Write From Home-A to Z Hint List For Writers

A to Z Hint List for Writers
by Gay Ingram

Avoid excessive verbiage. Try constructing your scene in only seventeen words (or less). Then, expand, adding necessary details.

Believe what you write even if you can't believe in what you write. Fiction is invention written competently.

Capture that thought, insight or phrase in writing ASAP. Don't wait until later; it will vanish and be lost.

Doing book reviews is good training. It trains you to be objective and organize your writing. You develop clarity of expression.

Every writer should develop two habits: to write daily and to continue learning more about your craft.

Four basic devises for character development: physical actions, verbal actions, physical appearance and behavior characteristics.

Give your story variety by injecting dialog and scenes into your narrative.

Incidental characters help create mood and must add authenticity to a scene, not distract from it.

Just like a carpenter repairing a dilapidated house, working on it portion by portion, so too a novel is created in parts of a whole.

Keep a balance between what is happening in a scene and how your character is reacting. Avoid the overly dramatic or the inappropriate emotional response.

Learn to break up long blocks of dialog. Lengthy speeches bore readers.

Mannerisms reveal specific insights into your character and humanize them for the reader.

Notepads are invaluable. Keep one in every conceivable place.

Overuse of adverbs or qualifiers means you haven't chosen to use the hardest working word.

Progress as a writer is achieved through tenacity, persistence and faith in himself.

Question each word, each sentence, each paragraph, each chapter as you revise. It must move the story forward.

Regular exercise is essential for writers who generally sit for long periods. Energize your writing by staying healthy.

Stories are written to give the reader an experience. The reader cannot understand what is not written. Tell the whole story.

Titles achieve importance only after the novel is acclaimed by the reading public.

Use visual devices. A place name can a lot about your story's ambiance.

Vary your story's pace through confrontational or dramatic action scenes.

Write what comes easily but keep developing your skills.

X-ray your finished novel from a point where you can see how each part meshes to create the whole.

Your characters are created before you start writing. Your characters develop as you write the story.

Zero in on anticipation, suspense and surprises. Without these, all fiction is either monotonous, mechanical or repetitive.

Till Death Do Us Part Gay Ingram began her writing career as a result of a passionate interest in herbs. To share her hard-earned knowledge, she published a bi-monthly newsletter for five years. A creative writing course launched Ms. Ingram into fiction writing. Her articles and short stories have appeared in numerous publications.

She has been an active member of East Texas Writers Association for nine years. She has served as Editorial Assistant for the Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal, a weekly local newspaper. 'Till Death Do Us Part, her first novel, was released in 2001. Her most recent release is Tracks on the Sand, a 270-page history of her hometown, Big Sandy, Texas. She continues to write from her country home in East Texas where she lives with her husband of 47 years.

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