Writer's Aids

Writer's Aids
by Don Hurst author of the fantasy-satire Return to UKOO and Cloud Riders.




Here are some things I try to remember as I write. Some may help, some may not.

1st Draft: CREATE, don't try for perfection. Get it on paper.

Make sure the story in your head gets on paper. Then Work with what's ACTUALLY ON PAPER/SCREEN.

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

You don't get in the mood to write, You WRITE TO GET IN THE MOOD!

You don't wait for an idea to write, You WRITE TO GET AN IDEA!

Write from the INSIDE out.

SUSPENSE is arousing the reader's CURIOSITY. Keep the reader CURIOUS until the end.

Prolong the CRISIS. FRUSTRATE THE READER'S EXPECTATIONS. STRETCH OUT CONFLICT. There is no story without some kind of CONFLICT.

Use ACTIVE VERBS. Direct action eliminates WAS, WERE, ING. Lazy Verbs: WALKED, STOOD, SAT, MOVED, LOOKED. SHOWING the actions eliminates: BEGAN, STARTED, CONTINUING, THEN, etc.

ACTIVE SENTENCES put the story on stage. Inactive sentences hide behind the stage curtain.

If you TELL me, it's an essay. If you SHOW me, it's a story.

TELLING is for the writer. SHOWING is for the reader.

Use the internet search engines to find examples of almost anything. For example, GOOGLE any of the above subjects.

Quote: "The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have."

Quote: "TRUTH is eternal, KNOWLEDGE is changeable. It can be disastrous to confuse them."