Syntax

Finished chapter 4; 7,337 word count

Writing Tip: Varying the sentence structure keeps the reader interested and awake. Awake is very important. I do have a book by my bed that I read when I can't go to sleep. It cures insomnia.
Syntax (from American Heritage dictionary): The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.

Syntax has a great deal to do with your writing "voice."

Hemingway is never mistaken for William Faulkner because his syntax defined a different voice.

Example of varying syntax from Dragons of the Watch:
When she looked again, she saw that the eyes no longer blazed at her. The expression on the dragon's face was cold and unfeeling.

Better: The blazing eyes, on second examination, appeared glazed over, cold and unfeeling.

Best: On second examination, the blazing eyes appeared glazed over, cold and unfeeling.

Aha! parallel construction

Working on chapter four; 6018 word count

Writing tip: Parallel construction just means that like verbs must be presented in like manner.

Example: A little breeze kicked up, and the mist swirled and eddied, clearing in some patches and stretched thin across others.

A little breeze kicked up, and the mist swirled and eddied, clearing in some patches and stretching thin across others.

Tighten. . . Tighter! . . . Got it!

Almost finished with ch. 3; word count - 5,273

Writing Tip: Sometimes you want your work to feel loose, casual, meandering. Gentle words drifting around the point of view character's perception of the situation accentuates the readers' interpretation.
However, more often than we like, our writing benefits from precise execution of plot, setting, and character with fewer, straightforward words.

So we rewrite for tightness:
Effie placed a hand on her stomach that felt hollow.
Effie placed a hand on her hollow stomach.

Effie searched through the mess the ranger had made when he ransacked the house. While her hands worked to uncover the map, her mouth muttered descriptive words of the rogue ranger.
Effie searched the ransacked house. Outrage fueled her frenzied search. Epitaphs against the rogue ranger released her steaming frustration.

Best Writing Advice Ever

Read what you want to write

and

write what you want to read.

Read Aloud

I plotted and didn't get much written. One sentence is all I produced and that defines "didn't get much written."

Writing Tip: Actually, I worked on an article to submit to a homeschooling magazine. The article is on the importance of reading aloud to emergent readers. The sound of story is very important in developing that part of the brain that craves reading.

And that brings us to this writing tip. Not only do I read my chapters aloud, I have them read aloud to me. Hearing your story reveals two important things. The author hears mistakes in vocabulary, grammar, and syntax easier than when reading the material silently.
Second, the cadence of the language is more apparent. People say that "the narrative flows." This is akin to that nebulous thing people call "The Author's Voice." Largo, allegretto, messo di voce, and crescendo all describe dynamics and tempo for music. The dynamics and tempo of a written piece are important in the delivery of story. This integral part of emphasizing mood in your writing is there in print, but more easily recognized, and thereafter, fine-tuned when you hear the words.

Okay, all right, alright

Finished Chapter 2; 4,121 word count

Writing Tip: Which word is correct for your story? Okay? All right? Alright?
I have no idea when people started saying okay. I could look it up, but never have because I use it in contemporary and not in historical. My fantasies tend to take place in a pre-industrial society, so I don't use okay in my fantasy character's speech.
There are dictionaries that tell you when a word began to pop up in a culture. So if you are writing a historical, check to see if words (not just okay) were being used back in the time which is part of the setting of your story..

Alright is colloquial and is okay for use in informal speech because we speak with less formality in most situations. The visual alright cues the reader of the relaxed nature of the interchange.

I can't bring myself to use alright, even in speech. Just fussy, I guess.

All right should be used at all times in narrative. (That's the bit between the bits of dialogue.)

Now how do you feel about the distinctions between the three words? Are you okay with this? Does it seem all right? "Alright, I guess you're good to go."

Language vs. Words

Still on chapter 2

Writing Tip: As in most things in our lives, our writing must be balanced. The difference between journalistic writing and purple prose needs to be understood. Neither is suitable for storytelling. One is too stark, the other is too extravagant.
Words lined up to convey meaning is where we start, but the simple sentence is just the jumping off point. When creating literature, we stretch and create language expressive of mood and emotion. Language can compel change. Language can assuage guilt. Language can motivate or release an individual from striving, giving peace.
Language lifts the story rather than just relays the facts. Many people will tell you that the mastery of language is the accomplishment that infuses the narrative with voice.

Language that reveals life, truth, and beauty moves an ordinary piece of writing to classic stature.
Literature that sheds light on life exposes the relationship between the comparatively small package of one man's experience to the vast "big picture" of the universe.
Literature that simplifies a universal truth expands the understanding of the reader.
Literature that clarifies beauty amplifies what can be seen to what can be felt.

Words can convey a set of facts, but language interprets facts and raises the reader's awareness. Language speaks to the soul as well as the intellect.

And in the end, language that brings the reader to the point of sharing in the common experience of mankind (themes like love, hate, loss, faith, innocence and the loss of innocence) has a unique role in reminding God's creation that there is something beyond the here and now.

The story is important. The theme is important. The expression of your Christian worldview is important. Expressed in mere words, your rhetoric falls flat. Painted with the brush of masterful language, your message has wings.

"Press on."
Philippians chapter three