|
|
Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Oct 2, 2018 6:25:59 GMT
If you go on YouTube you'll find tons of videos telling you not to use these writing cliches. You can even find genre specific ones. Do you take these kinds of videos seriously and use them to edit your stories? Do you take them under advisement but do your own thing? Are there certain cliches in other people's books that you can't stand? Which cliches/writing tropes do you hate or find problematic?
|
|
|
|
Post by thatwritergal on Oct 3, 2018 1:05:25 GMT
I think using them sparingly is okay depending on the genre. It could resonate with some readers in a way that a joke will make you laugh harder when you really identify with it. Overdoing it can really bog the writing down though. I like that PWA dings me for these but I don't remove all of them on a whim.
|
|
|
|
Post by writeway on Oct 6, 2018 20:34:49 GMT
I bet half of those folks on Youtube are not even published. Seems like it's always the ones who haven't even written a book or gotten anything published that's always shouting about "rules". I believe any rule can be broken if it works for what the author is trying to achieve. When I first started writing I tried to follow every rule and you know what it did? Made my writing dry and wooden. You can still be a good writer and write with correct technique but break rules. Some of the most famous and legendary writers break the rules all the time. If it works, do it. As writers, we are allowed to break rules for affect. We limit ourselves when we write based off some strict guide. Writing is creativity so we should be free to creative even if it means doing something against the norm.
Also, who came up with these "rules" anyway? Sure is funny that none of the classical writers followed half of the rules forced on us today and they became legends.
For example, I agree that too many adverbs can slow your writing because they tell instead of show and you don't want a bunch of passive sentences. But (yes I started a sentence with that word!) it doesn't mean you can't EVER use them. That was my issue when I first started writing. I followed every rule until I lost the feeling and passion in my words. Then I heard other authors who confirmed that you should not write by some so-called expert's guide book. Nothing wrong with breaking a rule or two here and there. I'm not saying don't respect the rules or just write badly but give yourself freedom too.
|
|
|
|
Post by possiblyderanged on Oct 8, 2018 10:11:11 GMT
The thing with cliches is they're lazy writing. Take one and put your own twist on it, use it in a different way, as a red herring, something.
Those "rules" people chafe against were distilled from decades of writing experience from writers who sold books. They've been made restricting mostly by people who don't understand the reasoning behind them, and again, are something a writer can work around. Sure, "don't use adverbs" sounds like your (general "you") writing is dull and boring, but look at it another way. By avoiding most adverbs, you can use words to tell the story better. You have to know more words, and how to join them together better, but the richness of your work will captivate readers.
And seriously, do we really need books where characters scream loudly, or whisper softly, or walk quickly? Aren't there better ways to say that? Can't the character's voice reach a register that was almost beyond human hearing? Or one who's words were barely louder than a distant breeze? Or couldn't the character trot from one place of concealment to another?
You need to know the rules before you can "break" them effectively. I'm sure we've all seen books written by people who have no clue how to build a story, and know they're not fun to slog through.
But, YMMV. This is just one writer's take on it.
|
|
