Vagueness is why I'm very careful in using "few", "several", "couple", and "handful". In a writing group I belonged to years ago, I asked what those words meant to people. The variety of answers was staggering.
"Couple" wasn't just TWO to some people, it could mean three or four. How they arrive at that for a "couple" is beyond me, but there you go. LOL
I asked the question of the group because I had been reading a book where the author kept using "several" for weeks/hours, and I ended up realizing late in the book that she actually meant TWO when she used "several". Totally threw me as "several" to me is 5 or more, so every place she'd written "several hours" or "several weeks", I was seeing 5 or more hour or well over a month. Threw off the entire timeline of the book for me. I almost threw the book across the room at that point, and I told her about it. LOL
(As an aside, "few" is 3 or 4 in my vocab.)
Most of the people who responded to my question had the same understanding of "couple", "few", and "several" as I do, but there were serious variations among those who didn't. "Handful" was all over the map, regardless of context.
1. If you are writing to a themed anthology (Yes, I know, you are just supposed to write the story, but I like to torture myself), can you be more vague, because the story is with other stories on the same theme? And you expect the reader to fill in some blanks due to them already knowing what the theme was about, since they picked up the book/anthology?
a. For example: You are writing for an anthology that is all about one artist's music - now, you aren't to quote any lyrics or anything, just inspired by the song. But, every story in the anthology is about that artist's songs. So, could you leave out some world building, or be more vague, because it's backboned by the song?
2. If the character(s) you are following are vague (ie not very observant), when I cycle back through, is it better to add a few things that clarify it for the reader? (ie first reader says, "I don't get it...") (Yes, I know, no author intrusion, but you also say that it's the author's job to make things clearer for the reader.)
3. Oh! I forgot and then I remembered. Even if a story is themed like the above, should you then assume it has to stand completely on its own, and you have to add all the details even if it seems to be beating your readers over the head, because of repetition?
Anyway, I'm not talking about writing for myself. I'm specifically talking about writing to anthology (Or someone else's world (I have one of those I've been invited to, also).)
Lastly, I too have a BUNCH of those minor writing sins, which need to be fixed, I guess (he/she/it, too much was-ing, etc.) And repeating words, even if I don't mean to (sometimes you repeat for emphasis.) So, this was a good post reminder of that!
I'm still debating the Nov challenge, guess I have to decide today...
Re themes and repetition and all that, go with your gut. How I would personally write for a "themed" anything is get the rules or the prompt or whatever, then give it to the characters and write whatever they give me back. It really is that easy.
Not sure what you mean by "too much was-ing" either. I can only assume someone told you not to use passive voice but they had no idea what passive voice really is. (I think there's a section on that in Writing Better Fiction.)
Old habits are difficult for me to break in other writers, especially the ones they've bought from manure peddlers. And there are a LOT of those out there. As Mark Twain once wrote, "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled."
Anyway, "was" is a state of being verb. Use it as necessary to describe a state of being, and don't worry about it. Same with "ing-words" (gerunds). If some moron's counting instances of "was" in your story, they aren't reading it anyway. Blow'em off and get back to what matters: the writing.
I also don't understand "debating the Nov challenge." There is no downside. Shrug. Still, only 7 or 8 "brave" (I guess) people (of about 200 possibles) have joined. Sometimes I feel like I beating my head against a wall. :-)
On the debating....If I agree to do it, then I will push myself to do it, no matter what (yes, I know, it's as can, but the Army girl says, "You WILL get over that fence if you have a broken leg, you are half blind and you just puked your guts out!" And that is hard to break too. So, If I don't join, then I don't have to worry about that Sgt in the back back of my brain yelling at me (how many people have a drill sgt for a critical voice? lol)
You were on for the was-ing. Basically, "He was going to the store." As opposed to, "He went to the store." Which sometimes the first is right, and sometimes the second is. I think.
As for the first...Yeah, that's what I did. But, my first reader was having a lot of issues with keeping track of alien races and why there was some things going on (like why did they start a fight, instead of leave, and then why run?) I dont' know....
It all makes sense when I write the story, and then questions get asked...and then I wonder if I left part of it in my brain, instead of putting it on the paper. so more cycling, I guess.
Vagueness is why I'm very careful in using "few", "several", "couple", and "handful". In a writing group I belonged to years ago, I asked what those words meant to people. The variety of answers was staggering.
