share your HOT writing tips! favorite words you like! what even is a semi-colon? lets get nerdy.
please avoid giving advice on how to write a character/plot/story, the purpose of this thread is to talk about writing itself, not storytelling! please be nice to each other
some of my tips
disclaimer, I am not a professional, just passionate.
1.) Do you really need that adverb?
Adverbs are words that modify an adjective or verb, expressing a manner, circumstance, cause, degree, etc. modifying words are sometimes important, but over-use of adverbs such as "just", "only" "slightly" can end up weakening your narrative voice. "Just" and "Only" are the worst offenders to dampening the strength of your sentence and weaken your intent. Try to notice how often you incorporate adverbs in your writing- do you really need it there?
2.) I don't think that word means what you think it means.
A handful of pesky words and their definitions.
Bemused (adj): puzzled, confused, or bewildered.
Party in the Forest wrote:Likewise, bemused can mean confused, but it also means mild amusement, or amusement from something preplexing, which is how people usually use it.
According to dictionary.com,And according to Meriam-Webster (with examples too!)adjective
bewildered or confused:
a bemused expression on his face.
lost in thought; preoccupied.
mildly amused, especially in a detached way.Definition of bemused
1: marked by confusion or bewilderment : DAZED
… he was fumbling with the sheets, and looking down at them with a slightly bemused expression as though the stuff before him was in a foreign language …
— Robert Penn Warren
2: lost in thought or reverie
… as distant and bemused as a Professor Emeritus listening to the prattling of his freshman class.
— Michael Straight
3: having or showing feelings of wry amusement especially from something that is surprising or perplexing
This is not another of those now popular books about a bemused outsider's sojourn in rural France, brimming with colorful locals and heart-warming anecdotes.
— J. D. McClatchy
Nonplussed (adj): Surprised/confused so much that they are unsure how to react. (In north american informal speech, it can mean not disconcerted, or unperturbed.)
Infinitesimal (adj): very small in number or degree.
Ingenuous (adj): Showing innocence, or lack of worldly experience. Pertaining to being openly straight forward; candid.
3.) Need a rhyme in half the time?
https://www.rhymezone.com/
the HOLY GRAIL of finding words that rhyme, for the next time you have an epic slam poetry contest.
4.) Brevity equals clarity.
Purple (or overly descriptive) narratives can be fun; but keep in mind that the more time you spend establishing imagery, the further away from the movement, or intent of the narrative, you go. Which is a long way of saying, if you spend a lot of time waxing poetic, you'll lose the audience's attention to the important parts. Atmosphere is second to the movement, or what is going on.
I'm looking forward to hearing from other literature nerds about tips and tricks they have for writing.