Seeking The Voice

Crafting a story is dependent on many variables. One of the most important is the narrator's "voice". Theorists sometimes refer to "viewpoint", but that's not what I mean here. The same narrator can have different viewpoints. Here's an exercise that I suggest you try to train the muscle in your brain that tells stories and to understand the power of "voice":think of someone you know with a strong personality, with a particular way of speaking, with a peculiar view of the world and then take any story you have written, any story, short or long,...

Editing: Part 2

Let me begin again in Jean Paul-Sartre style, by stating the obvious: to edit you must...have something to edit. The first draft is like a newborn babe. Once born, you raise it, nurture it. There is a certain way of looking at text that provides a powerful impetus - it is knowing that some day someone is going to read it. When that day dawns the writing you reveal must be the best you can produce and that takes time, effort, will and focus. So how do you begin the process of editing? By reading. Now, what you must not do is to print out all...

The Ear vs The Eye

There is something the ear can discern that the eye cannot. It is rarely mentioned, but it is there like a speck of dust in the corner of your eye...yes, there it is...it is an edge, in fact it is THE edge the ear has over the eye. It is rhythm. One of the best techniques to aid anyone to write is to read your work aloud. Even better to let someone else read it for you. When the sound of the text that you have written expands and explodes and rumbles in your eardrums and you hear the voices of the characters you created, at that big bang moment...