As many of you know - I am jumping into the Middle Grade jungle with my current WIP. One thing I have noticed about MG is that it is more... brief. More too the point. Unlike the epic fantasy novels that I have read in abundance.
So I am of course attempting to be brief and too the point in my current WIP. And I am loving it!
Just finished writing chapter two - it came it at 1,030 words. I was like - gosh that is short. I need to add more, need to show more so that the reader can get to know the characters and blah blah blah.
Then I looked over the chapter again. And you know what - I don't need more. In a short amount of words - and in one single scene - I got a lot of character development.
Ah-Hah Moment:
You don't have to use a lot of words to say a lot.
-Side note: Also been working on showing vs. telling - sure I don't have it down perfectly but I think it is going well. At least it is a challenge.
The challenge of showing and being brief is really inspiring me to write. Go figure!
Do you get down to the point in your writing? Or do you like to lead the reader their slowly? What do you prefer to read? (I think I like both actually.)
...so many questions.
ReplyDeleteI can't cope.
But I've gone out on a limb in my own posts suggesting the younger the reader, the less setting (stuff) you need. Boys particularly...just want one action scene to lead into the next.
*smile*
That's great advice! I am writing for boys for the first time too. Trying really hard to keep it from being... mushy.
ReplyDeleteI think I will go over my outline to make sure there aren't any actionless scenes.
Off to work I go!
I used to have a massive problem with this. Almost to the point of rambling sometimes, and my final word count definitely showed it. After having to go through and rewrite my WIP to make it tighter, though, I've really come to appreciate the difference it makes. And I think it's really helped me in terms of growth, too, because now I'm much more prone to tightening things up as I write instead of after. So that's one area I feel much more comfortable in now.
ReplyDeleteShowing versus telling, though...does anyone really have that down perfectly? Haha. It's a balance I'm still working to hit, but at least I'm making some progress.
Yah - I think that is all any of us can do -the make progress :)
DeleteI'm always thrilled to hear nice.
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I like both of the paces you describe. If I'm reading or writing epic, I'll build things slowly and then do a reveal. I've also written stuff that jumps right to the point with lots of action.
ReplyDelete