In the poem, "The Raven, written by Edgar Allen Poe, the protagonist is obviously a very depressed man. After losing his love, Lenore, the man is going crazy. The reader sees the protagonist talking to a crow asking if he will see Lenore again. This poem seems to relate to the fe of Edgar Allen Poe when he lost his own love. The poem displays excellent poetic techniques
Can anyone tell me what "The Raven" by edgar allan poe means?
" In this poem, one of the most famous American poems ever, Poe uses several symbols to take the poem to a higher level. The most obvious symbol is, of course, the raven itself. When Poe had decided to use a refrain that repeated the word "nevermore," he found that it would be most effective if he used a non-reasoning creature to utter the word. It would make little sense to use a human, since the human could reason to answer the questions (Poe, 1850). In "The Raven" it is important that the answers to the questions are already known, to illustrate the self-torture to which the narrator exposes himself. This way of interpreting signs that do not bear a real meaning, is "one of the most profound impulses of human nature" (Quinn, 1998:441).
Poe also considered a parrot as the bird instead of the raven; however, because of the melancholy tone, and the symbolism of ravens as birds of ill-omen, he found the raven more suitable for the mood in the poem (Poe, 1850). Quoth the Parrot, "Nevermore?"
Another obvious symbol is the bust of Pallas. Why did the raven decide to perch on the goddess of wisdom? One reason could be, because it would lead the narrator to believe that the raven spoke from wisdom, and was not just repeating its only "stock and store," and to signify the scholarship of the narrator. Another reason for using "Pallas" in the poem was, according to Poe himself, simply because of the "sonorousness of the word, Pallas, itself" (Poe, 1850).
A less obvious symbol, might be the use of "midnight" in the first verse, and "December" in the second verse. Both midnight and December, symbolize an end of something, and also the anticipation of something new, a change, to happen. The midnight in December, might very well be New Year鈥檚 eve, a date most of us connect with change. This also seems to be what Viktor Rydberg believes when he is translating "The Raven" to Swedish, since he uses the phrase "氓rets sista natt var inne, " ("The last night of the year had arrived"). Kenneth Silverman connected the use of December with the death of Edgar鈥檚 mother (Silverman, 1992:241), who died in that month; whether this is true or not is, however, not significant to its meaning in the poem.
The chamber in which the narrator is positioned, is used to signify the loneliness of the man, and the sorrow he feels for the loss of Lenore. The room is richly furnished, and reminds the narrator of his lost love, which helps to create an effect of beauty in the poem. The tempest outside, is used to even more signify the isolation of this man, to show a sharp contrast between the calmness in the chamber and the tempestuous night.
The phrase "from out my heart," Poe claims, is used, in combination with the answer "Nevermore," to let the narrator realize that he should not try to seek a moral in what has been previously narrated (Poe, 1850). "
Can anyone tell me what "The Raven" by edgar allan poe means?
"The Raven" follows an unnamed narrator who sits reading "forgotten lore" as a method to forget the loss of his love, Lenore. A "rapping at [his] chamber door" reveals nothing, but excites his soul to "burning". A similar rapping, slightly louder, is heard at his window. When he goes to investigate, a raven steps into his chamber. Paying no attention to the man, the raven perches on a bust of Pallas.
Amused by the raven's comically serious disposition, the man demands that the bird tell him its name. The raven's only answer is "Nevermore." The narrator is surprised that the raven can talk, though it will not say anything further. He reasons that the bird learned the word "Nevermore" from some "unhappy master" and that it is the only word it knows. The narrator remarks that his "friend" the raven will soon fly out of his life, just as "other friends have flown before" along with his previous hopes. As if answering, the raven responds again with "Nevermore". The narrator is convinced that this single word, possibly learned from a previous owner with bad luck, is all that the bird can say.
Even so, the narrator pulls his chair directly in front of the raven, determined to learn more about it. He thinks for a moment, not saying anything, but his mind wanders back to his lost Lenore. He thinks the air grows denser and feels the presence of angels. Confused by the association of the angels with the bird, the narrator becomes angry, calling the raven a "thing of evil" and a "prophet". As he yells at the raven it only responds, "Nevermore." Finally, he asks the raven if he will be reunited with Lenore in heaven. When the raven responds with its typical "Nevermore", he shrieks and commands the raven to return to the "Plutonian shore",though it never moves. Presumably at the time of the poem's recitation by the narrator, the raven "still is sitting" on the bust of Pallas. The narrator's final admission is that his soul is trapped beneath the raven's shadow and shall be lifted "Nevermore".
