Writer’s Block

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 9 Comments

Sorry I didn’t update my blog last week. I meant to, but finals are coming up and school has been  keeping me pretty busy.

Anyways, I have fallen victim to writer’s block countless times, so I figured I might as well do a post on it. When writer’s block strikes, there’s only one thing to do-

WRITE.

Seriously. There’s no other solution. It doesn’t matter if you’re spewing crap all over the page; it doesn’t matter if you’re writing “I have writer’s block and I don’t know what to do.” The simple act of writing and not staring into space will actually get your creative juices flowing again.

I think that the reason people are afraid to write when they get stuck is that they want it to be perfect right away. This is true especially for really strong writers, or anyone who has written something that (s)he’s remotely proud of. Think about it- if you’ve written something amazing once, it’s easy to feel that your writing after that one time isn’t living up to its usual standard. I’ve felt that way so many times- the way I describe it is that “I’m regressing.”

But I’m not. Because NO FAMOUS AUTHOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAS EVER GOTTEN IT PERFECT ON HIS/HER FIRST TRY.

That’s why your first draft is called your rough draft. You just have to WRITE and push through that first draft, no matter how painful it might be. Force yourself. Once you’ve written it, you should feel great- because the story’s down. Even if it’s written in crappy language and you hate it, still, rejoice! Because it’s been written down. And all you have to do is revise to make it reach the level of perfection that you want it to.

The quote in the picture is one of my favorites because it’s encouraging, but it’s not too cheesy. Whenever I feel like giving up on my manuscript, I look at this quote (it’s taped to my wall, along with a bunch of other quotes I love).


The Difference Between the Right Word and the Almost Right Word

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 40 Comments

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post (More About Adverbs) is that when you use a thesaurus to replace a word in your writing, you have to be careful not to change its original meaning. No two words in the world mean the exact same thing – that’s why they are different words. Even “he shouted” and “he yelled” have slightly different connotations. But more often than not, that slight difference in meaning doesn’t matter, and you can interchange those words throughout your writing.

But there are times when the thesaurus gives you a word that doesn’t make sense in your context, or, even if it does make sense, it chops up your writing instead of letting it flow.

Example: Her heart was pounding. “Are you sure?” she asked.

A thesaurus option: Her heart was pounding. “Are you sure?” she inquired.

Okay, so they mean the same thing. “To ask” is the same as “to inquire.” But “inquired” sounds so unnatural and awkward. Especially in this context. Her heart is pounding, right? That implies suspense. So, picture your reader, rushing through the pages of your book, wanting so badly to know what happens next- and then you throw in a word like “inquire.” What’s your reader going to think? What the heck? Yeah, that’s about right.

“Inquire” sounds so formal and awkward. It’s not right when you’ve got hearts pounding and action going on. The word jolts your readers and almost pulls them out of the world of your book. It reminds them that it’s not real. You do not want to do that to your readers.

Usually, it’s really easy to tell what sounds weird and what sounds right. When you let other people read your work, they will tell you as well. But here’s a general rule of thumb that I follow when using a thesaurus: If I’ve never heard the word in my life, I don’t use it. To me, when I use a thesaurus, I look at the words and think, Oh! That’s right! I completely forgot about those words! Or I think, Yes! That’s the word I was looking for! The thesaurus is really more to jog my memory than to learn new words. But I’m not saying that you should never use new words- it’s just that if you do, make sure you look them up in the dictionary and are completely sure about the meaning. Don’t pull them straight from the thesaurus. It also helps if you look at examples that use the word in a sentence.

Even the way a word sounds can determine whether you should use it or not, even if it has the meaning you’re looking for. Did you know that the word “pulchritudinous” means “beautiful”? If a guy had called me that and I hadn’t known what it meant, I think I’d have hit him!

Edit: The title of this post is part of a quote by Mark Twain. Check out the Quotes About Writing page to read the full quote!

More About Adverbs

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 5 Comments

Upon request, I’m writing another post about adverbs and verbs. I hope you find it helpful!

Most adverbs end with -ly. Quickly, sadly, awfully, angrily, happily, softly, loudly. These are all adverbs. Well, imagine reading something like this:

Example: Slowly, he walked towards her. Although he was walking slowly, his thoughts were moving quickly through his mind. Was he making the right choice? He began walking more quickly, began walking briskly towards the girl. She was waiting for him, and as he drew nearer she called his name.

