Alambil and Tarvis
New member
I get those moments all the time...Like last summer, when I went on a Disney cruise...I spent half my time imagining that I was on the Dawn Treader.
And another part of it imagining I was a mermaid while snorkeling 
The Marketplace of Technique: Open to All
- Thread starter Copperfox
- Start date
I get those moments all the time...Like last summer, when I went on a Disney cruise...I spent half my time imagining that I was on the Dawn Treader.
And another part of it imagining I was a mermaid while snorkeling 
Lost Dreamer
New member
You do that too? high-five!
One thing I've done that really, really helps me when I'm blocked is to make myself sit down once a day, and try to write something new, while timing how long it takes. Then instead of going on the internet for my normal time - *cough 3+ hours* *cough cough*
- I go on for as long as I wrote. If I wrote for half an hour, then I go on the web for half an hour. Etc.
This works very well for me because, one, it takes pressure of off wordcount. I'm not so worried about "producing" anything. Also, there is no punishment for not writing; I just get rewarded if I do write. And I find that when I'm blocked, I turn to the internet to entertain myself. Without it, I end up thinking about my story more, and that almost always leads me to busting the block.
Some of these tips are really good!
Alambil and Tarvis
New member
You do that too? high-five!
One thing I've done that really, really helps me when I'm blocked is to make myself sit down once a day, and try to write something new, while timing how long it takes. Then instead of going on the internet for my normal time - *cough 3+ hours* *cough cough*
- I go on for as long as I wrote. If I wrote for half an hour, then I go on the web for half an hour. Etc.
This works very well for me because, one, it takes pressure of off wordcount. I'm not so worried about "producing" anything. Also, there is no punishment for not writing; I just get rewarded if I do write. And I find that when I'm blocked, I turn to the internet to entertain myself. Without it, I end up thinking about my story more, and that almost always leads me to busting the block.
Some of these tips are really good!
Y'know...I really should try that...b/c I just get distracted by the internet too.
Alambil and Tarvis
New member
Hmm, a good writing exercise to be gotten out of that is to either write a random story (without lifting your pen, etc.) using all of those words or write a poem doing the same exact thing. Gets the brain going
Thanks
I have been inspired. 
Izzlebink, Dimplesquink, Ibbergizzy, Blibbergizzy, blort, glort....
Are you inspired yet?
Now for the serious post. Achieving balance in a long story is akin to arranging furniture in a room. Subplots and the main plot are like chairs, tables and pictures on the wall. You can go for formal balance which is to place similar objects on either end and in the centre, or you can go for informal balance by putting a couple of short interesting segments to balance one major storyline.
Points you use to weight them include the strength of the emotional reaction, the detail involved in understanding it, the relevance to the final conclusion, and the type of emotion elicited.
You don't want to have everything in the first part of a mystery novel being humorous and then have everything from the middle on being unremittingly bleak and sorrowful. You don't want to solve 90 percent of the mystery at the front and then go the whole second half of the book trying to find out the significance of "Snubbergizzy" in Esmarelda's diary. Take a piece of paper and draw a vertical line for each chapter. Then rate each chapter in terms of humour, depression, excitement, discovery, detail level and length on a scale of 1 to 10. draw a graph. Look at it overall and see if you have any conspicuous "holes" or lack of balance.
And by the way, a snubbergizzy is a blootsninkle with a horsmudgeonly ganip slooper that twizzles.
Are you inspired yet?
Now for the serious post. Achieving balance in a long story is akin to arranging furniture in a room. Subplots and the main plot are like chairs, tables and pictures on the wall. You can go for formal balance which is to place similar objects on either end and in the centre, or you can go for informal balance by putting a couple of short interesting segments to balance one major storyline.
Points you use to weight them include the strength of the emotional reaction, the detail involved in understanding it, the relevance to the final conclusion, and the type of emotion elicited.
You don't want to have everything in the first part of a mystery novel being humorous and then have everything from the middle on being unremittingly bleak and sorrowful. You don't want to solve 90 percent of the mystery at the front and then go the whole second half of the book trying to find out the significance of "Snubbergizzy" in Esmarelda's diary. Take a piece of paper and draw a vertical line for each chapter. Then rate each chapter in terms of humour, depression, excitement, discovery, detail level and length on a scale of 1 to 10. draw a graph. Look at it overall and see if you have any conspicuous "holes" or lack of balance.
And by the way, a snubbergizzy is a blootsninkle with a horsmudgeonly ganip slooper that twizzles.
Alambil and Tarvis
New member
Izzlebink, Dimplesquink, Ibbergizzy, Blibbergizzy, blort, glort....
