Beginners' Four Faults

Vaz

Vaz

We're in the pipe, five by five.
Joined
Jun 7, 2015
Messages
1,472
Location
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Hey Ladies and Gents :)

Just found a really interesting article outlining and exploring the most common faults made by novice writers and thought it might be of interest or help to some of us Chronners.


What do you guys think? And how many of the four mistakes can you claim yourself? :D

Cheers - Vaz


http://www.caroclarke.com/fourfaults.html
 
Can you remember what you wrote and post it here? I think to add a bit of fun to the thread it would be interesting to compare mistakes and tbh I wouldn't mind reading about a fry up. I Love sausages! :D
 
Vaz said:
Can you remember what you wrote and post it here? I think to add a bit of fun to the thread it would be interesting to compare mistakes and tbh I wouldn't mind reading about a fry up. I Love sausages! :D
Click to expand...

Sadly, I don't tend to keep drafts - I'm ruthless enough to delete and start again.... (The scene is still in the book - Waters and the Wild - actually, it's just much, much less shorter.)
 
Interesting article. I'm sure I've been guilty of all of these. One thing I find difficult to do is to avoid alternating between a scene where characters discuss what they are going to do next, and a scene where the characters do it. It's easy to lapse into this plotting/acting/plotting structure, at least if you're me.

One thing writing comedy forces you to do is to keep the story moving. Once there are no more jokes to be wrung out of a scene, you have to move onto the next one. If you have to keep going to explain something, then the next scene needs to make up for it with more humour. The discipline of staying (hopefully) funny whilst remaining coherent was very useful for me.
 
I have to say the writer was guilty of all the faults in the blog (and I don't mean the examples). I'm not sure if that carries over to their books.

In a first draft I am still very much guilty of all of them. My first drafts have never improved they are still shocking but that's their purpose.

However when it comes to adjectives I am unashamed in my usage and intend to continue that way. There are times and places where they should be less and others they should be more. I'm Anya Kimlin and not Hemingway -- and I've no desire to be him or Stephen King. Now I'm self publishing I'm able to indulge a little more in them and write some of the things I like to read.

One reasonably well known poet who advocates taking out adjectives actually read my adjective laden suffragette rally and changed two words. He also moved a semi colon.
 
Last edited:
That's were i remember that name from:I've got all of her novels.
Spine tingling sparkling works of genius ,the lot of them.
Caro is better than Irving,MacCarthy and Steinbeck combined
yesterday she was on the Tonight Show
She was once on the NY Times bestseller list due to a printing error
 
Last edited:
Ray McCarthy said:
It reminded me of Robert Jordan WOT. So tedious all those mint teas and pulling of braids.
Click to expand...
I wanted to garrotte her with that bloody braid and I only got to book 6, please please tell me someone held her down and cut it off.
 
3rd one for me. I love describing things in detail, especially when theres tension in the air.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vaz
I don't agree with point 3 and 4. They are subjective to a certain extent, and are quite unashamedly committed by very experienced and renowned authors.

While the writer of the blog might find them boring, there are others who love all that detail*. I remember somebody once telling me how whenever they got to one of the banquet scenes described in GRRM's books, they would get really hungry reading all the description because it sounded so good.



* raises hand and looks guilty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vaz
I have no idea what she's talking about. I've always written superlative prose with nary a fault. Born brilliant I guess. ;) Yeah, seriously now, I cringe when I look back on some of the horrors I've created. It's all about learning the craft. 'What we need to learn to do, we learn by doing.'
 
Warren_Paul said:
I don't agree with point 3 and 4. They are subjective to a certain extent, and are quite unashamedly committed by very experienced and renowned authors.

While the writer of the blog might find them boring, there are others who love all that detail*. I remember somebody once telling me how whenever they got to one of the banquet scenes described in GRRM's books, they would get really hungry reading all the description because it sounded so good.



* raises hand and looks guilty.
Click to expand...
It's like the Jack Aubrey Books, by Patrick O'Brian, there are long detailed descriptions of the meals at the captain's table to the extent that two woman produced a Jack Aubrey cook book listing every meal in the books.
 
Toby Frost said:
A while ago I was writing about a Valkyrie-like character escaping from a fire. She noticed that one of her considerable plaits was smouldering and was obliged to cut the burning end off. I typed the phrase “she tugged on her braid” and thought that it sounded weirdly familiar. Now I know why.
Click to expand...

A bit of Wheel of time? (can't see the article at the moment so this is a guess!)
 
Use of weather to set mood can also be a newbie fault and one I was guilty of. Weather is important, but it doesn't need to rain for a grumpy character.

I'm heading for lunch, what weather should I expect when hungry?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Dave Star Wars: The Acolyte: Episode Four: Day Star Wars: The Acolyte 2
Brian G Turner Stranger Things - S1E4 - Chapter Four: The Body Stranger Things 0
S Is it viable to write a story taking place in four spatial dimensions? Writing Discussion 62
ctg Star Wars: Ahsoka - 01:04 - Part Four: Fallen Jedi Star Wars: Ahsoka 23
ctg The Mandalorian - Chapter Twenty Four - The Return Star Wars: Mandalorian 27

Similar threads


Back
Top