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Writers Question Everything— At Least Good Ones Do
Practice makes perfect. This is true. But do you need to write every day to improve your writing? Yes and No. Yes, you should spend some time writing every day to exercise your writing skills, even if it is only for 15 to 20 minutes. What about the rest of your day? Is there anything you can do to improve your writing without sitting with a pad and paper all day long? Ask Questions Good writers are good observers. You can become a better writer by watching and listening to your world. Being a writer is about asking questions. What if? What does my reader already understand? What is my reader’s education level? Children are great at observing and asking questions. If you don’t think there is a lot to see in an ordinary situation, borrow a four-year-old for a while. Everything is a question. We tend to lose this as we grow older and think we understand our world. But to be a great writer these are the questions that your reader needs answered in your story or essay. I have heard it said that nothing is in a movie by accident. Nothing should be in your book by accident. Why are there flowers? Why are they yellow? You need to treat your story or assignment like a four-year-old child walking through the park. Ask why about everything. Why are they doing that? Why is she wearing a black silk dress? Why is the man dead? Why did the murderer use a candlestick? Why are they in a warehouse? These questions need to be answered with concrete substance and not simply with phrases such as "because," or "I don’t know." Try to answer a child’s question with the phrase "because" and see where it leads you. They will just ask the question again, and again…and so will your reader. For the situation to ring true for the reader, there needs to be a purpose behind everything, even though you don’t need to spell everything out. In the movie Sixth Sense, the writers gave you all the visual clues to put the ending together. It was subtle and yet it often took several viewings of the movie before the audience caught on to how the writers manipulated the visual elements such as clothing, color, temperature, light and shadow, as well as other visual clues. It was these clever uses of color, clothing, and temperature that helps the surprise ending make sense. For instance, if the writers had used a different color to depict those things tainted by the spirit world would it have been as effective? By thinking through what Bruce Willis’ character wore throughout the movie, would you have caught on to the plot twist sooner? Would the ending have been as powerful? The writers must deal with all such deeper details in the questions they ask in order to help make a more powerful and captivating story. Read Reading is a great way to improve your writing. Dissect everything you read during the day. Why does the cereal box read the way it does? Is it targeted to children or adults? How about the travel brochure for your next trip? Travel brochures do a great job of describing places. How can you use similar language to describe a location in your book or story? Can you change the travel area, making it into someplace evil or scary, less desirable for tourists? Ask yourself questions about what you read. Does the writer get their point across? It is important to read the type of literature you write. By reading the competition you learn what is selling. You shouldn’t write just like Steven King; however, by reading his thriller novels you can see his techniques for making his stories work. You as a writer can learn some of these techniques and make your writing more powerful. How does he make his characters believable? How does he take the ordinary and make it frightening? Does the writer take something complicated and make it simple for everyone to understand? Are they reaching their target audience? The more true to life your writing is the more your reader will be able to relate to your characters. If your character’s reactions are in accordance with predictable human behaviors the reader will be able to relate to the character's feelings and thoughts. Readers will be able to sense when you as the writer understand the human condition and when you are just filling space. Live life! Watch for the truth in the human behavior you observe. By Shannon Murdock, an editor for American Book Publishing. © 2005 American Book Publishing™ *All other trademarks used by permission. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy and Trademark Use Policy.
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