Writing with Jennifer

  This article from No Film School is about using outlines in writing screenplays, but I'd make the argument that it applies to all kinds of writing. I love the point he makes about knowing what happens next. This is always a big source of stress, and there is a sense of freedom once you get the question answered. 

When I work on a manuscript for a client, the dialogue is almost always something that needs attention. Why is it so hard to write what a character is saying? Why does it rarely sound natural? Here are some dialogue mistakes I see often.  1. Using dialogue as description Save the flowery language and floaty wording for the stuff in between the dialogue. When your characters are speaking, let them speak like regular people. Regular people do not describe the stuff around them out loud. They might use their voices to provide clues about the setting or to foreshadow some fantastical upcoming event, but don't give your characters the burden on having to set the whole stage.  "Look at that adorable dog," said Amy. "He is sitting quietly by the tree with his whispy fur blowing softly around his face. The tree is old if the large circumference of the trunk is any clue. Its leaves are the color of jade. What a nice tree, and what a nice dog." Poor Amy. You can almost fe...

Something happened several months ago when I was happily living my life. I got sick. Really sick. I spent 6 weeks in the hospital rethinking all I thought I knew about what I was doing every day. I couldn't work for 6 months. I had to turn away clients. It hurt physically, financially, and mentally.  Now I've returned and I'm slowly gathering my strength. Thankfully I had 2 clients who were willing to wait for me to be ready. I'm back to coaching writers, ghostwriting, and now blogging.  My advice for today is and isn't about writing. It's don't put things off, and don't take life for granted. Love people extra hard. 

Check out this article from Berkeley News.  It's about a study that showed how conservatives and liberals had emotional reactions when they heard certain "hot button" words.  I love this. Why didn't I get a Ph.D. in rhetoric? (It's because I'm kind of lazy and also I had children) If you've studied persuasive writing at all, you know that there are buzz words you can include to make the reader think, and ultimately do, what you want. Certain words compel people to take action, especially to get out their wallets. In that same way, you can play upon people's natural leanings with your choice of words. That's one reason it's critical to know your audience.  Now there is that overlapping area between compelling and lying (using the words "sale" and "quality" are great ways of getting attention but they might be completely false... words like "quality," "terrific," "best" are particularly useful if ...

Don't we all dream of a month in a little cabin away from it all in the woods or by the sea where we can sit and write all day, taking short breaks only to walk along the shore or enjoy the homemade soup that our unseen care-taker brings to the door just when we are ready for it?  That's how I could do NaNoWriMo. Instead, I am in a too-small house with beloved, but needy, pets (no comma) and children who demand my time. I have a cell phone, a television, and a reliable connection to the time-wasting black hole that is the holy internet.  What could go wrong?  We all face different types of distractions. Mine fall into 4 basic categories.  1. Frustrating Surprises I hate surprise distractions. It is completely unnerving to me to be all set to work and then have something sprung upon m me that I cannot come up with a plan to make go away.  Example: My children have the task of keeping our little box clean. I noticed that one of the cats decided to ignore the litte...

Now that NaNoWriMo has fully begun (what election?), the art of the outline has likely come into play.  Many writers use outlines when tackling a big project like a 50,000-word novel or another significant piece of writing. It's helpful to have a roadmap to keep the big picture in your head and give you a resource to turn to when you run into a brick wall and are trying to figure out what comes next.  Some writers don't do an outline at all. They prefer to just write and see where the story takes them. They may or may not have an end game or landmarks in mind. This is a great approach where creativity rules supreme but in my experience, it reduces the chances of the whole thing actually coming together as a whole.  On the other end of the spectrum is being too rigid with your structure. Every fiction writer knows that sometimes a character hijacks a story, and the author is just along for the ride. It's almost always best to ride that wave as far as you can because that c...

  Aspiring novel writers have a love-hate relationship with November, and it's not because of all the facial hair. November is NaNoWriMo, the time of year when we challenge ourselves to write, or at least get a good start on, that novel we've been putting off our whole lives.  This fabulously high-pressure movement started in San Francisco way back in 1999, but it really caught fire just a few years ago. Now you can find groups and contests and all kinds of activities related to the subject. In fact, you can use these diversions to procrastinate even further if you're so inclined.  There are some tips and tricks to getting the most out of the month.  1.Take a Break from Time Killers Think of November as lent for writers. You need to temporarily dump the stuff that wastes your time. No, I'm not talking about your spouse and children... although, if you could get away to a quiet retreat for the month, it definitely wouldn't hurt. But I'm really talking about socia...