Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Boring! Boring!

copyright 2011 Ron Adams
We all know, if you’ve been doing this long enough, that writing is a very subjective
business. Everyone has different tastes, so how do we keep from being boring to
the readers? One really good way to avoid being dull in your writing is to find
what works in your particular genre, or even with your own favorite authors,
and try to incorporate that into your stories. What is selling in your genre,
and why? You can learn from the acknowledged masters in the field, taking from
them the elements that make their stories entertaining to you. For me, I am a
big fan of dialogue, so I am constantly reading authors whom I feel do the best
job of pushing the story along through the verbal interactions of the
characters. You can still create your own characters, settings and plot, but
use the devices of your favorite authors to make the story more universally
appealing.

It is also true that if you are bored writing, someone else will be bored reading. I suggest you learn all you can about creating tension and conflict, when and where to use action and comedy. Never forget that if the scene you’re working on doesn’t move the story forward, no matter how cleverly written, your readers will glaze over and react negatively to the whole story. Stay focused on what makes the story
interesting to you, and keep your reader, your target audience, first and foremost in your mind. Remember the words of Alfred Hitchcock, who accurately described the art of storytelling, “Drama is real life, with the dull parts left out.”


4 comments:

Kim Smith said...

Excellent points, Ron. I have been thinking of how it used to be that writing and the styles employed changed from decade to decade, and I guess a fair share of that still goes on. But today it mostly the changes in the actual publishing world that we see more than ever.

One thing is for sure.

Good writing will never go out of style!

Aaron Paul Lazar said...

Beautifully said, Ron, and oh so true.

Ron Adams said...

Thanks Kim and Aaron. One thing I should have added is that to keep boredome to a minimum, I will sometimes "Cast" the movie as I'm writing. Picturing a movie star in my character's role can sometimes keep the action and dialogue fresher to me than if I don't have a more specific picture in my head.

Come to think of it, that might make a good post in the future, inviting our readers to cast the movie of their favorite crime/thriller novels. Thoughts?

Aaron Paul Lazar said...

Love that idea. I'm always picturing actors in my stories, too. LOL. Hey, why not? I'll look forward to your next post, Ron. Enjoy your afternoon!