tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post8991881906453101468..comments2024-03-28T06:59:34.982-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Listen to YourselfDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-75327429518470987992010-10-17T23:33:59.038-06:002010-10-17T23:33:59.038-06:00Sometimes just having a conversation with someone ...Sometimes just having a conversation with someone helps, too. You'll be answering a question or voicing your opinion and suddenly realize that the words you've spoken express how you feel about peaches or traffic or the future more eloquently than the words you've written about peaches or traffic or the future have ever managed to.Adi Alsaidhttp://www.somewhereoverthesun.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-78186035688811496202010-10-17T08:14:51.302-06:002010-10-17T08:14:51.302-06:00I've actually done this before, and it's e...I've actually done this before, and it's extremely helpful, like a voice journal taken to the extremes. It's so fun for me to talk in the centuries old English accent that my protagonist has, because even though you can't hear it in the writing, it does have to come through somehow, and speaking out loud seems like the way to go. <br /><br />I'll have to try this again sometime. Brilliant.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04592762249366957423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-75734989215338350122010-10-17T08:05:09.223-06:002010-10-17T08:05:09.223-06:00"Talk aloud as if you are your character. Wha..."Talk aloud as if you are your character. What are they trying to tell you? Are you listening?"<br /><br />This fantastic advice from the last paragraph of this post should never be allowed to fall through the cracks. Why?<br /><br />We writers often "know" where our stories are going and how our characters will resolve their challenges (or how they will reap what they have sown). The mental pictures are strong and well- delineated. But are we listening?<br /><br />One of the biggest surprises I experienced about midway through my first book was that I—the author—was no longer authoring. The scenes I had so carefully laid out in my mind—complete with specific dialogue—were not coming together as I had envisioned. Why? My characters had grabbed the reins and taken over the ride. THEY were telling THEIR story. Rather than forcing them back into the neat little lives I'd created for each of them, I sat back (fingers dancing on the keyboard, of course) and let them show me what REALLY happened. What a difference that made in the story (and the feedback I received from my early readers)!<br /><br />This is very important information for fiction writers, Kim. Thanks for sharing, Dani!Linda Lanehttp://www.denvereditor.comnoreply@blogger.com