Reply:Grief and loneliness can make you crazy
Reply:alienation and loneliness
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Character Question?
I'm writing a novel where a secret organization of Religious individuals plots to take down the corrupt president of the U.S. One of the Characters is their A.I. (Artificial Inteligence) Program. And you can probably guess she has a "personality". Yes I got the idea from Cortana from Halo. So what should I name her? I was thinking of calling her Anna (it's just a name) but what do you think?
Remember she is used by a religious (to be more specific Roman Catholic) organization.
Character Question?
anna is a great name for her
Character Question?
Mina...it comes from "Minh" which means intelligence
Reply:Ruth, Esther, Miriam...all religious names.
Reply:I think that you should try to make her name an acronym for something like for ANNA (Automated Nuro Network Android), or some other cool phrase. Hope this helps.
Remember she is used by a religious (to be more specific Roman Catholic) organization.
Character Question?
anna is a great name for her
Character Question?
Mina...it comes from "Minh" which means intelligence
Reply:Ruth, Esther, Miriam...all religious names.
Reply:I think that you should try to make her name an acronym for something like for ANNA (Automated Nuro Network Android), or some other cool phrase. Hope this helps.
Why are Shakespeare's plays still so popular/relatable?
Just looking for some other opinions on this.
Why are Shakespeare's plays still so popular/relatable?
Because they are part of the High School curriculum.
Why are Shakespeare's plays still so popular/relatable?
The humor, I think, and the fact that his characters aren't the typical sort of characters used in the 1600's. They're bright and vivid and hilarious, and in the tragedies and the comedies, there are always very human aspects in the decisions made, the characters created, and the plot that happens. It's mostly about love and life and death, things that even today we can related to.
I think a lot of people read Shakespeare just to claim they have though, to be honest.
Reply:because the problems that the characters face are always going to be in humans lives. the weeknesses and the chalenges are still pronoment and we will always relate to these stories. take any of the stories/plays and you will some how be able to fit them into the lifes of us or those around us as u could centerys ago and as u will be able to for many centerys to come.
Reply:One thing that keeps Shakespeare popular is how vividly he is able to convey what his characters are thinking and feeling. Another, which few of us appreciate when we struggle through the plays in high school, is how playful and inventive his language is, and how skillfully he uses it.
Reply:Because he created memorable characters (whom we can still identify with after 400 years) and well-constructed plots and used the English language beautifully. A few years ago I read a review that referred to him as "the world's most popular playwright" and realized with surprise that, yes, he IS. And the fact that you have to read him in high school doesn't account for THAT. The reason people of all ages keep attending his plays wherever they're shown can only be that those plays are GOOD.
It Jobs
Why are Shakespeare's plays still so popular/relatable?
Because they are part of the High School curriculum.
Why are Shakespeare's plays still so popular/relatable?
The humor, I think, and the fact that his characters aren't the typical sort of characters used in the 1600's. They're bright and vivid and hilarious, and in the tragedies and the comedies, there are always very human aspects in the decisions made, the characters created, and the plot that happens. It's mostly about love and life and death, things that even today we can related to.
I think a lot of people read Shakespeare just to claim they have though, to be honest.
Reply:because the problems that the characters face are always going to be in humans lives. the weeknesses and the chalenges are still pronoment and we will always relate to these stories. take any of the stories/plays and you will some how be able to fit them into the lifes of us or those around us as u could centerys ago and as u will be able to for many centerys to come.
Reply:One thing that keeps Shakespeare popular is how vividly he is able to convey what his characters are thinking and feeling. Another, which few of us appreciate when we struggle through the plays in high school, is how playful and inventive his language is, and how skillfully he uses it.
