Britney graduated from College of DuPage with a degree in Journalism.
She is passionate about writing and wants to share more about it with you here.
Check out this page for reviews of local author events and other writings.
Showing vs. Telling
I will be sharing some different areas of writing a good compelling story that I learned from my Fiction writing class I took at College of DuPage last year.
“You’ve all heard this ‘rule’ in one form or another, most commonly as the cliché “Show, don’t tell.” To engage readers, stories appeal to the emotions and the senses, and this happens by showing how characters act and interact. Readers enjoy discovering what the characters of a story are about as they are shown what is happening. “ Showing” creates a fictional reality where readers may lose themselves, but there is a place for telling too. It depends upon the effect you want to create for and/or in your reader.”
“Even though this section comes from the middle of the story, a reader can get a strong image of the characters and “see” their relationship and their environment, and immediately gets pulled into the story.”
“Showing involves the reader on a visceral level, and stresses action. It doesn’t automatically mean that you are stressing action if all the character does is talk about acting. For example, a character talking about climbing K-2: “We made the final assault about two in the afternoon and after several hours of struggling in the snow and ice, we were exhausted and turned back.” How exciting is that? You understand what happened, but you don’t see it, feel it,experience it.”
“One basic rule of thumb with showing vs telling; if there is something the reader absolutely needs to understand, and which can’t be shown, tell them. Another use of telling rather than showing is when there is information the characters are exchanging but which the reader is already aware of, you summarize by telling.”
Insider Lessons From Poetry Class
At the end of my poetry class at College of DuPage in 2009 we were asked this question:
“After studying poetry in this class I learned…”
“Record the little moments and photographs of your life and find the meaning. Poems are affirmations of life. Poetry is, “going beyond our feelings and telling someone to come with me in a journey. We write most of personal experiences. We can use analogy, examples, experiences, images from TV, and songs.
One of the most important things I’ve learned and is going to help me now and greatly in the future is the three steps: read, revise, and risk. It said in another podcast, “Read widely and every kind of book. We wish that our first words were our last, but don’t censor yourself. Turn off you censor.
Writing a poem is an opportunity for the poem to reveal itself to you, to get the right words in the right order. When you write you find what you didn’t know you knew. It is an emotional and intellectual risk. If you don’t put yourself on the line you will miss out. Don’t be intimated. You can love something without understanding every stroke. This is what learning the basis of the art of poetry is all about.”
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4 Ways to Reveal Setting in Your Story
By Britney Pieta
(Professor Tammie Bob, Fiction Class, COD Spring semester of 2010)
Setting can be defined according to Google as: “The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.”
Setting Includes:
Locale—place of where the characters meet. ex. café, library, church
Weather, atmosphere, air quality—ex. rainy, fog, humid
Season—ex. spring, summer, fall, winter
Time of day—ex. morning, noon, evening
Era—ex. Roman, Victorian, Elizabethan
Social environment—ex. loud, crowded, noisy
1) Reveal setting through motion. (action verbs—ex. dancing, strolling, jumping)
2) Reveal setting through a character’s level of experience. (ex. where the character grew up—suburb, urban, country)
3) Reveal setting through the mood of your character. (feelings—love, pain, sick, emotions—happy, sad, angry, attitudes—positive, neutral, negative)
4) Reveal setting through the senses. (see, hear, touch, taste, smell)
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Details and Description—Using Verbs Rather than Adjectives
By Britney Pieta
(Professor Tammie Bob, Fiction Class, COD Spring semester of 2010)
Oddly, it is the verbs rather than the adjectives a writer chooses that create the strongest images in a reader’s mind. Odd, because early on we learn that adjectives are “describing” words.
What image do you get when you read:
Steve was the fastest runner on the team.
Instead you could say:
“Every race began with a cloud of runners bobbing almost in unison. Then the cloud thinned so you could distinguish individual runners by the color of their shirt. And soon, Steve, a blur of blue, would jet out of the cloud, flying along the track, alone.
