Word Sculpting: Gratuity
Areas Explored In This Article:
Sex
Language
Violence/Gore
Introducing The Issues:
The bane of editors and groan of readers. What can you do to avoid useless material in your fiction?
This series of articles is dedicated to helping you slice the excess from your work.
Gratuity comes in several forms. Traditionally, it falls into three categories: sex, violence/gore, and language. These three tricky areas have long shown a writers ability, or inability, to tell a good story.
Unneeded scenes, like words, drag your work down. They pull the action to a dead stop and remove any emphasis on the suspense of your story. The reader’s attention will not go to the overall picture, but to a single scene which may last for a chapter or more.
One large mistake of newer authors is the attempt to, "shock," a reader with graphic scenes. This is notorious in many horror and mystery novels.
Some writers refuse to acknowledge it, but a seasoned reader will spot this. If the writer has been a reader for any length of time, they will know what is overkill. It is easy to go to the fiction section of the bookstore or library and determine which author is trying to shock you. Gratuity is customarily about shocking the reader with material that is unneeded and usually more graphic than realistic.
One good allegory for gratuity is an orange juice concentrate. "Concentrated" writing is powerful and strong. Yet, in written form it is too powerful and simple for readers to enjoy. When you add simple description, you start diluting the mix. When gratuity enters the material, it becomes weaker and weaker. The finished product will be thin, wordy, and boring.
Just like the comparison above a little extra is needed. All too quickly, your material can become soaked with needless words, adverbs, and adjectives. This problem is easy to remedy and shouldn’t intimidate any author.
Three Areas Of Concern:
SEX:
Adult Themes!
(Please note: does NOT concern romance/erotica authors)
Scenes which incorporate sex may start with simple intention of portraying the character’s relationships. Yet, when is it too much? Is the novel only about a single sex scene? Does the reader really need to know the events as they happen in the bedroom? If you are targeting an adult audience, do you believe your audience will be inexperienced enough to need the scene portrayed in graphic detail? Is there a valid reason for emphasis on a sex scene? Someone recovering from an assault, or other meaningful purpose? Do you believe a horror fan will be concerned with how the main character kisses or where his lips travel on the heroine? Can you only show the depth of two character’s affection by using graphic sex scenes?
In this article, we will consider what your work needs to show a relationship, and what removes from your story.
This shady area of dialogue can drag out your work. While fiction may mirror real life, how much is needed? Is swearing the only way you can show anger? Can you only make your characters enraged if they use profanity? While a difficult area to write in, this article explores how to remove attention from the language and place it back on your characters.
This article explores how to portray horror and fear, without senseless description. Instead of ten pages on a bloody scene, slice it down to two and make the action non-stop.
©2002-2005, copyright Laura Wright.