There are adverbs, and there are adverbs
Thursday, January 9. 2020
Yes, I'm back again. I'm going through a bit of life upheaval at the moment, but I want to stay focused on certain life goals through the tempest, and writing is an important one. Maintaining this blog is tangential to that pursuit, but helps me by providing the illusion of accountability (i.e., no one's actually reading this but me...but that's okay!).
One of the editing tasks I have learned to perform as I read back through prose I have spewed is to identify and eliminate adverbs. Well, not all adverbs, but as many as possible. Adverbs can weaken one's writing by acting as a "crutch" or shortcut around more effective storytelling; they tend to tell a reader how to interpret an action rather than allowing the story to show how that action should be interpreted.
Not all adverbs are bad. Some are very, very good. The key is knowing the difference, which I'm still learning. As an illustration, this passage from Douglas Adams' Life, the Universe, and Everything contains my favorite use of an adverb of all time.
"It is written,'' repeated Prak, "in thirty-foot-high letters of fire on top of the Quentulus Quazgar Mountains in the land of Sevorbeupstry on the planet Preliumtarn, third out from the...''
"Sorry,'' said Arthur again, "which mountains?''
"The Quentulus Quazgar Mountains in the land of Sevorbeupstry on the planet...''
"Which land was that? I didn't quite catch it.''
"Sevorbeupstry, on the planet...''
"Sevorbe-what?''
"Oh, for heaven's sake,'' said Prak and died testily.
That's how I want to go.
Yes, I'm back again. I'm going through a bit of life upheaval at the moment, but I want to stay focused on certain life goals through the tempest, and writing is an important one. Maintaining this blog is tangential to that pursuit, but helps me by providing the illusion of accountability (i.e., no one's actually reading this but me...but that's okay!).
One of the editing tasks I have learned to perform as I read back through prose I have spewed is to identify and eliminate adverbs. Well, not all adverbs, but as many as possible. Adverbs can weaken one's writing by acting as a "crutch" or shortcut around more effective storytelling; they tend to tell a reader how to interpret an action rather than allowing the story to show how that action should be interpreted.
Not all adverbs are bad. Some are very, very good. The key is knowing the difference, which I'm still learning. As an illustration, this passage from Douglas Adams' Life, the Universe, and Everything contains my favorite use of an adverb of all time.
That's how I want to go.
One of the editing tasks I have learned to perform as I read back through prose I have spewed is to identify and eliminate adverbs. Well, not all adverbs, but as many as possible. Adverbs can weaken one's writing by acting as a "crutch" or shortcut around more effective storytelling; they tend to tell a reader how to interpret an action rather than allowing the story to show how that action should be interpreted.
Not all adverbs are bad. Some are very, very good. The key is knowing the difference, which I'm still learning. As an illustration, this passage from Douglas Adams' Life, the Universe, and Everything contains my favorite use of an adverb of all time.
"It is written,'' repeated Prak, "in thirty-foot-high letters of fire on top of the Quentulus Quazgar Mountains in the land of Sevorbeupstry on the planet Preliumtarn, third out from the...'' "Sorry,'' said Arthur again, "which mountains?'' "The Quentulus Quazgar Mountains in the land of Sevorbeupstry on the planet...'' "Which land was that? I didn't quite catch it.'' "Sevorbeupstry, on the planet...'' "Sevorbe-what?'' "Oh, for heaven's sake,'' said Prak and died testily. |
That's how I want to go.
Mortality
Thursday, November 7. 2019
My father passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning.
I've spent the last couple of days making my way back to Tennessee and helping my mother work through arrangements. I still haven't fully processed what's happened because it was so sudden. But in addition to having to adjust to a world that no longer includes the man who has been a constant in my life since my birth, this week is forcing me to face my own mortality.
What do I want to accomplish while I'm still breathing? How should I set my priorities? What have I been putting off that I should do as soon as possible?
These questions are in the back of my mind as the family gathers to say our farewells...
My father passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning.
I've spent the last couple of days making my way back to Tennessee and helping my mother work through arrangements. I still haven't fully processed what's happened because it was so sudden. But in addition to having to adjust to a world that no longer includes the man who has been a constant in my life since my birth, this week is forcing me to face my own mortality.
What do I want to accomplish while I'm still breathing? How should I set my priorities? What have I been putting off that I should do as soon as possible?
