Creative Writing

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

Discover What Good Writing Is All About

by: Linda Correli

Writing is a form of preserved talk, talk that has been pinned down on paper so the words can be heard again. The basic principles of good writing, apart, from grammatical correctness, might be presented as follows:

1) written sentences should sound like natural speech;

2) the words we use must be exact, fresh, full of strength and vitality. Picture making words are better than vague, general words;

3) fresh point of view will give flavor to the style;

4) humor will lighten it.

Though, it is true that written sentences should sound like natural speech, they fully present an image of the natural speech. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: natural speech is a great deal more than words; it is also tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, and even the speaker�s appearance.

The whole point of writing is to create something better than we really talk � something more interesting, more thoughtful, and more effective in every way, for �effectiveness is what matters, and if an expression is confusing, ambiguous or unintentionally vague, it can hardly be an effective use of the language.� (C.R.E.Parker).

The only thing we must borrow from the natural speech to achieve an air of naturalness is the rhythm of speech. Now before we speak of sentence rhythm at more length, we shall consider one of the major qualities of writing � sentence length.

To begin with, fashions in sentence length constantly change. Past generation were more hospitable to the long sentences than we are, and prose writers sometimes created sentences 200-300 words long. They are often well-arranged sentences too; after all, the thought they convey is complex and can be hardly skimmed through. Indeed, some of them present the works of art.

In the twentieth century, the tendency in writing has been toward shorter, easier-to-grasp-at-one glance sentences.

- This tendency can be easily explained by the spread of the literacy among masses of people.

- Consequently, the style of writing should be clear and comprehensive for everybody, and aimed at satisfying the demand in easy and interesting reading.

- The increase in the tempo of living and absence of leisure-reading matter must be fitted to the needs of those who read only in the odd moments of their lives, between household chores and television programs, business meetings and social duties.

Hence, what can be inferred from the length of the sentences the writer uses?

Indeed, sentence length and grammatical complexity vary from writer to writer, from idea to idea, from sentence to sentence. There can�t be any general rules, which every person, who starts writing should strictly stick to. However, there are a handful of good ideas that can be applied by the writers.

Sentence length depends greatly on the complexity of the idea to be expressed. In our time, the average length of sentences is somewhere between 20-30 words. Now the simplicity and naturalness of the written and spoken language is deemphasized. So, the usage of short sentences became the custom of the day.

Short sentences can infuse a fresh spirit into the way you write and speak. Get to know why?

* The writer, who wants to persuade the audience, should remember that he will succeed best when the argument is couched in brief, even staccato sentences.

* In most readers� mind, the short sentence carries an unmistakable sense of wisdom, because down through the ages it has acted as the setting for all the familiar gems of �truth�.

* Since there is no room in a very short sentence for anything but one elaborated thought, it follows that an idea to set forth in such a sentence will receive a large degree of emphasis.

* The short sentences can be used to express the feeling of suspense, excitement, or even horror. What would be a crime thriller be like without the terse, clipped sentences that portend a tense episode? The concentration upon a few bare facts adds a peculiar sense of horror or vice verse excitement to the narrative.

* The very absence of elaboration gives a writer a great opportunity to deliver the message to the reader in a simple and comprehensive way.

* The short sentences give unity to the expressed ideas, relieve monotony of too many clauses, and in general, make the expression more exact and accurate.

Undoubtedly, every writer should pay special attention to the length of the sentences he uses. Thus, the primary concern in writing and speaking must always be that our sentences fit the thoughts they are communicating.

About The Author

Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us/ and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days", available at http://www.Go2Essay.com/.

This article was posted on December 10, 2005

Read Articles:

About Writing

Realize Your Book�s Potential: Join (or Form) a...