Reply:Because he created memorable characters (whom we can still identify with after 400 years) and well-constructed plots and used the English language beautifully. A few years ago I read a review that referred to him as "the world's most popular playwright" and realized with surprise that, yes, he IS. And the fact that you have to read him in high school doesn't account for THAT. The reason people of all ages keep attending his plays wherever they're shown can only be that those plays are GOOD.
It Jobs
What do you think of my book!!?? please help?
I am writing this book that is ganna be published and its going on sale july/27/2008 here is the un edited firest chapter of my book
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseac...
what do you think? and remember there may be alot of grammer issues
What do you think of my book!!?? please help?
i'll read it once you tell me what it's about.
okay-okay i'll read it.....................
oh, sorry, it's good i like it!
Yes it's bad spelling and stuff (sometimes) but it's pretty good.....where're you selling it?
LOL it's "teamjacob"!
What do you think of my book!!?? please help?
I'd have to see the synopsis - maybe it's a wonderful and creative plot - but the grammar, spelling, and voice are so horrible that it's very, very difficult to read without heavy and significant edits being made.
Still, it's great that it's being published! Congratulations!
Reply:The plot is great, but you need more voice. It's pretty good, but you need serious editing. I know that's not your job, but you need to think about it. Your editor can't do EVERYHTING.
Make it more... you, I guess, add more umph.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseac...
what do you think? and remember there may be alot of grammer issues
What do you think of my book!!?? please help?
i'll read it once you tell me what it's about.
okay-okay i'll read it.....................
oh, sorry, it's good i like it!
Yes it's bad spelling and stuff (sometimes) but it's pretty good.....where're you selling it?
LOL it's "teamjacob"!
What do you think of my book!!?? please help?
I'd have to see the synopsis - maybe it's a wonderful and creative plot - but the grammar, spelling, and voice are so horrible that it's very, very difficult to read without heavy and significant edits being made.
Still, it's great that it's being published! Congratulations!
Reply:The plot is great, but you need more voice. It's pretty good, but you need serious editing. I know that's not your job, but you need to think about it. Your editor can't do EVERYHTING.
Make it more... you, I guess, add more umph.
Good Books?
some books I love are
The Glass Castle
A Girl Named Zippy
The Book Thief
White Oleander
All Creatures Great and Small
The Kite Runner was ok
Running with Scissors
Middlesex
I like funny and stories about people and other cultures
Please no Twilight or Harry Potter or anything tweeny or Science Fiction
Good Books?
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close~Jonathon Foer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn~ Betty White
Oryx and Crake~Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale~ Margaret Atwood
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan( VERY say)~ Lisa See
Memoirs of a Geisha~Arthur Golden
I really enjoyed all of these. Oh and I liked the glass castle too!
Good Books?
Lullabies for Little Criminals: A Novel - Heather O'Neill See
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back - Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine
Drinking: A Love Story - Caroline Knapp
The Liars Club - Mary Karr
Gap Creek - Robert Morgan
The DIVE FROM CLAUSENS PIER PROOF - ANN PACKER
Reply:I really liked White Oleander as well! I thought Kite Runner was pretty good, too. :)
You should try:
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
-Perks of Being a Wallflower
-Tuesdays with Morrie
-The Namesake
-Everything Is Illuminated
Reply:i choose to live-sabine dardenne.
white oleander-
do u like biographys?
love me or ill kill you- is really good if you like true crime its by lee butcher
Reply:If you like humor, you'd probably do well with any Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.novels.
You'd probably love "The World According to Garp."
Most of my likes, other than the works of D.H.Lawrence and Henry Miller, tend toward intellectual sci-fi and historical reference, so I'll obey your directions and won't mention them here.
Reply:-looking for alaska (about teens, but beautifully written)
-the bridget jones series (hilarious)
-rule of the bone (especially if you like running with scissors)
-the lovely bones (about death, wonderfully written)
-as time goes by (what happened after casablanca)
-my sister's keeper (about a sister who was born solely to keep her sick sister alive)
-the notebook (the book is ten times better then the movie)
-atonement (again, the book is loads better)
-nights in rodanthe (fantastic story of finding middle aged love)
-the nanny diaries (better than the movie)
-animal farm (a classic)
-the shawshank redemption (not your average steven king novel)
-skipping christmas (funny)
-the time travelers wife (fantastic book, it's not really science fiction-y but it is about a guy who time travels, it's worth giving a shot i promise)
-october sky (about teenagers in the 1950s and them trying to build their own rocket)
-this boy's life (a memoir)
-the things they carried (another memoir, this one about the vietnam war)
-the secret life of bees (about the civil rights movement)
-our town (it's a play, but it makes for a fantastic read)
-snow falling on ceders (fantastic peice of work, about WW2)
-the bad seed (theres a book and a play, the book is wonderful, about a demented, anti-social 8 year old murderess)
judging by what you like, i think you'd like anything by jodi piccoult (i don't know if that's the correct spelling of her last name). she writes on real life topics and is a fantastic writer.
