Chris Dietzel's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-tips"
3 Lessons Writers can Learn from Star Wars
With anticipation building for the upcoming ‘The Force Awakens’ Star Wars movie, I’m reminded of what made the original trilogy so great. I’ve also found myself hoping the next movie resembles the original trilogy and not the prequel trilogy, which I don’t like to acknowledge as existing.
A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi can teach today’s authors a lot about how to effectively tell a story that completely enthralls its audience. Here are three things every writer can learn from them:
1 – Don’t make your world-building pretty
One of the things I love about the original trilogy is how dirty and broken down everything is. Every ship is coated in a layer of grime. The hyperdrive doesn’t work. These are things that let viewers know the universe George Lucas created isn’t a perfect fairy-tale place. By including imperfections and dust and old blast marks, you’re left feeling that the entire galaxy is more realistic than you otherwise would. This is where I learned that stories are more effective when surroundings have some dirt on them. In other genres, maybe this means a cracked coffee mug, a car with a broken muffler, or a casket that doesn’t close correctly because of caked-on mud.
No matter what, though, don’t make the world you create a shiny, new place. It won’t feel as authentic.
2 – Don’t explain everything
Why does BobaFett think he can talk to Darth Vader as if they are equals? Where did Leia get the bounty hunter costume that she wore to sneak into Jabba’s palace? While this is explained in the extended universe of books and comics, it goes unexplained in the movies. And that’s a good thing. It’s part of what made BobaFett such an instant cult sensation. It’s part of why you wonder what every other character is doing in Jabba’s palace. While it’s important to explain plot points, it’s not necessary to explain every single aspect of a scene.
Let things go untold. Let the reader use their imagination to fill in gaps. It allows them to interpret characters and motivations as they please, and it lets you tell the core of your story faster.
3 – Do rely on the surrounding environment to show, not tell
All too often, storytellers tell the reader that their character is a badass, or they have a scene with a lot of four-letter words and a couple fight scenes to get the idea across. Look at the original Star Wars movies, though. There is no cursing. There is almost no blood. And yet viewers get the impression Han Solo can probably curse with the best of them.
Not to mention that between the Rancor, bounty hunters, and creatures lurking in the shadows, you quickly get the idea that there is plenty of suffering and death in the galaxy. Yet, none of it is shown.
Lucas created an environment where those things exist off camera. Rather than having to beat us over the head with them, Lucas focuses on the heart of the story, keeping audiences engaged throughout. From that, I learned to be more imaginative in how I “show” the true nature of my characters and their surroundings.
Do you have other lessons you’ve learned from Star Wars? If so, I’d love to hear them.
Originally published at: http://ronelvantonder.co.za/3-lessons...
A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi can teach today’s authors a lot about how to effectively tell a story that completely enthralls its audience. Here are three things every writer can learn from them:
1 – Don’t make your world-building pretty
One of the things I love about the original trilogy is how dirty and broken down everything is. Every ship is coated in a layer of grime. The hyperdrive doesn’t work. These are things that let viewers know the universe George Lucas created isn’t a perfect fairy-tale place. By including imperfections and dust and old blast marks, you’re left feeling that the entire galaxy is more realistic than you otherwise would. This is where I learned that stories are more effective when surroundings have some dirt on them. In other genres, maybe this means a cracked coffee mug, a car with a broken muffler, or a casket that doesn’t close correctly because of caked-on mud.
No matter what, though, don’t make the world you create a shiny, new place. It won’t feel as authentic.
2 – Don’t explain everything
Why does BobaFett think he can talk to Darth Vader as if they are equals? Where did Leia get the bounty hunter costume that she wore to sneak into Jabba’s palace? While this is explained in the extended universe of books and comics, it goes unexplained in the movies. And that’s a good thing. It’s part of what made BobaFett such an instant cult sensation. It’s part of why you wonder what every other character is doing in Jabba’s palace. While it’s important to explain plot points, it’s not necessary to explain every single aspect of a scene.
Let things go untold. Let the reader use their imagination to fill in gaps. It allows them to interpret characters and motivations as they please, and it lets you tell the core of your story faster.
3 – Do rely on the surrounding environment to show, not tell
All too often, storytellers tell the reader that their character is a badass, or they have a scene with a lot of four-letter words and a couple fight scenes to get the idea across. Look at the original Star Wars movies, though. There is no cursing. There is almost no blood. And yet viewers get the impression Han Solo can probably curse with the best of them.
Not to mention that between the Rancor, bounty hunters, and creatures lurking in the shadows, you quickly get the idea that there is plenty of suffering and death in the galaxy. Yet, none of it is shown.
Lucas created an environment where those things exist off camera. Rather than having to beat us over the head with them, Lucas focuses on the heart of the story, keeping audiences engaged throughout. From that, I learned to be more imaginative in how I “show” the true nature of my characters and their surroundings.
Do you have other lessons you’ve learned from Star Wars? If so, I’d love to hear them.
Originally published at: http://ronelvantonder.co.za/3-lessons...
Writing tips by three great authors
I’m always looking to learn from other writers. As I developed my own writing voice and my own style of telling stories, I’ve found various lessons and insights that were helpful. Here is a collection from three authors I’ve enjoyed.
Robert Heinelein’s Rules of Writing:
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
6. Start Working on something else.
Heinlein’s rules were the very first set of writing tips I remember reading. Of course, this was a long time ago and the industry has changed a lot since he wrote those rules, especially in regards to Rules #4 and #5.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Basic Tips for Writing:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
I included Vonnegut’s tips because I love everything that has anything to do with him. His voice as a writer made a big impact on me and ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ is one of my all-time favorite books. I also enjoy how frank he is in everything he says, even his writing advice.
Stephen King’s Tips for Becoming a Better Writer:
1. Get to the point.
2. Write a draft, then let it rest.
3. Cut down your text.
4. Be relateable and honest.
5. Don’t care too much what others may think.
6. Read a lot.
7. Write a lot.
Stephen King’s tips are last because I relate to them the most. If I were going to suggest some tips for aspiring authors they would most resemble the list King put together.
For another list of writing tips, check out an article the Guardian posted a couple years ago, with writing tips by the likes of Margaret Atwood, Elmore Leonard, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, and others.
If these tips help at least one aspiring writer, then they have served their purpose. If you’ve found other writing tips that are particularly useful, I’d love to hear them.
Robert Heinelein’s Rules of Writing:
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
6. Start Working on something else.
Heinlein’s rules were the very first set of writing tips I remember reading. Of course, this was a long time ago and the industry has changed a lot since he wrote those rules, especially in regards to Rules #4 and #5.
Kurt Vonnegut’s Basic Tips for Writing:
1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.
I included Vonnegut’s tips because I love everything that has anything to do with him. His voice as a writer made a big impact on me and ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ is one of my all-time favorite books. I also enjoy how frank he is in everything he says, even his writing advice.
Stephen King’s Tips for Becoming a Better Writer:
1. Get to the point.
2. Write a draft, then let it rest.
3. Cut down your text.
4. Be relateable and honest.
5. Don’t care too much what others may think.
6. Read a lot.
7. Write a lot.
Stephen King’s tips are last because I relate to them the most. If I were going to suggest some tips for aspiring authors they would most resemble the list King put together.
For another list of writing tips, check out an article the Guardian posted a couple years ago, with writing tips by the likes of Margaret Atwood, Elmore Leonard, Richard Ford, Neil Gaiman, and others.
If these tips help at least one aspiring writer, then they have served their purpose. If you’ve found other writing tips that are particularly useful, I’d love to hear them.
