A few tips on Holiday writing.

A letter to writers from @JLAJones

Greetings one and all,

I will compose this as an epistle considering list and bullet point form has a lack of elegance. Not that my writing is such but this makes it a bit more personal. Creating connections is what we writers aim to do. Without further ado, here are a few things to try I learned from psychology, linguistics, and good old writing research.

First, lets talk about dialogue; that engine of subtext, that interlocution of narrative evolution, the verbal spar, and the last word. This tip is easy. If you want to reveal a character’s insecurity and thus flesh them out beyond two-dimensions, use an insult. Yes, an insult. Have the character insult a person, place, or thing, most nouns will do, and this reveals internal struggle. Why dear reader/writer? Because most humans are not aware or tactical in their use of disparaging words. In fact, they call people names that would insult them as they would exploit their insecurity or lack. Face it, most people use insult of what they fear to be called themselves.

Second, again, dialogue. This is a more psychology observation. Though this is not a certainty, it does make much sense. It involves pronouns or lack thereof. In the speculation I found, people who use “I” more than a few times in email, text, or snail mail, have a perception of subordinate status. The “I” is used to reaffirm there sense of existing and state of progress. This is normally done in reply to the perceived dominant interlocutor. The dominant interlocutor does not use pronouns at all. They simply issue judgments, observations, exclamations, or orders. All very declaratory in a sense. As a simple example of email [Employee- I will revise the reports and get them to you as soon as I can—-Boss-re: Get it done.] Oh, and the dominant perceived status monkey tends to say much less as they consider their state secure.

Lastly, lets get to pacing shall we. So many say modulate, or roller coaster your pace, or wax and wane but more waxing. Therefore, here are two actual ways to do that instead of nebulous reports of those who only deal in subjective stances and don’t know tactics.

Scene and Sequel. Scene is speed as it is action. Begin with a clear goal for the protagonist. There are actions taken to achieve this goal. A series of obstacles hamper the resolution and then conflict. Conflict comes when the antagonist or antagonistic force prevents the protagonist from achieving the goal but lessons are learned. Be they small or monumental. This is how the protagonist builds the skills to resolve the story problem and regain the balance that was thrown off by the inciting incident. Conflict does not need be violent or melodramatic but movement in a physical space is normally warranted unless the main character acts as both protagonist and antagonist. This failure drives the character to assess and make a new decision, which is the next step.

Sequel is the slow thoughtful form. Here the failure of the protagonist moves them to express feelings and reactions by the failure in the Scene passage. The dilemma of “what to do next?” appears. A series of options is parsed, and what was learned becomes visible. Here, a writer can insert more description of setting and perceptions of the characters. This is where world building can be gained and characterization developed. Use the florid and poetic language here. During the pondering of “what to do next?”, a decision is made. This leads us back to setting a goal or back to Scene.

Now, both Scene and Sequel can adjusted for pace by length. Both can happen in one page or stretched to modulate the ebb and flow. Many plot-driven novels hold fast to more Scene and more character centered novels will utilize more Sequel than the previously mentioned. Mix and match for your purposes.

This will be quick and final tip, dear writer. This has to do with the subconscious undercurrent. A way to accent emotions during the rise or fall of a character. Depending on the structure of the plot (being a Rise-Fall, Fall-Rise, Rise-Fall-Rise…etc) diction can add depth and impact to the reader. It is very simple. Some smart academic decided to do a word distribution study of positive and negative words in famous novels. They found that during the rise of a character, more words with positive connotation were found. These words being related to positive emotions and positive traits such as integrity, valor, honor and such. One the opposing side, during the fall of character, word with negative connotation were used in more frequency. You know, words like solemn, defeat, sad, anger. This is diction that charges subconscious perception of events and lends emotional pathos. This last tip might be better done in the second draft revisions as you don’t want to disrupt your writing flow to contemplate where the positive-negative words should go. This is from reading about Sentiment Analysis of texts, which there are numerous studies on Harry Potter to Moby Dick.

Well, that’s it. I know writing during the holidays is difficult with all the family and festive distractions. Also, rest and time away from the keyboard can be helpful while meditating on plot or breaks into subsequent acts. Sometimes, you need to shut off and let the subconscious mind work through the variables.

I wish you well. May your compositions be what only you can give and reach the audience you wish. Keep writing. Keep learning. Venture forward even if it means taking a step back once in a while.

With great encouragement,

Joshua Lee Andrew Jones

@JLAJones

PS: some links to the aforementioned.

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/a-tiny-pronoun-says-a-lot-about-you.html

https://www.amazon.com/Scenes-Sequels-Write-Page-Turning-Fiction/dp/1682229076