Rules, Rules, Rules

Cut words to make more sense. Drop adverbs for purity. Stop telling, start showing. Put an inciting incident in the first chapter. Know each of the character’s agendas. Use dialogue to drive the story. Find a unique voice. Write an outline. Don’t repeat words. Remove small talk. Stay tight (one of my favorites by the way). Use similes. Watch your tents (this one confuses me). Pace, find balance. Don’t change your POV mid-paragraph. Eye before EEE. Don’t fragment. Use a legible 12-pt font, headers on each page and DOUBLE SPACE… know your rules dammit...........and then break a few.

Who has a rule they would like to share?

This week's opening line...

From what Jurgen could tell, the barn dance was going well.

Munk's "Opening Line" is yours to keep, use it. Munk

Sensory Underload

Have you ever looked over the edge, just to give yourself a thrill? Have you ever thought what it might be like to freefall without a parachute? Terminal velocity must feel a lot like the weightlessness of outer space—but a whole lot louder. I think the wind would sort of mess up the experience for me. I don’t enjoy traveling, at speed, in the backseat of convertibles. The thought of it, the notion of skimming along at 70mph with the top down is engaging enough, but the reality is shaken by the wind. Pushing aside the atmosphere at that velocity generates a great deal of turmoil. Nitrogen, oxygen and argon molecules racing against my eyes, slamming my hair against my scalp and coursing through my ears is fatiguing. The only relief is to stop. And even then, a sort of sensory underload persists, like a hangover buzzing in my ears and dulling my existence…  Hmmmm… coming full circle, I’ve just realized that I began this notion with a terminal velocity freefall. What would the stop at the end of that trip feel like?

Munk’s opening lime,

It was said that everything in Citruscine smelled of pine and tasted of pepper—Lyman just had to visit.

Munk

Munk's "Opening Line" is yours to keep, use it. Munk