Said Isn't Dead

[caption id="attachment_2515" align="alignnone" width="640"] Photo Credit: notarim on Flickr[/caption]

I love Pinterest for visual inspiration, but I saw something on there the other day that made me angry. I was searching through the "writing" tag, and saw a graphic with alternative to "said." This list included words like "screamed," "called," "shouted," "whispered," and several others.

At the top of the graphic were the words, "SAID IS DEAD."

And I got frustrated.

I don't know what other people have told you, but to me, there is nothing more distracting when I'm reading a piece than seeing a dialogue tag other than "said." It calls too much attention to itself. As a writer, you want your dialogue to stand out more than your attributive tags. You want the reader to skip right over them.

That's why "said" is perfect.

It waits in the wings, sneaks onstage wearing all black, and does some heavy lifting without intruding. It's the stage hand of the written word. Why in the world would you want to kill that?

As Stephen King writes, "All I ask is that you do as well as you can, and remember that, while to write adverbs is human, to write he said or she said is divine."

Don't even get me started on adverbs.

How do you feel about using tags other than said?

Click to tweet: Why @thecollegenov thinks said isn't dead. http://wp.me/p2FPLe-Er

Book Review: Oleanders in Alaska by Matt Thompson

I’ve read and reviewed plenty of books in my time. Some of these books have been written by individuals that I have not known personally (the vast majority. in fact). However, some of these books have been written by friends or colleagues with whom I am well-acquainted. When reviewing these books, I have to be careful to stay objective. I usually pretend that the book I’m reviewing was written by someone else entirely, someone that I don’t know, in order to give the review the emotional distance it deserves.

And if the book is bad (oh, God forbid it), then I lie. When my friend or neighbor or loved one asks me what I thought about the book, I spit half-truths through gritted teeth. This approach takes a great deal of energy and usually results in me feeling exhausted and unfulfilled by the conversation.

When it comes to Oleanders in Alaska by Matt Thompson, though, I’m happy to say that I do not have to lie. This book is fantastic. Let’s talk about it.

Here’s the book description from Amazon.com: “Not all lives seem connected, but when a storm hits in St. Laurent’s, Alaska, the lives of many are thrown together. They find that their lives weren’t really so far apart to begin with, but quite the opposite.”

Throughout the novel, the people of St. Laurent's, Alaska interact and develop relationships with one another. Thompson handles their backstories with a masterful touch, revealing details only when they are relevant to the present action. Although the novel is short, it contains a great deal of emotional and psychological depth and character growth. The prose in and of itself is an absolute delight.

Thompson's latest novel is a treat. Oleanders in Alaska presents the struggles, triumphs, and journeys of the citizens of a small Alaskan town. It is a pleasure to read and even more so to review. If you love literary fiction, you should consider this novel your next must-read.

Want me to review your book? Email me or leave a comment!

From Daily Writing Tips: 34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer

Today's post comes from Daniel Scocco at Daily Writing Tips. You can find the article in context here. I highly recommend that everyone have a look at this awesome resource.

A couple of weeks ago we asked our readers to share their writing tips. The response was far beyond the initial expectations, and the quality of the tips included was amazing. Thanks for everyone who contributed.

Now, without further delay, the 34 writing tips that will make you a better writer!

1. Daniel
Pay attention to punctuation, especially to the correct use of commas and periods. These two punctuation marks regulate the flow of your thoughts, and they can make your text confusing even if the words are clear.

2. Thomas
Participate in NaNoWriMo, which challenges you to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I noticed that my writing has definitely improved over the course of the book — and it’s not even finished yet.

3. Bill Harper
Try not to edit while you’re creating your first draft. Creating and editing are two separate processes using different sides of the brain, and if you try doing both at once you’ll lose. Make a deal with your internal editor that it will get the chance to rip your piece to shreds; it will just need to wait some time.

A really nice trick is to switch off your monitor when you’re typing. You can’t edit what you can’t see.

4. Jacinta 
In a sentence: write daily for 30 minutes minimum! It’s easy to notice the difference in a short time. Suddenly, ideas come to you and you think of other things to write. You experiment with styles and voices and words and the language becomes more familiar…

5. Ane Mulligan 
Learn the rules of good writing… then learn when and how to break them.

6. Pete Bollini
I sometimes write out 8 to 10 pages from the book of my favorite writer… in longhand. This helps me to get started and swing into the style I wish to write in.

