Inkless

One of the first mistakes beginning writers make is that they use too many adverbs. This is probably due to a number of misguided efforts aimed at making writing more vivid:

1) the beginning writer’s desire to cram as many detail words as possible into every sentence

2) the notion that adding adverbs makes writing more active

3) the new writer’s mistaken reliance on descriptive words instead of a combination of descriptive phrases and good detail selection

How can one avoid flabby writing? By having a balanced word diet. Here’s a plan I recommend:

The words you provide to readers should be rich in nouns and verbs. They’re nutritious. Basic punctuation is, of course, necessary but only in smaller quantities. The same is true of adjectives. If you’re tossing in handfuls of commas and em-dashes, or layering multiple adjectives on a single noun, you’re writing will start to become unhealthy.

Finally, adverbs should be sprinkled only lightly throughout your work. If readers have ground through a page of solid nouns with only sparse use of adjectives and essential punctuation, then allow them to have an adverb for sweetening.

This is the eighth and final category in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements.

The story elements at this level are the most broad, and often require the most out of story planning time to execute. Some of them are so broad they rarely apply in short stories, both because elements which receive only a few sentences of attention don’t need to be flushed out as much in the writer’s mind, and because writers simply don’t have the time and resources to exhaustively research a short (and not terribly lucrative) story.

Elements at this level include the creation of story maps and other larger visual diagrams to help make sure all the pieces of the story can and do go together they way then need to. It also includes world-building, an elements that speculative fiction writers are particularly enamored of but include the reoccuring props and backdrops in non-speculative writing as well.

Finally, this group also includes elements like series arc (into which novel-length arcs must fit), and the relentless need to find new challenges for old characters.

This is the seventh of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. A number of very big issues gain predominance at this level, mostly focused on story cohesion and creating a recognizable path through from beginning to end. This includes plot and story arch.

I’ve also included theme and focus here, though I’m not as decided on those elements. One or both of them may get migrated to the chapter section as I develop the Story Gamut.

This is the sixth of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. Though chapters are often shorter than short stories, since they require reference to larger book-length issues or themes, they are in a broader category than self-contained short stories. Issues that stand out at this level include the rationing of information and working to hold reader interest and draw them across those spaces between chapters.

This is the fifth of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. It will focus on the issues that come to the fore when writing on the level of short stories. Primary among these issues is characterization: the creation of vivid protagonists that readers will find compelling. Good characters tends to be more important than other story elements at this level, such as plot and theme, because even a shaky plot can carry a story for eight pages, but uninteresting characters can rarely take a story anywhere. Not coincidentally, many modern literary fiction writers, who often are short story writers first and novelists second, focus obsessively on character.

This category also includes other writing topics, though, such as “idea stories”, those strange little pieces that don’t fit into the usual story structure, but can hold reader interest for short periods of time. This includes literary magazine oddities, but also other types of writing, such as some picture books for children.

This is the fourth of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. Since it focuses on paragraph length, much of this section is devoted to the rhythm of writing: the painting of text against the white space of the page in a way that is visually appealing and understandable to readers. Since “natural” rhythm is such a big part of dialog (and since dialog conforms to different rules on the sentence, phrase, and word basis than much other writing), it will primarily be addressed here.

This is the third of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. It is concerned with the sentence-level organization of writing. As such, it covers many of the no-fun aspects of writing: proper grammar, punctuation, and the technical details that, when written well, dissolve into invisibility.

This is the second of the eight categories in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. It is concerned with those quick descriptions: the handful of words that can sum up an idea in a way that is immediately understandable by reader. The category includes such elements of writing as: simply descriptive metaphor (as opposed to more complex, story-wide metaphor, which is more of a thematic element), oxymoron, as well as turns and overturns of phrase.

This is the first and most minute level of detail of the eight levels in the Story Gamut, my way of classifying story elements on a scale from micro-elements to macro-elements. It is the most minute element: encompassing issues like word choice, the sounds of words and whether or not they resonate with their meanings or are at a discord with those meanings, and character naming. At this level, small details can have great effect: turning your antelope into cantaloupe.

Organized by Size

Welcome to the first post on Inkless Writing. I intend for this site to present all of the important aspects of writing, organized by the length of the material being written.

I freely admit that this is a fairly arbitrary way of organizing the various elements of writing. However, it’s helped me to distinguish between the micro-elements of writing (such as word usage and sentence structure) and the macro elements (such as novel planning and world-building). In addition, using this method of organization (even in its proto form) has helped me understand some of my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

Hopefully, with the help of readers like yourself, I will be able to improve on this idea until it is becomes robust tool.