Writing tips
The perils of writing
My writing is distinctly middle brow. Just ask anybody who has suffered through it. Still, I like to think that even in my middling way, I can still offer some helpful advice when I stumble across it. Therefore, from time to time, I will post some writing advice, but not from me. The advice will come from established sources. I will endeavor not to make it overlong or overreaching, and sometimes it will simply be reminders of what we all probably already know, but it will be some tips I have picked up from reading, from attending writing conferences, or it may even come from you.
The first bit of advice comes from a writing course the Writers’ Guild sponsored way back in 1993. The teacher was Joseph Gunnels and the cost was $75. It was two-day event, May 15 and 16, and we spent part of a pleasant afternoon sitting on the grass outside the Candy Factory on The World’s Fair site in Knoxville, TN. I took over 30 pages of notes, but rather than bore you with details, here is the essence of what I took away from the seminar:
Drama is conflict;
Without conflict no action;
Without action no character;
Without character no story;
Without story, who cares?
In a future issue of this newsletter, I’ll give you a short, crisp definition for conflict that I learned at a more recent one-day writing seminar. It comes from a very highly regarded script doctor in Hollywood, but applies just as well to other forms of fiction writing. Stay turned.
Booker's Blog 