Having Steve “jet” and “fly” is more convincing than telling the reader he is the “fastest.” The verbs give the reader something to “see”. But so do nouns and objects, which are key to what is generally referred to as “detail.”
As you write, you look around your setting and choose what’s there that reinforces your story, that creates mood and meaning, character, time, significance. You choose how to present those objects. Making these choices is key to your story…if everything is listed, it seems random and boring, over-described. Beginning writers often do this with characters, describing their appearance as if issuing an all points bulletin: Six feet tall, red hair, blue eyes, glasses, goatee, gray tee shirt, jeans, sandals.
Better to choose the details, and work them into the action.
Another example is: “Kevin picked a scrap of food of his red goatee and seemed to consider the long, dusty gray toes splaying from the ragged straps of his sandals before he spoke.”
You get an image of Kevin, and some of his character emerges as well.
The uses, and amount, of significant detail varies by writer, according to their style, sensibility, and era. Some details may be ambiguous, but too often newer writers confuse uncertainty in a reader with their own vague awareness of the story, which results in an unfocused, even pointless narrative.
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Tips for the Holidays
By Britney Pieta
Holidays are a special time of year but for some of us it can be a difficult time because we just have suffered a loss or still feel the effects of a loved one’s absence…
Here are some tips for getting through those meaningful but hard days:
Don’t be alone on Christmas or New Years day. Being alone just adds to the already sad thoughts and feelings you might have. It takes a lot of courage to face the world after a death but being alone while the rest of the country is having a good old jolly time except you— won’t do you any good.
Go caroling, visit a nursing home, go to a Christmas play—just get out of the house because you will find that doing something for others will always bring a smile to yours and their face. Spreading Christmas cheer will cheer you up to in the process and the party is just getting started! If you are like me at least go somewhere for the food!
(Side note—One thing to remember is to not do anything you are uncomfortable doing. We are all at different stages of grief and you don’t want anything to open wounds or trigger intense emotions.)
Keep traditions alive. Even if that person who normally did that tradition with you isn’t with you anymore, I believe with all my heart that person is still with you in spirit and would smile to see you continuing it. Traditions will bind you and that person forever and help the memory of him/her carry on.
Create new traditions in honor of your loved one. Along with doing the same traditions maybe there is something new you could do to remember your loved one. It will give the holidays a new meaning and give you a new way to feel closer to that person.
Talk about old memories, play board games, laugh at old videos or pictures from past Christmases or holidays. It is always nice to remember how not all of your life has been “from hell” and that if you had good times then you can have them again.
The holidays are a good time to get your thoughts out on paper.
After you follow these suggestions it is important to write down your memories of how the holiday went for you. You can journal about this, add it to your autobiography/memoir, write your relatives letters, or even post what happened on facebook.
Some questions you may want to ask yourself which you may wish to write about:
How was I able to get or not to get through the holidays this year? What were my feelings and thoughts going through my head?
What was my favorite part/aspect of the holidays?
How can my friends and family make the holiday season easier for me?
What would I like to do next year?
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10 Christmas prompts: (some prompts to get you writing)
Christmas is my favorite time of year because….
I believe the true meaning of Christmas is….
What I like most about Christmas….
I stay up late to wait for Santa Clause the night before Christmas because….
I was good, bad, or both this year because….
If I could ask Santa Clause for one thing it would be….
It is better to give than to receive because….
If I could time travel to the first Christmas I would say to baby Jesus….
The qualities I see in both Santa Clause and Jesus are…
If I could change anything about Christmas it would be….
My own prompt: What I like most about Christmas….when it’s a white Christmas. After opening up gifts I like to go outside and make snow angels, kick some icicles, and warm up inside again by eating some hot chocolate. Then I go for a horse carriage ride in the winter wonderland of snow and sing to the song “Baby its Cold Outside while wearing my warm turtleneck.