also, anything by nicholas sparks i think you'd like as well.
hope i was of some help :)
The Glass Castle
A Girl Named Zippy
The Book Thief
White Oleander
All Creatures Great and Small
The Kite Runner was ok
Running with Scissors
Middlesex
I like funny and stories about people and other cultures
Please no Twilight or Harry Potter or anything tweeny or Science Fiction
Good Books?
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close~Jonathon Foer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn~ Betty White
Oryx and Crake~Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid's Tale~ Margaret Atwood
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan( VERY say)~ Lisa See
Memoirs of a Geisha~Arthur Golden
I really enjoyed all of these. Oh and I liked the glass castle too!
Good Books?
Lullabies for Little Criminals: A Novel - Heather O'Neill See
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back - Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine
Drinking: A Love Story - Caroline Knapp
The Liars Club - Mary Karr
Gap Creek - Robert Morgan
The DIVE FROM CLAUSENS PIER PROOF - ANN PACKER
Reply:I really liked White Oleander as well! I thought Kite Runner was pretty good, too. :)
You should try:
-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
-Perks of Being a Wallflower
-Tuesdays with Morrie
-The Namesake
-Everything Is Illuminated
Reply:i choose to live-sabine dardenne.
white oleander-
do u like biographys?
love me or ill kill you- is really good if you like true crime its by lee butcher
Reply:If you like humor, you'd probably do well with any Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.novels.
You'd probably love "The World According to Garp."
Most of my likes, other than the works of D.H.Lawrence and Henry Miller, tend toward intellectual sci-fi and historical reference, so I'll obey your directions and won't mention them here.
Reply:-looking for alaska (about teens, but beautifully written)
-the bridget jones series (hilarious)
-rule of the bone (especially if you like running with scissors)
-the lovely bones (about death, wonderfully written)
-as time goes by (what happened after casablanca)
-my sister's keeper (about a sister who was born solely to keep her sick sister alive)
-the notebook (the book is ten times better then the movie)
-atonement (again, the book is loads better)
-nights in rodanthe (fantastic story of finding middle aged love)
-the nanny diaries (better than the movie)
-animal farm (a classic)
-the shawshank redemption (not your average steven king novel)
-skipping christmas (funny)
-the time travelers wife (fantastic book, it's not really science fiction-y but it is about a guy who time travels, it's worth giving a shot i promise)
-october sky (about teenagers in the 1950s and them trying to build their own rocket)
-this boy's life (a memoir)
-the things they carried (another memoir, this one about the vietnam war)
-the secret life of bees (about the civil rights movement)
-our town (it's a play, but it makes for a fantastic read)
-snow falling on ceders (fantastic peice of work, about WW2)
-the bad seed (theres a book and a play, the book is wonderful, about a demented, anti-social 8 year old murderess)
judging by what you like, i think you'd like anything by jodi piccoult (i don't know if that's the correct spelling of her last name). she writes on real life topics and is a fantastic writer.
also, anything by nicholas sparks i think you'd like as well.
hope i was of some help :)
What symbolism is in Such a Pretty Little Picture?
In the short story Such a Pretty Little Picture by The Portable Dorothy Parker, what kind of symbolism is there???? I have to do a 1-3 minute presentation on it. HELP. 5 stars will be given.
I have lots of good ideas, but how can i continue them after i start?
so, i get tons and tons of ideas for books. I wanna write most of them, but whenever i start, a few pages in a get bored, and start another one. the longest start i wrote was only 3-4 thousand words.(After i'd cut a lot) but that lasted 2 days. so, does anyone have any ways or tips on how to continue on with a good story? thank*-*
I have lots of good ideas, but how can i continue them after i start?
i feel the same way a lot of times......just try to think about your story non-stop and write whatever you day-dream about!
