What should we pay attention to when writing novels?

The first taboo: no matter how beautiful the writing is, don't let the description stop your narrative.

The novelist must remember this: don't over-describe anything, whether it's Teton Mountain, sunset or zebra on Waikiki Beach. Otherwise, the strength of your narrative will be affected, and you will also make the reader's attention appear dangerous blank. Please remember elmo. Leonard's golden advice: "I always try to delete what readers will skip." Readers are really willing to skip invalid content.

The second taboo: don't waste too much time describing unimportant environment.

Novelist David. Luigi once declared: "The description in a good novel is not just description. The danger of most background descriptions is that a series of beautiful statements and narrative interruptions push readers to a sleepy situation. " Please remember Luigi's motto and write it on a piece of paper and stick it in front of a computer or typewriter: "Description in a good novel is more than description."

The third taboo is: don't waste the reader's attention on an unimportant thing. This is the most common mistake for beginners.

The fourth taboo is: don't generalize, be specific.

No one can sum up the taboo of writing better than Chekhov, a great Russian writer. In a letter, he warned a writer friend to avoid generalization and normalization: "I think the real description of nature should be quite short and relevant to the theme." We should avoid stereotyped descriptions, such as "the sunset is bathed in the waves of the black sea, and the purple and gold light pours down" and so on. When describing nature, you should pay attention to the details to the extent that even if you close your eyes, you can still see the scene you describe.

Therefore, when you sit down to write, please remember that it is not a "drink" but a "martini"; Not a dog but a poodle; Not "a bunch of flowers" but "a bunch of roses"; Not a skier, but a girl in bud; Not "a hat" but "a hat with a high vertex angle"; Not a cat, but an Abyssinia cat; Not a gun, but a zero. The new 44 caliber automatic pistol is not a painting, but the Olympia of Manet.

By combining the description of the four taboos with Chekhov's good words, we get a rule that all excellent writers should follow when describing: be specific!

You should be able to describe the scene accurately and make the characters authentic. They do their daily work in the sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste of their own country. -Ravel &; #8226; Spencer.

"How can we make things look real?" When a writer is asked this question, it is actually a compliment to him. If someone further says to him, "I seem to be there, and I can hear, smell and feel these places, just like walking into the page of a novel", then what he gives readers is really extraordinary. When I was asked the same question, my answer was "with the help of the five senses". Some authors always fail to realize that readers' five senses should be used to get a sense of reality. It is common to use readers' visual feelings, but how many times have you used readers' sense of smell, hearing (except in conversation), touch or taste? I started writing from 1976. Up to now, there are still five words hanging on the wall of my office: look, listen, feel, taste and smell. Whenever I write, I will refer to this table and consciously write something with flavor. In fact, some disgusting things can produce miraculous effects when creating a sense of reality.

Think about the smell of rotten fruit when a person opens the refrigerator; Rotten fat when a person peels a bear's skin; When a woman refuels at an unmanned gas station, her hands will smell of gasoline. It's not enough to mention the smell at the beginning of the story. When telling a story, you must refer to that table again and again. Let's imagine a man and a woman arguing about something. The man rushed to the kitchen from the door and shouted at the woman, "I can't stand your mother living with us anymore." The old lady must move out before I come back, or I will leave this house! " When setting this scene, I can let women bake pumpkin pie (sweet and warm, which reminds people of the happy time like Thanksgiving), but if you add the flavor of pickled spices and vinegar, this scene will show the moral. At some point, I will make readers imagine the smell: "I solemnly warn you, Laura, with or without her!" "When he spoke, the taste was as sour as that in the kitchen. Don't forget, Laura was still filling the jar with pickles during the quarrel. When she quarrels loudly, she may burn her hands, and then wash them in cold water. Of course, she may also pour salt water into kimchi, spill it all over the floor, and then wipe it clean. She also dried her hands with a denim apron. She can wipe the sweat (heat, itching) from her forehead. She can make a hullabaloo about, wave her spoon (hard wooden handle) and throw it at the man. These will enhance the visual effect. When the quarrel is getting worse, what sound may you hear? Did a dog sneak in and drink the water from the tin cake plate?

