J.R.R. Tolkien is famous for the invention of elaborate fantasy worlds, with their own languages, mythos, and races of beings, but did you know he is also largely the root of a common misspelling? Not getting into the correctness of using the noun “dwarf” for anything but the fictional beings, do you know the plural of this word?
“Dwarves,” you might say—that’s what Tolkien uses, after all. But then, of course, you’d be wrong. The plural of “dwarf” is actually “dwarfs.” Don’t believe me? Disney got it right when they titled their movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Astronomers talk about “white dwarfs.” The non-traditional plural ending “-fs” is in fact the correct answer.
When you use the word “dwarf” as a verb, the same form appears. For example, “In Tolkien’s Middle Earth, an elf dwarfs a dwarf.”
Was Tolkien trying to continue his original world-building by using the non-traditional ending for the plural of dwarf? Who knows. All I know is that I see it incorrect all of the time.
When writers show readers the world around their characters, this is when a story can come alive. It’s the difference between dialogue existing on a black movie screen and an exchange that stirs your readers’ imaginations.
Sometimes, you might realize description would enhance a scene, but you aren’t quite sure how to turn a sentence from simple into masterful. There are three common weaknesses I stumble upon again and again in my editing work, so I wanted to pass on some possible solutions that may help.More
Choosing the right point of view for a story is hard. Sticking to that point of view can be even harder. This is a lesson that applies to creative writers, sure, but it’s also important for anyone trying to tell a story—be it in the voice of a brand or the voice of a pirate ghost trying to protect its lost treasure… or otherwise.
The key is consistency. Whatever narrative voice an author chooses, they must stay with it through the course of their text. Website homepages cannot jump from first person plural (we) to third person (the Acme Company) within a paragraph, and novels cannot vary between third person omniscient and third person limited (with limited exceptions). When the p.o.v. isn’t stable, the story becomes a bit wobbly—and not just for the picky editors among us.
Pay attention when you speak with others. How often do you use names? How often do other people? Use real life as your guide, dear reader. Otherwise, reader, it comes off a bit forced. Don’t you think, reader?
You may have noticed that my Wednesday Writing Tips have focused on creative writing for the past few weeks. I’ve been so excited about the upcoming James River Writers Conference that I just couldn’t resist. Yes, we all need to know the differences between less and fewer, who and whom, and historic and historical; indeed, it’s important to know we’re spelling y’all, yeah/yay, and through/threw correctly; however, if our storytelling isn’t working, the entire piece suffers.
And for the storytellers among us, I have a special treat this week. The fabulous Kimiko Nakamura, literary agent at Dee Mura Literary, agreed to do an interview with me. I’ll just dive right in, but for more with Kimiko, she’ll be at the JRW conference this year. I’ll be there. Will you?
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KS: What drove you to become a literary agent?
KN: I grew up in a home overflowing with literature on every bookshelf we owned, real or makeshift.More
You know what’s great about people? We’re all different. How I say things is totally different from how my husband does, which is totally different from how my mom would, which is totally different from how my two year old would. Why? We’re different people. We have different language patterns, different brains, and different life experience.
Moreover, if you put me in a room with these people, the way I stand—perhaps swaying as if I’m holding a baby (even though I might not be)—is different from my husband who might be stretching, or my mom who might be talking with her hands, or my two year old who… well… has an inability to stand still.
People are different. When you write about your characters, allow them to be distinctive. All shouldn’t wink at each other when they say something clever; they shouldn’t all gesture with their hands, nor sigh heavily, nor twirl their dark mustaches menacingly (okay, maybe you weren’t using that last one for everyone). When writing falls into a pattern, you see the author’s personality, not the characters’. And the author should be the invisible hand that guides the story, not the center focus, right?More
Here’s a writing tip for the fiction writers out there…
Just because a character’s day starts with his or her morning routine doesn’t mean your chapter needs to start there too. We all wake up in the morning, put on our clothes, brush our teeth, and eat our breakfast. Sometimes we stretch. Sometimes we yawn. Do you see how fascinating this paragraph is? Wait, it’s not? I’m glad you’re noticing, because this is exactly my point.
People don’t want to read about everyday details. As writers, we get to create people and worlds and plots. We get to stir ideas and distract readers from their everyday. So why give them more of the everyday?
Creative writing can have so much potential. Every page, every paragraph, every sentence, and even every word should drive the story forward. If a character is just wiggling his or her toes under the blanket, opening his or her eyes, and seeing the sun break through the window, a reader isn’t being pulled in. Ask yourself how you can intrigue. The morning Cheerios aren’t doing it.
Every writer who’s ever taken a creative writing class has heard the instruction: “Show don’t tell.” It’s so often said, it’s almost meaningless. Except it shouldn’t be. Because if actually understood, being able to show and not tell can make the difference between a humdrum story and a tale that comes alive.
“Show don’t tell” is classic writing advice, and for good reason. Imagine the difference between reading, “she’s angry,” and reading, “her hands tightened into fists; her fingernails pressed so hard against her palms that blood surfaced to her sensitive skin.” Okay, maybe I made that up really quickly, and it’s not the most eloquent of lines. But you see what I’m going for. There can be a named emotion, and then there can be the reality of it that a reader can be pulled into.More
In honor of Cinco de Mayo earlier this week, let’s return to the fictional town of Santa Poco and talk about the meaning of “infamous.” The Three Amigos went to Mexico when called defeat “the infamous El Guapo,” but perhaps they were a bit confused.
Dusty: “What does that mean? ‘Infamous’?”
Ned: “Infamous means he’s more than famous. He’s not only famous, he’s infamous…”
Oh, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short – not many movies can have a plot entirely built upon the misuse of a word, but you three made it happen.More