I have lots of good ideas, but how can i continue them after i start?
I know what you mean. I do the same thing. It just gets boring writing the beginning. What you need to do is write your ideas themselves as you get them. Don't try to write a whole story yet, just do the fun parts. It's more fun when you write the parts you want to write instead of attempting the entire thing in order.
Reply:Outlining really helps! Once you have an idea, put pen to paper and write down the major plot points and turns that you want to see happen in your story. It'll give you a road map of sorts to follow, and perhaps even give you incentive to continue on with it.
In the end, it takes will power not to quit, and dedication to continue on and actually finish. It's difficult, but it can certainly be done! You just have to believe in your story and yourself.
Reply:Maybe perhaps, and I hope you don't get offended, you should try to just write short stories rather than books. I've been stuck before and just wrote a short story....by doing that I was able to add more and more to it to make the book.
It is great that you are getting your ideas down on paper, but try to get the beginning, middle, end mapped out in a shorter length story, to relieve your boredom issue, and then you can always go back to it or optionally try to sell it as a short.
Reply:Active voice
As much as possible avoid using passives in your sentences. I tend to write and talk passively because I thought it would make me sound more intelligent, which is quite delusional (but my ADD justifies the case).
“Liezl squashed his neck.” “His neck has been squashed by Liezl.”
Which of the two is easier to comprehend? Of course the first sentence. Notice that with the active voice, the subject (Liezl) is performing the action given by the verb (squashed). With the passive voice, the subject receives the action.
Thesaurus
Have you ever read a nice blog or book and wanted to use it on your own blog or thesis? That you’re tempted to copy+paste the whole paragraph or page, claiming it your own, without telling your readers where the hell you got that? Why? To appear like a smarty pants?
Solution: De-clutter the sentence structure and use a handy-dandy thesaurus to find related words in replacement of some verbs, adverbs, nouns and adjectives.
For example:
Operation Kagandahan accused Liezl of multiple felonies such as serial killer smile, illegal possession of charm and DUI (Dang Ur Irresistible).
Rephrased:
Operation Kagandahan charged Liezl for committing several crimes such as illegal possession of charm, serial killer smile and DUI (Dang Ur Irresistible).
I used ‘charged’ instead of ‘accused’ (though the word “accuse” is worth with more than twenty synonymous terms) and switched from “of multiple felonies” to “for committing several crimes”. The rest were slightly changed. And yes, plagiarism is a no-no.
Be Au’ naturale.
Write like you’re talking to a human. If you’re a web page designer, editing an HTML or a Java-script/CSS code by typing “OK I want this background to appear candy green and make those little tiny buttons below the homepage all white with a soda on the side” is an absolute nonsense. There is no way you can persuade your editing program, or whatever that is you’re using, to generate a proper layout with a “blahblahblah code”.
Same with writing. Use an appropriate human “code” to humans, not some stiff and abstract language that only Shakespeare and 2-1B (starwars humanoid) could understand. BTW, Shakespeare is an android.
Eliminate Redundancy.
No-brainer. All my english/writing teachers had taught me omitting redundant words for years but I’m naturally a stubborn chick, thank you very much.
Redundant: I am now stabbing the cult doll at this moment.
Better: I am now stabbing the cult doll.
Redundant: The neck of the guy that Liezl has squashed must need to rely on neck braces.
Better: The neck of the guy that Liezl has squashed needs to rely on neck braces.
Spelling and P.unc;tuations?!*
These two can make or break your flow, no matter how brilliant your writing is. Today, almost every blogs has its own spell checker, therefore I don’t have to elaborate more. With punctuations? Well it’s not so painful to use our common sense occasionally. Thus, if you’re not blogging, what era are you from? Stone age?
Read More.
Reading can teach us a lot of lessons especially about life. But whenever I read, I habitually analyze what vocabulary words and techniques were used, examine logical arguments, and the impact of the author/writer’s words personally.
