You know that's one of the instances I very much prefer German over English with it's rigid SPO-structure. With the German language, you can get much more creative, both in the word order and the choice of words.
To avoid the overuse of words - well the problem is to find out what your own writing habits are. That's one of the reasons I write fanfictions, to find this kind of pitfalls. Ie one reader once pointed out to me that I tend to like tears too much - and it's true, my characters tend to tear up way to easy. It's a cheap way to show emotions, really.
I'm also a straight to the point girl - I have less an editing and more an "I should add some details"-problem.
But when it comes down to writing interesting, there are three rules I like to follow. 1. Show, not tell. That's a very important one for me, because going straight to the point has the pitfall of telling to much. I'm at a point where I examine every adjective I use twice.
2. Don't insult the intelligence of your readers. It doesn't pay off to write on the most dumbest level - TV-Shows writers tend to do it that way, but the average reader normally is able to get some level of subtility. It's not necessary to spell out everything, and it's not necessary to explain anything twice.
3. Pay attention to the pacing of the story. The reader needs to have the feeling that he makes progress while reading. (that's double true for fanfiction - nothing so frustrating like getting an update for a WIP, and then getting a chapter in which nothing gets resolved).
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Date: 2011-10-16 05:01 am (UTC)From:To avoid the overuse of words - well the problem is to find out what your own writing habits are. That's one of the reasons I write fanfictions, to find this kind of pitfalls. Ie one reader once pointed out to me that I tend to like tears too much - and it's true, my characters tend to tear up way to easy. It's a cheap way to show emotions, really.
I'm also a straight to the point girl - I have less an editing and more an "I should add some details"-problem.
But when it comes down to writing interesting, there are three rules I like to follow.
1. Show, not tell. That's a very important one for me, because going straight to the point has the pitfall of telling to much. I'm at a point where I examine every adjective I use twice.
2. Don't insult the intelligence of your readers. It doesn't pay off to write on the most dumbest level - TV-Shows writers tend to do it that way, but the average reader normally is able to get some level of subtility. It's not necessary to spell out everything, and it's not necessary to explain anything twice.
3. Pay attention to the pacing of the story. The reader needs to have the feeling that he makes progress while reading. (that's double true for fanfiction - nothing so frustrating like getting an update for a WIP, and then getting a chapter in which nothing gets resolved).