What about your own manuscript? How does it measure up? Can you spot the balance between giving your writing the necessary color for a good story and boring your readers?
That's more difficult. We are all in love with our own words. It amazes me when I hear someone remark that their first draft is one hundred thousand words or more. Why not make it easier on yourself and cut out the fluff from the very start?
Instead of spewing words across the page like you're channeling the spirits in the netherworld, think about what's advancing your plot. Don't give the reader three paragraphs about Aunt Mildred's kitchen if your protagonist won't be visiting her again.
Anton Chekhov said, "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." In other words, don't include any unnecessary elements in a story. If it's not advancing the plot, it doesn't belong there.
Many novelists have never tried their hand at writing flash fiction, which can be a valuable tool. In my opinion, it is the best way to hone your craft when it comes to tossing out the fluff. Creating a story with a beginning, middle and end in under one thousand words will challenge you to make each word count. I highly recommend it.
Jon Strother of Mad Utopia founded the FridayFlash group a year ago with the Twitter meme #fridayflash. Try it out. I guarantee your writing will be tighter and sharper with practice.
The only downside—your first draft won't double as a doorstop.
*****
Laura Eno lives in Florida with a very tolerant husband, three skulking cats and an absurdly happy dog. She has a pet from the Underworld named Jezebel and a skull called Mr. Fluffy who help her write novels late at night. Please visit her strange imagination at A Shift in Dimensions
40 comments:
Very interesting points.
I did have problems with the links...maybe just me.
This is a fantastic post, and one that almost everyone would be able to relate to.
Here are the links:
Mad Utopia
FridayFlash
A Shift in Dimensions
Thanks, Laura, for visiting. I've fixed the links. I don't know, blogger has been screwing up my links lately. Thanks for noticing. And, Rayna's right, all writers can relate.
CD
Thank you so much for inviting me here! I am honored. I love the picture you chose!
ah, what an adorable pic :) I actually have more problems with writers who give no details and no descriptions than with those who give it too much :) But as always the balance is what we need the most.
Clarissa - Thanks for hosting Laura.
Laura - Thanks so much for the important reminder to focus on what drives the plot forward. It's that, more than anything else, that should determine what we right, how we write and the characters we create. Anything that takes away from driving the plot forward also takes away from the novel.
"We are all in love with our own words." Really? Am I alone in thinking that my words sound like something I might have written at primary school?
Jenny - ROFL! No, you're not alone...on the one hand. But, we also curl up and defend our words if someone else tries to edit them, feeling like it's a personal attack.
Great points, Laura. I wrote years ago but then my wife and I went off on scuba diving holidays and eventually had kids. I started writing again just over a year ago thanks to a great friend who is co-editor of Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers (Col Bury). I've since had numerous stories published on the internet.
I'd never written flash fiction before last year and I honestly think it has helped my writing no end. Tight word counts are excellent for "tossing out the fluff".
Hey, maybe I should have done it on this comment. LOL!!
ha ha I actually use the snowflake method so I cannot claim to own such doorstops.
I shall check out this websites thanx for the info
It's true that writing short fiction can help you become a better and more proficient writer. I have written two short stories for my blog inspired by blog-fest. Now, tomorrow and Friday, another two blog-fest, I will write two more. I have seen vast improvements in my skill.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
"..spewing words across the page like you're channeling the spirits in the netherworld"
Wheee! I'm going to try that on Halloween. Who knows what might come through the ether to visit me....
[insert dramatic music]
I think I'll tie myself to a sturdy piece of furniture first though just in case the netherworld tries to pull me in.
Great post Laura. Thanks for having Laura over to do a guest spot Clarissa.
Karen :0)
I can see where a writer could get lost and add so much additional information that a reader is turned off. Great post.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
These are great points, Laura.
I'll second the suggestion of flash fiction, if I may. My experience with writing stories under 1000 words has helped me a lot with excessive verbiage in my writing, what someone once referred to as "diarrhea of the pen". My work is a lot tighter now than it used to be.
To be a teensy contrarian, at times I've found really, really great subplot ideas by letting myself draft a bit of fluff. Intuition might be nudging one to pay attention to a setting, for example, because a key item that will play a big role later is in fact there. But this kind of messy playing is what notebooks are for.
