Steta Publishers
  • Home
  • About
  • Work
  • Twitbits
  • Blog
Steta Publishers was a writing and brand language consultancy that ran from 2012 to 2016. We are no longer available for projects. Our founders now work here and here. 

On Writing

30/9/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
There are innumerable books out there on writing. They describe how to write, the craft of writing, dos and don’ts and other such useful advice. One of the better books I have recently read is ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ by Stephen King.

King has published over fifty novels and written nearly 200 short stories. Most of his works are in the realm of horror, fantasy and suspense. His book on writing is a fabulously entertaining read for anyone interested in writing anything at all. The first, shorter part tells the story of his life, and the second part is about writing. Although he focuses on writing fiction, the advice is still pertinent to any writer. Here are some of the more interesting thoughts from the book.
  • Every writer has a toolbox. It had at least 3 layers, vocabulary, grammar, and structure.
  • The adverb is not your friend. Adverbs end in ‘ly’. She looked at him ‘kindly’. Too many of them can ruin a piece of writing. They are generic, and do not lend character to the description. The description should bring to life the kindness with which she looked at him.
  • The active voice is better than the passive voice. The passive voice shows a weak person trying hard to assert authority. 
  • The best form of dialogue attribution is the simple word ‘said’. Too often we tend to imagine that ‘said’ becomes boring, and instead use ‘screamed’, ‘growled’, ‘whispered’ and other words. ‘Said’ works best most of the time. 
  • Reading is the creative centre of a writer’s life. To write well one has to read continuously. There are many opportunities for short spells of reading during the day, such as waiting at a bus-stop, while commuting, or between meetings. If you’re lucky you can avail of long spells of reading, that last several hours or an entire day.
  • Writing is best when intimate. Write what you know. The heart also knows things, as does the imagination.
  • There are 3 parts of a story: Narration, description and dialogue. 
  • Dialogues are the audio portions of any piece if writing. They define character. 
  • The key to good dialogue is honesty. 
  • Good stories are based on ‘what if’ situations. Don’t worry about the ending. The ending will show itself as you write. 
  • Description makes the reader a sensory participant in the story. Too little leaves the reader bewildered and near-sighted. Too much buries him or her in images and details. It’s important to know what can be left out and what can be described. Avoid over-description. It can be self-indulgent. 
  • Good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing; the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary. 
  • Description begins in the writer’s imagination and ends in the reader’s. 
  • Opening the ‘mental eye’ when writing involves opening all the senses.
  • Avoid clichéd metaphors and similes such as: 
                He ran like a madman
                Pretty as a summer’s day
                A piece of cake
  • Never tell, always show when you can. You can show a lot about a character through dialogue, instead of telling. 
  • Your own thoughts and experiences can be used in your work. 
  • Avoid pronouns with unclear antecedents and adverbs. 
  • Unclear antecedent: 
               I never go to that shop because they have stale fruit.
               What does ‘they’ refer to? Both I and they are singular.
               Correct: I never go to that shop because it has stale fruit.
  • Is the story coherent? 
  • Delete stuff that goes in other directions. 
  • Pace is the speed at which the narrative unfolds. Each story should be allowed to unfold at its own pace. 
  • Second draft = First draft — 10% 

Armeen Kapadia
The author is co-founder and Director, Content Design at Steta

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    Steta's founders, Urmilla Chandran and Armeen Kapadia author this blog. 

    We love letting our thoughts (crazy, stupid or smart) out for some fresh air.


    Archives

    October 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    Categories

    All
    Awards
    Blogging
    Books
    Bookstore
    Business Writing
    Classical
    Content
    Corporate
    Culture
    Design
    Dictionary
    Editing
    Grammar
    Help Authoring Tools
    Image
    Language
    Life
    Literature
    Media
    News
    Newspaper
    Personal
    Press
    Printing
    Problem
    Professional
    Punctuation
    Reading
    Retrospective
    Review
    Solution
    Story
    Technical Writing
    Technology
    Thesaurus
    Tools
    Typewriter
    Vocabulary
    Writers
    Writing


Home

Work
Blog
About


Copyright © Steta Publishers 2012–16. All rights reserved.