I know I sound nerdy or uncool for typical 18-year-old party girls. But remember, those books we love to read got published not only to be read. I swear I-wanna-be-a-famous-writer-but-i-hate-re... type of attitude will get you nowhere.
Keep a Journal.
Based on experience, it is unnecessary for me to tell people who are passionate about writing to maintain a journal/diary. In fact, it’s a little bit insulting to ask (again, from my experience). I don’t give a damn if you record journal entries in a notebook, on Wordpress/Blogger.com or on your bedroom ceiling/wall. Writing your personal history, may it be rants or random thoughts, is priceless. It bares your soul, definitely therapeutic, gives you new insights, inspires other people, helps you see how much you’ve improved or what is more to develop about your writing skills…I could go on and on.
But to devout writers, it only means Heaven (yay, so cheesy!).
Revise, revise and more revision.
The word “revision” reminds me a lot of my high school senior days where 1/4 and 1/2 index cards were the biggest deals. We would sell our souls for a blank index card. Written on those note cards were very very very important footnotes, citations and other references beneficial to our thesis that Ma’am Cathy unremorsefuly ripped and trashed. Imagine our class’s anger…the grave scent of National Library…the 30+ hand-written note cards…and they had to do it all over again (”they” because I wasn’t included in the rippin’ n’ trashin’ session). And she called it “revision”. Wow, talk about wrong term.
Before any revisions take place, you have to proofread your work first. Print your manuscript or whatever you wrote and use a red pen to mark the problem areas. Then type it again, this time with the errors gone. Re-read it and see if you still could reduce junks. Print it again, revise and edit. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Kill the drama.
One reason that I dislike reading personal journals of strangers, online or not, is the lack of substance. I’m talking about public blogs or even an unrestricted scratch pad. I fully understand a heart of a writer and how strong their emotions are, but if your blog is almost universal or at least with an accessible URL link, stop flowering your entries with rants, emo-ness and talk about yourself and your life all the time. Do ‘em privately.
Why not share something worthwhile? Like a video that helps a new mom how to change a baby’s diaper, a super cool book that motivates you to stop whining about doing laundry, a friend’s experience with crazy Xenu worshippers (tom cruise’s slaves) or how odd that Hilary Clinton and Paris Hilton’s surnames rhyme.
Have humor, be clear, give logical and helpful informations.
Don’t write to impress.
Writing is not for ego trippin’ individuals. Same with any other professions out there, unless you’re a hardcore hip hop or rockstar who is “legit” enought to boast about yo’ blings, cribs, chicks and rides a lot.
Stay true to your heart. Passion means love. Don’t say you’re passionate about writing if you do it simply to show off or if you think you are better than anyone else you know. I see Hydrocephalus in action.
Rooms for improvement are infinite. Learning does not stop and the word contentment is non-existent.
Good Luck!
Reply:That's where I'm at too! I write them all down in a couple notebooks and whenever I get bored I either: add more to an old story, or write a new one. I'm trying (and failing) to write shorter stories now. I seem to have a bigger plot to end in a few pages =(. And I never know how to get it from the beginning, to middle, to end without moving stuff too fast or making it boring.
Reply:Before you actually start writing, map out the direction the story is going to take. What will happen at the climax? How will it end? Fill in any other details you've thought of, and start writing only after the plan is as complete as you can make it. This way you're simply putting the flesh on a skeleton that's already there.
Reply:For starters, write all your ideas down in a notebook. Some ideas take years to mature. Years down the road you will be working on some story and it will have a hole in its plot and then you go through your notebook and--wham!--there it is, already scribbled down. That's what happened with my current novel. I had many ideas that were kicking around in my head as separate stories, and then all at once I realized that they were connected.
Another thing I really recommend is a program called Dramatica (no, they do not pay me to say this!). It asks you a lot of questions about your story that forces you to develop all areas of its plot. You can download a trial version that works except for saving or printing the results, even if you don't buy it, running through the questions will better develop your plot in your mind.
Kurt Vonnegut had an interesting way of dealing with this problem. He wrote about an author named Kilgore Trout and he would describe the stories that Trout had written. It always felt to me like these were stories Vonnegut had thought of but could never get a novel out of. Since the ideas were too good to let die he just gave them to his character Trout so he could describe it as if it had been written. Brilliant!
plants and flowers
I have lots of good ideas, but how can i continue them after i start?
i feel the same way a lot of times......just try to think about your story non-stop and write whatever you day-dream about!
