Tag: writing tips

Do you know how to write a Drabble?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell27 Comments

D= Drabble

There were almost too many choices for this letter but I chose Drabble because it’s a fun. But it’s Drabble for today’s A-Z Challange. 

Drabble

Here’s what I’ve learned over the past year from an amazing Web of Writing Bloggers about this strange word.

  1. A Drabble is a short work of fiction of one hundred words in length. Exactly 100 words. Not 99 or 101. (Although, due to popularity, some writers/bloggers have expanded this for special challenges to various, specific word counts.)
  2. The purpose is brevity, testing the author’s ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space.
  3. Keep characters to a minimum, one or two work best. More characters require more words.
  4. Avoid heavy prose. Waxing prosaic eats up the word count. 
  5. Stuck in the middle of a scene? Write a Drabble to bust through.
  6. A Drabble is still a story, and must have a beginning, middle and end.
  7. Make the reader think with a twist or surprise ending.
  8. A joke is a good example of a Drabble. A good joke that is. You set the scene, something happens and then a surprise ending that gets a laugh from your audience.

Taking a subject, word or idea and writing in a quick sit down helps my brain work. Stories begin to take shape as do characters. It’s like meeting someone at a party, and all the way home all you can do is talk about that brief encounter.

Writing little bits of flash, that capture short moments of time is one of my favorite exercises. Sometimes the tiny paragraph of only 100 words is a diving board for a longer story but most of the time it’s just plain fun.

Give it a try. Check out many of the writing challenges, try fan fiction or just play with the process. You might be surprised at what you can accomplish with just 100 words.

Tell me, is this a new word for you? 

Do you take part in 100-word challenges?

Talk to me, comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

For more info on ways to get started, below are additional websites about writing and understanding Drabble.

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Plot Generator

How to Write a Drabble  by  Michael Brookes

What’s A Drabble? by Jake Bible

How to Write a Story in 100 Words by Melissa Grabowski

Drabble-writing prompt words at Wordnik

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A = Assembly Required to write a good story

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell18 Comments

All I learned about writing from the village of bloggers.

That’s my theme for this A-Z Challenge.

Well, let’s be truthful. No way could I cover everything this amazing community has taught me since I began this journey. But I’m going to try.

A=Assembly Required

That’s the first thing I learned! Just like that bike at Christmas, or a bookcase from Ikea, or writing a book there is always some assembly required.

How many times have we groaned after seeing those dreaded words on a box?

Also, it pays to follow instructions.

Now if anyone knows me at all, they know I’m more of an eyeball-it type of person. Not a read instructions type of person.

I mean come on, with a good saw and hammer I can make anything fit. Who cares if I’ve got an extra screw or two left?

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But I’ll admit writing is a bit different. And thanks to so many good writers and bloggers on the world-wide web, I’m getting better every day.

Yes, I’m still more of a pantster but I’m also learning how to structure my scenes better so that the bookcase won’t be lopsided. Nothing worse than having to shove a block under one edge to keep it upright.

So what did I learn about Assembly required, or in writer’s jargon, Structure required?

  • Assembling a story does not have to dismiss my spontaneity or pantster style of writing.
  • It’s okay to sit down and just write the first draft.
  • That structure can be as rigid or as flexible as I want. After all, I’m the author, this is a world of my creation.
  • Help is available at the end of my keyboard. Reach out and touch someone.
  • That I must assemble scenes, multiple story lines, and characters into a mosaic of that become the story.
  • Then let an editor tear it down because I left out a screw or two and then I must reassemble it all over again.

When and if I’ve a beautiful finished and polished manuscript…..

  • It’s time to assemble the physical book.

Yes, some assembly required to be a writer.

More reading on story structure.

Story Structure in Short Stories
10 Simple Keys to Effective Plot Structure
The Secrets of Story Structure (Complete Series)

Thanks for stopping by my blog.
You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

How to write in your own unique, exciting and special voice

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Just peel down your undies and let your freaky self, fly free!

That’s where you’ll find your writing voice.

We all copy other famous writers. That’s how we learn to write. 

Why? because horror writer’s want to write like King, romance like Michell and if you’re into vamps none other better to copy than Rice. At some point, a writer must find our own voice.

But sooner or later we all have to just be me. The reader wants to see who is behind the curtain in Oz.

How and where do we find this so called voice?

Down deep when we think no one is watching, that’s where.

Late in the night when we don’t give a damn what anyone thinks we write. 

Ever had someone say, “That person sounds just like you.”

Of course, you are outraged because it’s your crazy Aunt Matilda going on about some nutter at the grocery store. No way do you sound at all like her. But when you’re letting your freak fly, you know it’s true.

One way you can figure out is to discover what your voice isn’t.

Voice isn’t:

Style, technique, branding or which person you write in.

It is:

You on a page. Your thoughts, fears, dreams, visions and feelings given to words on a page.

No one can tell it like you. There is only one of you. Remember that and be uniquely you in writing.

Want to know where I got all this info about finding my voice?

Read: 

The Author’s Voice by Blogger: Rachelle Gardner

 

Remember there is only one you.

Have you found your writing voice yet?

Or are you still having trouble letting the real you shine?

Thanks for stopping by my blog.
You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

 

Writing in the first person can produce amazing results

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell41 Comments

Contrary to some critics first person point of view does work. I disagree with those critics (snobs) that argue writing in the first person is a sign of an amateur. 

Writing in the first person is my preferred method. I know, I know, I’m not burning up the NYT Best Seller list. Well, not yet but give me time.  

But there are many famous, and successful authors that have proved those critics wrong.

And those are just a few!

I enjoy writing when writing in the first person more than third person and I seem to write better. Not sure why. Maybe it’s because I like to walk in the protagonist’s shoes, see through their eyes and feel what they feel. Age doesn’t matter to me. At least, I hope not. 

However, on occasion, when I need distance between myself and the protagonist, I switch to the third person. In this instance, I don’t want to feel what my protagonist is feeling. 

If you are like me maybe you need some tips on writing in the first person. I’m always working on improving my craft.

Today I learned a few dos and don’ts of writing in the first person:

  • Don’t just narrate how the character is feeling, involve the reader with the character’s environment.
  • Do put the reader in the character’s mind and body. What the character sees and hears so should the reader.
  • Don’t tell what is seen or heard, avoid words like I saw it puts distance between reader and story.

 

  • Do – write small. This has become my new mantra, meaning no detail is too small to develop.
  • Don’t skip the small stuff, it might prove important later. If not, you can cut it out and leave it on the editing floor.
  • Do avoid passive narration. 
  • Do catch the reader up on past events up quickly and succinctly. Background of the character is important but no need to drag it out.
  • Do maintain a variety of self-expression that helps increase a sense that the character is real.
  • Do make sure the character’s personality is consistent with story background and class.

Want to know where here I got these great tips?

From Bridget over at Now Novel.

Click the link below to read her post for more.

First person narrative: 7 tips for writing great narrators 

Which point of view do you prefer to write in?

Do you agree with the critics?

Thanks for stopping by my blog.
You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

 

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