Are there any cars rattling on the road? Is that the sound of children playing in the yard next door? Does the water on the stove jingle when it boils? How hot is the water Did you tell the reader the temperature? Will the heroine in the novel put a cup of iced tea or iced coffee next to the pickle jar? When the man left angrily, the quarrel ended, but the problem was not solved. At this time, did the heroine pick up the cup, drink iced coffee, find the coffee bitter, and then make a face? As you can see, it is possible to arouse people's five senses in a plot like the above, but in order to do this, the plot must be carefully arranged. You can't use all five senses in most plots (especially taste is the most difficult thing to write), but you can easily arouse readers' four senses, and in most plots, you can arouse readers' at least three senses. When you doubt the truth of the dialogue in the novel, read your dialogue aloud, pretend that you are an actor, and say your lines at the rhythm needed on the movie screen and stage. If it sounds stiff and unnatural, it needs to be revised. Don't forget that people's ideas expressed in words are always unprocessed and polished, so let the characters speak briefly. People always ask questions one after another in life, so should the characters in your novel, especially when they want to know each other. People often sigh, pout, laugh, scratch their heads, bulge their cheeks and look at their nails in conversation. You should also let the characters in the novel have these actions and let people continue their conversation at work.

Use concluding remarks to create images. Look at the following two examples: "You never liked my mother!" " "Laura shouted. She put down the kettle with a bang. "You never liked my mother! "Laura suddenly put down the kettle. The second sentence increases the tension, makes the story move forward faster, and deletes redundant words, implying rather than telling the reader that Laura is yelling. This is the best moment of the principles I mentioned, and it is through these principles that I measure all my works. Words used in tense moments should be few and precise. This is what I learned from my English teacher. When I wrote my second book, I couldn't write down several plots, but I couldn't find the reasons, so I gave the manuscript to the teacher for her criticism and suggestions. When she told me this rule, I applied it to my novel. As a result, everything becomes clear.

When the plot is tense, short and pithy sentences should be used, short words should be used in sentences, and concluding remarks should be used less, and writing should be sudden. When you do this, you will feel nervous. In contrast, in a depressing plot, there is silence and tranquility everywhere. At this time, you need to use longer sentences, longer words, longer paragraphs and more concluding remarks. Doing so will naturally ease the tension. When you conceive a novel, you should establish a realistic attitude. Only by observing and thinking can you describe the scene accurately and make the characters credible. They use their innate sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste to complete their daily work. Well, as I said before, taste is the hardest thing to write in a novel, but four fifths of it is not bad.

Use these five senses and use sentence structure to create a slow or tense atmosphere, so that your novel readers can't leave them because they are so real.

Seize the passion:

For novelists, always grasping the magical stimulus is the greatest reward. -Felix & #8226; Whitney

There are many exciting moments in a writer's life. If these moments are after rejection and disappointment, it will be happier. I will never forget those moments, the first time I heard the words of encouragement from the editor, the first time I saw my words printed, or the ecstasy when I held my first novel in my hand. I firmly believe that for any novelist, the real "peak of excitement" is everywhere. Besides, it will continue to appear because we have learned how to stimulate it. I mean when a new novel is conceived, the first moment in my mind is a wonderful moment. When a new story (or novel) keeps flashing in the original idea, the author will feel dazzled, and we usually think it will be the best work we have ever written.

This wonderful feeling may often appear in an instant, and I will spend a few days or weeks with it. The flashes in these thoughts gather so many strange lights, as if they are constantly flashing because of some magic.

So I wrote them down. I am always happy to write the beginning of one story after another, but occasionally I finish a whole story. What I write is never as perfect as my dream. I'm too impatient. I lost interest when I found that I just started the story and had to continue. The magic disappeared, so I kept giving up those stories.

I envy the writer who can follow the original idea and develop it into a novel. But I can't do it overnight, so I must be clear about the direction of writing before I start writing. I found some effective ways to protect those original bright spots and make them continue to shine or reappear. I found that when I wrote about 30 pages, if I could keep my initial excitement, my interest would be highly aroused until I finished my work.

How long the initial excitement lasts varies from book to book. I spend some time designing characters in my notebook, collecting fragmentary plots, clarifying my writing direction, or writing down things that suddenly appear in my mind until the moment when I have to start writing. When I haven't completely designed it, that moment will always come. I never refuse that driving force, at least I can start my story first. In order to reward myself, I usually write a few pages first, which is conducive to the continuity of writing. It can help me return to the idea of characters and plots at any time.

