Gina G writes

 The Right Words The right words can significantly enhance or detract from a story's quality. It's crucial to identify and replace overused words during the editing process. Watch for repetitive words and keep an eye out for 'ly' words such as really, suddenly, absolutely, honestly, incredibly, literally. Also, be wary of other frequently used words like that, said, nod, like, smile, and look, as they can dilute the impact of your writing. (To mention a few.) As you edit and encounter these words, consider your audience's role. Is there a better word that would engage them more? Let's play with a couple. Scene: John and Jane Bones are sitting in a cafe having a conversation. It was a beautiful day. Jane looked lovely in her fall sweater. John found her incredibly attractive. He nodded as she spoke, enjoying the lilt of her voice and not hearing a word she said. Suddenly, she froze and looked over his shoulder. Her eyes were really wide.  Okay, what do we kn...

Emotions-Conflict-Tension    The first draft—the bones of the story—are flat. It is the ideas and plot laid out. We can see the shape, but we need to build the story up and add the muscles, nerves, and flesh. We need conflict, tension, and emotions.        We need conflict—good versus evil. This could be major, like your character waking up and finding out the world has ended, zombies are after them, and they have the cure to life in their bloodstream.  Or it could be simple, like your character has a significant job interview they need to get to, and they locked themselves out of their apartment. This is conflict. This is something that needs to be solved.      Imagine the tension, like a clock ticking down. The zombies are approaching; your character is at the top of the building with no weapons, a thirty-floor drop, and the next building is ten feet away. She is standing on the edge of the building. What does she do? With th...

 Starting All Over How many times have you started over in life? The first obvious answer is when we finish high school and move out.  I wasn't going to go to College right off the bat. I was going to spend a year figuring out what I wanted to do, but fate had other plans. The young man I was dating was a year younger than me, and his parents were not happy about how serious we were becoming. They called my parents and gave them an ultimatum (at least this is the way I remember it) either your daughter leaves for college somewhere else, or we send our son to live with family he hasn't seen since he was three. I broke the young man's heart, enrolled at Ricks College in Idaho, and with only three weeks until school started, I packed up and left. College was fun. I got a job to help pay for tuition. I made friends and started dating other people. I met a young man from New York who was as far away from Utah as I could find. He was sweet, fun, and someone I could see a future w...