 Fantasy: November 02, 2005 Issue [#694] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it “the Riddle House,” even though it had been many years since the Riddles family had lived there. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from the roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied.
--Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K.Rowling
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Strong Verbs and Descriptive Words.
You want to write better?
There is an easy and fun way to improve your writing instantly, just by using strong verbs and descriptive words.
What is a strong verb? Well, it’s usually one that does not require an adverb to help describe what is happening. Most, if not all, end in –ed. Notice that if you take the –ed off the end, the verb becomes a pansy. For example: You can say in a mamby-pamby passive voice, “I will file my bills.” And the reader thinks, oh yeah, so what? But when you say, “I filed my bills!” It’s like, yeah, all right, good job--there is plenty of visual action there. 
If you want to make your writing sing, use descriptive words. I’m not a brainiac that walks around with a head full of great adjectives and can quote pages of the dictionary. So, I went out and bought me a copy of Roget’s Descriptive Word Finder. It’s a dictionary and thesaurus of adjectives all in one. For example, under the heading of the word HURRY, it gives you a fabulous list of words describing someone in a hurry:
booming/ breathless/ festinate/ frantic/ hard-pressed/ hasty/ headlong/ hurried/ impelled/ in all haste/ in haste/ in hot haste/ precipitous/ pressed for time/ pushing/ saccadic/ scrambling/ spoffish/ umbeer/ urgent
I bet you didn’t know that spoffish was a word, did ya. Well, it is and it means, fussy and bustling.
The book also has some great Silly-Sounding Words that show untrained people like me how to correctly use and spell them. Words like:
harum-scarum/ heebie-jeebies/ hoity-toity/ hunky-dory/ itsy-bitsy/ itty-bitty/ lardy-dardy/ namby-pamby/ newfangled/ okeydoke/ okeydokey/ oodles/ palsy-walsy/ razzle-dazzle/ rinky-dink/ screaming meemies/ thingamabob/ thingamajig
I love using words like that when writing dialogue. They can really flesh-out your characters.
The point I’m trying to make is to get a list of strong verbs and descriptive adjectives. Open any random page of the dictionary and write down all the cool words you can find, but were too stupid to know. Or buy a book like I did. Using this technique can improve your vocabulary and writing skills instantly.
Another thing I like to do is to have a pencil and paper by me when I’m reading. If I see a really cool descriptive word, I write it down. Let’s take a look at a book, shall we? Here’s a short story by Stephen King, called Nona. I’ll randomly read a sentence.
”The moon’s light was fading behind a thickening membrane of cloud.”
Now to me, thickening membrane of cloud is an awesome description. So, I write it down on my list, “membrane of cloud”. Months or weeks later, as I am sitting at my desk writing, I’ll look at that description and something will click and I’ll write, “The sky was covered with a thin membrane of clouds” or something to that affect.
These words are gems—treasure, and when you get enough of a list going you can start putting them together like, “The wild-eyed boy with apricot colored hair was an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud.”
What does all this have to do with writing Fantasy? Everything.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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PICKS
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A samurai woman seeking revenge, a ninja's last job, a soul collecting dragon...
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COMMENTS
shadowdawn
Submitted Comment:
Great NL! You touched upon one of my pet peeves in fantasy. I hate when an author takes magic overboard and uses it to solve most, if not all, problems. It becomes an easy out, and a sign of a lazy author.Thanks for featuring my story, 'Elixir of Life!'ShadowDawn
Spiritheart 
Submitted Comment:
How does any one remember their notes in a 50,000-word novel? When recommended to title a page and fill the page with the story I forget the order I want the sequences. Subchapters and chapters seem to say the same thing and the Outline isn't easy to get back into the highlights.
Puditat
Submitted Comment:
Bill, some great advice in this editorial. Thanks for the tips; I'll be sure to apply them.
StephBee 
Submitted Comment:
I thought #8 was so true. Magic isn't the entire story, PEOPLE are. It's the situation they are put in that makes them or breaks them. Very true not just for the Fantasy genre but other genres as well. I thought these were great "rules" to follow by. Thanks for sharing.
StephB
Once upon a WellToasted...
Submitted Comment:
I'd just like to say thanks to Mr. W.D.Willies for his 10 rules concerning fantasy magic; I completely agree with all 11. ;) While some stories can pull off a few broken rules of sorts, I've found only those that have disciplined and believable parameters, much like W.D.'s excellent 11, are far more satisfying reads. Thanks again for the excellent article!
John~Ashen
Submitted Comment:
Excellent editorial, Bill ! I give it a 4.5. The only possible improvement could've been a short example added to the "drawbacks" rule. Granted, imagination is supposed to be the responsibility of the storytellers, but illustrating the point is always a good idea.
Celtic Lady
Submitted Comment:
Dear W.D. Willies,Thanks so much for your editorial, Fantasy Is Not For Sissies. I understand some of the animosity there might be between Sci-fi writers and Fantasy writers. Your guidlines for creating a good fantasy story have given me some things to consider regarding my own novel, The Immortal Earth Chronicles. Very clear rules, obviously what the reader expects from an author. I particularly like rule #8- People are the story, not the magic itself. Thanks for pointing that out!
Shanda
Maimai J Saves for Upgrade
Submitted Comment:
Thanks for the nice newsletter! I learned a lot from it. I just want to share something regarding the "breaking the rules" thing. A panelist in our recent workshop told me that before you could break the rules, you have to master them first. Just sharing.
schipperke
Submitted Comment:
Excellent newsletter Bill. I can use your advice to write either fantasy (which I have never tried) or sci-fi.
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