🌸 how to write ‘prettier’ prose and elevate your writing + free vocabulary list
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2024
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hey guys! today i wanted to discuss a topic that's been on my mind a LOT lately (ever since I started working on my literary-leaning adult fantasy book...) - elevating your prose!
here are a lot of little tips I've picked up and issues I've noticed in my own writing. as I mentioned in the video, these are mostly based off of personal experience and my preferences when it comes to prose, so your mileage may vary! my only aim is to potentially help jog something in your brain or give you some guidance if you've run into similar issue while writing.
thank you for watching :)
✨ free vocabulary list
docs.google.com/document/d/1j...
✨ timestamps
0:00 - title
0:07 - intro
1:22 - why i’m speaking (mostly) from personal experience today
1:33 - issues i’ve seen in my writing
4:15 - caveats
4:48 - #1: what does ‘bad’ prose look like?
5:29 - good prose goes beyond the line level!
5:59 - bad prose sin list
11:46 - fixing prose issues
✨ music
Music by Lofi Breno - Elegance - thmatc.co/?l=93E5DFF2
✨ links:
travel writings: wherethehellami.blog
blog: lynndjung.wordpress.com/
twitter: / sweater_giraffe
kofi: ko-fi.com/lynndjung
✨ contact me:
lynndjungbooks@gmail.com
✨ tags:
authortube, booktube, writing, writer, science fiction, creative writing, short stories, speculative fiction, fantasy writer, fantasy books, write with made, let's write, story ideas, book ideas, writing inspiration, writing advice, how to write, prose, purple prose, free writing resource
okay telepathy?!? this EXACT topic was eating away at my mind this week!! your craft videos are my fav, I feel like they always get me reflecting on my own writing habits and relationship w/ craft :)
LOL no there's definitely a psychic mind link at work here because I've had the same experience with some of your uploads!! tysm, I love that they help you reflect!
Two fairly recent epiphanies I had that really unlocked this for me (as someone who hadn't read in awhile) were "in medias res": if we can understand a scene that starts in the middle, we can understand a sentence that "starts in the middle." And description and detail is not about what it is, it's about how it is. Also how it might be. And what we wish it were. Jenny doesn't have to literally punch walls for the narrator to show us Jenny is angry. The "show" part of show and tell is "be evocative" - assuming that it's all about what physically occurs in literal space would make metaphors completely useless. Imagine getting the note "If Jenny wants to self destruct, don't tell us that, show that. Make her blow up, and take three city blocks with her!" It's not about seeing things with our eyes, it's about seeing things from a point of view. And letting the audience glean that point of view on their own.
If you don't like your voice or accent, you can always use a Microsoft Word audio speaker with the "Read Aloud" option in the "Review" section, to read your text. Listening to what you have written is a whole new level of recognising if the flow is off.
Seconded!
Reading widely has probably been the most helpful advice when it comes to this topic for me.
Ahhh, new video, I’m so happy😭 Thank you for all the work, you’re one of the few writers on youtube, that just seem super real about their writing process, much appreciated :))
Ahhh wow this is so sweet - thank you!!
I’ve become so complacent with my prose. I needed this so much lol
I loved this video!! I’ve been toying with the idea of keeping a list of my favorite words and I think I will do that now 🥰 and yessss reading is SO important to the writing process, especially in understanding HOW authors convey meaning. Reading poetry has definitely been helping me create more interesting metaphors lately :)
thank you so much Kelley!! you absolutely should, I highly recommend it - even the process of writing them down helps them stick to my lexicon
1. Think of the purpose of your writing, the voice you want to convey.
2. Repetitive structure (she smiled softly). Short and punchy sentences.
3. Don't use strong verb/ adjective more than once. People notice.
4. No to filter words. (They saw the water turn red❌
The water turned red✅)
5. Read lot of inspirational voices and broadly. Read the best in the genre. Read poetry etc.
6. Dramatizing the scene. (Stretch it out).
7. Find your niche.
8. Use strong verbs.
9. Reading and highlight the sentences you like.
10. Read out load.
11. Do not describe for too long. (Scenes and physical appearance).
12. Expand your vocabulary.
how do you just know when I need certain topics to be talked about?? very excited for this video!!❤
haha it's gotta be something cosmic! thank you for your support
this is such a wonderful video, as someone in my final years of highschool (HSC exhaustion yayy) i'm constantly trying to improve and strengthen my writing. your content is always so motivational and incredibly helpful, and i really appreciate the time and energy you put into it! you're honestly one of my favourite creators on here 💖
Comments like this always make my day! You've got this, high school is tough but it's amazing and inspiring that you're already thinking about taking steps to strengthen your writing at such a young age. I definitely wasn't that advanced as a teenager! Thank you so much for supporting the channel, and best of luck with school and writing
ooohhh I am so excited for this!
This was so helpful! And the part where you mentioned that good writing is often clear and concise smacked! The point of telling a telling a story is so that it gets across to the reader. Tho of course, smooth sentences don’t hurt either😅
Thank you so much!! I'm gonna be real, after I said that I felt very good about myself LOL. Definitely true!
I also recommend that if you don't have the energy to read out everything you've written (or get distracted easily like me) text to speech helps with this as well
Great tip!!
Thank you, Lynn, I enjoyed your informative video and appreciate the list you have provided.
love this thanks
You're so generous with what you share with your followers, btw.
Omg I was just searching for videos on this topic, so glad you posted this!
LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS
so helpful! thank you 💗
of course, thank you so much for watching!
So happy you posted this! Just in time haha
good video! i relate to your 1st draft prose woes
Good point! It seems the best writing pulls from within the story itself. So figurative language works best when filtered through your character's interest (as you said: etymology), but for a less character-based piece it could be the subject matter of the plot or unique external element, say a procedural with an investigator hunting a pyromaniac could have a lot of fire-based language. This is a great way to connect language to character, plot, and theme.
What a lovely video!
my book is about the horrors of limerence 😭
Great video💛
Thank you so much!
1:43 i cant believe someone has the same problem with their writing as me- i thought it was only me!
broke: show vs. tell
woke: dramatize vs. narrate!
Exactly!!
Watching this video I think of John Updike. My prose champion.
Yes. :)
how do i access the vocab list?
It's linked in the description box, but here it is again!: docs.google.com/document/d/1jrZMS6ZWlL_X66qFW0W3dJfRa_00Xk4AgOk_ejwYN1Y/edit?usp=sharing
i’ve been researching into this topic recently, so thank you so much for this video!! 🫶🫶
This is a problem I frequently face as a young writer. I thank you with my whole heart for this video! It is actually so helpful, and it eased some of my worries related to my writing! 🥹🩷
Thank YOU for taking the time to watch this! I'm so glad it was helpful