who speaks in clichés, don’t use them. That includes those fun internet culture phrases. That. is. all.
3. Surprise! If you want to pull some kind of Aha! moment on your readers, drop a hint or two along the way to show it was intentional, not desperate. Same goes for a hangnail ending. A resolution can be brief. It can even be implied. But don’t let your ending just slink away. It’s your story. Don’t let your readers invent the ending for you.
4. Present tense. Avoid it. Or, if you must write in the present tense, let it be because your tale is urgent and tense and desperately fast-paced.
I have so much more that my know-it-all self wants to bestow upon you. Sadly, I’m already over the 500 word limit, and I know that means that many of you have dozed off. So, I’ll just leave you with the most important tool to avoid amateurish writing: a willingness to change, revise, edit, cut, reconsider your writing. It’s painful, but your writing will strengthen. I promise.
* Yes, yes. It can be good. It’s just not automatically good. Okay?
Advice on responding to the yeah write prompts [Edited to add from Kristin’s advice in comments of this post—em]
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- Puke it all up onto the (virtual) page
- Choose ONE of the moments to develop
- Save the rest for another time
- Clean it up by focusing on intense details in plain language
- Add detail
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A note from Erica M: Two major changes this week!
Voting on the grid is back, baby! You’ve done great with the prompts while finding your way to a central conflict. It’s time to put your submissions to a vote to get ready for the return of the challenge grid next month.
So.
Instead of opening the grid today as we’ve been doing for the past few weeks, we’re gonna get back on the challenge grid schedule of the grid opening on Tuesday, closing on Wednesday at 9 pm (or at 50 blogs, whichever happens first) and the voting starting immediately and ending at 9 pm US eastern time. The winners’ post will publish on Friday.
We’re still covering four days of the summer series topics. We’re glad you’re finding them so invaluable—thanks for all of the positive, encouraging comments. I can see the improvement on the bloggers who are participating and I especially love the new blog designs popping up in response. If I work my butt off, the entire series will be available as a PDF download by August 21 when the regular challenge grid returns.
yeah write #67 badges
[image width=”225″ height=”225″ align=”left” lightbox=”true” caption=”You can grab this one. Click to embiggen. Then right-click and select save this image.” title=””]https://yeahwrite.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/yw_wwb_bww.png [/image]
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- Click in the upper right corner of this page on the plus symbol and the hidden widget containing the button badge codes will drop
- Copy the code of your favorite badge, then paste that code into the HTML view of the post you’re planning to submit to the grid
- If you’re having problems accessing those, feel free to grab the one in this post. Your backlink will be yeahwrite.me/67-open-summer or yeahwrite.me/67-open-hangout
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all your story are belong to you
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- Read the summer FAQ page for other details: the grid is being moderated and if you’re missing an element outlined in the summer FAQ, your post will not be published on the grid
- Let the prompt lead you, but do not include the prompt in any way in your post, not at the beginning as an intro, not at the end as a footnote. If you reference the prompt in your post, your post will not be published on the grid
- Remember: no more than 500 words. If your post exceeds 500 words, yup, you guessed it—no publish for you
- If the prompt takes you from thunderstorms to watching TV at your grandma’s house to how much you love Pat Sajak to the oldest person you’ve ever kissed, we want that story the furthest away in your imagination from the original prompt. Let your imagination loose
- Keep your writing style! Do you tell stories with humor? Prose? Verse? Photos? Illustrations? Keep doing that. We’ll read Shakespearean drama on our own time
- Cut away at everything unnecessary to your story
- Don’t forget to badge your post
- The grid now opens on Tuesdays
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[divider_header_h3] This week’s prompts [courtesy of Tom Slatin] [/divider_header_h3]
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- What is the most annoying sound you have ever heard?
- What is your biggest insecurity?
- Does Never Never Land really exist?
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Yeah write #67 summer writer’s series grid opens Tuesday…
I love Grading Girl and the OWL! I send students there all the time to brush up on grammar. Great post to remember the basics – which are the fundamental building blocks of good writing.
They are such quick and easy ways to double-check. The basics are necessary to master – then the rules can be broken. It’s definitely easy to tell when a writer just skips to messing with the rules.
Great advice. I wrote my post and then realized – gasp! – its written in present tense. It really lends itself better to present tense. Does this violence of your advice mean that it won’t be included on the grid? I just want to make sure before I hit publish. Thanks!
The posts are advice, not commandments. And as with all advice, it’s about making decisions consciously, not out of an attitude of “Oh well, I already wrote it. Good enough!” (See the first paragraph.)
It sounds like you are very conscious of your decision, and I look forward to reading it!
Great advice! Of course, the middle schooler in me sees these rules as a challenge, but instead of writing a 500 word post with nothing but present tense cliches and the word “succinctly” used no less than 10 times, I’m going to be a grown-up and bust out some fiction this week.
The repetition advice reminds me of the “Kids in the Hall” sketch with the “ascertain” guy.
Ooooh. I can’t wait for fiction! Fun!
I love repetition. I’m guilty of it, and I try to only use it as a tool, not a crutch. Mostly in structure. Here’s one example of structural repetition that worked out well: http://mutterschwester.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/it-hurts-on-the-inside/
And thanks for this reminder: http://youtu.be/Dr_3S4GcZNo
I remember that post. So powerful. Now I have to go watch the Kids in the Hall clip so I don’t get mushy and/or insist on waking up my kids to hug them.
Thanks for the great advice, Kristin! I really feel like I have come a long way since the summer series started, and your post gave me some of the final pieces I was missing.