Are you inspired yet?
Now for the serious post. Achieving balance in a long story is akin to arranging furniture in a room. Subplots and the main plot are like chairs, tables and pictures on the wall. You can go for formal balance which is to place similar objects on either end and in the centre, or you can go for informal balance by putting a couple of short interesting segments to balance one major storyline.
Points you use to weight them include the strength of the emotional reaction, the detail involved in understanding it, the relevance to the final conclusion, and the type of emotion elicited.
You don't want to have everything in the first part of a mystery novel being humorous and then have everything from the middle on being unremittingly bleak and sorrowful. You don't want to solve 90 percent of the mystery at the front and then go the whole second half of the book trying to find out the significance of "Snubbergizzy" in Esmarelda's diary. Take a piece of paper and draw a vertical line for each chapter. Then rate each chapter in terms of humour, depression, excitement, discovery, detail level and length on a scale of 1 to 10. draw a graph. Look at it overall and see if you have any conspicuous "holes" or lack of balance.
And by the way, a snubbergizzy is a blootsninkle with a horsmudgeonly ganip slooper that twizzles.
Hmm, that's an interesting method. I dunno if it would work for me, though, since I have legitimate OCD and would probably get WAYYY (beyond "normal") too nitpicky about that sort of thing and then never actually get to writing the story. I'm better off when I just at least get it all out of my head, and then I go back and fix it.
But different things work for different people
DestinyLies
Active member
The one thing I HATE is always putting "Said" or the same word over and over. I need...other words, alternates. I know like comment, and remarked but I need MORE my thesaurus doesn't have all of them....I know that's weird.
Lil Princess
Member
Me too! I just make stuff up though. Make up actions and use regular verbs. And mix around the sentence structure. I think
Queen Lucy replied merrily.
replied Queen Lucy with a merry laugh.
Narnia's youngest queen merrily laughed in reply, "....
I hope that helps, sorry if it's not very good or helpful.
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I'm not sure what's going on here... but I think I like it.
I think I've found my department here in Narniaville. The WORD people!!
Copperfox
Well-known member
The attempt to get writings _published_ in a hard-copy form (or even on a high-volume website) can reasonably be considered an aspect of the skills an aspiring author needs to acquire.
I have recently been reading a biography of the famous 18th-century British writer Samuel Johnson, and I see that he had the same struggle in his youth. Magazines already existed in Britain of that time, and Johnson was trying to gain acceptance as a regular contributor to one. According to the biographer (not James Boswell in this case), Johnson resorted to writing a poem which extravagantly flattered the owner of the magazine with which he desired employment. It worked.
I take no responsibility for anyone who reads this post and then starts shamelessly flattering editors. All I'm doing is reporting what a famous author did.
I have recently been reading a biography of the famous 18th-century British writer Samuel Johnson, and I see that he had the same struggle in his youth. Magazines already existed in Britain of that time, and Johnson was trying to gain acceptance as a regular contributor to one. According to the biographer (not James Boswell in this case), Johnson resorted to writing a poem which extravagantly flattered the owner of the magazine with which he desired employment. It worked.
I take no responsibility for anyone who reads this post and then starts shamelessly flattering editors. All I'm doing is reporting what a famous author did.
It's important to vary your use of said--other forumers have given some good suggestions on how--but don't bend over backwards trying to find another word, either. C. S. Lewis, in writing the Narnia books, generally used "said" rather than its synonyms, although he sometimes used other words when they better described the way a character spoke. In my own writing, I try to avoid using "said" as much as he used it, but if "said" fits more easily than anything else, I don't stalk my thesaurus for substitutes. Just make sure your writing flows.
Zella
New member
When I'm writing using "said" too much bothers me and I try to avoid it and vary the words I use and the way I use them. But to be honest, when I'm reading something, I really do not notice. It goes the same way with other words, too, like "you", "and", etc. Usually the only time I find a word too repetitive is when it is a more important word than "said", "you", or "and" and it is in the same sentance or sometimes in two back-to-back sentances.
Mozart the Meerkitten
Well-known member
"Never did like a cat who used the same word in back-tu-back sentances."
I try to not use 'said' too much either. I find it gets tiring just writing the word over and over again, so I find another word to fit and use that.
exclaimed, sqeaked, gasped, whispered, hissed, cried, howled < are some words I used instead of "said"
DestinyLies
Active member
Yeah. OK. I do use other words than said like Mozie gave...thanks for the help!
Avoid the overuse of "said" by your writing style. Consider letting the context indicate the speaker. Note this exchange...