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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/9423
For Authors: March 13, 2019 Issue [#9423]




 This week: Don't Say That!
  Edited by: NaNoNette Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Dear Authors, I am NaNoNette Author Icon and I will be your guest editor today.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Don't Say That!


The many words that aren't available to you.


When did this madness start?


When you were in school, learning how to wield the English language in writing, you were taught about the eight parts of speech. One of those types of word groups is adjectives.

An adjective is a word or phrase naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it. That means, you use an adjective to give your world colors, tastes, textures, etc. These words are important to make your fiction writing rich in imagery. In other words, adjectives help you to "show, don't tell."

This sounds as if adjectives are a writer's best friend. For some reason, many reviewers will tell you to "get rid of at least half of your adjectives" as a one-size-fits-all comment about your writing. I've seen that phrase in one form or another so many times, but never followed up by exact examples from the text at hand that I wonder: When did this madness start? Who said this? Why did they say this? And why would we listen to that bit of anonymous advice?

As a reader, I always feel I benefit from a fictional text rich in descriptions of what I see. Some types of fiction are prone to higher amounts of adjectives. YA Romance for instance will use boatloads of adjectives to describe eye colors, eye shapes, length of eye lashes, color of skin, how the hair curls and so much more. Maybe some of those descriptions are over the top, but isn't that what being romantically interested feels like? Over the top?

As you read a text and have the urge to type up that one-size-fits-all phrase about "drop half the adjectives" ask yourself if you're not just writing that because you actually don't care about the story and what it describes. Have you really interacted with the characters and the world they have to live in? Don't you like to see, hear, smell, touch, and feel it? And if you feel that there is a description that is too much, tell the writer which one specifically and why it needs to go. Then, and only then would it be fair to tell a writer that they are too descriptive for your taste. That is also the only way that a writer will be able to understand and (possibly) agree with your review.

So, if you want to write about bright blue fairies with yellow see-through wings that are speckled with dusty red spots or just fairies is up to you. If a reader feels they shouldn't know about the dusty red spots, then that raises the question why they are reading your writing. Or, at what point would it be okay with them to find out that the fairie has dusty red specks on its yellow see-through wings.


Editor's Picks

 
STATIC
Read the Instructions! Open in new Window. (E)
A valuable lesson
#1929468 by Winnie Kay Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#1991477 by Not Available.

 
STATIC
Please Don't Murder the Modifiers Open in new Window. (18+)
Here's a 2010 newspaper column-a rewrite of my first published piece in the Pitt.Trib.
#1657625 by Dawsongirl Author IconMail Icon

 
STATIC
Adjectives vs. Adverbs: The Basics Open in new Window. (E)
Some tricks to understanding adjectives and adverbs
#2090126 by H.A.B. Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2159012 by Not Available.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1982097 by Not Available.

 Giantess Alliterative Adjectives Open in new Window. (18+)
This is a list of pairs of words I thought up to describe a giantess
#2084013 by Riverd0g Author IconMail Icon

 exercises in discription and vividity Open in new Window. (E)
Seperate paragraphs, all ment to be specifically vivid and to have a specific mood.
#884414 by Avian Anderson Author IconMail Icon

Fictional Character Resources Open in new Window. (E)
Tools for creating and organizing character data for a long-term series
#1195659 by Patricia Gilliam Author IconMail Icon

 
STATIC
The English Word  Open in new Window. (E)
The beauty and use of the english word.
#1145842 by Kings Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

For my last For Authors newsletter "Write Like Nobody Knows YouOpen in new Window., I received the following comments:

Warped Sanity Author Icon wrote: You are so correct about the flash fiction suggestion. Having a lower word count to word count does help with learning how to better differentiate what details are needed to show the story and what is irrelevant.

We should all write some flash fiction regularly and see how feature packed we can make just a few words.

Vivian Author Icon wrote: I love your title. It certainly grabbed my attention. -- Viv

Thank you so much! That is possibly the best compliment I can get for my writing. Titles are my weakness, so hearing that this one grabbed your attention is a real achievement for me.

Monty Author Icon wrote: Write like nobody knows me? Thought that must be what I was doing..

Ha ha ha.

Quick-Quill Author Icon wrote: I was told I had too many characters in my book. I realized they all wanted their story so I put a Family Tree at the beginning. This was a reference point if anyone got lost, they could remind themselves who that character was and their relationship to the Main Characters.

Great technique. I think that is a very good way to help your readers and your characters both.

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