Trevor's Writing

Poem #6 Train

No Comments »18th August, 2006; Category: Poetry

Train

The furious monster

Dashes relentlessly

Into the tunnel.

It bellows

As it is swallowed

By the mouth of the earth,

Slipping into

The depths –

The bowels –

The hell –

Where it belongs.

Writing Hint #4 Don’t waffle

No Comments »17th August, 2006; Category: Writing Hints

I know I have a problem when I write and when I speak in public.

I have a bad habit of waffling, of going on and on, of rambling and not really getting to the point.

I recently read this wonderful quote:

“Be more or less specific.”

Get to the point.

Keep it concise and precise.

Keep it simple and easy to read.

Drat – there I go again, rabbiting on and on.

Related articles:

Writing Hint 1

Writing Hint 2

Writing Hint 3

Sixteen Scintillating Short Story Starters

27 Comments »16th August, 2006; Category: General, Short Stories, Writer's block, Writing Hints

Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger has a group writing project on again this week. He has asked for submissions of lists.

Here is a short list of sixteen super, scintillating, stunning and simply sensational short story starters for writers. Try them. Let me know how they go – and if you get anything published – good luck.

And if you should be blessed enough to get a royalty cheque or two, you can send me a commision for the idea!

Sixteen Scintillating Short Story Starters:

“It was a dark and stormy…” oops – that’s been used before.

Let’s start again…

Harry was puzzled when the door didn’t open.
The headlights were coming straight towards Peter and he couldn’t move.
Only the flimsy wall of my tent separated me from the low rumbling growl.
I was not expecting what was waiting for me just as I rounded the corner.
Rosalie stifled her scream and cowered under the blanket.
Those last few steps seemed the most difficult I had ever made in my life.
As I read the contents of the letter, I was aware of the smile on my face.
It happened so quickly I had no time to think, only react.
Jenny finally became agitated by the monotonous ticking of the ornate clock on the mantlepiece.
John stared open-mouthed as the ball soared majestically over the fence.
Wendy didn’t see the danger ahead.
Paul couldn’t resist shouting out his joy.
The eagle swooped low over the trees.
I didn’t know until that moment that Nell was so afraid of spiders.
Greg closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped.
It was not the birthday gift I was expecting.

Just to show how generous I can be, here is a bonus idea:

Suddenly, nothing happened – but it happened suddenly.

Happy writing.

Check out my own short fiction here.

More writing hints can be found here.

Related articles:

Seven short story starters – ideas for writing
Seven more short story starters – more ideas for writing
Another seven short story starters – still more ideas

Check out my other blogs:

Trevor’s Birding

Trevor’s Travels

Update: for a complete list of my short story starters click here.

Writing Hint #3 Prepositions and conjunctions

5 Comments »16th August, 2006; Category: Writing Hints

My wife and I usually agree on most things. There is one matter on which we often clash swords – in a friendly way I might add.

My wife is adamant that it is very bad form to start sentences with a conjunction. I must admit to doing this on many occasions, usually for special effect. And it really riles her. But in my defence, I am not alone in using this writing style.

And this quote says it all:

“Prepositions are not for ending sentences with. And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.”

Related posts:

Proof read your writing

Avoid repetition

Writing Hint #2 Avoid repetition

4 Comments »15th August, 2006; Category: General, Writing Hints

There is one error I find myself falling into on occasions. Too many occasions now that I think about it. Repetition of words in close proximity to each other can be off-putting to the reader. It also shows a lack of proof reading and a certain amount of laziness on the part of the writer.

I came across this great quote recently:

“If you re-read your work, you will find on re-reading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing.”

So I’d better follow my own advice. Proof read carefully, and edit, edit, edit… oops now I’m repeating myself.

UPDATE: A reader has kindly suggested that I should consider revising the first two sentences. I’ve done the very thing I was advising against, repeating the word ‘occasions’ (now underlined) . Ooops.