Person? Place? Thing? Let's Talk About Nouns

"Use strong nouns and verbs." Most writers have heard this, and it's probably taped to more than one monitor as a reminder. But like so much writing advice, it's important, yet vague. Exactly what is a strong noun? How do we know what nouns are best for our writing? There is no right answer because every story will need something different. As good as this advice is, it isn't always very helpful.

It reminds me of an episode of Friends where the dumb-yet-lovable Joey wrote a letter of recommendation. To sound smart, he used the thesaurus and replaced all his "dumb" words with "smart" ones.

"They're warm, nice people with big hearts" became "They're humid, pre-possessing homosapiens with full-sized aortic pumps."

Strong nouns, yes, but an improvement to the line? Nope.

Real Life Diagnostics: Are You Worried Yet? Heightening the Tension and Emotion in Your Scenes

Real Life Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and I diagnose them on the blog. It’s part critique, part example, designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem.

If you're interested in submitting to Real Life Diagnostics, check out the page for guidelines.

Submissions currently in the queue: Seven

This week’s questions:

In this passage my MC is a member of a group that is hunting a dragon for a bounty. My MC refers to the dragon as 'she'. Kent is the leader and he's a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so he's going to try to shoot the thing out of the air when it jumps toward him. My MC used to date Kent, but now she only tolerates him and no longer trusts him. They are in a forest at night, parts of it are now on fire, and the dragon is leaping out of a dried-up creek bed.

I want to know if this is scene is exciting and tense, and if not, how can I make it so? Is the action paced well, does it speed along? do you get the sense of slowing as she's running toward Kent? Does her emotion come through? Is it interesting enough that you want to know what comes next?

On to the diagnosis…

Fundamental Check: Do Your Scenes Have What They Need?

Sometimes it's good to go back to the basics when you're figuring out a book, especially if you've done a lot of revisions or have reworked the plot. A quick check of the fundamentals can help you spot weakness you didn't even know you had, because it forces you to look at specifics, not just read for a general sense of the plot.

My current WIP is a perfect example. I spent the last several weeks on my outline and was ready to start the hardcore revisions. I love my templates and "did you do it?" lists, so I took one last peek to make sure I had all the necessary pieces and had worked out everything I'd wanted to fix. I checked my list of what every scene had to have.

Work It, Work It: Breaking the Writing Rules

Chances are, you've either heard or said the words, "if it works, it works" at some point in your writing life. You've probably also said, "well that's not very helpful" or "I know this isn't helpful, but..." Since there are no real rules in writing, anything can be done, and sometimes breaking the norm is exactly what a story needs.

It's also something that's very compelling to try just to be different, usually with disastrous results. 

How do you know if "it works" or it's just a mess?

Leave the Breadcrumbs Behind: Are You Asking -- and Answering -- the Right Story Questions?

I've been spending a lot of time working on my outline in preparation for revising my current novel, because I want to make sure I have everything figured out so the re-writing is easier. I have a lot of layers and mysteries in the works, so I decided to keep track of what breadcrumbs I was leaving behind.

And I discovered something fun and quite helpful.

Identify the reader questions in each act.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Probably something you assume you already do (I know I did). But while I knew the main story question of every act, there were a lot more things the reader might be wondering about, and some of them I didn't do much with. These little questions were all missed opportunities to deepen my story and keep that all-important tension high.

Guest Author Rochelle Melander : Conquer Sabotage Before it Conquers You

Today I'd like to welcome author and writing coach Rochelle Melander to the blog. Rochelle has some great tips on how to spot -- and avoid -- the things we do to ruin or writing careers. (I know I'm prone to #1, what about you guys?) A new year is a great time to start putting a stop to bad habits that will keep us from our goals.

Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach and the author of 10 books, including a new book to help fiction and nonfiction writers write fast: Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (And Live to Tell About It) (October 2011). She teaches professionals how to get published, establish credibility, and navigate the new world of social media. In 2006, Rochelle founded Dream Keepers Writing Group, a program that teaches writing to at-risk tweens and teens. Visit her online at www.writenowcoach.com.

Take it away Rochelle...

What's Their Story? Discovering the Front Story of Your Non-Point of View Characters

I recently talked about how helpful it was to write the backstory for my characters. That exercise went so well, I decided to write the front story for them. Find out what they planned to do with all that history I had given them.

What makes the front story (totally my term here) different from basic plotting is that you aren't trying to craft an exciting story. It's not about finding a cool plot, it's about figuring out how that one character fits in with the rest of your story. What's their life like when the protag isn't around? Kinda like Shaun in Shaun of the Dead. The zombie apocalypse has come, but that's all going on on another street (where Buffy s saving the world probably) and he's just living his life during this time. What he's doing is separate from the "hero," even though their paths will cross.

Real Life Diagnostics: A Guy Walks Into a Bar...Setting and Secondary Characters

Real Life Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and I diagnose them on the blog. It’s part critique, part example, designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem.

If you're interested in submitting to Real Life Diagnostics, check out the page for guidelines.

Submissions currently in the queue: Eight

This week’s question:

This excerpt is about 30k words in, and the main characters and settings have already been established. I'm introducing a secondary character and a completely different setting, and wanted opinions on whether I did it effectively. My questions:

1. Is the transition from setting to character smooth/effective?

2. Do you get a good sense of the setting, or is more needed?

3. What are your impressions of Caden, and would you want to read more about him?

And finally...Do you think the content is ok for YA?

On to the diagnosis…

Double the Fun! Adverbs at The Writers Bureau, and a Chance at a 100 Page Critique

Today is a busy day, with lots going on. First up is a road trip over to The Writers Bureau to discuss how adverbs aren't your enemy. They can even help your writing. No, seriously, they can, so come find out how.

Next, is a chance to bid on a 100 page manuscript critique from yours truly over at Write Dreams. This charity is raising money to help rebuild Donna’s Dream House, a holiday home for children and teenagers with life-threatening or terminal illnesses. The Dream House is run completely by volunteers and since it's start, it's hosted and helped almost 380 families.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2011, arsonists broke into the office building and adjacent health center. There they stole essential computer equipment and damaged the suite, before setting fire to the furniture. When the fire was discovered, it was almost too late. The building was so badly damaged that it may have to be rebuilt completely. Write Dreams is raising money to help do that.

There are plenty of great items to bid on, so even if you're not interested in a critique from me, head on over and see how else you might be able to help out. It's for a great cause.

The Playing's the Thing: How Computer Games Can Help You With Your Plotting

I took some time off over the holidays and played a lot of computer games. I mean, a lot. Two in particular occupied my time--Skyrim and Star Wars: The Old Republic--and both incorporated storytelling techniques into their gameplay that worked as wonderful examples of common plotting problems.

Game One: Skyrim
Skyrim is the latest in a long series, and the world is as rich and defined as any novel's. It almost plays like an interactive book, because you create a character who is then put into a general storyline, and you go forth and make your own choices about how you want to exist in this world.