When I read the finished part again, I feel happy again. I really want a reader to share these beautiful words with me. I don't expect to get a lot at once, but I do hope to get praise and affirmation, although I know I am the worst judge of these works, because I am deeply involved in the creation and can't see its shortcomings at all.

Usually, the readers I choose are deeply involved in this set of rules. He will encourage me and give me some advice gently, so that I won't get carried away. Sooner or later, I will read the first chapter again and see if I can change it better after thinking. For beginners in writing, it is dangerous to invite people to criticize too early, which can easily douse the initial excitement. It is safer to ask others to read and judge after writing.

Now, I don't expect this extreme excitement to last forever. I know it will appear again, which excites me and inspires me to move on. You know, it is not enough to rely on the influence of a wave of stimulation on hundreds of pages of stories. In the process of writing, some wonderful new ideas will make me turn around and write an unexpected turning point, which will make me reach the peak of excitement again. Novelists should be people with feelings. If our writing becomes a conscious movement without passion, the novels we write will certainly be unremarkable.

It is also unwise to wait for a sudden inspiration. When I can't finish writing, I often ask myself: In this case, what unexpected actions might the character take? What kind of plot is both logical and unexpected? I became a movie in my mind, and the sparks of inspiration kept hitting me.

Let's analyze three kinds of excitement we often encounter in novel writing. The first is the most important, that is, the author's excitement about the story to be described; The second is the experience of the characters in the novel when they play special roles. If you can find the motivation to excite the character, you will reach another level of excitement. The third kind of excitement is about readers. If you and the characters are in high spirits, readers will also get satisfaction from your story.

The author's purpose is to make readers and characters share the same fate. However, it is not easy to keep the author in high spirits and let him spend months or even years finishing his novel. The main problem is that you are tired of what you have written and have no long-term plan. In order to keep the writing fresh, I made a rule for myself, that is, don't look back too much on what I have finished. When I start writing every day, I only read the last few pages, which gives me the motivation to continue writing quickly. Although I would like to know what has been done and see what it is like, I will never allow myself to expect more than five pages, even for a short time.

That moment came, when I began to believe that what I wrote was just a mess, I lost interest and confidence. So I just read from the beginning until I couldn't write any more. However, they are much better than I expected. Ha, I'm full of energy. Keep writing. I found that after this browsing, I have a better understanding of the characters. This situation often occurs in the process of writing novels.

My own way is reading and communicating with novels. The purpose of reading novels is not to imitate or gain new ideas, but to discover some emotions. My attention lingers between pages. When something suddenly touches my emotional resonance, I can continue to write, because I have been able to convey this emotion to my character. I rewrote the dry love scene, and it worked well this time. I also found a way to deal with the loss of interest: replenish your brain with new supplies.

"Anxiety" is one of the effective methods worth using, but I don't admire this negative method, it is just a method. We can use various ways to convey this excitement to readers, and make it constantly strengthen, so as to keep the initial flash of thought. For novelists, always grasping the magical sense of excitement is the greatest reward.

Suspension tension method in novel creation;

One of the secrets of attracting readers with only a small space is to skillfully use the "hanging tension method" in the description. "Suspense tension method", also known as suspense, suspense, setting buttons and tying up baggage, is a common and very important technique in novels. Chernyshevski used the "hanging tension method" in this way-he said in the preface of the novel What to Do: "I quoted the novelist's usual trick: take out a few ostentatious scenes from the middle or end of the novel, put them at the beginning, and then cover them with a fog." In What to Do, Ropf faked suicide from the beginning, which aroused suspense, and then flashbacks his past relationship with Vera and Gilchad Novo to explain why he faked suicide. In fact, "suspension tension" can be used not only at the beginning, but also in the middle or even at the end. For example, in the movie "Gunfire of the State Secrecy Bureau", the ending scene is that Chang Liang unexpectedly shot and killed the spy leader, rescued Liu Xiaochen and Aji, and then followed the fleeing National Army-who is Chang Liang? The film didn't explain until the end. This "suspense" at the end is bound to arouse the audience's speculation and association. The content of "suspension tension method" can be divided into two categories: first, some characters in the work have "numbers" in their hearts, but the readers are completely "in the dark", allowing readers to judge and guess the progress of the plot by themselves. For example, in "Borrowing Arrows from Grass Boat", Zhuge Liang has predicted that there will be heavy fog in the sky, and he can "borrow"100000 arrows in three days, but the readers are completely ignorant and worried about Zhuge Liang's fate. First of all, readers know most of the plots, but some characters in the works are "in the dark", which makes readers open their eyes to see how these characters will act. For example, in Fifteen Levels, the reader knows that the house mouse stole the money, but the characters in the work know nothing except the house mouse, so the reader is full of worries: how will this unjust case be handled? When using the "hanging tension method" in novels, we can tie a small bundle in the big bundle and a small button in the big button, which will push the contradictions and conflicts to a climax. However, the length of mini-novels is extremely short, often only a small suspense is set, and the "burden" is suddenly thrown off at the end of the description, which gives readers a surprise and thus receives good results. When using the "suspension tension method", we should pay attention to its authenticity, that is, we should be both "suspended" and "mysterious", that is, we should not pretend to be mysterious and destroy the artistic truth of the works; The second is to pay attention to "suspending tension" closely around the theme. If we "pause the tension" in the details, it will only weaken the theme of the work.

