Comments on: Write What You Mean

By: Jacquie Rogers

Jacquie Rogers — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:39:56 +0000

Too funny, Deidre. Vague does sound vague, doesn’t it? LOL. Same as weird–a very weird word.

By: Deidre

Deidre — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:31:26 +0000

Actually the word vague is king of strange to me and also little. Both can mean so many things.

Deidre

By: Jacquie Rogers

Jacquie Rogers — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:11:46 +0000

Margay, I agree. Wordiness is not my cuppa, although I have friends who love it. Different strokes, and all that.

Ann, your English teacher and my mom must have been sister-spirits or something. Mom would come unglued when we used “got.” It took me a long time to put it back into my writing. The fact is, “got” is a commonly used word and sometimes, especially in dialogue, a passage will sound stilted without it.

BTW, “it” is another overused vague word. LOL

Mercedes, yep, it’s all about creating a picture where the author and the reader can create the story together. The reader is 50% of story creation, since interpretation is as important as the written passage. The question is, can the author guide the reader? The best ones do–they play with our emotions, torture the characters (and us!), make us cry and laugh, and give us a satisfying ending.

Dianna F, speaking of endings, I’ve noticed a few rushed endings where it appeared that the author ran out of time, so slapped the last two chapters together and called it good. I can’t remember who said it, but I went to a workshop and the speaker said that the first chapter sells the book, but the last chapter sells the next book.

Thank you all for stopping by, especially in light of the tragedy in our midst. Again, I wish Jane well, and I hope she takes all the time she needs to heal.

By: Dianna F

Dianna F — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:27:09 +0000

I am one that is bad about being vague when I am in a rush. Thankfully for me it is not such a bad thing as I am not a writer myself. But it does get on my nerves when a writer of a story does not give you enough details to keep you interested in what is going on within the story. I want to know what and why and the outcome.

By: mercedes

mercedes — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:27:22 +0000

I actually like the last because I can just see this poor frazzled woman trying to make a great dinner yet, get her work done then of course that darn cat like always had to be in the pathway!!

By: Ann Charles

Ann Charles — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:43:19 +0000

Thanks to my high school English teacher, I’m not overly fond of the verb “got.” There are many more descriptive verbs out there that work much harder for you than that lazy, three-letter verb.

By: Margay

Margay — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:04:56 +0000

I can’t say that I have a specific word that bothers me. I don’t like vague words in general. It’s okay to be descriptive as long as you choose your words wisely (i.e., why use three words when one will do?).