Essay Reveals a Writer in You

Ways To Increase Traffic by Writing Articles

Why Do I Write � A Masochists Dream

Field Notes on Country Linguistics

The Right Words Can Make You Wealthy

Four Useful Lies About Writing

Secrets to Creating Great Headlines

***Writing Is Fun!***

The Golden Hour

How the Writer Survives

Speak and Touch the Heart

Benefits of Journal Writing

The Indie Author Revolution

The effective way to purchase your favorite pro...

Five Ways A Writer Can Make More Money With A P...

The Three "Questions" Of Science Fiction

Steps to a Writing an Effective Press Releases

5 Questions to ask before purchasing a book online

Writing Nonfiction

"I Am An AUTHOR" - Is This The Next Big Fad?

It Was Good Enough For Shakespeare!

Tips For Cover Letters To Get More Interviews

How To Select a Great Topic For Your Book or Eb...

The "Casablanca" Secret

How To Select a Great Topic For Your Book or Eb...

Discover What Good Writing Is All About

More Article Pages 1 - 2

Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start?
by: Nick Vernon

In the beginning of your story you have to grab your readers� interest and sustain it till the end. Our hook is our character. Readers keep on reading to find out more about the character. To see what he�ll do in the story; how he�ll solve his problems. What his goals are and whether he�ll achieve them.

And because our character is the reason readers become hooked on our stories, establishing him at the start is a must in a short story. And it is essential to establish him at the start because we don�t have the capacity in our limited word length to introduce him at our leisure.

The bond between readers and character has to be developed almost immediately.

You might have a few characters though. How do you decide who your main character will be? A main character is one that drives the story.

Think of it this way� If we were to take him away, there will be no story because it�s his story we are telling. The story will unfold by what is happening or what has happened to him.

When you establish who your main character will be, the next thing to do is to find which of your characters is in the best position to tell the story. Will your main character tell his story or will you give that role to another character?

This is what we call Viewpoint and what we�ll see in more detail in proceeding chapters.

Your main character isn�t necessarily the one who is telling the story; he might not even appear in our story �physically� but will be there through the thoughts of others. So the viewpoint character might be a secondary character.

Whoever is telling the story is the viewpoint character.

The viewpoint character gives the coloring of the story. Whatever this characters says, we will believe. It may or may not be true, according to the main character, but because he isn�t there �physically� to voice his opinions, we will have to take the viewpoint character�s word for it.

In a novel you can play around with viewpoint. You can have several viewpoint characters. In a short story it works best with one.

So your main character, whether he�ll be telling his own story or someone else will be doing it for him, has to be established at the start of your story.

Having said that, let�s see the reasons why the main character may not be telling his own story...

Perhaps our main character is one that readers won�t sympathize or empathize with.
Or the main character will not view highly with our readers
Or the viewpoint character knows all the facts and can tell the story better
Etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me give you an example of a secondary character telling the story of a main character�

Let�s say your secondary character is a psychiatrist and the main character is the patient. Depending on what�s going to go on in the story, we�ll have to choose who�s in a better position to tell it. In this case, I will choose the psychiatrist.

I�ve done this because the patient is confused, being the one with the problems. The psychiatrist knows all the facts and his opinions will make things clearer to readers.

So, as the secondary character (the psychiatrist) unravels the story, we�ll become involved in the main character because it�s the main character�s story that is been told.

This may get a little confusing to the beginner writer. As they write they will have to keep in mind that the secondary character, although he�s telling the story, is NOT our main character.

The secondary character is there to do perform a task. He�s only the voice. It�s the main character we�ll become involved with.

A secondary character doesn�t play such an important role as a main character does. Therefore, information about secondary characters should be kept to a minimum. It�s not his story � it�s the main character�s story and the spotlight must, most times, be kept on the main character.

Take the above example for instance. It�s no relevance to the story how the psychiatrist started his career or where he received his diploma � what�s important, is what he has to say about the main character, his patient.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduce your main character straight away, as close to the beginning of the story that�s possible. Enable your readers to form a bond and that will keep them hooked.

Is your main character established at the start of your story?

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor