Talk is cheap...

I am working on two short stories right now. I thought they were finished. Boy was I wrong! One of my mentors made me realize that they needed more than just tweaking. I’ve learned not to get too attached to my stories in a way that I won’t let them follow their own course. Instead of commenting on all the areas that needed fixing, I’ll focus on the one element that is vital to a short story: Dialogue.

Although dialogue should sound real, it doesn’t mean it has to be exact to the way we talk on a daily basis. We also have to take into consideration our characters: where they come from, where they live, what their native language is, what their social or educational background is, etc. Failing to do so, will lead us to a failed story.
Here are some points to consider when writing a dialogue:

• Establish the tone or mood
• Provide exposition or back story
• Reveal character and motivation
• Create immediacy and intimacy (build reader empathy)
• Move the plot forward and/or increase its pace
• Create or add to existing conflict
• Remind the reader of things they may have forgotten
• Foreshadow

When in doubt, we have to ask ourselves if someone we know would say this in a trivial conversation. Let’s not forget that dialogue is the vehicle that moves our story forward. Be careful of the character’s language as this reflects conflict and emotion. Don’t extend the dialogue in such a way that the reader may get bored. Remember: it’s a short story, not a play. Don’t confuse the reader by letting him/her guess who’s talking. Use tags: she says, he asked, I said (but don’t overdo it). Don’t use unnecessary adverbs attached to the tags. This just kills a good dialogue. And last but not least, ask your fellow writers, family, and friends to read your dialogue to see if it resonates with them.

Beware of the Big Bad “S”: Sentimentality vs. Sentiment

British poet, William Wordsworth once said “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” A beautiful message indeed. However, we have to pay heed that our feelings don’t metamorphose into sentimentalism when we’re writing. The predominance of sentimentality in the story can do more harm than good as it lessens the quality of our work. I once struggled with a story, my “bipolar” story as I used to call it while I was in the process of writing it, because it had both sentimentality and sentiment in some paragraphs. My mentor told me I was manipulating the reader’s emotions. So, he gave me a great piece of advice on this subject which I would like to share with you.

“There is a big difference between sentiment (which is good) and sentimentality (which is not). Sentimentality is unearned emotion. In other words, if, as a writer, I am asking a reader to fill in the story with experience from their own life, or with stock responses, then I am being sentimental. It is my job as a writer to bring energy to the reader, not to take it from the reader.”

Let me provide you with an example in order to prove his point. A story that begins with “Tears flowing like a river,” is sentimental. We don't know the character. We don't know the situation. Tears flowing like a river is a cliché. My mentor told me that “We are being asked for an emotional response that does not fit with anything we know from the story. If you had prepared us, given us a very emotional scene that led, eventually, to a moment of high emotion and conflict that demanded those tears, and if you had prepared us for that particular river, then it would not have been sentimental.”

Some key points that'll help you avoid sentimentality:
1- Use specific images and situations, not general or conceptual ones.
2- Don’t rely on clichés or trite subject matter.
3- Don't rely on adjectives.
4- Use events and images that amaze the reader.
5- Don’t tell the reader what to feel. Instead, let the reader experience feelings along with the character.

Laugh all your way while writing a successful story à la Woody Allen

The other night I watched Woody Allen’s The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. It was not one of his best works but it was still entertaining. I am a fan of his no matter what subject he writes about. I know that not everyone appreciates his quirkiness and cynicism. But I am almost sure most people would agree that his thought-provoking work has inspired many writers. Woody Allen's sense of humor may be the catalyst to his writing style, which has proven to be successful. He has received several prestigious awards throughout his fifty plus years of his multi-faceted career. When I think of Woody Allen, I think of him as a producer, director, actor, and a screenwriter, too. That’s why I was surprised when I learned he has written numerous plays and short stories. And, I was even more amazed that he’s written three anthologies of short stories. I am currently working on my own anthology, and although my stories are not light in tone like those of Woody’s, I am using his writings as an ‘anti-stress-er’ (more like a writer’s block plunger!). Even if you’ve never watched a Woody Allen movie, you can see his writing style through his use of dialogue, diction, character development, and setting (which most of them are set in his hometown of New York). What I am trying to say is that writing should be fun. We should allow ourselves to laugh at our own mistakes and move on. So whenever you’re stuck and your story is not evolving, think of Woody Allen: He made it all the way with humor.

The Cleaner: be your own editor

As writers, we get excited getting the first draft down. The adrenaline is pumping as our words and ideas are flowing. However, after we’ve accomplished the first step to writing our story, the hardest part follows. Editing! I’ve talked about editing in my previous posts but I have to reiterate that we can’t escape this exhausting process. We often feel disheartened with the first draft’s revision: fixing syntax and semantics, including or dismissing metaphors, adding and omitting things, and finally, checking punctuation and spelling. In other words, you have to clean up your work. I’ll share with you what I learned in one of my workshops about revising my own work:

1) Read your entire draft. This doesn’t mean you have to do it right after you’ve finished writing your draft. “Put it in a drawer,” as my mentor used to tell me. Give your eyes and your mind a break. You can come back to the story the day after, or a week later.
2) Determine what the problem is. Pay attention to your POV, your character’s development, dialogue, plot, and climax.
3) Make a modification chart. My mentor taught me to draw a chart where I divide it into scenes (almost like an outline) and place the protagonist and antagonist on each half of the page. This would give me a visual of where the story (climax) is going.
4) Rewrite. After you’ve cleaned up, rewrite the whole story. Don’t get the “attachment syndrome” as I call it. Let go of dialogues, words, similes, or anything that may not be moving your story forward. You wouldn’t stay in a bad relationship, right? You would want to move on with your life. So does your story!
5) Polish your prose. Pay attention to clichés, redundancies, weak verbs, and extra adjectives. My mentor always reminded me to use strong adjectives and verbs that would be more effective to the story.

So in the spirit of spring, let's get cleaning!

The Eight Commandments of Writing

Sometimes we get caught up in our own writing that we forget about our audience. Guilty as charged! I’ve done this a couple of times. It is okay to sit down and write your story at once (you don’t want your muse to take a nap on you), but don’t forget that you have a responsibility to your reader. Even if you finish your poem, short story, or novella in one sitting, you cannot neglect the most important (and grueling, may I add) part of the writing process. Editing! I have to reiterate what I’ve mentioned in one of my previous post: edit, edit, edit till you can’t think anymore. That’s why I want to share with you Steve Berry’s eight rules of writing:

1. There are no rules. You can do anything you want as long as it works.
2. Don't bore the reader. You can bore the reader in a sentence, in a paragraph, by misusing words, poorly choosing words, using the wrong length, etc.
3. Don't confuse the reader. Don't misuse point of view. Don't do too much at once.
4. Don't get caught writing. Don't let you, the author, enter the story. (E.g., "And he never would see Memphis again." How would anyone other than the author know that the character would never see Memphis again?)
5. Shorter is always better. Write tight. It makes you use the best words in the right way.
6. Don't lie to the reader. It's OK to mislead, but don't lie. If you say the character's motivation is A and it turns out to be B (and you haven't foreshadowed it at all), the reader will feel cheated.
7. Don't annoy the reader. Don't use names that are hard to pronounce or write choppy sentences throughout the entire book. It keeps people from getting close to your characters.
8. You must tell a good story. Bad writing can be forgiven with a good story. A bad story with the most beautiful writing cannot.

Although these are essential points to keep in mind when writing, they are not written in stone. I’d like to add my personal point: #9 Let your heart be the pen to your next great story. I hope this inspires you to write your next masterpiece.