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The Steve Laube Agency

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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Page 32

Writing Craft

How to Annoy Your (Fiction) Readers

By Bob Hostetleron July 25, 2018
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Some people are more annoying than others—and you know who you are. And some writers are more annoying than others—and you may not know who you are. So I’m here to help. Here are six ways writers of fiction can annoy the heck out of the readers:

  1. Give your characters similar or hard-to-pronounce names

Fantasy writers, I’m talking to you. How in the world am I supposed to pronounce Fleurxgh? Sure, I know fantasy names can be fun and creative, but it’s irritating to repeatedly read a name that defies pronunciation.

That’s not the only way to annoy your reader with character names, though. I’m a Louis L’Amour fan, but I remember reading one of his novels that had several characters with similar names—something like Fletcher, Finnegan, and Fallon. Come on, man, throw me a “Bone” here or there.

  1. Make your characters talk too much and say too little

Characters in stories by developing writers (I’m one, too) talk way too much—and say far too little. Don’t get me wrong, I love dialogue, and I sometimes skip over passages with no dialogue. But dialogue is not transcribed speech. I sometimes call it telescoped speech. So don’t have your character answer the phone and say, “Hello, Alison speaking. Yes, this is she. Oh, hi, how are you, Fiona?” and so on. Have her put the phone to her ear and say, “Yeah, what do you want?” Fewer words, more calories.

  1. Head hop

It was different back in the day, when Dickens and Austen were writing. But to modern readers, point of view is important, so it’s important to master it. That is, know what POV you’re using and who your POV characters are, and don’t depart from it. When you “head hop” (cheat POV by giving me, the reader, information from more than one POV at a time, it reminds me that there is an author pulling the strings—and fiction readers never want to be reminded that it’s “just a story.” We want to lose ourselves in the story, and head hopping ruins the illusion.

  1. Explain the obvious

This is one reason dialogue tags can be so dangerous. We write:

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that,” she warned.

Yeah, I sorta picked up on that from her words; you didn’t have to tell me it was a warning. As my son would say often in his teen years: “I’m not stupid, you know,” he said disgustedly.

It’s better to stick with simply “he said” (which most readers skip over anyway) or, best, tag dialogue with action, not words (He tossed his math book across the room. “I’m not stupid, you know.”).

  1. Use “crutch” words

We all have them. One of my crutches is the word “nod.” People in the first drafts of my stories nod way too much. So that’s one of the searches I perform in self-editing in order to root out all but a nod or two. Many fiction writers have their characters look here and look there and look everywhere. Others overuse “frown,” “smile,” “turn,” “motioned,” etc.

  1. Write detailed descriptions that have nothing to do with the plot

Years ago, I edited a book for a writer who frequently descended into comprehensive descriptions of a room: furnishings, paintings, knick knacks, fabrics, you name it. It was excruciating. I commented, half joking, that he shouldn’t imitate descriptions in home design magazines to set the scene; he later admitted that’s exactly what he was doing! Yikes. Your reader needs vivid hints to set the scene, and not much more.

What about you? What annoys you as a reader of fiction?

 

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Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: fiction, Writing Craft

A Writer’s Beatitudes

By Bob Hostetleron July 18, 2018
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In the famous “Sermon on the Mount” passage in the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presented a series of eight “beatitudes.” Each was a saying that turned conventional wisdom on its head, showing how in God’s eyes the oppressed are blessed and the despised are prized. No one can improve on those inspired beatitudes, of course. But what if we tried to capture their perspective and redirected them …

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Category: Creativity, Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Creativity, Inspiration, The Writing Life

The Ultimate Sound Bite

By Steve Laubeon July 16, 2018
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Can you boil the essence of your novel or non-fiction book idea into twenty-five words or less?

This is one of the keys to creating a marketing hook that makes your idea sellable in today's crowded market.

You have less than a minute to make that hook work.

It is also called creating the "elevator pitch" or the "Hollywood pitch." The goal is get the marketing department to exclaim, "We …

Read moreThe Ultimate Sound Bite
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitch, Platform, Writing CraftTag: book proposal, Marketing, pitch, Pitching, Proposals, Rejection

Create Magic with Words

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 12, 2018
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Years ago, I took my five-year-old daughter to Toys R Us to meet “Barbie.” “Barbie” turned out to be a cute and charming teenager who, yes, looked like the classic blonde image of the doll. She wore a pretty pink gown. I expected a lot more fanfare around this event. Like, maybe some cheap swag, a chance to win a Barbie doll or Barbie convertible, or at least a throne for Barbie. Maybe a stage …

Read moreCreate Magic with Words
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Creativity, Marketing, Pitch, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Creativity, Marketing, Writing Craft

The Art of the Sentence

By Bob Hostetleron July 11, 2018
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A month or so ago I asked some social media friends what sentence from a book rocked their world. The replies were delightful, and I shared some of them in my June 27 post on this site, titled “In Praise of Memorable Sentences.” There were too many, however, to include them all at that time, so I offer the rest below, with  the author, title, and (in parentheses) the friend who …

Read moreThe Art of the Sentence
Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Sentences, Writing Craft

In Praise of Memorable Sentences

By Bob Hostetleron June 27, 2018
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In her book, The Writing Life, Annie Dillard tells the story of a well-known writer who was collared by a university student, who asked, “Do you think I could be a writer?” “Well,” the writer said, “I don’t know…. Do you like sentences?” Dillard continues: The writer could see the student’s amazement. Sentences? Do I like sentences? I am twenty years old and do I like sentences? If he had liked …

Read moreIn Praise of Memorable Sentences
Category: Language, Reading, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Language, Reading, Writing Craft

Test Your Writing Out Loud

By Dan Balowon June 26, 2018
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Once you write something, try reading it out loud. It might change the way you write. I worked with audiobooks for a number of years and few things were more interesting than how something sounded when read aloud by the audiobook performer, whether it was the author or a professional voice talent. There were times, when an author read their own material for the recording, they actually stopped …

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Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: audio, Reading, Writing Craft

Wronged in Business? When You Want to Hold a Grudge

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 21, 2018
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Even though we’re doing business in the Christian community, none of us is immune from feeling wronged at one time or another. Perhaps an editor should have bought your book instead of someone else’s. Maybe you know a publisher didn’t promote your book with sufficient enthusiasm. Someone who doesn’t understand you could be making negative comments about you.  Or someone could (intentionally or …

Read moreWronged in Business? When You Want to Hold a Grudge
Category: Book Business, Communication, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Grudge, The Writing Life

What Does Your Reader Need?

By Bob Hostetleron June 13, 2018
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I attend many writers’ conferences, as an author, speaker, and agent. As a result, I meet and become friends with many fine people and outstanding writers. At a recent gathering, I enjoyed a spirited and stimulating conversation with an aspiring author who has a passion for reaching readers with the good news of Jesus Christ. I identify with that. But I’m not sure we ever got onto the same page, …

Read moreWhat Does Your Reader Need?
Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, book proposals, pitch, Pitching, readers

I Feel This Post May Hurt Your Thinkings

By Bob Hostetleron June 6, 2018
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Everyone has pet peeves. I have a menagerie of them. One of my favorites is the common (and fairly recent) tendency of English speakers and writers to confuse and conflate the words, “feel” and “think.” But feelings are not thoughts and thoughts are not feelings. That might seem obvious and elementary, but it drives me nuts how often people miss or ignore the distinction. Consider headlines and …

Read moreI Feel This Post May Hurt Your Thinkings
Category: Craft, Creativity, Language, Writing CraftTag: Language, Vocabulary, Writing Craft
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