How to make your writing feel alive | A writing technique from Raymond Carver | Writing Tips/Advice
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- How to make your writing feel alive.
In this video, I talk about a way of bringing life to the world of your story or novel. This is something I picked up from Raymond Carver's writing, and it's a technique I use myself.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro and Describing the Technique
0:35 Example One
1:15 What the Technique Does
2:00 Example Two
2:50 Benefits of the Technique
5:04 Example Three
7:00 Example Four
7:58 Example Five
8:34 Final Thoughts and Advice
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Infant writer here -- My stories absolutely have felt flat, and I think that's what it is. It's on rails.
Thank you for this! This helps a lot...
Glad I could help ☺️ when that happens to me I tend to try going off the beaten path with the story a little bit, letting it wander a bit. Sometimes that helps too. Best of luck with your stories!
Thank you for explaining this stuff in such a clear and friendly way, just listening to you makes me want to start writing again. Your channel is a blessing!
Thanks so much! Really glad I could help :D
Anytime you talk about Carver, I'm all in😂. I am a dialogue first writer and description will often, but not always follow. But I have to really make a concerted effort to go back and add my 'world building' in later. So I haven't read Carver or Cheever in a long while, so you made me want to revisit them. Thanks.🙂
Writing’s like that for me too, there’s so many things to balance that something usually gets left out. There’s always editing!
I’m a big fan of short fiction, so I’ll definitely be bringing more stuff like this to the channel that can hopefully be useful! ☺️
This is such a great tip and something I love to read in books. One of my favorite instances of it is in Fellowship of the Ring:
“A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed.
'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this.' He was quite right, but he never found out any more about it.”
Even in such an epic and wide-reaching fantasy as LOTR, Tolkien still makes the world bigger with this kind of inclusion. I found myself wanting to know more about this fox 😂
You do seem to love the flat expanse of the plains or desert areas found in various places in the US (and, of course, elsewhere around the world). Have you been places like that or are you just intrigued by them (as I imagine it's a different type of place than what you're used to seeing)?
Oh I love that, there's so much character to it. 'Business of his own' 😄 I would also want to wander off in pursuit of said fox. That's exactly the kind of life in a setting that I was trying to get to the route of here.
You're right, I do seem to use those expanses really often. When I was younger we drove through California and Nevada, so I've seen some of it. I just love scale, somehow, it's a preoccupation I think. Definitely not something I see in the UK, we have some beautiful scenery but just not that much space!
My favorite type of videos
This is a great application for the 2nd draft.
Definitely!
Every decade or so, I pull an old copy of IT, by Stephen King, off the shelf and take a trip to Derry, Maine. Why? Because no one seems to do immersion better than King. IT, draws you in.
Arguably, my opinion only.
Throughout the novel, King throws in numerous past/future tie-ins. Many of which do both at the same time. I would dare to say he does so maybe a hundred times and you don't even notice?
My point is much the same as yours. King does so in ways that do not seem cumbersome, repetitive or boring. But rather, natural. The tie-ins reveal little snippets of a much older and darker backstory happening to every generation in Derry's long history. As a result, Derry not only seems immersive and real, it also becomes a major character in the storyline.
I very much agree with you. I've read a good number of his books and he never fails to draw you in to his world. All of his settings feel established, like they were living a life well before his characters arrived. Derry in particular is a great example to bring up. It's every bit as important a character as any other in the book.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insight, I appreciate it!
7:25 wow. what a powerful thing to add. seems so pointless yet its 100% huge.
It's great isn't it? Stuff like that is the reason I write. I still can't find that story though, maybe I will at some point.
@@KierenWestwoodWriting didnt see this. yes dude very very much.
Another really useful video, thank you.
The birds eye view thing is really making me think here! Thanks for such an insightful video man
On occasion I have difficulty with certain narrative transitions in my writing. This video gave my imagination a jumpstart for a new direction. Just what I needed, Kieren. Thank you.
Ahh great! I love it when that happens. Sometimes we just need something to get us moving. Glad it could help!
Thanks again , Kieran. As always, spot on!
Thanks for watching :)
This hit the mark completely, I like the analogy of a play, and all the tips you gave.
Thank you, I'm always trying to find writing advice that falls through the gaps, and I love an analogy!
Wonderful video
Thank you! Appreciate your support :)
Just bought Elephant on your recommendation.
I really hope you enjoy it! I think it's fantastic, I learned a lot from it about writing.
Hey man, this was a really great video. I appreciate it when you give advice that is actionable: things that we can work on right now. And it's not as if you're giving prescriptive "how to" advice. This is my favourite type of content from you.
