Just Words?

WORDS

Words are what make a sentence. They are what we use in the human language to convey what we want, what we think and by everything we do, we use words.

Now words placed together like a string of pearls, become just that, a gem. Place them in the wrong order and they become unintelligible thoughts. But as we make a necklace out of our words, they become a writer’s dream. A fluid and well defined thought.

I know a few folks who say, “Hey this writing thing is for me. How do I do it?” Well let me tell you, you can’t just sit down and write and think it is publishable for one. You need to study the craft for quite awhile before you become familiar with what is right, what is acceptable, and what publisher’s will actually publish.

You’re not looking to be published? Well then write away. I think journaling is your thing.
What was that? You WANT to be published? Well then you better get off your tush and start learning the art form that takes place in writing.

No one likes learning and diving into knowledge. (Well most people anyway) Most people like to take the easy way to getting things done. I’m not one of those people. I like to learn and drink in knowledge like a good cup of coffee. On our journey to learning the craft of writing we get sidetracked. Someone said that they start to write and then forget what the point was that they were trying to make.

You’re trying to make words into sentences that make sense, that’s what you’re trying to do. Let’s say you have an idea for a story. Be it a novel, a memoir, or a short story. It is advisable to write an outline of your ideas FIRST so you don’t get sidetracked. Just a simple outline of points you want to touch on, or a character outline so you know the character before you write one word.

Words! They’re not just letters put together you know. The letters form words and it’s up to you to make sense of what you form. We’re not abstract artists here. I like to think of writer’s as the Thomas Kinkade’s of a story. We create beautiful works of art out of simple words. We’re writer’s!

Now lets get those words in order! Learn what to do with them once you have them put together! Workshop with other writer’s! Get busy!

Lesson: She asked if it was going to work.
Look at that sentence. Does it make sense? NO! Who is ‘she’? And what is ‘it’?

Donna asked if the car was going to start.
Now we know who and what.

Asking the who’s and what’s (or why, when and where) of each sentence will tighten up your work.
Can you see? Now act on the structure of writing and get to work!

Diction/Tone

The definition of diction is:

The accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.

Tone: any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.

Now read these two sentences:

“It would please me so to have you join me for a wondrous gala event at my place.”

“Could you join me for a birthday party at my house?”

There you have it, formal diction and a normal tone of inflection. If you’re writing a formal book on manners, you might use the etiquette of kings and queens, but if you’re writing to the reading public, you’re going to need to speak to them.

We have formal diction, used in a scholarly environment. This is where people of knowledge sit around talking in big words that have no meaning for the uneducated. This form is used in boastful conversations where doctors and lawyers want to show each other how smart they are.

Informal, used often in a normal environment. This is where people in a cafe speak using the language that they were raised to understand.

Colloquial, which is a word, phrase, or form of pronunciation that is acceptable in casual conversation. This is where you speak as if you are more educated than you really are. Or this is how you normally speak.

And then there is the colorful use of slang where you use words like “S’up” for “What's up?” or “Cool, man." Slang is usually street talk and fresh words are added with each new generation.

When you read a book, whether out loud or to yourself, you’re going to hear a tone in the writers voice. Whether they are using slang, dialect, or aggression, the tone is going to come through for the reader. You’ll hear it in a sympathetic tone: “I’m so sorry your dog passed away.” Or in an aggressive tone: “Michael, did you hit your brother, again?”

In the one sentence the sympathy is clear, in the other the mothers voice almost drips off the page. I said almost. You did get the idea right? The tone is the words that you are going to use to bring your character alive. To me personally, when you use a formal tone, you’ve lost me. Why? Because I was raised in the city and I know city-speak not a formal tongue.

We need to sound real to our reader and depending on your character that you’ve developed, only you can decide which tone or form of diction that they will use. Whatever you use, make it real to the reader. Allow them to be a part of your character instead of standing in the background wondering what the character is saying.

If you can nail this element, your dialogue will flow freely instead of sounding stiff.

Write Right!