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that drives me crazy thorne isn t the hot jerk boyfriend type but he has a reputation of being something of a player cress has a crush on him but that crush doesn t develop into insta love it takes a more realistic path i really liked that the action is just as fun and engaging as previous books cinder s doubts in herself are realistic and fitting and her choices fit her age and experience i m very much looking forward to the next book which appears to be a retelling of snow white 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels books i ve learned from recommended monday october 27 2014 invisible writing last week i talked about how great books make a lasting impression on the reader as well as how seamless and invisible writing contributes to that this week i want to talk about what makes writing invisible and seamless the definition of invisible is quite simply that it s not visible it s not noticeable it s not front and center i think of invisible writing as similar to stagehands during a play you see them occasionally when there s a necessary set change that s not possible to do behind the curtain but they re never seen for long and the audience hardly gives them a second thought the focus is always on the actors and the story the stagehands are absolutely necessary though because without them the play would fall apart the audience just can t see everything they do not unless they look for them specifically when i write i strive for stagehand writing basically i want my words to bring out the story and only the story i don t want my readers to notice the words i used unless they are specifically looking at them with that in mind these are the guidelines i follow when i write avoid repetition if you convey an idea or concept in one paragraph don t do it again three paragraphs later this makes the reader feel like you are hammering it into their heads and it generally puts him off instead keep the paragraph that most effectively conveys what you want to say and ditch the other you also need to be careful with words that sound similar if you use the word though in one sentence don t use although in the same paragraph or even in the next paragraph instead grab your handy thesaurus and find another word that sounds completely different but conveys the same meaning streamline your sentences don t use two words where one will do especially when one of the words paints a vivid image on its own one word that does the job of two has more impact on the reader and gives the impression of clean and sharp prose for example we know a skyscraper is tall so there is no need to include that descriptor instead we need to know about its uniqueness and most importantly it s impact on the story and characters filler words can also clutter up a sentence and most are not needed some examples are very just a lot actually pretty as in pretty good or pretty close really rather etc unnecessary prepositions fall into the same category for example at around is a common phrase but both words are not necessary they also conflict with each other at implies precision and around implies estimation use one or the other but not both in general watch how you use prepositions most times there are better ways to convey your ideas avoid adverbs and adjectives adverbs are the easiest way to get your ideas across to the reader they are also weaker and most often unnecessary instead use a stronger verb that conveys the same meaning and gives the reader a clear image of what s happening for example what are you doing she said shrilly vs what are you doing she screeched the first example uses two words where one will do which is illustrated in the second example it can be hard to find the right verb but when you do your words will come alive the same principle applies to adjectives once you ve gone through your story over and over and are finally in your last stage of revision look at each word and assess whether it is necessary whether it is doing the job it s supposed to do all of these things will give you a vivid story 4 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels common advice for writers word choice monday october 20 2014 full contact writing i have carpal tunnel it s a side effect of typing at a computer for most of the day every day for the past twenty years many people have it and we ve figured out how to live with it i also study karate and that requires impact on my wrists at times one of my teachers can always tell when i ve been doing a lot of writing because my wrists are more tender than usual the last time he noticed he said to me full contact writing again i laughed because karate related injuries can happen in our dojo and we all know how to deal with them but writing isn t a contact sport it s sitting in a chair all day and the only things moving are your fingers after i went home though i thought about what he said full contact writing actually that is what i do or at least what i strive to do i don t mean this in a physical sense like chucking a book at someone s head i mean mentally intellectually and emotionally when i read a great story it makes an impact on me a hard hit in karate can leave bruises which usually last about a week in a good book the characters and situations leave an impression on my mind sometimes for days after i ve finished it a book that can do this has effectively used all the working parts relatable and interesting characters unpredictable plot vivid and believable world building increasing tension satisfying conclusion etc but the thing that really ties all these together is the writing good solid strong writing what makes writing good i ve taken quite a few writing classes over the years inevitably someone picks out a flowery sentence and reads it aloud as an example of amazingly good writing because it sounds so beautiful but does that make it good writing in my opinion no beautiful sentences and turns of phrases work great in poetry or books in verse but in a regular story nope for me it makes it sound like the author is trying too hard to impress the reader and she comes across as pretentious these sentences also do a disservice to the story because the reader is no longer absorbed in the story she s focusing on the words the best writing is invisible seamless and never distracts from the characters or the story it s the stitching that binds the various pieces of the story together and stitching is best when it s not the focus of the whole work occasionally some stitching is visible and adds to the overall beauty of the whole but it s never the focus and it s never what you notice first so how do you write invisible and seamless sentences that s the topic for next week 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels description word choice thursday may 08 2014 scarlet by marissa meyer cinder the cyborg mechanic returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling lunar chronicles she s trying to break out of prison even though if she succeeds she ll be the commonwealth s most wanted fugitive halfway around the world scarlet benoit s grandmother is missing it turns out there are many things scarlet doesn t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life when scarlet encounters wolf a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother s whereabouts she is loath to trust this stranger