07/13/09 - So I'm back on storywrite. I deleted some of my old work on here and will be using this account to post poems and short stories that I write myself into holes in - Essentially, when a story doesn't have a satisfying enough ending for me but still feels complete (essentially feels like a second rate work), I'll be posting it here for thoughts. Hopefully someone on here can either help me see something that I'm not seeing in these stories to add to them or give me criticisms on my writing style and the consistency. Both would help me out tremendously.
Thoughts on Genres/Styles/Things that irk me:
-Good fantasy can be amazing. Most fantasy is garbage. This isn't the fault of the genre so much as writers underestimating the genre. In fantasy and sci-fi, you are creating an entire world or universe. When done right, it has amazing potential. When it isn't done right, it has amazing potential for failure.
-Verbosity is the gateway to inanity. Eschew obfuscation! USE SMALLER WORDS.
-Broken sentences are not the same as poetry - You need rhyme, tempo, meter, at the very least have some assonance. SOMETHING. Form speaks volumes about your poetry. Use of blank verse outside of direct translations was first done by Walt Whitman, who mostly wrote about freedom and nature as themes/topics. The form of blank verse reinforces these themes/topics. Just writing broken sentences and claiming that it is poetry under the title of blank verse is wrong.
-Spelling. It isn't difficult. If you're not a native English speaker, then you're doing us English speakers a huge favor by typing in English, and this thus doesn't apply to you. If you are a native speaker of English and yuo tip lik tihs, please stop.
-Mixed and incomplete metaphors. I'm sorry, but your belt doesn't sing like a train. When your character looks out the window and sees an avalanche after you've said it is raining, I understand that you meant clouds but just say clouds next time. OBSCURITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY.
-Allow me to repeat myself: OBSCURITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY.
-"Adult themed writing". Congratulations, you've learned the words 'supple' and "throbbing". For the love of god expand your vocabulary.
I found this online and I think it's amusing:
Writing Tips
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
3. The adverb always follows the verb.
4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
6. Remember to never split an infinitive.
7. Contractions aren't necessary.
8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
9. One should never generalize.
10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
11. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's
highly superfluous.
12. Be more or less specific.
13. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
14. The passive voice is to be avoided.
15. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
16. Who needs rhetorical questions?
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. Don't never use a double negation.
19. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
20. A writer must not shift your point of view.
21. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
22. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!!!!!
23. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
24. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
25. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; they're old
hat; seek viable alternatives.
Thoughts on Genres/Styles/Things that irk me:
-Good fantasy can be amazing. Most fantasy is garbage. This isn't the fault of the genre so much as writers underestimating the genre. In fantasy and sci-fi, you are creating an entire world or universe. When done right, it has amazing potential. When it isn't done right, it has amazing potential for failure.
-Verbosity is the gateway to inanity. Eschew obfuscation! USE SMALLER WORDS.
-Broken sentences are not the same as poetry - You need rhyme, tempo, meter, at the very least have some assonance. SOMETHING. Form speaks volumes about your poetry. Use of blank verse outside of direct translations was first done by Walt Whitman, who mostly wrote about freedom and nature as themes/topics. The form of blank verse reinforces these themes/topics. Just writing broken sentences and claiming that it is poetry under the title of blank verse is wrong.
-Spelling. It isn't difficult. If you're not a native English speaker, then you're doing us English speakers a huge favor by typing in English, and this thus doesn't apply to you. If you are a native speaker of English and yuo tip lik tihs, please stop.
-Mixed and incomplete metaphors. I'm sorry, but your belt doesn't sing like a train. When your character looks out the window and sees an avalanche after you've said it is raining, I understand that you meant clouds but just say clouds next time. OBSCURITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY.
-Allow me to repeat myself: OBSCURITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY.
-"Adult themed writing". Congratulations, you've learned the words 'supple' and "throbbing". For the love of god expand your vocabulary.
I found this online and I think it's amusing:
Writing Tips
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
3. The adverb always follows the verb.
4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
5. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
6. Remember to never split an infinitive.
7. Contractions aren't necessary.
8. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
9. One should never generalize.
10. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
11. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's
highly superfluous.
12. Be more or less specific.
13. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
14. The passive voice is to be avoided.
15. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
16. Who needs rhetorical questions?
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. Don't never use a double negation.
19. Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
20. A writer must not shift your point of view.
21. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
22. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!!!!!
23. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
24. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
25. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; they're old
hat; seek viable alternatives.
- Last seen on Nov 22 8:04 PM. Member since December 18, 2008.
- My mood is
, and quote is "Soreness + too much coffee. It's a mood, trust me.". - I am a 21 year old person (United States)
- When I'm not writing, I'm student.
- I have 15 comments, 8 stories
My Stories
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1100 words, 1 comment, July 23. In Fiction, Short story
-
My grandfather was a good man.
300 words, 2 comments, July 13. In Fiction, Short story
Guest Book
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Tricia3 : Hi on July 19I love your list of writing tips.
Hillarious!
Trish
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Elisabeth on December 21, 2008
Welcome to the StoryWrite website!
My username is Elisabeth, but most people just call me Lis. Our site is a community of people who all share a common desire to write and hopefully become a published author sometime in the future. It is also a place to sharpen your writing skills and display your creativity while being in a fun environment!
You will notice a gold medal by your name.
This is a free trial gold membership. This shows you what options you have if you were a paid member of Storywrite.com. After approximately three days, the gold membership expires, reverting to a regular FREE membership, so please take the opportunity to see all that our site offers to you.
We have a new members group on the site. This group was set-up to show you how to post your work onto the site and to give you an understanding of how the reading/reviewing of your work actually happens. If you have not already done so, I would suggest you take a peek into this group and see how this process works:
New Members Group
Along with a new members group, we have a New Members Contest that is held every month. Come and check it out. The contest is open to any new member:
New Members Contest
It is recommended that all new members to the site give serious consideration to joining a writing group as a method of assisting them in becoming an active member of the site. Most Storywrite members belong to groups to help them improve their writing skills, to socialize, talk about common interests or otherwise interact with other people of like mind. It is also a great place to make new friends and get helpful critiques.
Group List
You have joined at a great time. We now offer courses on how to improve your writing. Above you is a link that will take you to the classes that Storywrite offers: Learn. For example, one such class is ‘Let’s Get Published’. There are many more. If interested please click the above link or this one.
Included below are a few quick tips that have proven to be very helpful to new members in doing some of the basic functions necessary to get yourself set-up and running on the site.
Emoticons
Getting Reads and Promoting
Chatterbox conduct
Trolls or Cyberbullies
Some Fun Stuff to do around Storywrite.
Don’t forget to read the Storywrite Rules
On the right hand side of the page is where you’ll find all you need to edit your stories, change your user info, change your picture, etc.
Thank you for joining the Storywrite web community. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Have fun and keep writing!
Elisabeth,
Greeter -
Poopa Thug : Great name and page on December 21, 2008For one, great name. Secondly I love that in every writing tip example they broke themselves. I thought they were really hilarious. Did you make them yourself?
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doubleyoutee-eff : A Little Rant on December 20, 2008If I take over half of an hour to write out a detailed critique of your writing complete with grammar corrections where I'm being as nice as possible with my language (e.g. "this was good, however I feel that it reads more smoothly like this"), then please don't just delete my post. I'm sorry that your ever so fragile feelings were hurt by my ridiculously harsh criticism that pointed out grammatical errors while praising your use of imagery and the brilliance of your overall concept. Did you really have to delete my work, though? That's just rude.