"Couple" wasn't just TWO to some people, it could mean three or four. How they arrive at that for a "couple" is beyond me, but there you go. LOL
I asked the question of the group because I had been reading a book where the author kept using "several" for weeks/hours, and I ended up realizing late in the book that she actually meant TWO when she used "several". Totally threw me as "several" to me is 5 or more, so every place she'd written "several hours" or "several weeks", I was seeing 5 or more hour or well over a month. Threw off the entire timeline of the book for me. I almost threw the book across the room at that point, and I told her about it. LOL
(As an aside, "few" is 3 or 4 in my vocab.)
Most of the people who responded to my question had the same understanding of "couple", "few", and "several" as I do, but there were serious variations among those who didn't. "Handful" was all over the map, regardless of context.
Yep. A couple is two, a few is 3 or 4 to maybe 5,, and several is 5 to 7. After that, you have bunch, litter, chunk, and plethora. :-)
That discussion reminded me of a joke my husband tells about having graduated from school in Bisbee about how he learned to count - 1, 2, Many. LOL
So a couple of questions:
1. If you are writing to a themed anthology (Yes, I know, you are just supposed to write the story, but I like to torture myself), can you be more vague, because the story is with other stories on the same theme? And you expect the reader to fill in some blanks due to them already knowing what the theme was about, since they picked up the book/anthology?
a. For example: You are writing for an anthology that is all about one artist's music - now, you aren't to quote any lyrics or anything, just inspired by the song. But, every story in the anthology is about that artist's songs. So, could you leave out some world building, or be more vague, because it's backboned by the song?
2. If the character(s) you are following are vague (ie not very observant), when I cycle back through, is it better to add a few things that clarify it for the reader? (ie first reader says, "I don't get it...") (Yes, I know, no author intrusion, but you also say that it's the author's job to make things clearer for the reader.)
3. Oh! I forgot and then I remembered. Even if a story is themed like the above, should you then assume it has to stand completely on its own, and you have to add all the details even if it seems to be beating your readers over the head, because of repetition?
Anyway, I'm not talking about writing for myself. I'm specifically talking about writing to anthology (Or someone else's world (I have one of those I've been invited to, also).)
Lastly, I too have a BUNCH of those minor writing sins, which need to be fixed, I guess (he/she/it, too much was-ing, etc.) And repeating words, even if I don't mean to (sometimes you repeat for emphasis.) So, this was a good post reminder of that!
I'm still debating the Nov challenge, guess I have to decide today...
A lot of questions there.
Re themes and repetition and all that, go with your gut. How I would personally write for a "themed" anything is get the rules or the prompt or whatever, then give it to the characters and write whatever they give me back. It really is that easy.
Not sure what you mean by "too much was-ing" either. I can only assume someone told you not to use passive voice but they had no idea what passive voice really is. (I think there's a section on that in Writing Better Fiction.)
Old habits are difficult for me to break in other writers, especially the ones they've bought from manure peddlers. And there are a LOT of those out there. As Mark Twain once wrote, "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled."
Anyway, "was" is a state of being verb. Use it as necessary to describe a state of being, and don't worry about it. Same with "ing-words" (gerunds). If some moron's counting instances of "was" in your story, they aren't reading it anyway. Blow'em off and get back to what matters: the writing.
I also don't understand "debating the Nov challenge." There is no downside. Shrug. Still, only 7 or 8 "brave" (I guess) people (of about 200 possibles) have joined. Sometimes I feel like I beating my head against a wall. :-)
On the debating....If I agree to do it, then I will push myself to do it, no matter what (yes, I know, it's as can, but the Army girl says, "You WILL get over that fence if you have a broken leg, you are half blind and you just puked your guts out!" And that is hard to break too. So, If I don't join, then I don't have to worry about that Sgt in the back back of my brain yelling at me (how many people have a drill sgt for a critical voice? lol)
You were on for the was-ing. Basically, "He was going to the store." As opposed to, "He went to the store." Which sometimes the first is right, and sometimes the second is. I think.
As for the first...Yeah, that's what I did. But, my first reader was having a lot of issues with keeping track of alien races and why there was some things going on (like why did they start a fight, instead of leave, and then why run?) I dont' know....
It all makes sense when I write the story, and then questions get asked...and then I wonder if I left part of it in my brain, instead of putting it on the paper. so more cycling, I guess.