I actually had to edit out quiet a bit after reading your advice about internet-isms. I kept debating that I could keep them because my case was different, but decided to cut ALL the things (!!) anyway and I think my story feels much tighter because of it.
Erica, I believe I discovered what you meant by central conflict, and I hope I make you proud this week. I know I made ME proud!
Thanks to EVERYONE who has been involved in guest posting and organizing.
Really.
Thanks for your time, your effort and your diligence.
You guys rock my socks.
You got it, Dawn! It’s about making it tighter. With this tiny bit of space – 500 words – there’s no room for OMG! and LOLing. I look forward to reading your post this week!
This is for Erica: Say it, don’t spray it!
Haha. I don’t get it.
You know: Bodily fluids needing to be cleaned up as a metaphor for superfluous to spare writing? You know? Do you know? Huh? Do ya?
(I think it might be time for bed on this end.)
Love. This is all really good advice. I’m also always right, so we would make a great pair! I can deal with a typo if it’s an autocorrect issue or a quick thing, but if it’s a blog post or something (dare I say it) more important, you must proofread. Of course, I’ve made a mistake or two in my day and accidents happen, but somehow you just know when someone doesn’t get it. I can’t read that stuff. Yes, I’m snooty about it.
I am definitely an amateur who wants to be someone who could be perceived as pro. Best way to get there, as far as I can see, is read a ton and write even more. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, Yeah Write is a great tool.
Reading is my #1 advice. So true! I was going to do a whole post about reading the original microfiction: Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour.” It’s superb. It’s perfection. It’s sublime.
And there I go with the repetition again. Bad! Bad Kristin!
Everyone – everyone – has typos here and there. It’s careless errors that never receive attention that rub me in a bad, raw place.
Thanks for your comment! A compatriot!
I love “The Story of an Hour.” And I never thought of it as microfiction. That’s the point, I think. It is simply just right.
Really great advice. These past few weeks I have been trying hard to focus on revision and trying to get one main point across. Before this writers series I branched out too much, discussed too many events which made my narrative choppy. So thanks for the great advice everyone. And you are totally right Kristen, get the story out, then whittle it down!
I think you mean puke it out, and then clean it up. (Apparently, Erica likes that version better.)
Focus can be tough, but once it’s in place I find it more freeing.
I tell my students (and myself) that words are like money: use as few as possible and get as much as you can from each one. Craft is in revision.
Good advice, this. Let’s have coffee at blogher and discuss the oxford comma. I’m a fan. You?
I adore the Oxford comma! It’s the only sensical choice.
Absolutely. My view is that once you master writing with just a little, you can start branching out. Same with grammar. I break rules all the time, but I (usually) do it consciously as part of my *voice* and style. That makes all the difference.
I find that having someone else read through my post before publishing can be helpful in pinpointing errors in grammar/spelling/readability. Sometimes we know what we want our sentence to say, and so proofing our own material can be unproductive because we’re essentially blind to our errors (this is called a scotomoa for all you psychology fans out there).
Also, the point about not relying on spell-check is right on. I learned this first-hand after I sent out my first resume upon graduating college. Instead of listing my degree as a BA in Communications and Public Relations, it boasted my schooling in the field of Pubic Relations. Yikes.
Aren’t most college degrees some form of Pubic Relations?
Definitely have someone else read it over! It can be intimidating, but it’s another way to move away from private/amateur writing.
Great informative post! I especially appreciated your advice under “Surprise!” Thanks. Ellen
Thanks! I think that in blog writing, we often write as though it’s a two-way conversation. Perhaps the comment forum contributes to that. However, the story itself should be able to stand on its own. People shouldn’t have to use comments to ask what happened? Which, of course, is totally different from “Wow, you have me wondering what happens next.” That’s part of good storytelling – getting people to care about your characters.
Thank you for stopping in!
Oh my! In my Monday Listicles post just today I repeated an exact phrase 8 times (9 if you count the title) and used present tense extensively (but not entirely). I think it worked for what I was trying to do in this case (although I clearly am not an expert like Kristin ;).
Thank you for the helpful advice Kristin! And, by the way, I currently live in NJ too!
I am not sure if I’m “in” for the first time or hanging out for the second time this week. Nothing is popping into my head yet…
The listicles idea is a totally different form of storytelling. Cliche away!
Whew, thanks so much for giving me a pass!
I love disagreements! They allow me to prove my Correctness even further. Muhahaha!
Regarding cliches, no need to remove them completely. These posts are intended for the writing that we do for YeahWrite, not all blog posts. The reason I brought it up had to do with some overused metaphor that seemed to be popping up. Similar to how I feel about palabrotas in speech, comparing hair to straw or something sending shivers up/down your spine is lazy. We can all do better than recycling limp imagery.
And yes, the 500 word limit is a challenge! My advice for steps after choosing your prompt: 1) Puke it all up onto the (virtual) page. 2) Choose ONE of the moments to develop, and save the rest for another time. 3) Clean it up by focusing on intense details in plain language. 4) Add detail.
Again, so helpful! Thank you! I was just on my way to drop my daughter at Art Camp when your reply came in and then we couldn’t find her art smock and goldfish crackers
BUT I DIGRESS.
Thank you………………
I added this wonderful advice on how to respond to the yeah write prompts to the body of your guest post today. Well said.
Such helpful tips, Kristin – thank you! I’m not just saying that because you’re always right and there’s no use disagreeing with you. Truly, I learned a lot.
Avoiding cliches, though? Makes. Me. Sad.
Fun prompts, too! Keeping my biggest insecurities to 500 words or less? Tall order, but that’s why you call it a challenge, right? Look at me, learning each week and stuff.
Oops. See above for my response!