Christmas Vocab List
(to use in your writing prompts)
(taken from: http://www.vocabulary.com/lists/25295)
Winter words:
Boots
Blizzard
Chapped lips
Coat
Cold
Earmuff
Eskimos
Frozen
Glove
Hat
Horse and carriage
Icicle
Ice-skating
Iceberg
Hot chocolate
Mittens
Numb
Polar bears
Rosey pink cheeks
Scarf
Shivering
Shovel
Sleet
Snow angels
Snowman
Turtleneck
Wind
Zero degrees
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Which Word Should I Choose?
By Britney Pieta
Some of you may think it’s the lack of words (writers block) that makes it hard to write, but I believe it’s the exact opposite. There are so many words to choose from and so many ways to present your writing, so how do you decide which ones to use?
My Journalism teacher—Cathy Stablein, from College of DuPage described it as being like a surgeon. You have to choose your words with precision and accuracy.
You might want to ask yourself:
- Is this given word’s meaning I have selected the most exact/closest word I can find for this particular sentence that I have imagined in my head? (Ex. weeping vs. sobbing)
- 1. Samantha sat in her car weeping so hard she couldn’t breathe.
- 2. Samantha sat in her car sobbing so hard she couldn’t breathe.
Which one do you think is better?
- Am I adding so many difficult vocabulary words that my reader is lost or confused? (Ex. “Quixotic,” (which I have never heard anyone use) really means: “idealistic or impractical.”)
- Are the words I have chosen staying true to the character’s personalities in my story? (Ex. an atheist who others call himself “righteous,” but isn’t in any religion and abhors that word.)
- Are the words I have chosen going to be interpreted differently depending on the audience who reads it? (Ex. a young adult audience vs. elderly audience)
Remember to not be afraid of rewriting and rewriting over and over again because you might not portray it right the first time. As a writer the words flow through you and sometimes if you never use certain words or know the right word but can’t put your finger on it—(buried somewhere in your head) it is helpful to consult a dictionary or thesaurus.
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7 Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing
By Britney Pieta
Most people seem to get stuck at some point when they write…
Some describe it as, “I hit a brick wall that I couldn’t get past.” Or “I reached a dead end.” Or “I can’t get my mind’s wheels turning.”
Being able to let your creative juices flow is important if you want to get anywhere with writing.
2 Quotes that have inspired me from “The 12 Step Life Recovery Devotional”
book by Stephen Arterburn: “A book is written word by word and line by line.”
“ Success comes inch by inch, stroke by stroke, step by step.”
So here are my ideas for getting your writing going. You can try one, all, or use your own special ways to do this. Have fun!
1. Change your format of writing: You might be better at writing in one format than another, but you never know where your writing will lead you. So just let it grow and transform and let your inner writer take you wherever it wants to go. (ex. if your piece starts off as a poem but it becomes a short story or vice versa)
2. Brainstorm: This is taught in school but is useful in real life. If you can’t think on your own, have another person brainstorm with you. It is said that, “Two heads are better than one.” Make a list of topics to write about and then branch out into specifics. (ex. a house—memories/special occasions, people, pets, seasons, food, sounds)
3. Go people watching: Observe people in their natural surroundings. Sometimes little gestures a person makes or part of a conversation you hear while someone is talking can spur on other ideas. Bring a notebook wherever you go, so you can write it down right away and won’t forget. (ex. zoo, mall, park, ice skating rink, Starbucks/Panera Bread)
4. Read a lot: Some of our ideas can come from things already published. Often you can find a new way of looking at something and add your own unique plot. In the Bible it says, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”(Ex. “Spindles End” book—a different version of “Sleeping Beauty” or the show “Smallville” based off the original Superman series)
5. Add to projects you are already working on: Sometimes if you can’t think of something new you can just work on something already started. It’s sometimes better to finish what you have started and concentrating on just one thing because then your mind won’ t be going off in a million different directions. (ex. novel, short story, screenplay)
6. Relax—Try not to think too much as you write because it stops the flow. When you are relaxed the words flow better because you aren’t worrying and having racing thoughts as much going through your head as you are writing. (ex. try meditation/yoga, walking/jogging, nature music, drinking tea/hot chocolate)
7. Continue later—If you start something but can’t finish continue where you left off some other time. Sometimes your inner writer needs to spend some time soaking in and taking in life. “God didn’t make the world in a day,” so you don’t have to rush the process. (ex. take a break, set certain goals for each day–word count)
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The Power of Words
By Britney Pieta
Words are a powerful force in the world…just think about the words “I love you,” and it instantly affects how you act and feel about the person who said it.