This is a great post. I love the Chekhov quote--so true! Interesting how he is also a writer known for some of the most difficult plays for actors to perform. :)
And CONGRATS, Clarissa! I saw on KarenG's blog that you have had your MS accepted for publication! Sooooooooo excited for you! Can I put up a congratulations blog for you today? So happy for you!!!
Michele
SouthernCityMysteries
Oh I love writing flash fiction and so agree that creating a story under a thousand words or even less really does help with paring down a scene to its bare essentials!!
Thanks for a very useful "how to" piece Laura Eno and thanks Clarissa for hosting! Take care
x
These are some great ideas, and links. It helps me feel a little more confident in my writing. I agree that writing small flash fiction is a great exercise. I'm doing that now and it feels like it's working.
Thanks for all the comments! I love seeing the varying opinions - without our differing approaches to writing the book world would be quite boring. :)
What a surprise to come visit Clarissa and find Laura here!
My first drafts are usually laden with 'she did this' and 'she saw that'. Most go on the following drafts and any strays are pounced upon by my thoroughly awesome critique partners.
I love to write flash fiction. After novels, it's my favorite form. I agree that it's a huge help in learning to make every word count.
Hi Clarissa and Laura -- This post is right on. I love reading novels that focus on character and plot without a lot of filler which dilutes the story. The only thing is...it's a lot easier to cut the excess from a 100,000 word novel than flesh out a 60,000 word novel.
I'm pretty sure I'm guilty of adding too much fluff when I'm writing, sometimes. Especially when I've got writer's block.
I've never tried writing flash fiction, but I might. It does sound like a good idea!
Great information. I'm reading a novel right now that was a New York Times bestseller, so the deep mud snuck up on me and I am now floundering through a plethera of description that is just bogging me down.
My problem usually goes to the other extreme. Since I like to start with a loose outline, I write very simple scenes and then add in detail as I go along. My work always seems to have a net gain of words after edits and re-writes.
Sage words. It took me a while to learn this!
I'm a minimalist when it comes to descriptions, so there's usually not a lot of 'fluff.' However, now that I'm working on a sequel to my book, I see several unnecessary 'fluff' sections that are getting the axe.
Great post, Laura. I have the opposite problem - I tend to write too sparsely, and then I need to fill in the extras!
Great post. Tossing out the fluff is lovely phrase for editing out the unnecessary. :-)
Very good advice. I've been reading the online Flash Fiction and it is so tight. That tightness gives it impact.
Good points Laura. And thanks for the FridayFlash shout out. :)
~jon
Great shout out for #fridayflash. I'm with you there. I think writing flash fiction is the best practise possible for cutting superfluous words. If you're verbose (like me) you need to work at cutting out everything that doesn't advance the story, yet you need enough description to create the atmosphere needed - I do anyhow.
Thanks Laura. And thanks Clarissa for having Laura guest post..:)
Just tonight I was going over a manuscript and realized how much crapola was in it. Flash makes you write tight - when you have more words to play with, it's funny how easy it is to let the crap have its way.
So to speak.
Great post, Clarissa. Thanks for featuring Mizz Awesomeness!
I am in love with my own words. Is that so wrong? :)
Now I will go check out the links.
I have the opposite problem. Mine is too stripped down.
Oh, super post! It's always so easy to spot it in other manuscripts and books, but it's ten times harder to spot it and get rid of it when it comes to your own stuff, isn't it? And then we excuse it with, "Well, that other one got published!" Shame on us. Thank goodness for crit buddies!
You are all so awesome! Thank you for the comments and many thanks to Clarissa for allowing me to scribble on her page.
Ernest Hemingway as a world-traveling journalist was forced to learn word economy, for his editor had to pay a $1.25 for each world! (When a dollar meant something! LOL)
So every word he used had to be justified, truly important to the text.
Laura, I don't think anyone is more qualified than you to give this advice. The proof is in your work.
Roland - I didn't know that!
Mark - The highest praise I could ever receive, coming from you. I humbly thank you.
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