Friday, September 4, 2009

It's all new to me

Unscheduled blog from the Adks. How come none of you published authors ever told me not to use words ending in 'ly'? And let's have an in-depth exercise with real examples of showing, not telling. It's bad enough when my MS says 'she looked at him and felt weak' but I have to learn how to say something like "Her knees shook. She sank into a chair, but the living, breathing Greek god across the room sauntered out the door before she absorbed him, took in his flashing black eyes, his blatant sexuality." Or something to that effect. It's a major pain to revise. Can't use the words was, felt, started to, sensed, etc. Ad Infinitum. Yadda, yadda. Who knew? A work that spans years of effort must be re-worded page by page. I'm too old for this; I may die before I finish!
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 4, 2009 at 11:42 PM

    Back in my days with LC_RW (10 years ago) some of the meetings were dedicated to teaching different aspects of writing. These were such an asset.

    There were classes taught by members at Writers & Books. It was in these that I learned how to show and not tell, as well as developing my plots.

    I've also found my critique partners to be great help in developing my strengths in character development and story flow. One partner advised me to look into an online course that focused on developing character emotion. I definitely took that advice and now my characters are making me laugh and cry.

    Hope this helps you. And, no, you're never too old. If you'd like help in the rewrite, I've got time :)

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  2. KimSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    Just so you know, Sandy, I've heard the "No 'ly' adverbs" rule many times. Still, I occasionally use them. Why? They help with story flow and pacing. Pick up any novel and look for "ly" adverbs. You'll see them peppered throughout.

    Same goes for telling vs. showing. Sometimes it's necessary. Showing might take up three pages while a quick telling might use up three sentences.

    Rules like these aren't set in stone. Most of the time they're spoken by people who've never had any work published. Or authors speaking to those who've never had work published.

    You know that saying "Everything in moderation"? It applies to writing, too.

    There. My two cents.

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