Last clichés:
Draw the Line—Set a specific limit, especially on your behavior. An example of this expression is: “She drew the line at outright cheating.” This comes from some sort of boundary, but not certain as to what kind. There are speculations that it comes from the early game of court tennis, in which the court had no specific dimensions and the players had to draw their own lines. Others believe it signified a line cut by a plow across a field to designate the property boundary. This term used from the late 18th century on and a cliché by the time W.S. Gilbert wrote, “I attach but little value to rank or wealth, but the line must be drawn somewhere” (H.M.S. Pinafore, Act I).
Crux of the Matter—The essential, pivotal point of an issue. “crux” in Latin means “cross”, i.e. Used in crucifixion and other executions, while “crux” in English, signifies a difficulty or puzzle. This meaning might come from the crossing of the two lines that make up a cross, which is also called a knot or note, transferring this to a “knotty problem.” John Lennon of the Beatles punned on this cliché in The Fingeltoad Resort: “That seems to be the crutch of the matter.”
Pack It In—To stop trying, to give up. This term originated in the early 20th century. During WWI became military slang for dying. It alludes to packing one’s bags prior to departure. A definition appeared in Soldier and Sailor Words (1925): “To stop. To give up. To finish. To die.”
To Coin a Phrase—To fashion an expression. This dates from the 1940s, is often used ironically to apologize for using a cliché. Example: “He acts like the cock of the walk, to coin a phrase.” Also, it can be used and refer to inventing an expression, a usage dating from the late 1500s.
Since I switched over my website to another site, for some reason most of you did not receive the email about my blog post from January. Therefore, you might not have seen the post and found any of the clichés.
I listened to the Jane Cleland, The Art of Story with Hank Phillippi Ryan an Investigative Reporter who writes novels, and it was far out.
I learned that little details can be important and to never overlook the obvious.
Always ask, “But, what if?”
It’s a small world that Ryan is like me and writes as a punster, which means she and I do not outline our stories.
If there is a problem in the story, you need to face the situation with a character asking a question and the main character can dismiss it, so that later, it is an important detail.
Cleland asked if Ryan ever got lost in story because she did not outline. Her answer was that when one door closes, another opens. She knows how story structure goes and works from there. At every turn, you ask, “What would really happen here?” Don’t fear the exploration of your story, you can always fix it later. Write to find out what happens.
By writing as a punster, do we get off on tangents? Sometimes, but after the first draft is finished, it might be too long, so you cut and keep important information or it vanishes from the story.
How do you keep track without an outline: After each chapter is written, do a chapter chart or plot threads by chapter and make notes to address issues. Your book is another life that you remember, just like your real-life events.
Ryan’s claim to fame is that she has written 17 books and she comes up with a pitch, since she has no outline to present. It’s like a back cover story with the main character problems, obstacles and outcome. It takes her about 8 months to have a somewhat completed book and the finished book takes about a year with her publisher. She writes long like 107,000 words and needs to cut to 90,000 or 95,000. She takes out any stalling paragraphs and uses 100,000 words divided by 10 months and gets 1,000 words per day she needs to write.
Set a doable goal to allow yourself to succeed. She uses a tracking software called speechify and it reads the story for her out loud, which is very helpful.
Take out repetitive words, keeps it musical, and take out individual words that are not needed.
Remember: You can choose your sin, but cannot choose your consequences. If you do something, there will be consequences.
Again, comment on my blog post and I’ll present a chapter of my new book in progress: Enemy at Home.
Until Next time,
Keep Writing!
Julie