7. Nilima Bhadbhade 
Be a good reader first.

8. Douglas Davis
While spell-checking programs serve as a good tool, they should not be relied
upon to detect all mistakes. Regardless of the length of the article, always read and review what you have written.

9. Kukusha
Learn to take criticism and seek it out at every opportunity. Don’t get upset even if you think the criticism is harsh, don’t be offended even if you think it’s wrong, and always thank those who take the time to offer it.

10. John England 
Right click on a word to use the thesaurus. Do it again on the new word and make the best use of your vocabulary.

11. Lillie Ammann
After editing the work on screen or in print, I like to read the text aloud. Awkward sentences and errors that slipped through earlier edits show up readily when reading out loud.

12. H Devaraja Rao
Avoid wordiness. Professor Strunk put it well: “a sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”

13. David
Write as if you’re on deadline and have 500 words to make your point. Then do it again. And again.

14. Yvette
Sometimes I type in a large font to have the words and sentences bold before me.

Sometimes, in the middle of a document I will start a new topic on a fresh sheet to have that clean feeling. Then, I’ll cut and insert it into the larger document.

I wait until my paper is done before I examine my word usage and vocabulary choices. (And reading this column it has reminded me that no two words are ever exactly alike.) So at the end, I take time to examine my choice of words. I have a lot of fun selecting the exact words to pinpoint my thoughts or points.

15. Amit Goyal
To be a good writer is to start writing everyday. As Mark Twain said, “the secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

Try using new words. i.e avoid repeating words. this way we learn the usage of different words.
Do edit your previous articles.

Start with small paragraphs like writing an article for a Newspaper, and proceed from there.

16. John Dodds 
Remove as many adjectives as possible. Read Jack Finney’s tale, Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar for a fantastical tale about how a hack becomes a successful author with the help of a magical salt cellar that removes adjectives from his work.

17. John Ireland
I set my writing aside and edit a day or two later with the aim of making it terse. It has trained me to be more conscious of brevity when writing for immediate distribution.

18. Jai 
Try to write in simple way. Express your views with most appropriate words.

19. Mark 
Read great writers for inspiration. If you read them enough, their excellent writing style will rub off onto your dazzling blog.

YOU ARE what you read (and write!).

20. Caroline
I watch my action tense and wordiness in sentences when I am writing my technical diddley.

For example, in a sentence where you say …”you will have to…” I replace it with “…you must…”, or “Click on the Go button to…” can be replaced with “Click Go to…”.

Think of words such as “enables”, instead of “allows you to” or “helps you to”.

If one word will work where three are, replace it! I always find these, where I slip into conversational as I am writing quickly, then go back and purge, purge, purge.

21. Akhil Tandulwadikar
Don’t shy away from adopting the good habits that other writers use.

Do not worry about the length of the article as long as it conveys the point. Of course, the fewer words you use, the better.

Start the article with a short sentence, not more than 8 words.

22. Julie Martinenza
Instead of adding tags (he said/she said) to every bit of dialogue, learn to identify the speaker by showing him/her in action. Example: “Pass that sweet-smelling turkey this way.” With knife in one hand and fork in the other, Sam looked eager to pounce.

23. Aaron Stroud 
Write often and to completion by following a realistic writing schedule.

24. Joanna Young
One that works for me every time is to focus on the positive intention behind my writing. What is it that I want to communicate, express, convey? By focusing on that, by getting into the state that I’m trying to express, I find that I stop worrying about the words – just let them tumble out of their own accord.

It’s a great strategy for beating writer’s block, or overcoming anxiety about a particular piece of writing, whether that’s composing a formal business letter, writing a piece from the heart, or guest blogging somewhere ‘big’…

25. Shelley Rodrigo
Use others writer’s sentences and paragraphs as models and then emulate the syntactic structure with your own content. I’ve learned more about grammar and punctuation that way.

26. Sylvia
Avoid long sentences.

27. Mike Feeney 
Learn the difference between me, myself and I. For example: “Contact Bob or myself if you have any questions.” I hear this very often!

28. Richard Scott 
When doing a long project, a novel, for instance, shut off your internal editor and just write.

Think of your first draft as a complex outline waiting to be expanded upon, and let the words flow.

29. David
Careful with unnecessary expressions. “At this point in time” came along during the Nixon congressional hearings. Too bad it didn’t go out with him. What about “on a daily basis?”

