What is the point
of vitamins supplements?
They’re to
supplement the diet. People take vitamins to get the nutrients they aren’t
getting in their diet.
Supplement is the
key word. We do not get all of our nutritional needs from vitamins.
There are some
parts to writing that are like vitamins. Use them if there isn’t a feasible way
to convey your message. Don’t use them for the entire bulk of the story.
For example:
1.
Ly words.
Slowly.
Softly. Angrily. Use these words with care. If you can show she is angry with
the way she stomps her size 6 sneakers, then show it.
2.
Telling.
There
is the constant writer’s battle cry, “Show, don’t tell.” It’s true for the most
part. But if you were to show every single part of your story, your book would
be huge and boring. Do we really need to follow your character, feeling the press
of the accelerator under her sneaker and watching the yellow lines of the road
zip by? Simply telling us she drove home is sufficient. (Unless a deer jumps
out in front of her or her size 6 sneakers turn into aliens that nibble on her
toes).
3.
Description.
What?
I thought we were supposed to create vivid, rich settings that the reader can visualize.
That is true but too much of a good thing isn’t so good. With vitamins, two
things can happen if you get more than you need. Either it causes you harm or
the vitamins make a grand and useless exit.
The
same thing happens with descriptions. Too much and it will kill your story or
it will overwhelm the reader and they won’t get anything out of it. Neither scenario
is ideal. Use strong descriptions and make them work for you.
A
person who refers to her shoes as size 6 sneakers probably obsesses a bit over
the size of her feet. Perhaps she is vain and delights in the fact that she has
small feet. Or maybe they are hand-me down sneakers from her older sister that
are too big and she resents the fact that they are not new and ill-fitting. Maybe she’s watching the yellow lines zip by
because she’s angry at her boyfriend and refusing to talk to him. Or maybe she’s
an alien who’s never seen the color yellow.
I’m sure there
are other writing vitamins. What are they?
Happy writing!
I like your idea of "vitamin supplements" in writing. A little does go a long way. Thanks so much for following me, and I hope to see more of you! Julie
ReplyDeleteExcellent V post yes vitamins are important to one's well being.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you make your 100th follower.
Yvonne.
I read your post not long after reading a post over at First Writes by a Brianna on the letter V. http://1stwrites.blogspot.com/2012/04/proverbs-from-to-z-v.html
ReplyDeleteIn essence you both are saying the same thing--too much, even of a good thing, is bad.
I guess my "vitamin" would be editing. All manuscripts need editing, but some of us edit till we have not just eliminated errors and corrected flaws, but have eliminated our voice and lost our original focus as well.
I hadn't thought about writing "vitamins" in this way before. I appreciate your insight.
Hmmm. Not in my writing, but in others: snarkiness. Wording just too clever too often.
ReplyDeletehttp://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com
Similes. Some authors overuse them. Expand into other literary devices to make writing more interesting and less predictable.
ReplyDeleteLucy
Good analogy between writing and vitamins. Too much and they can prove harmful.
ReplyDeleteI love this post!! Why is it so hard to eat a balanced diet??
ReplyDeleteI wish I had size six feet.