The Pen is Mightier
I think perhaps writers more than nearly everyone else realize the power of words. Whether you are a songwriter developing your latest soon-to-be hit or a lawyer drawing up a contract (I’m using “writer” in the broadest terms), words can mean everything. In a song, you want to convey your meaning. In a contract, you want to be as concise and clear as possible.
It’s not so much what you’re writing over all the words you use. Let’s dissect the opening line to my NaNo.
“Almost everyone dreams of being someone or something other than they are.”
Not the best, not the worst. The positive attributes of this line is that overall it’s something pretty much everyone can identify with, and it has positive words and phrases like “dreams” and “being someone.” The negative attributes of this line is mainly that it lacks confidence. “Almost” takes away from it because it’s a non-committal and thus less confident. If someone were to say, “Uh-uh. No, not me. I don’t dream of being someone or something else,” I could reply, “Well, that’s why I said almost.”
This is a bad habit I have with my writing. If your words don’t show confidence, readers will wonder why they’re reading a book told by someone who seems to want to get out of it and say, “That’s not mine” the moment controversy comes.
So remember that when you’re writing; your story is your friend, and you won’t write well if you don’t stick with your writing through the sunshine and the rain.
Write with confidence; you are readers’ only access to the world you’ve created.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
It’s hard to write a great first line. My favorite, likely apocraphal is
“”Damn” said the duchess , as she stuffed the body in the dumbwaiter.”
The sentence establishes several things at once
-2 characters-a competent duchess capable of profanity and a body
-A likely setting( a formal dining room in a two story house or manse in either England or Europe since only Erope has duchesses and only large houseses have dumbwaiters usualy in the dining rooom
- the agent of the plot: a death that must be hidden. Not bad for only 12 words
November 16th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
You have to love the simple first lines that say SO much.