How Being on a Diet is Like Writing a Book

One of my goals this year (like many people out there) was to lose weight. Starting in January, I hit the diet trail...and I'm doing pretty well. While doing dishes yesterday, I got to thinking (as I often do...I really should do dishes more often - great epiphany zone)...

Being on a diet is a lot like writing a book.

Why? Well, I'll tell you :)

1. There are a lot of ups and downs

Some days you are going to get on that scale and see an awesome weight loss. And other days, you might see nothing...you might even gain. Even if you did everything absolutely, perfectly right, sometimes the scale just doesn't reflect all your hard work.

Same with writing. Sometimes everything just falls into place. Your prose is perfect, every scene is turning out exactly how you wanted, your manuscript is polished and gorgeous and requests are overloading your inbox. And other times, all that may be true but you still hear nothing but crickets. Even though you put in all the hard work, even though everything is perfect and there is nothing more you can do to help your manuscript improve, sometimes you still don't get the results you deserve.

So, should you quit? No! Because if you quit, you negate all the hard work you've put into it. No matter what your results are that day, you have to just keep at it.

2. Everything in moderation

I love me some chocolate. LOVE IT. To the point of obsession, seriously. Is it bad for me? No. Not in moderation. Are french fries, chocolate shakes, ice cream, brownies, donuts, chips, dips, pies, cakes (getting carried away here :D ) bad for me? No, they aren't. Well maybe if I eat them all in one day....every day :D But in moderation? No. These things are just fine.

Well, when it comes to my writing, adverbs are my brownies. Sentence fragments are my pizza. Long, rambling, complex sentences are my Doritos. Are these things bad? No. As long as I use them in moderation. A few here and there are great, a treat for my readers. Too many and I'm in danger of giving my readers an overload that will cause nausea and cavities. :)

3. Do what you don't want to do and get what you want to get

Do I want to exercise every day? No. Do I want to eat chicken and celery soup for lunch instead of the leftover pizza or Mexican that everyone else is eating? Heck no!

Will I get better results and feel better if I do? Yes. *le sigh*

Do I want to write every single day? Not always. Do I want to rewrite a scene for the 1000th time? Not usually.

Will I get better results and feel better about my manuscript if I do. Yes *le sigh* :)

Does this mean that you have to exercise (or write) every day, or pass up every single piece of pizza (or ignore the rewrite)? Of course not.

But...it's better for me, and the results I'm after, if I do these things at least a few times a week. Don't feel like writing today - fine. But write tomorrow, or at least the next day. Don't want to rewrite that scene right now? So don't. But if you want results, be sure to come back to it in a few days.

Stay tuned on Thursday for more ways diets and writing are the same :) Now if you'll excuse me, there's a nice steaming bowl of chicken and celery soup with my name on it :D

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How Being on a Diet is Like Writing a Book

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Tip Thursday - Adverb Adventure

I learned a lot of things from my first crit group. One of the first "rules" I learned was the whole "don't use adverbs" thing. I balked at this one. I just didn't get the reasoning. I LIKED adverbs. I still like adverbs. And I use them, frequently. At least in my first drafts. (Okay, a lot of the pesky little buggers DO make their way into subsequent drafts, but I really do try to keep them out of there.) :D

It took me a while to really understand why adverbs are kind of a no-no. In fact, it wasn't until I started paying more attention to them in the published books I was reading that I finally got it.

They are telling. And sometimes just plain irritating. But mostly, too telling, and often unnecessary.

For example, you could say:

"Don't do that!" Jessica shouted angrily.

1. It's unnecessary. There's an exclamation point. She's shouting. And chances are good the content of the scene in addition to her shouting have already let us know she's doing it angrily. You don't need the adverb.

2. It's telling us she's angry, not showing us. Don't just tell us....bring on the anger! Let us see her eyes flashing, her face turning red, the spit flying from her lips as she screams. Isn't that more entertaining to read than "angrily"?


Now, do you need to cut every single adverb in your book? Of course not. There are instances where adverbs are totally warranted. Like I said, I do use them. Sometimes a good adverb is the best fit for whatever you are trying to say. However, most of the time, I try to use them just as place holders in my first drafts...when I know I should be more "showing" and descriptive but feel the need to get some words out and the more descriptive phrase eludes me. But I try to go back through and replace them with something better (though, yeah, a lot slip through the cracks. Just ask my crit partners...they are endlessly slashing them (hehe I used an adverb...shhhhh)).

And a few here and there aren't going to kill your story - they might even help. So don't go axing all the adverbs in your manuscript just yet....but, try to pay attention to what you are doing the next time you put one in. Does it really need to be there? Is adding it making your sentence too telling? Can you show whatever you are trying to describe better?

One thing I have noticed is that adverbs in dialogue tags are almost always unnecessary. She said, angrily. He said, amusingly. I said sadly.

These emotions can almost always be better conveyed through the characters' actions and the dialogue itself. So, while it is something I will probably always struggle with, it is a "rule" I finally agree with and will continue to work on.


How do you feel about the "adverb rule"?

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Tip Thursday - Adverb Adventure

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