Awesome drabbles! Laura, I'm so glad you decided to share yours. It's vivid and beautiful.
Nearly done with Chapter Four and have made further revisions to the other three.
Yay!!
Angel: I appreciate you guys looking out for Connor all summer. It's just—he's confused. He needs time. That's all. Fred: Right. Time, and some corporal punishment with a large heavy mallet. Not that I'm bitter.
'Just Rewards (2)'
The Great Write Way, Chapter Two: Twice upon a time...
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
Nicole - Mar 11, 2008 2:48:44 pm PDT #9873 of 10001
I'm getting the pig!
Typo Boy - Mar 11, 2008 4:06:04 pm PDT #9874 of 10001
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
if you want.
Doesn't sound like they are serving a useful purpose. So I won't fill list bandwidth with them. Why I asked.
Laura - Mar 11, 2008 4:29:53 pm PDT #9875 of 10001
Our wings are not tired.
Erika, I'm also twelve. You're forgiven for making me grin, again.
I tried to tell my son the reading out loud tip just yesterday. He seemed to reject it, but he may do so rather than risk my yellow marker again. He hates when he misses the obvious mistakes. I don't know a better way to find them. eta: hates because I mock him soundly - he has remarkable grammar skillz
Ginger - Mar 11, 2008 5:22:38 pm PDT #9876 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
It sounds like a good idea to me, TB. I think it would be nice if we talked more about writing in here.
I can proofread other people's stuff without reading out loud, but my own writing I have to read out loud. I think it uses a different part of the brain.
Susan W. - Mar 11, 2008 5:26:10 pm PDT #9877 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
My Monday critique group reads each other's work aloud, and I always catch things I'd otherwise miss, especially Repeated Word Syndrome and dauntingly long and complex sentences.
erikaj - Mar 11, 2008 5:30:39 pm PDT #9878 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
Sorry, Gar, didn't mean to sound dismissive. Just trying to be terse. In journalism school, I was laconic. Thanks, Laura. I know it's a little crude.
Beverly - Mar 11, 2008 9:51:38 pm PDT #9879 of 10001
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
When I was writing longer stuff, I'd read it walking. I know it sounds weird, but I'd pace up and down the deck and read aloud. It highlighted some awkward phrasing, pointed out things that a cold reader would find unclear, and helped me with pace, either building suspense or excitement, unfolding clues or sharing intimate secrets. The reading while walking sort of shook things into place--and pointed out where they were out of place.
Laga - Mar 11, 2008 10:09:04 pm PDT #9880 of 10001
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
I am loving the writing tips. Keep 'em coming.
Anne W. - Mar 12, 2008 2:17:08 am PDT #9881 of 10001
The lost sheep grow teeth, forsake their lambs, and lie with the lions.
The reading out loud is a good way for me to find some of my more common mistakes (awkward phrasings, infelicitous repetitions, etc.)
The best thing for me, though, is to let things sit for about a week and then go back and read through. That tends to give me enough distance to notice places where what I wanted to say didn't come through clearly, but not so much that I wonder "what the hell was I trying to say/imply/hint at" here?
Miracleman - Mar 12, 2008 7:42:52 am PDT #9882 of 10001
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020
Neat little exercise in coming up with a plot:
Though the link to the sf cliches is dead. Google works, though.