These questions are in the back of my mind as the family gathers to say our farewells...
I've spent the last couple of days making my way back to Tennessee and helping my mother work through arrangements. I still haven't fully processed what's happened because it was so sudden. But in addition to having to adjust to a world that no longer includes the man who has been a constant in my life since my birth, this week is forcing me to face my own mortality.
What do I want to accomplish while I'm still breathing? How should I set my priorities? What have I been putting off that I should do as soon as possible?
These questions are in the back of my mind as the family gathers to say our farewells...
Writing Tool Selected!
Tuesday, November 5. 2019
Well, I looked at Dabble, Campfire, and a few others...but I ended up selecting Scrivener to use as a writing tool going forward.
I like that it allows me to see my entire plot in summary form at a glance through the scenes I've set up with short descriptions—and then to dive right in to editing a scene from that view. I am also able to give each scene a rating as to how complete I feel it is, so I know where to apply my rewriting efforts. I do wish it had a "character arc" view or other similar plotting tools, but a new major version is in the works which looks like it will have the tools I'm looking for. (I'm a little perturbed that this new version has been available on the Mac for two years and is slated for release on Windows "later this year"—but the current Windows version is meeting my needs right now anyway.)
Well, I looked at Dabble, Campfire, and a few others...but I ended up selecting Scrivener to use as a writing tool going forward.
I like that it allows me to see my entire plot in summary form at a glance through the scenes I've set up with short descriptions—and then to dive right in to editing a scene from that view. I am also able to give each scene a rating as to how complete I feel it is, so I know where to apply my rewriting efforts. I do wish it had a "character arc" view or other similar plotting tools, but a new major version is in the works which looks like it will have the tools I'm looking for. (I'm a little perturbed that this new version has been available on the Mac for two years and is slated for release on Windows "later this year"—but the current Windows version is meeting my needs right now anyway.)
I like that it allows me to see my entire plot in summary form at a glance through the scenes I've set up with short descriptions—and then to dive right in to editing a scene from that view. I am also able to give each scene a rating as to how complete I feel it is, so I know where to apply my rewriting efforts. I do wish it had a "character arc" view or other similar plotting tools, but a new major version is in the works which looks like it will have the tools I'm looking for. (I'm a little perturbed that this new version has been available on the Mac for two years and is slated for release on Windows "later this year"—but the current Windows version is meeting my needs right now anyway.)
Do-Overs
Monday, November 4. 2019
It's Just This Little Chromium Switch Here...
Sunday, November 3. 2019
Here I go again—attempting to jump-start my writing by adding some structure and accountability to my word production. NaNoWriMo started a few days ago for this year, but I don't need to start producing yet another new novel—what I really need to do is to get some of my old (some very old) projects completed.
Toward that end, I am committing to spending a total of 60 hours in November working on writing.
Specific projects I plan to tackle are:
- Selecting a writing tool and associated devices to allow me to work wherever I find myself.
- Selecting one of my short stories in progress to finish this month and begin shopping.
- Focusing on one novel to get refamiliarized with and drive toward a sellable state—meaning I need to finish plotting the entire novel, add text to get to the word count I want, and finish editing what I've already written.
I don't necessarily expect to finish the novel this month, but I'd like to get items 1 and 2 completed. Number 1, anyway, should be pretty easy; I just have to try out the various tools recommended by and/or sponsoring NaNoWriMo and pick the best for my purposes. I'm making pretty good progress so far this month, but we'll see where I am by the time 1 December rolls around...soon!
Here I go again—attempting to jump-start my writing by adding some structure and accountability to my word production. NaNoWriMo started a few days ago for this year, but I don't need to start producing yet another new novel—what I really need to do is to get some of my old (some very old) projects completed.
Toward that end, I am committing to spending a total of 60 hours in November working on writing.
Specific projects I plan to tackle are:
Toward that end, I am committing to spending a total of 60 hours in November working on writing.
Specific projects I plan to tackle are:
- Selecting a writing tool and associated devices to allow me to work wherever I find myself.
- Selecting one of my short stories in progress to finish this month and begin shopping.
- Focusing on one novel to get refamiliarized with and drive toward a sellable state—meaning I need to finish plotting the entire novel, add text to get to the word count I want, and finish editing what I've already written.
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