Originally Posted by
Ragnar0k
Hey AP,
Yes, I agree with you... the English language is a most versatile and efficacious tool for conveying ideas, scenes, emotions and so on. Before I started writing BSQ, I was not at all confident that I could pull off the style of writing that I aspired to, and approached the task with a degree of trepidation. The initial encouragement I received from established writers such as Angel and yourself was vital and, without it, its fair to say that I may not have kept going to where we are today, with redheaded teachers seducing favourite students and all(!) Before embarking on my writing, I had spent years reading the work of others, not only on Hostboard but other sites as well. Perhaps this research has finally paid off, and as the storyline has developed so I find that my style has evolved (and improved as well I hope).
Regarding triple exclamation marks, we may differ here slightly in our approaches. I prefer to start the scale off with one (silver) ! rising through !! (gold) to !!! finally (platinum) as the action reaches its peak - for example the height of a climax, or a particularly hard breast fighting exchange. Having said that, I'm probably not all that consistent in how I apply this 'rule'.
Regarding longwindedness, surely you are being too modest sir! as that's not something I've ever detected in your work; it seems to me that the exposition can be as vital to the success of the piece as the description of the action itself and time spent on this feature is rarely wasted. Really getting us into the minds and motivations of the protagonists; explaining how they came to be there; their successes and failures, hopes and fears.
One technique I've learned during the editing process is to examine the entire piece, sentence by sentence, asking whether the sentence is really necessary at all and adds any value. Then I look for phrases and individual words that might be repetitive or even redundant. Through a ruthless culling process, the piece becomes leaner and more economical but, hopefully, at the same time more powerful in conveying exactly what I want it to. This all takes additional time, but I feel its a necessary part of the discipline of being a writer.
All the best!
Ragnar0k
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