Chris Stralyn's Blog, page 4

#WritersWisdom -Rule 84- Go With God, But Write With The Devil

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #84- Go With God, But Write With The Devil. “Writing not only records conflict, it begins and ends with, romanticizes, emphasized, and takes its very life from conflict. Put conflict in your stories.”

 
Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 83- Know Your Theme

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #83- Know Your Theme. “In the who, what ,where, when, and why of a story, the why exposes theme. It is the psychology, the developing moral, the lesson being learned by the protagonist - therefore the lesson for the reader, who participates vicariously in the action.”

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 82- Shift Focus Often

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #82- Shift Focus Often. “Approach your scenes like a movie director would, using multiple camera angles and quick edits. Pick up a book by a highly regarded author and open it anywhere. There you’ll find an example. It’s really the most common way of storytelling, to present a potpourri of images." 

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

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#WritersWisdom -Rule 81- Reveal Past Events Through Exposition or Flashback

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #81- Reveal Past Events Through Exposition or Flashback. “Rookie writers often make the mistake of having characters talk about the past for the sake of the reader. Rookie editors let it go, and so it still shows up occasionally. But don’t do it. If both characters were present for the past event, they wouldn't be telling each other about it - they’d already know. Find another way to share vital backstory.”

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 80- Tell Them Stories to Keep Them Reading

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #80- Tell Them Stories to Keep Them Reading. “No matter what you’re writing - be it analytical chemistry reports, environmental impact statements, or documentary strategies for the exculpation of the Nazi demimonde - you can get your readers interested with a good story. This happened, and then that happened, which led up to the most amazing incident. Essay writers know this as ‘the anecdotal opening.’ And it’s the kind of tactic used to elicit a reader’s trust and attention.”

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

 

#WritersWisdom -Rule 79- Avoid Commentary; Let Readers Make Their Own Deductions

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #79- Avoid Commentary; Let Readers Make Their Own Deductions. “When you infer rather than explain - allow objects to speak for themselves, and action to tell the story - your readers will love you for trusting them.”

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 78- Use Images to Deliver Ideas

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #78- Use Images to Deliver Ideas. “Philosophy and abstractions should be packaged and sold in gift boxes. Because concept is non-corporeal (you can’t see an idea), you should place expository sentences next to descriptions.”

 
Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 77- Practice the Elements of Description

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #77- Practice the Elements of Description.  “In stories, as in life, we must sometimes stop everything that’s going on. Stop, and observe. For storytellers this represents a kind of crossover into visual art because here we paint word pictures, or snap photographs in phrases. The two primary categories of descriptive writing are catalogs and sketches  Invest a little in their creation and they pay back ten-fold in your narrative.”

 Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)

#WritersWisdom -Rule 76- Allow for Descriptive Passages

Writer’s Wisdom -Rule #76- Allow for Descriptive Passages. “Organize your descriptive passages in the most logical and natural way, and refine the details with increasing power. Transform artifice into something so authentic the reader will think he’s looking at real life instead of mere words.

Taken from The Writer’s Book of Wisdom - 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft, by Steven Taylor Goldsberry, (http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Boo...)