(no subject)

[mithen]

Hi again! I hope the new year is treating you well! I've gotten a fair amount of non-fiction written and am hard at work on two more pieces--one for an actual magazine, one just for my own pleasure. Unfortunately, I also have my annual January cold, so work is slower than I would like... but it's happening! I have the last lines for the magazine piece picked out, so that's always a relief.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Uhhhh. I guess I would say a style or tone that is distinctly yours? I mean, assuming the rest of your writing is competent, I think it's most important to develop a sort of voice that is engaging and expressive for you. I read a whole book about developing a personal voice, but most of the advice on it was incredibly nebulous!

Comments

[me_ya_ri]

Hi Mithen! The new year's going pretty well for me. I finished my monster fanfic--it topped out at 128.6K which is just ridiculous. It's the longest thing I've written in easily 5 years. I'm super happy with it, too. I've submitted several stories to anthologies and most of them even got accepted! *wild Kermit flailing of joy*

Now I'm starting on a novel set in Japan, the third in my Landslide Romances series. I get to put in all the fun stuff my hubby and I did in Japan in November when we went to Sendai and Tokyo. :D

Hmmm, I think for me it's a sense of fun. Or maybe detailed, sensory-oriented description. Both are critical to really pull me into a story. Oh, and a happy ending!

That's true for both my own fiction and for other people's fiction. If I have those three things, I'm a happy camper.

I don't know that you can develop your voice. Personally, I think it's just a matter of practicing your skills as doing specific things. Like, including all five senses every 500 words. Or finding the level of description that works best for you, that flows from your fingers. Being able to put in good accents that are believable without being overwhelming. The more you work at specific skills, the more your personal style develops.

I mean, it's like your physical voice. You never hear yourself accurately compared to what others hear. You just say things and it comes out in your accent with your phrasing in your tone. Writing voice is the same way. Just learn how to do specific things (transitions or cliffhangers or description or whatever) and leave your voice to just happen.

Anyway! Congratulations on the magazine piece! That's so cool. Not so cool is the cold. I hope you feel better soon!

[bradygirl_12]

Hey, great news about the magazine! :)

Important elements of good writing? Clear communication, unless you're deliberately writing something ambiguous.

Good description.

The ability to keep the reader turning the page. :)

Original Novel #2 going along pretty well. I've accumulated a little queue of fanfic, too, so that's a bonus going forward.

[navaan]

Last year wasn't that good but at least 2020 is starting okay. :D

Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm. I think that's hard to say, because it's always a bit dependent on what you want to achieve. I found that planning and structure are much more important that maybe I thought ten years ago. Setting the right hooks to keep the tension or keep reader interest and having a non-disappointing payoff works better with good structure and also with a good beta who dares to point at the scenes that are sweet but really do nothing for the story. :P