General Chat

Ignore BC Daff, she's winding you up LOL


*glares at BC*

*tries to glare at BC as well, but gets the giggles*

Well.... she knew which button to press, so she did, TW!!

Love

Daff xxxx

She's a naughty girl so she is lol

But please Daff, don't be nervous about the group. We were all nervous, but we have all leared so much from each other, and that's the real benefit. YOu can see mistakes, you'll be told about mistakes, but you should also receive some useful advice to correct those mistakes for the future. Thus you learn.

It's also done discreetly in a personal email, not in front of the whole group. We're very gently here, we don't bite, or laugh at your efforts (unless they are meant to be humerous lol).

I am ok with you motley crew, lol...... I know you all.... it can be a bit disconcerting being a new girl on the block with lots of folk you don't know, I imagine... and of course, I have met quite a few in the *real world* as well, so that helps.

I'll be fine...... and thank you, all, for the welcome.

Love

Daff xxxx

Daff knows I am teasing. It is my way of showing how delighted I am that she is joining us:))

BC XX

Well this is the busiest this thread has been for a while....you've caused quite a flurry of activity Daff lol

Lol at BC.... yes, I know, lolol............ that you're teasing, I mean!

Oh dear, TW... I didn't mean to cause a flurry of activity.... allergic to activity, I am, brings me out all peculiar! ;¬))

I noticed earlier that Ann mentioned too many !!!!!!!!!!

That is, I am afraid, one of my biggest sins...... oh, and you know I keep putting in all those lol's.... well, I actually talk like that... not saying lol, of course, but loads of little laughs as I talk... I was horrified when I first heard myself on a tape.....lol (lolol)

So I might find it hard to leave them out these days........

Love

Daff xxxx

Why am I not surprised at the activity on the thread. BC, I was trying to think how to put it Lol!!!

You could get round that by, every time you think 'Lol' you put laughing out loud (3 words!)

Well.... just in case a word curfew is declared, I am using them all up, quickly... you never know, lolol! Erm...laughs out loud!! Twice, ;¬))

Love

Daff xxx

Lol!

There's no real word curfew Daff, because of the variety of the TYPE of work we write, with some short stories, some chapters from a book, some poetry, and the set pieces.

It's nice to keep to around 500 to 1000 words for set peices, just so we don't spend too much time doing what is basically a fun exercise. (yes it is mau! lol), but even so, when something writes itself, who cares about the word length among ourselves.

But, if you're struggling not to be wordy, or with known mistakes, like we all are, we'll soon help you learn to correct it, so don't worry.

I'm reading "Robert's Rules of writing 101 unconventional lessons every writer needs to know" and it is very interesting,

this struck me as it is pretty much what my old tutor used to say..

"throw out your thesaurus*

" Each time you pick up a thesaurus ..to search for a bigger, better or more impressive word ...you've muddied the waters. In to the clear running stream of your prose , you've introduced a foreign agent. nothing sticks out in a piece of prose like the words you've plucked from those long lists of synonyms each more obscure than its predessessor....they aren't words that come readily to your mind or rest comfortably in your working vocabulary"

"The voice you write in is the voice your reader heas and ideally, grows to trust"

*scratches Thesaurus from shopping list*

I have always hated them, anyway.... I never seem to find just the right word to convey what I want to say, and feel...

Rose, is that the title of a book? This Robert appears to be a man after my own wordy heart, lol...

Whilst we are on the subject of books.... well, loosely... are there any that people recommend over others?

Love

Daff xxxx

Thats a very good point Rose, but *clings to Thesaurus*, I really only use it when I find a repetition, or should I say, when BC finds one, and then I only try to find the best alternative while I decide which one to change.

Writing though, isn't a vocabulary exercise, it should be readable. If there are a lot of long, convoluted words that send a reader running for the dictionary every other paragraph, you're not going to keep your reader interested to the end of the piece.

Of course, if you're writing an academic article for a university paper, thats a different matter entirely, but I am speaking of fiction and general non-fiction aimed at a wider readership.

Daff, I can heartily recommend two.

On Writing by Stephen King

and

Writing from Life, by Lynne Hackles.

The first is a real inspiration and a glimpse into the writers mind, with a 'no holds barred' stream of advice for aspiring writers. It really got me going.

The second is a book well worth reading, but you will need a large notebook. There are exercises in it, and you will be scribbling away, guaranteed. Lynne Hackles takes you on a journey through your own life and experiences and shows you how to find ideas and inspiration from it. Good for fiction and non fiction writers alike.

Teresa, if you only had to choose one of those books, which would you choose?

Thanks, TW.... I'll go and browse Amazon, now.....

Love

Daff xxxx

It is the title Daff, by Robert Masello ( my library has a good choice I must say!) , the one by Maeve Binchy was very encouraging. the other one is a step by step ...more technical with exercises. I'm not sure that it's the best...but it does have one sentence that sums it up ....."Write first, panic afterwards" lol

xx

What I would really like to know is this... so far although i have always written quite a lot, I haven't found a 'story' that I want to see through to the end, one that grips me so much it 'has' to be told..other than a few shortish pieces.....

Rule 54

Fall in love

"before embarking on any substantial writing prject ask yourself this "am I in Love?"

because if you're not in love with your subject you wiill have a very hard time seing it through to completion"

why is it I am not falling in love lol, except for short pieces....

Edit.... that last line is pretty damn close to the truth lol