Thanks mate, this is my favourite kind of content to make as well. I don't always feel inspired by something particular like this, but whenever I can I'll definitely make more of this type of thing.
Love the zoom out example of the desert road you provided and how you approached that image in your writing.
Thanks so much!
Thank you!
I was having trouble starting a new chapter in my current writing project. Then I watched this video and an inspired opening came to me based on this concept. Thanks for this!
Fantastic! That's what I like to hear! Hope it goes great for you :)
This is excellent! Thank you for this great videos. I know one of the things I LOVE in books but am not so good at myself yet is creating that sense of place where it feels alive. My plan for my next round of editing (once I finish the second draft haha) is to really go through and find where I can bring in the setting and little details like this. Thanks for the point that it doesn't have to be flowery - I think simple can be harder than flowery in many cases, but the impact is so amazing!
I'm so glad it was useful! I always feel like I focus on weird things about writing that don't have easy names or ways to refer to them, so it's always encouraging to hear that other writers know what they heck I'm talking about 😂
Your point about simple being harder than flowery is a great one. You're totally right, and I'd never thought of it that way!
I also love the pure positivity of you saying 'I'm not so good...YET'. That is the attitude that takes people places I think!
Great advice. Another tool to use on an existing text as seasoning.
Fantastic video ❤
Thank you so much for watching! ☺️
Thank you for making these videos, I've been watching them back to back and they're really good! I've been learning a lot
Thank you! I'm really glad they've been useful! :D
one of the best videos ive seen thank you mate. to keep the world bigger, by keeping the world alive, around the little world we are forcing. wonderful.
Thank you, I'm glad this resonated with you the same wiay it does with me 🙂
Great video! This is just what I needed right now for my story. Your videos are helping me improve a lot.
Fantastic, that's what I love to hear 😊 Good luck with your story!
What a nuanced, really sensitive video
Trying to fill in those nameless gaps in writing ☺️
@@KierenWestwoodWriting that's it!
This makes so much sense, thank you for sharing! :)
Thanks for watching and sticking with me! I try to find the parts of writing that don't necessarily have names, but are still useful to think about 😊
How about 3rd person, close? I'll try it.
_"He got up again and went to the window and raised it a few inches. He felt the cool air that came in..."_
3rd person is not as personal as 1st, but maybe close enough here. What do you think?
I liked this idea so now I'm *SUBSCRIBED!*
Good shout, that definitely works! Thanks so much for the sub, I appreciate it 🙂
Thanks Kieren. Good advice. And simple enough to employ.
Just getting up some steam now to finally launch my writing career... in my mid-seventies. Pretty crazy, huh? But I'm in good health, mentally and physically (vegan, 32½ push ups!) with no reason to believe I will not be around for at least another 20 years.
I have done a fair amount of advertising copywriting. And, like most people who have ever penned a decent paragraph, I genuinely feel a novel in me; perhaps more than one. However, though the genre has shrunken over the past few decades, it would probably be wise to tackle some short stories first. I just found your channel and will view your other videos to glean more useful advice. I may have a couple of decades left, but I don't want to waste a minute making amateurish mistakes that will alienate editors!
Starting with short stories is always a good idea in my opinion. There's really no downside to doing that. Don't worrhy too much about making mistakes, everyone does, but if you have copywriting experience at least you know what you put down is likely to be accurate and concise !
Thanks so much for watching and I wish you the very best for your writing!
Love Carver. Great video.
Me too! Thank you :)
Fantastic video, on an aspect of writing not often discussed. Well presented, and useful. Craig Clevenger uses examples from Carver's fiction in some of his teachings as well.
For what it's worth, I appreciate the work you put into your videos, and your ability to teach complex concepts. Your subscriber count ought to be much higher. I hope you keep making these as you've improved my writing already. I'm sure I'm not alone.
Thank you, that's really great feedback to receive. I love Carver's stories and to be able to bring something from them and turn it into writing advice is really satisfying to me.
Hopefully in the future I can reach more people, but it's already really rewarding to receive comments like this that let me know another writer has found my videos useful. Thanks again for taking the time 😊
Hello 👋 new sub nice to meet you. Found out about you watching Joey Paul's channel. Looking forward to watching more videos
Hello! Thanks so much and nice to meet you too ☺️ Joey has all the good vibes over there! It’s always good to come across new writing related video makers.
Only just got round to watching this, but WOW!
Thank you! I feel like I explained myself better on this one than I often do 😂
@@KierenWestwoodWriting the examples were just so clear and so pointed, it was great. I've recommended/shared this video with writing groups 🥳🥳🥳
@@opollitico Thanks so much for doing that ☺️
@@KierenWestwoodWriting ofc 🙂
Can we have more that is not first person?
Secret invasion