Yikes. Did you count the adverbs in that paragraph? There are five. Doesn’t it sound cluttered? Too much -ly. Now read this version:

Revised version: He walked towards her, lingering every so often along the way. Although he hesitated, thoughts whirled through his mind like a furious cyclone. Was he making the right choice? He quickened his pace, now striding towards the girl. She was waiting for him, and as he drew nearer she called his name.

You may have noticed that I didn’t just cut out the adverbs. I made the paragraph a little more descriptive and threw in a simile that wasn’t there before. Do you know why? Because once you cut out unnecessary adverbs, you have room for better writing!

But sometimes you will not find a verb that can get rid of your adverb. And that’s okay. Sometimes an adverb is simply what fits best and makes the most sense.

If you’re having trouble deciding when to use adverbs and when not to, try using thesaurus.com. I generally keep it open on my computer whenever I’m writing anything. It’s quite useful. I just typed in “walk slowly” and it gave me synonyms!

I hope this post was helpful and clarified anything that wasn’t explained in my previous adverb post. If you have any questions, leave them in a comment!

Show, Don’t Tell?

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 1 Comment

“Show, don’t tell” is probably the one piece of advice known to all writers. But is it good advice? Here’s what I believe: you need to do both. You have to know when to show and when to tell.

Example: Her toothbrush was pink and purple, with little red sparkles all over it. Two of the little brushes sticking out of the top were red; the rest were white. The toothbrush had a pink grip on its handle that let her hold it better. She picked up the toothbrush and began to brush her teeth.

Whoa! Do we care about what the toothbrush looks like? Do we even care that she brushed her teeth? Probably not. And if for some reason it is necessary to say that she brushed her teeth, 1) make sure it’s relevant to the story, and 2) don’t use more than a sentence.

Show only when it makes sense to show. Maybe your character is sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring at the vast world below them. Then you should show. But skip the boring things. Trust me: we don’t care what the toothbrush looks like.

But maybe that’s a bad example. How many people actually describe their toothbrushes anyway? Here’s another:

Example: She tugged at a strand of curly brown hair and thought for a moment before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pink cell phone. It played an awful ringtone as she chewed on her Spearmint gum and stared at the caller ID. Finally she accepted the call and held the phone to her ear.

Give your readers some credit. We all know what it’s like to pick up a phone! The parts where you should go into detail the most and really “capture the moment” are the most important parts in the story. Or the parts where your readers will want to know every little detail. Say you’re writing something really suspenseful. Your readers will be hanging on to every word with bated breath. That’s when you delve into detail and stretch it out (but not too much!) because your readers are thinking, Come on, come on… then what?

Think about the cell phone scene again. It was boring before, right? But what if the girl had been waiting for this call all her life? What if the whole story revolved around her picking up the phone at this very moment? All of a sudden, your reader is sitting on the edge of their seat, waiting for her to pick up the phone. It could change her life. Then by all means, go ahead and show! Go ahead and drag it out. Because we care.

A writer who only tells is a poor writer, but a writer who only shows is equally poor. The skillful writer knows exactly when to tell and exactly when to show in order to keep their audience captivated.

Adverbs vs. Verbs

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 35 Comments

While working to improve my own writing, I’ve come across some tips that have proved quite useful. I’ll do my best to share with you what has worked for me. You can find my main suggestions on the “Writing Tips” page, but I’ll also make an effort to include additional tips through blog posts. Here’s my first blog post tip: Avoid adverbs. When you write, instead of sticking in a weak verb plus an adverb, use one strong verb.

Example: She walked quickly.

Better choice: She strode.

Adverbs clutter up the text. Strong verbs are clean, save space, and make the writing sound more fluent. Use them! Here are a few strong verbs:

  • to splutter
  • to stumble
  • to shriek
  • to groan
  • to scamper
  • to dash
  • to nibble
  • to rasp
  • to gnaw

Of course, there are many more! But the main idea is this: strong verbs are better than weak verbs plus adverbs. However, don’t forget – for a verb to be strong, it doesn’t have to be long (that rhyme was unintentional but it did make me smile). My point is, you don’t need to try impressing anyone with big words. “He puked” is probably better than “he regurgitated.” The most important thing is to write naturally and with your own style!