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Downwrite - Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden auditorium of his skull; Rod Serling

Downwrite - February 2008

10 Simple Rules in Writing

February 27th 2008 11:32
1. Shorter sentences are often better.
2. Don’t vary words for ‘said’ too much. ‘Said’ is often better than ‘yelled’, ‘stated’, ‘exclaimed’ etc.
3. Two adjectives max. per noun.
4. Made up names not too long.
5. Less characters better. Consider replacing the smaller ones with larger characters in extra roles.
6. Simple font.
7. No similar names – Jack and Jake etc.
8. Avoid tangents
9. Correct punctuation.
10. Remove everything that doesn’t progress the story.
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If Humans Were Inherently Evil

February 25th 2008 16:50
Babies would never smile.

Smiling Babies
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Should I kill him?

February 25th 2008 12:18
One of the great questions that authors face is the question of killing off characters. When should I, etc. This list should help out.

YES IF:

• It is integral to the plot. You can’t have a war story where everybody lives. You can’t write the story of Jack the ripper without a few murders. And if when you think up the idea, it’s a death of a character that sets of a catastrophic chain of events, keep it like that.

• You’re creating a moral Universe. I don’t mean this in a kind of spiritual sense as such, but rather if you want to create a world in which your characters are punished for their flaws. Shakespearian tragedy is the best place to go for examples – if we look at any of his tragic heroes (or indeed at the tragic heroes of Greek drama too) they tend to find their mortal coils shuffled off as a result of their fatal flaws – too proud, to quick falling in love, too filled with vengeance.

• The emotional impact is worth it. Not saying you should go, ‘oh how do I make an emotional impact here? I know, I’ll kill people!’. But if you do want to kill of a main character and are uncertain, ask yourself if it makes an important and valuable emotional contribution to the narrative. If yes, drop him off that cliff. If no, maybe hold off; otherwise all you’ll do is irritate your readers.

• You want to keep verisimilitude. Verisimilitude is a big damn word meaning ‘it feels real’. A man waking up finding himself in the age of dinosaurs and running off to start making supplies might not have verisimilitude, but if the same man spend the first chapter running around, yelling, thinking he’s hallucinating, etc, then you might have a ‘sense’ or realism, even though it isn’t real. Now, if you’re going for that real feel then you know an audience can handle a man landing in the age of dinosaurs. However, they’ll have trouble with a group of friends meeting dozens of dangerous situations and never coming to grief. If you want to lessen the blow a missing limb or mortal wound might be just as good, but it’s ok to go for the kill on this one.

• If you want readers to feel angry about an issue. Nobody cares about issues; Anorexia, Rape, Murder, Inequality, Economic Impoverishment blah blah blah. People care about PEOPLE. Now often an issue will affect your character enough to not need to kill somebody, but often the rage of a sudden fatal incident will be enough to really give the narrative a profound intensity. I once read a book, where the main dude had this girlfriend he loved and adored. Then all of a sudden; her father kills her and her family. It’s shocking, but it really compels the reader to connect emotionally to an issue that’s otherwise disconnected from their everyday life.

A good book to read on this topic is Alan Bailies 'China Coin'.
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Simple.Complex

February 24th 2008 12:34
Simple Dimples Set in Smiles

Simple Roads stay straight for Miles

[ Click here to read more ]
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Giant maggots

February 22nd 2008 11:48
Giant Maggots
Giant lies
Munching holes in


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Writing Competition - $40 Prize Money.

February 21st 2008 12:11
Downwrite.net are very please to be holding a writing competition. Submit your original work – short stories, poems, articles, rants – and leave at least one Email address for contact, and you could win $40 Prize Money. Deadline is March 10th, so get moving.

You can Submit your work HERE.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Squishy Fish

February 21st 2008 05:48
I have a fish.
A Squishy Fish.
The Fish goes squish.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Opportunities for Writers

February 20th 2008 01:43
A QUICK REMINDER: FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS TO GET NOTICED AND (GASP) PAID, HAVE A LOOK AT THE LATEST VIGNETTE PRESS OPPORTUNITIES PAGE HERE.
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Big Bird

February 19th 2008 02:50
Big Bird Big Bird
Won't you go and spread the word
That a heavy sack of bone


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Yes

February 18th 2008 10:44
Yes comes quickly, yeses flow
Yes is preferred to a no
People like you being sleazy


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STARS IN MY HEAD CONTINUED

February 6th 2008 02:46
From HERE

Mike finished his beer and put it on the ground


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STARS IN MY HEAD: THE COMPLETE STORY

February 6th 2008 02:37
Stars In My Head

PART ONE

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The lattice frame fell towards the ground, then pounded into the car bonnet, the windscreen shattering. Sharnee released the lattice, falling hardly a centimeter to the grass. She looked up to where Faith and Maverick had ended up, under the huge lattice roof that now covered them. Sharnee looked up at her mums car with its shattered windscreen.

“Shit!” She tried to get up and move towards it but her leg stayed squashed to the lattice in a huge clump of vines. She closed her eyes and hoped it wouldn’t get any worse


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