As I reviewed all of his comments in detail, I came upon this reminder:
Arrive at the scene as late as possible;
leave the scene as soon as possible.
leave the scene as soon as possible.
In other words, don't give the reader anything more than he needs.
Go ahead and write big during the first draft. In fact, the bigger, the better. Unleash your imagination.
The first draft is your opportunity to get it all out on the page, everything that comes to you. You never know when a simple thought or phrase, or even a word, will help you figure out what the scene should be.
The first draft is your opportunity to get it all out on the page, everything that comes to you. You never know when a simple thought or phrase, or even a word, will help you figure out what the scene should be.
Then, when you get into the serious editing, delete all the introductory and concluding material that sets up and summarizes but really contributes nothing new or important.
Get your characters on stage doing something important to the story as soon as possible. And, when they're done, get them off the stage.
A good reminder, RG. Thanks.
Hey, Rick! I just discovered this writing blog of yours and I like it. Today's little "On and Off" tip is so dead on. I think we writers tend to stay at the party too long sometimes because we don't want to miss anything. That, in turn, causes a lot of yawning with our readers when nothing happens. We don't want that now, do we?
ReplyDeleteNo, we sure don't want that, Wendy. And I'm learning that as I go along.
DeleteThe trick for me is recognizing when, as you put it, I've stayed too long at the party. Sometimes, I like the party. And I think if I'm having a good time, readers will too.
Of course, I'm wrong. So the challenge is figuring out the optimal time to bring in the reader, and then, when to cut it off. Not an easy thing to do.
Thanks for the comment and good to hear from you.
Be sure to check back again, okay?