but is inexplicably drawn to him and he to her as scarlet and wolf unravel one mystery they encounter another when they meet cinder now all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious lunar queen levana who will do anything for the handsome prince kai to become her husband her king her prisoner the first book in this series cinder is a futuristic sci fi retelling of cinderella scarlet is about little red riding hood but with a modern twist in the original fairy tale little red riding hood is meek scared and incapable scarlet is none of these things she learns that her grandmother is in danger so she rushes off to rescue her she has such determination that she overcomes any obstacles by sheer will she has no problems taking care of herself and isn t easily scared off i loved reading about her we meet two new characters in this book wolf and thorne thorne is hilarious he s got the perfect blend of swagger and cluelessness wolf is of course something of the big bad wolf character but in an interesting way he s not your typical alpha male character because of his damaged past i liked him and i liked the romance that blossoms between him and scarlet cinder is in this book too and the story starts out with two separate story lines one for cinder and one for scarlet they seem unrelated at first and then meyer connects them in a pretty cool way the plot has plenty of tension and the pacing makes it impossible to put this book down if you like fairy tales and sci fi you ll probably like this series definitely recommended no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels books i ve learned from recommended monday may 05 2014 crafting powerful sentences my oldest son is in fourth grade and he recently came home with an interesting homework assignment he had to pick out what his teacher called juicy sentences from the book he was currently reading these juicy sentences i love that term btw are the ones that evoke the most emotion imagery tension etc it s difficult to craft sentences like that it s all about choosing the right words for your story which is easier said than done part of it is feeling out the story and using the words that pop into your mind and you can t really explain why you choose them you just do this skill takes a long time to learn how to do effectively and can t really be taught but there are a few guidelines that can help steer you in the right direction 1 avoid repeated words when we repeat words or phrases in our stories it lessens the impact each time that word is used this includes repeated imagery if you ve just referenced a color as a feeling or a metaphoric smell or specific kind of texture then avoid using that same reference again if possible don t use it anywhere else in the story this keeps it original and the single use makes it powerful 2 avoid common everyday words words like just then anyway so though etc dilute the sentence because they re filler words they don t add anything to the underlying meaning of the sentence and can most often be deleted don t worry about these words that crop up in your first draft after you have the big picture working then you can go through and remove them 3 avoid overly used phrases the most powerful sentence is one that conveys a familiar meaning image feeling etc while using unfamiliar construct of words phrases that have been around for quite some time are more like conversation filler they don t really have any meaning except to let the person verbally meander a powerful sentence doesn t meander it gets right the point and hits you hard with its intent instead of taking the easy way out and using a phrase that you re familiar with find a new way to say it some examples to avoid of course i was like i couldn t help but wonder i noticed in my mind s eye only to be met with sent shock waves of like a bat out of hell glimmer of hope throw in the towel etc to create your powerful sentences constantly ask yourself if there s a stronger way of telling your story embrace the concept of less is more look at each word and ask yourself what its purpose is if you can t answer then you either need to delete it or find a different word make your sentences as juicy as possible this is a lot of work a lot but it s also what separates the good writers from the great ones 4 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels common advice for writers show vs tell word choice thursday may 01 2014 cinder by marissa meyer humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of new beijing a deadly plague ravages the population from space a ruthless lunar people watch waiting to make their move no one knows that earth s fate hinges on one girl cinder a gifted mechanic is a cyborg she s a second class citizen with a mysterious past reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister s illness but when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome prince kai s she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle and a forbidden attraction caught between duty and freedom loyalty and betrayal she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world s future this is a fantastic and imaginative retelling of cinderella i m not always fond of retellings because they are sometimes rote and predictable it s their nature because the basic plot is well known but a good author can make the reader invest in the story even if we know where it s heading i was invested in cinder cinder is a cyborg because of a horrible accident that almost killed her when she was a child in her society cyborgs are considered second class citizens actually more property than citizens which brings about some serious discrimination issues meyer handles them well cinder does as much as she can to hide the mechanical aspects of her body but she can only do so much one of her legs is mechanical and her foot is much too small it s left over from when she was a child making it near impossible to disguise the change in attitudes from people she encounters is spot on and heartbreaking this theme is further illustrated in iko the android that lives with cinder s stepfamily iko has a human personality but she s not human she is property and her wishes dreams and feelings are never considered by the stepmother it doesn t even occur to her in fact it will never occur to her because she sees iko as far beneath her not unlike slavery cinder herself is a fantastic character she s a brilliant mechanic feisty and strong and smart about how she stands up for herself she s also practical about her interactions with prince kai but still loyal and selfless she made the story interesting well that and the pages and pages of action packed tension the romance develops slowly and on the more realistic side and i liked how the two came together if you haven t read this you should it s great fun and very entertaining definitely recommended 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels books i ve learned from recommended older posts home subscribe to posts atom of visitors so far about me tabitha view my complete profile where to find me facebook goodreads popular posts this month january book giveaway the hunger games vs battle royale december book giveaway mixing past and present tense may book giveaway june book giveaway september book giveaway october book giveaway july book giveaway november book 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