The twelve commandments of a writer:

A writer has twelve commandments, and he should avoid following suit. "Don't write if you are true and popular, but write the Three Kingdoms if you look good."

Second, avoid "I". "Not to mention this. For all writers, writing in the first person is a taboo."

Third, avoid running accounts. "The article is too simple, and there must be more dialogues, descriptions of the environment and descriptions of the characters."

Fourth, you can't copy "at least readers can't see that this is plagiarism, and some people's works will know that they are copying Ji Qin's plot."

Fifth, avoid articles being too short. "Don't cheat the click rate to write a book. A chapter must have at least four or five thousand words. "

6. Don't tremble too much. "Dragging can be done, but it must be skillful and cannot be delayed indefinitely. Try to explain some useful things and foreshadowing, and lengthen the article with some words, but don't force it if you are not skilled enough. This article is too short and too long. The length should be moderate. "

For example, it is best not to combine sci-fi works with martial arts, and those martial arts sci-fi cartoons with rich fragrance are the most failures. Because they just balance martial arts and science fiction. Every novel has its central theme. Science fiction is science fiction, and martial arts can appear in it, but it has little effect. Because science fiction is the theme, everything must be explained from a scientific point of view, not both science and martial arts. "

Eight, the most taboo in the article "Avoid Superman" is that in addition to following the trend, the protagonist becomes Superman overnight. The protagonist's ability to get unexpected order when encountering adventure can be! But you gained your superpower overnight, and the power afterwards is very strong, so how do you write it to the end? "

Nine, avoid too many names. "Readers will not have the patience to remember the places and names you quoted, but can only explain them slowly (very slowly) in the article and digest them slowly for readers. If the author is too anxious, it will only make the reader dizzy and become a running account. "

10. Avoid the example table "The theme setting is always for yourself. Don't force it on the article. Readers are not interested in reading your settings. It's like telling the ending of a book in advance, which makes people lose the taste of reading." Example: The author of The Thief wrote The Thief without any setting. At first, I thought I was writing a medieval aristocratic story. Finally, the magician suddenly appeared. Only! Clearly understand that this is a fantasy work. It gave me countless surprises. The author hasn't seen more magicians for a long time since then, which makes readers interested in reading more. Dragons and other things finally appeared slowly, describing them one by one instead of making one example at a time. In other words, until now, the author has made me understand what the world is like. The dragon has only appeared twice now, but the goblin has never seen it. ) In my mind, I built the world in my mind one by one with a long writing style, which is his success.

XI. Avoid saying, "As an author, we should try our best to read and write in a neutral position, so please don't appear in the article and call her Xiao XXX and Ah XXX to save trouble." The article must give people a sense of neutrality and coldness. However, for the close relationship between relatives and friends, people use nicknames instead of names. I've never seen people with good writing use these nicknames instead of characters' names. What are you doing as an author with his own role? "

Twelve, avoid the confusion of the relationship between the superior and the subordinate. "There are many works, and the protagonists try their best to get in touch with the characters around them." For example, when the protagonist ordered his big brother to do something, he said, "Brother XXX, go and help me film something." Instead of: "So-and-so listens to the order, shoot XXX for me." Public and private affairs cannot be made public, and the relationship between superiors and subordinates is chaotic. See which army in the world will use this tone in combat and workplace. This only shows that the author lacks social experience.