I plan to pick up the editing again for my novel either today or tomorrow. I think I'm about ready to hit it!
I'm going to continue reading up on description and emotion in order to up my skills, but I think I've learned enough to keep me going for the second edit.
With that said, here's your Word Of The Day:
Iridescence
Producing a display of lustrous, rainbowlike colors
/Brilliant, lustrous, or colorful in effect or appearance
.
Writing Tip:
Ever heard of the term "Show, Don't Tell"?
When writing, I've learned that you shouldn't just say that "So-And-So was angry" or "So-And-So was worried". Instead of
telling your reader how the character feels, you should
show them. For an example, if your character is angry, you should express it through dialogue and body language. Depending on the character's level of anger as well as their personality, they could be shouting, bellowing, growling or just being sharp and terse, and they'd likely be clenching their fists/teeth, shaking, glaring, biting their lip, etc..
Same goes for every other emotion. Express it!
Body language is what normally shows the feeling of worry in particular; the character might be wringing their hands, wrinkling their brow, chewing/nibbling their lip, and so on. The possibilities are endless, so why not explore?
When you exercise this in description, it's important to help your readers fully experience the story through the five senses; see, smell, hear, touch/feel, and taste.
Too often people use sight only. Make sure you're expressive in what (or even how) the character feels, hears, smells, and tastes. But it's not always the
character who tastes or smells something, but, for an example: "The gentle breeze carried the aroma of roses through the clean air". When you read that, you can see that it's something that
can be "smelled", rather than just saying "So-And-So smelled roses".
With the rest of the senses, these general suggestions continue to apply.
As one last thing, let me say something about sight; again, be descriptive. Don't just say "So-And-So saw a dog"; describe it! Even a dog can help to give the reader a vision of the environment itself, whether it be a shaggy, dirty dog or a fluffy, well-groomed one. That's just an example-- see what else you can use, but don't overdo it.
Edit: This isn't to say that you shouldn't use telling at all. Telling is quite important in itself, as long as you pick the right words. While many do say "Show, Don't Tell", yes, it's really more of a guideline than a rule. I suggest you use both showing and telling in a balanced manner.
This writing tip is based mainly on character expression, so I will shine more light on other ways you can use it, like when describing a character and a place. Keep yourself updated and the rest will come up soon!
This, I noticed, doesn't just apply to novels, but to a lot of other
kinds of writing. If you already knew this, I hope this gives you a
slight reminder to help keep your creativity flowing.
Wolf