I have lots of good ideas, but how can i continue them after i start?
I know what you mean. I do the same thing. It just gets boring writing the beginning. What you need to do is write your ideas themselves as you get them. Don't try to write a whole story yet, just do the fun parts. It's more fun when you write the parts you want to write instead of attempting the entire thing in order.
Reply:Outlining really helps! Once you have an idea, put pen to paper and write down the major plot points and turns that you want to see happen in your story. It'll give you a road map of sorts to follow, and perhaps even give you incentive to continue on with it.
In the end, it takes will power not to quit, and dedication to continue on and actually finish. It's difficult, but it can certainly be done! You just have to believe in your story and yourself.
Reply:Maybe perhaps, and I hope you don't get offended, you should try to just write short stories rather than books. I've been stuck before and just wrote a short story....by doing that I was able to add more and more to it to make the book.
It is great that you are getting your ideas down on paper, but try to get the beginning, middle, end mapped out in a shorter length story, to relieve your boredom issue, and then you can always go back to it or optionally try to sell it as a short.
Reply:Active voice
As much as possible avoid using passives in your sentences. I tend to write and talk passively because I thought it would make me sound more intelligent, which is quite delusional (but my ADD justifies the case).
“Liezl squashed his neck.” “His neck has been squashed by Liezl.”
Which of the two is easier to comprehend? Of course the first sentence. Notice that with the active voice, the subject (Liezl) is performing the action given by the verb (squashed). With the passive voice, the subject receives the action.
Thesaurus
Have you ever read a nice blog or book and wanted to use it on your own blog or thesis? That you’re tempted to copy+paste the whole paragraph or page, claiming it your own, without telling your readers where the hell you got that? Why? To appear like a smarty pants?
Solution: De-clutter the sentence structure and use a handy-dandy thesaurus to find related words in replacement of some verbs, adverbs, nouns and adjectives.
For example:
Operation Kagandahan accused Liezl of multiple felonies such as serial killer smile, illegal possession of charm and DUI (Dang Ur Irresistible).
Rephrased:
Operation Kagandahan charged Liezl for committing several crimes such as illegal possession of charm, serial killer smile and DUI (Dang Ur Irresistible).
I used ‘charged’ instead of ‘accused’ (though the word “accuse” is worth with more than twenty synonymous terms) and switched from “of multiple felonies” to “for committing several crimes”. The rest were slightly changed. And yes, plagiarism is a no-no.
Be Au’ naturale.
Write like you’re talking to a human. If you’re a web page designer, editing an HTML or a Java-script/CSS code by typing “OK I want this background to appear candy green and make those little tiny buttons below the homepage all white with a soda on the side” is an absolute nonsense. There is no way you can persuade your editing program, or whatever that is you’re using, to generate a proper layout with a “blahblahblah code”.
Same with writing. Use an appropriate human “code” to humans, not some stiff and abstract language that only Shakespeare and 2-1B (starwars humanoid) could understand. BTW, Shakespeare is an android.
Eliminate Redundancy.
No-brainer. All my english/writing teachers had taught me omitting redundant words for years but I’m naturally a stubborn chick, thank you very much.
Redundant: I am now stabbing the cult doll at this moment.
Better: I am now stabbing the cult doll.
Redundant: The neck of the guy that Liezl has squashed must need to rely on neck braces.
Better: The neck of the guy that Liezl has squashed needs to rely on neck braces.
Spelling and P.unc;tuations?!*
These two can make or break your flow, no matter how brilliant your writing is. Today, almost every blogs has its own spell checker, therefore I don’t have to elaborate more. With punctuations? Well it’s not so painful to use our common sense occasionally. Thus, if you’re not blogging, what era are you from? Stone age?
Read More.
Reading can teach us a lot of lessons especially about life. But whenever I read, I habitually analyze what vocabulary words and techniques were used, examine logical arguments, and the impact of the author/writer’s words personally.
I know I sound nerdy or uncool for typical 18-year-old party girls. But remember, those books we love to read got published not only to be read. I swear I-wanna-be-a-famous-writer-but-i-hate-re... type of attitude will get you nowhere.
