Binge Reading.
It’s what I’ve been doing for the past week to catch up on the few weeks prior that I’ve found lame excuses not to read often because I was, well, let’s face it, lazy. Anyway, upon reading two books simultaneously and an interesting article on “Character Driven Plotting,” I’ve started a new word document labeled “Memorable tips to always remember as a Writer.” I have three tips so far, and would like to share them here.
1. Drive home a character’s personality by the actions they take. This is especially true in first person where you don’t need every thought they have, rather, the things they notice, the things they react to first and how they react, tell so much more.
2. A scene can be set by merely a few words. Example: someone idly played with their eggs with their fork (invoking the idea of breakfast, which is usually held in the dining room or kitchen).
3. (this is my favorite so far) The reason you don’t start a story at the end or the most climatic point is context. With proper context, the importance of the event is overshadowed by the importance of the event to the characters of your story.
That’s all I’ve got so far, but as I continue to read more often and more carefully, I’m sure this list will grow. I imagine myself lost at some point during writing, and looking back on this growing list to re-align my brain.
