Overwriting / Feeling Called Out ;)

[fawkesylady394]

So, I tripped over this video just now. The premise is that fanfic writers have "tells" that spill over into original/professional writing - things that need to be fixed. Alexa Donne is interesting and makes good points (does come off a bit preachy but duh... that's the point!)

The breakdown is:

1- Messy Dialog Tags. (Very little use of "said

Comments

[gingerbred]

Don't feel called out. That would be a shame. 😊 Personally I think there's a style that suits an author, something that comes naturally, and as long as it isn't your career choice, it makes sense to me to stick with what works for you. (And/or your readers.) Anything else is a slog, and where's the fun in that? If it isn't 'commercial', why not write the thing you *want* to write the *way* you want to? In fact, you know what? I *really* like the idea that there isn't this one right way to do things, so people are producing a whole spectrum of stuff and there's more likely to be that perfect thing for every individual reader out there somewhere. Because there really isn't this one communal 'like'. (I cackled like a madwoman the first time I saw 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' on the shelves, whereas my English teacher would *not* have been amused.) If anything, it seems it would be more important to service a rare niche

[fawkesylady394]

On the one hand, I was joking, but on the other hand, I guess I wasn't completely re: called out. One of the things that I've enjoyed about writing is that my writing is improving with practice, but from my real life career I've observed that there are sort of "localized cultures" that do things one way, and stretching beyond those borders is an important way to continue to foster growth. So that's why this video got my attention -- it was like she was looking straight at me and saying : "Well, if you want to get paid for writing someday, these are habits that tend to be fostered by your culture." It behooves me to reflect on some things that I've been blind to, or firmly ignoring in favour of joy

[grooot]

Lol ALL OF THIS IS ME...

[analdebaran]

Thanks for the video! Very very chatty but anyway interesting and ties into some other things I've read as well about writing. Re adverb tags I think there's a bit of a difference between "said quietly" and "thundered stormily". Gah. Or like when people write Luna Lovegood and add "dreamily" to her every single bloody sentence. Or Albus Dumbledore twinkling. Although JKR does that too to some extent in canon with Luna.

Blushing could be "feeling her cheeks go hot" or something like that.

Writing is fun! But it seems like one of those things which is much much harder than it looks. "Write a book" they say, as if anyone can do it.