tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post7577461068534386129..comments2024-03-28T05:25:17.791-04:00Comments on Into The Ravenous Maw: Things I've Noticed About My FictionPatrick Stahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09690555802232025818noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-82119635514457598052013-06-15T18:11:43.684-04:002013-06-15T18:11:43.684-04:00My general rule of thumb is that most sentences sh...My general rule of thumb is that most sentences should serve more than one purpose. If a sentence serves only one purpose, it must be directly developing plot, setting, or character. You don't need to know that Tom's shirt is blue unless his shirt being blue means something or foreshadows.Patrick Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690555802232025818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-57695841822380806322013-06-15T18:00:33.692-04:002013-06-15T18:00:33.692-04:00I'm too wordy. It requires numerous edits to t...I'm too wordy. It requires numerous edits to trim. Flash and very short fiction is a different beast. Practice does indeed make perfect.Jeff Hargetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198367021884647821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-33614798484026571752013-06-15T15:26:25.846-04:002013-06-15T15:26:25.846-04:00Yeah, I try to keep character thoughts to a minimu...Yeah, I try to keep character thoughts to a minimum. My main highways for displaying character are action, dialogue, and facial expressions, rather than description or thoughts.Patrick Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690555802232025818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-51981421890962092162013-06-15T15:22:27.615-04:002013-06-15T15:22:27.615-04:00I'll try to get tomorrow's (Sunday's) ...I'll try to get tomorrow's (Sunday's) piece to 700 words.Patrick Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690555802232025818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-3921147254436116702013-06-14T22:45:28.965-04:002013-06-14T22:45:28.965-04:00I usually don't write short fiction unless it&...I usually don't write short fiction unless it's a prompt for an English class at school, but I've noticed that in my writing, all my ideas are there, the sentences are just choppy and don't make sense. Adjectives could always be replaced, phrases can always be combined, etc. I've also noticed that some of my characters' thought processes are overdone -- they think for way too long, and these paragraphs of thought should be replaced with dialogue. The final thing I've noticed, though, is that the majority of the time, I come up with tacky dialogue. <br /><br />Oh, well. Practice makes perfect, huh? <br /><br />-MattMatt Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305743345753181870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-13278185377263040182013-06-14T12:56:31.742-04:002013-06-14T12:56:31.742-04:00I have written around 150 fiction pieces. I have a...I have written around 150 fiction pieces. I have a tendency to go way beyond the word count.<br /><br />Yes, I feel you should try writing stories within 700 words, that will ensure that each word earns it place in the story.Rachna Chhabriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16900999965919504282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-30396472151515134372013-06-14T05:44:01.438-04:002013-06-14T05:44:01.438-04:00That's a good exercise. I just keep writing t...That's a good exercise. I just keep writing to practice.Patrick Stahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09690555802232025818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918357506534714894.post-41557959639053739852013-06-14T03:18:55.330-04:002013-06-14T03:18:55.330-04:00I have written so many posts about things I've...I have written so many posts about things I've noticed in my own writing, I won't take up space here reiterating :p<br /><br />The short version is, I'm hyper over-analytical, so give me a chance, and I'll dismantle, tear up, compress, delete, re-write, and re-build over and over again until I get it right.<br /><br />For flash fiction, I also found it hard to write anything really short, so I wrote a bunch of 50 & 100 word pieces, over and over, until every word had to matter. It's great practice for figuring out where the natural padding places are in your writing style.1000th.monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16835988128285459745noreply@blogger.com