Keep a Journal.
Based on experience, it is unnecessary for me to tell people who are passionate about writing to maintain a journal/diary. In fact, it’s a little bit insulting to ask (again, from my experience). I don’t give a damn if you record journal entries in a notebook, on Wordpress/Blogger.com or on your bedroom ceiling/wall. Writing your personal history, may it be rants or random thoughts, is priceless. It bares your soul, definitely therapeutic, gives you new insights, inspires other people, helps you see how much you’ve improved or what is more to develop about your writing skills…I could go on and on.
But to devout writers, it only means Heaven (yay, so cheesy!).
Revise, revise and more revision.
The word “revision” reminds me a lot of my high school senior days where 1/4 and 1/2 index cards were the biggest deals. We would sell our souls for a blank index card. Written on those note cards were very very very important footnotes, citations and other references beneficial to our thesis that Ma’am Cathy unremorsefuly ripped and trashed. Imagine our class’s anger…the grave scent of National Library…the 30+ hand-written note cards…and they had to do it all over again (”they” because I wasn’t included in the rippin’ n’ trashin’ session). And she called it “revision”. Wow, talk about wrong term.
Before any revisions take place, you have to proofread your work first. Print your manuscript or whatever you wrote and use a red pen to mark the problem areas. Then type it again, this time with the errors gone. Re-read it and see if you still could reduce junks. Print it again, revise and edit. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Kill the drama.
One reason that I dislike reading personal journals of strangers, online or not, is the lack of substance. I’m talking about public blogs or even an unrestricted scratch pad. I fully understand a heart of a writer and how strong their emotions are, but if your blog is almost universal or at least with an accessible URL link, stop flowering your entries with rants, emo-ness and talk about yourself and your life all the time. Do ‘em privately.
Why not share something worthwhile? Like a video that helps a new mom how to change a baby’s diaper, a super cool book that motivates you to stop whining about doing laundry, a friend’s experience with crazy Xenu worshippers (tom cruise’s slaves) or how odd that Hilary Clinton and Paris Hilton’s surnames rhyme.
Have humor, be clear, give logical and helpful informations.
Don’t write to impress.
Writing is not for ego trippin’ individuals. Same with any other professions out there, unless you’re a hardcore hip hop or rockstar who is “legit” enought to boast about yo’ blings, cribs, chicks and rides a lot.
Stay true to your heart. Passion means love. Don’t say you’re passionate about writing if you do it simply to show off or if you think you are better than anyone else you know. I see Hydrocephalus in action.
Rooms for improvement are infinite. Learning does not stop and the word contentment is non-existent.
Good Luck!
Reply:That's where I'm at too! I write them all down in a couple notebooks and whenever I get bored I either: add more to an old story, or write a new one. I'm trying (and failing) to write shorter stories now. I seem to have a bigger plot to end in a few pages =(. And I never know how to get it from the beginning, to middle, to end without moving stuff too fast or making it boring.
Reply:Before you actually start writing, map out the direction the story is going to take. What will happen at the climax? How will it end? Fill in any other details you've thought of, and start writing only after the plan is as complete as you can make it. This way you're simply putting the flesh on a skeleton that's already there.
Reply:For starters, write all your ideas down in a notebook. Some ideas take years to mature. Years down the road you will be working on some story and it will have a hole in its plot and then you go through your notebook and--wham!--there it is, already scribbled down. That's what happened with my current novel. I had many ideas that were kicking around in my head as separate stories, and then all at once I realized that they were connected.
Another thing I really recommend is a program called Dramatica (no, they do not pay me to say this!). It asks you a lot of questions about your story that forces you to develop all areas of its plot. You can download a trial version that works except for saving or printing the results, even if you don't buy it, running through the questions will better develop your plot in your mind.
Kurt Vonnegut had an interesting way of dealing with this problem. He wrote about an author named Kilgore Trout and he would describe the stories that Trout had written. It always felt to me like these were stories Vonnegut had thought of but could never get a novel out of. Since the ideas were too good to let die he just gave them to his character Trout so he could describe it as if it had been written. Brilliant!
plants and flowers
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