Author: JamieKate
•5:08 PM
Since this blog is supposed to be about writing and not me whining about how I can't write (ahem, self), I figured I'd give you a few short tips of things I've learned in my short but eventful career as a not-yet-published author.

What authority do I have to give anyone advice? That's another story entirely. But I have a whole lifetime to prove to you my success. So I might as well start acting like I'm famous now, right?....Right?

Shut up, you.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED:

1. Let the words of dialogue speak for themselves. Adverbs and descriptions of dialogue only hamper the rhythm of speech in most cases and distract from the scene. If you really feel that something isn't coming across, add to it, but only in special cases. Otherwise, you'll look like an amateur, and amateurs are generally frowned upon. In general. Not specifically, maybe, but in general. Yes.

2. Write for yourself; that is the only way your passion will shine through in your writing. As Kurt Vonnegut said, "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." And you want your story nice and healthy, using no tissues and keeping away from the Literary Hospital. Yes, it exists. Trust me, my poor stories have had to visit a number of times.

3. Character, in my opinion, is the most important thing. Not how pretty the things the character is looking at are, not the Big Event that changes the character's life. If the reader doesn't like the character, she'll have no one to route for, and if she really doesn't like them, she won't want to stick around unless there's a chance the character will be dead soon. So make your characters likable. How do you do that? Well, what do you like in a person? Make them be that. Smush characteristics and flaws together to make a quirky, fun character who forgets to water her plants, or a lovable meiser who salsa dances on the weekends. Characters = love. You visit a place again and again for the people in it, not the view or the stuff you do. Or, at least, I do. I might just be a freak, though.

Those are three quick tips to consider in writing. A quick disclaimer, though: those are my opinions, garnered from my experience. Some writers may disagree and scream at me and make effigies in my name because of how wrong they think I am (that was a joke, by the way - I've found writers, on the whole, to be a quite affable bunch). Take the advice given with a grain of salt, because I might not be right.
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