• Member Since 20th Jul, 2014
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PiercingSight


Tell me, what do you live for? Is it for work? For study? Or is it for the important things? Pleasure, art, friends, family, love? Do you live to work? Or do you work to live?

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Hmmmmm · 9:42am Nov 18th, 2020

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

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The Art of Writ

by PiercingSight

Writing is an art, and like so many arts, it is not taken in all at once.

Music for example is beautiful only because it moves, it changes, it lives. It is not static and can only be appreciated in motion. Writing is the same.

Being an art form, it is an expression.

Of what? Well, that is up to the writer. But it must express something, be it a story, a feeling, or an idea. Therefore, the most elevated form of the art of writ is the ability to accurately and powerfully express, such that the reader may both understand and feel as the writer does.

This is the purity in art that we writers seek to achieve. This is the art of writ.

The Heart

“One may know how to write without being able to do it.”
-Snu Tuz, The Art of Writ

Writing well is a combination of many factors. It is built on the ideas and thoughts of the writer, it is driven by his or her heartfelt dedication to these ideas and thoughts, and it is brought to light with words. But not just any words.

You see, there are many "techniques" to writing, just as there are "techniques" in art, and they serve as great tools for the aspiring author. But they are nothing without the heart of the writer.

The writer must feel and love and comprehend the message he or she intends to portray, otherwise, however organized the written piece may be, it's power will be weak.

In the same manner, if an artist puts all love and desire into his or her work, but doesn't have technique, then the piece will be incomprehensible.

One without the other, and one can say that one "knows how to write without being able to do it".

Both heart and technique must become one, and work together, in order for any piece of art, particularly in the art of writ, to communicate swiftly and powerfully the message of the artist.

The Story

“Brilliant writers create a story first and then go to write, while mediocre writers go to write first and then seek to create a story.”
-Snu Tuz, The Art of Writ

Any story that desires to live must have a spirit before it has a body. It must be planned, organized and outlined before it can begin to take shape in the form of words.

This is a well known truth, but, what is it that makes a story great?

Your reader needs a reason to read it. That reason is given through what has been aptly dubbed, "The Hook".

The purpose of the hook is to grab the reader's attention and keep it until the end. And the hook is much more than simply an event or happening in a story. The best hook is the anticipation of these events and happenings. It must have the potential to create frightening, tense, interesting, funny, or even embarrassing moments at any given time. And it must do this on a consistent basis with respect to the ebb and flow of the story. It's a situation. It causes the reader to worry about it, and to think about it even when they're not reading.

It should make them want to return to it so that they may eventually find peace in a conclusion.

A good story isn't necessarily one that makes the reader happy with the outcome or message, but one that causes the reader to think, to feel, to react, and, above all, to keep coming back.

The Flow

“What the ancients called a clever writer is one who not only writes, but excels in writing with ease.”
-Snu Tuz, The Art of Writ

The writing style, whatever it may be, whatever vocabulary may be used, must be easy for the reader to absorb, and fluid enough that the reader can forget that he or she is even reading. Complex, or repetative sentence structures break the suspension of disbelief by forcing the reader to stop, look again, and think until they understand before they can continue.

Some examples of this mistake is the repeated use of the same word ('The soft drapes fell onto the soft floor, making a soft 'whump' sound'), the constant specification of the speaker ('"This," he said. "That," she replied. "These," he mumbled...'), and overly complex phraseology ('This, as it is known, though, not by me, is something that, given enough time, will certainly...').

Other mistakes that'll put a bump in the reader's ride down your slide is any punctuation, grammar and spelling errors. And perhaps worse than that, are the unusual variations of these basic rules. If it sticks out too much, or the reader can't grasp it's meaning, then it is best avoided.

These mistakes are easy to create, and thankfully, easy to spot and correct.

The story must also present an ebbing flow of some form, as a constant suspense, or constant lack of it, is the death of a story. There must be change, and movement within the story. It needs to go from tense, to relaxed, to exciting, to really tense, and then back again. It must be timely and comfortable for the reader. Without good flow, the reader will become impatient or irritated, and lose interest.

Timing is an important and unfortunately overlooked part of any story. Unlike flow, this is about how the story is read. For example if your characters sit there for a minute in the middle of a scene, then don't just put "They sat there for a minute" because the reader will just skim right over it, and the sense of a pause will go unfelt. When the moment pauses, your reader must pause as well, but they can't be left doing nothing. Give them something to do. Describe the scenery, follow the character's thoughts, update the reader on what has happened in the story until now, but don't let them hang there with nothing to do, because they will move on when you want them to wait.

A good story must read smoothly. It should pour into the reader without them even having to give the slightest effort in following the sequence of thoughts and occurrences. It should, literally, just flow.

The Polish

“In the midst of errors, there is also opportunity”
-Snu Tuz, The Art of Writ

Every story could stand to have a little more polish. There is always something to be improved, be it the feeling, the story itself, or it's flow. It needs to be read over multiple times in order to find and improve the flow of the story, the flow of ideas, the vocabulary used, and spelling and grammar mistakes.

For this reason, it is healthy to reread and edit a story a few times, even after it has been "completed".

Now, it doesn't need to become perfect, but it should be cleared of all major issues. A writer shouldn't spend so much time rereading and correcting the unnecessary details that he or she misses out on continuing to write and share. All that really needs to be corrected are those major mistakes. Beyond that, not much can improve what is already written besides completely rewriting it, something that isn't usually a pleasurable experience. And sometimes, not even that can improve it.

Rereading and correcting a story is good because it helps the writer to know what mistakes he or she makes consistently so that they can watch out for and correct them in the future.

And as always, a second or third opinion can be extremely useful in finding and correcting mistakes, and even improving one's style and writing in general.

The Art of Writ

“The supreme art of writ is to subdue the reader with your writing.”
-Snu Tuz, The Art of Writ

Remember that writing is an art. It isn't wise to constrain it to strict guidlines, and soffocate the creativity and the heart and soul out of it. At the same time, it isn't wise to let the writing go whatever direction it happens to end up going, and thus lose the control required to convey the emotion and capture the reader. There is a balance that must be calibrated and maintained in order for writing to be consistent, dynamic, and powerful.

Seek to find this balance through practice, through experience, and through reading the writing of those who have already found it.

May we writers continue to grow and learn as we continually pursue the purity of writing, and eventually reach the highest peaks of quality and beauty in the art of writ.

Comments ( 44 )
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3020941
You deserve a smile, awesome possum!
:raritywink:

Trying to spread more kindness around this site. Always here to bring the cheer. 😇💖

You're my friend-a-doodle now. Have a cookie! 🍪
:rainbowkiss:
~Huggles~

Love the profile pic btw 😍

2619091
Oh, lol. Sorry I wasn't clearer about that. :P

Enjoy!

2619089
Where can I listen to it?

EDIT: oh wait there's a youtube link. Derp

  • Viewing 40 - 44 of 44
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