30. E. I. Sanchez 
For large documents, I use Word’s Speech feature to have the computer read the article back. This allows me to catch errors I have missed – especially missing words or words that ’sort of sound the same’ but are spelled differently (e.g. Front me instead of ‘From me’).

31. Cat
Either read the book “Writing Tools 50 Strategies for Every Writer”, by Roy Peter Clark, or read the Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List on his blog. Then join a writing group, or hire a writing coach.

32. Suemagoo 
Write the first draft spontaneously. Switch off your internal editor until it is time to review your first draft.

33. Lydia
If you’re writing fiction, it’s a great idea to have a plot. It will coordinate your thoughts and add consistency to the text.

34. Pedro
Edit your older articles and pieces. You will notice that great part of it will be crap, and it will allow you to refine your style and avoid mistakes that you used to make.

After reading this article, I was surprised that I hadn't heard of many of these tips. I plan to implement Bill Harper, Jacinta, Pete Bollini, Lillie Ammann, and Caroline's suggestions.

What do you think about these tips?

Getting Back into the Habit of Writing

I found this post a few days ago that really resonated with me. For the past month or so, I haven't been writing every day -- shocking, I know. But I am human. If you, like me, have been neglecting your daily writing routine, here are some tips that will help you start writing again.

More than two weeks ago, I finished up a one-act play–I did the final edit, hit the deadline, then heartily congratulated myself.

In the days leading up to the deadline, I was writing 3+ hours each day in order to get the thing done (yes, I procrastinated a bit).  Once the piece was complete, a short reprieve from writing seemed to be in order.  My current internship started the following day, and now that few days has grown into nearly 3 weeks.  Not cool.

For me, writing is a lot like exercise.  When I’m writing most days of the week, and making progress toward my goals, I feel great.  When I skip days–or weeks–I grow grumpy and lethargic.  Everything is terrible and I don’t know why.  By the time I figure out that my lack of exercise is causing my terrible mood, I’ve usually reached the point where I’ve lost all motivation to write ever again.  It is only through a combination of guilt and restlessness that I finally put on my sneakers and go for a run.

The first days getting back into a routine are rough but necessary.  Here are some things I do to create momentum in my writing life.

1. Forgive yourself.  Writerly guilt got you sitting at the desk; now forget about it so that you can immerse yourself in your story’s world.  Otherwise, your session will be plagued by the conviction that your writing is shit and so are you.


2. Set a concrete, measurable goal.  ”Write.” is not concrete enough to put on your to-do list.  Give yourself a word or page count goal (“I won’t get up from this chair until I’ve written 1,000 words.”), or tell yourself that you’ll write for the next hour.


3. Schedule it.  If you decided on a time goal, fit that block of time into your calendar, and write it down.  Don’t schedule anything else during that time.


4. Write somewhere else.  Writing somewhere you usually don’t can be an easy fix when a blank page seems daunting.  This could mean finding a park bench or coffee shop on the opposite side of the city, or it could be as simple as moving to the couch if you usually sit at a desk.


5. Write sometime else.  If you usually write before bed, try waking up early.  Make yourself a cup of coffee and write as the sun rises.  If you’re a morning writer, sleep in one morning, and stay up writing late that night.


6. Re-read.  Look through your previous writing beforehand to get yourself excited about what you’ve done in the past, and to get back in touch with your characters and setting, if it’s a longer piece.


7. Start Slow.  Ease into it by using your first writing sesh to brainstorm or outline.


8. Start Small.  Begin working on something bite-sized first, if you’ve been away a super long time–a character sketch, vignette, flash fiction.  Try a six-word story if you’re really struggling.


9. Minimize distractions.  Turn off the internet.  Don’t sit in the library with your friends and don’t sit in a busy coffee shop, unless those are environments that you’ve thrived in previously. Isolate yourself in a room without windows, if you must!


10. Tunes. Listen to music that fits the tone of your piece–this can help you get into the proper mindset, and the words may flow more easily.


11. Don’t censor.  You’re returning to writing, so your prose will not be very polished.  That’s what second (and third! and fourth!) drafts are for.  Focus on the quantity of words rather than the quality, or challenge yourself to write for fifteen minutes straight without taking a break (perhaps use a web app like Write Or Die).


12. Start writing now.  No really, like rightnow. Write the next sentence of the story you’ve been away from, or write the first sentence of a new one.  Then write another sentence.  And another.

As you can see, getting back into the habit of writing is mostly just about getting to work. There aren't really any tricks -- just sit down and start writing.

What do you think? What do you do for your writing routine?