To write well, summon your inner writer and remember to use words as a force for good. You never know who will pick up a copy of what you have written.
Here are three Bible verses about the power of words:
- Proverbs 16:24: “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, and health to the body.”
Analysis:
- · Words are food and water to the soul. They give strength and vitality back to us. (ex. a poem on love, friendships, or good memories)
- · Words keep us going in hard times and make the good times even more beautiful. (ex. a song on the radio says, “Hold onto Jesus,” a song at your wedding)
- · Words wash over you like a warm bath, by cleansing and healing your mind. (ex. reading the Bible, prayer, meditating)
- James 3:3-5: “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. “
Analysis:
- · The words we speak out loud can bring us down or lift us up. (ex. your worthless vs. you are valuable, “you can do it!” vs. you will fail)
- · Words can maintain or destroy relationships. (ex. verbal abuse vs. honesty)
- · Words can change nations and the world. (ex. “I Have a Dream,” speech, )
- · Words can have the power to change the direction of your life. (ex. someone says, “I believe in you,” and encourages them to follow their dreams, a conversation with a mentor)
- · Words have the power of life and death. (ex. bullying drives someone to suicide vs. a person speaks blessings over you )
- Proverbs 12:14: “A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words.”
Analysis:
Whenever you write— whether it be a letter, poem, or story—each time you are planting a seed in the reader’s heart that can help them grow as a person. Every time you accomplish something for one of your writing projects, whether big or small, you will see over time how much you have grown and the beautiful effects of what you have spent so much time creating.
So keep writing no matter how hard it gets or whatever is happening around you. Something you have written could be exactly what a person or the world is looking for and needs.
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10 Simple Affirmations for Writers
By Britney Pieta
Affirmations are positive statements that will ignite your writing. They are food and water to your soul. These words will eventually become a part of you after saying them every morning and night or whenever you have time to reflect. They are wonderful to say to yourself especially before you begin your writing to encourage you and give you a great start. Try any of these or read some more on the links below. Enjoy!
1. I have something unique and special to say.
2. My writing is inspired.
3. Inspiration for my writing flows to me from everywhere.
4. Images and words come easily when I sit down to write.
5. When I get out of the way, the words flow easily to the page.
6. I write daily with excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence.
7. Writing brings me inner peace.
8. Readers will love my true voice.
9. Everyday, in every way, I’m getting better and better as a writer.
10. Writer’s block is NO match for my desire to get my thoughts into writing!
For more affirmations read some from the links below:
Taken from: (http://theaffirmationspot.wordpress.com/tag/writer-affirmations/ http://www.debgallardo.com/virtuoso/161/the-writing-life-writers-affirmations/)
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Story Triggers
By Britney Pieta
When you are looking for the next big idea that is going to your new story, novel, screenplay, etc, you need some kind of idea to get you going. That is where story triggers come into play. Story triggers—just like lighting a firework—will be what you need to spark your writing.
Some stories for me come through the question, “what if?” This is different than a prompt because it allows you to ask nearly an endless amount of questions. Being someone who worries a lot I do ask the question, “what if?” In that case, worrying does have a purpose for me. This requires great use of your imagination and asking questions about things you daily encounter. Inventors use this all the time to come up with new things people have never done before. This is the time to let your imagination run wild and not be kept in a cage. Just let it run loose. You can compare it to when you are walking a dog and it starts running and pulling you with it. Let your writing take you to great places. Angela Booth from www.copywriter.typepad.com said, “Your writing comes alive when you use your imagination, but you have to be willing to let go, to enter your imagination fully.”
My second idea for story triggers is to just to expand or view in a different perspective something that has already been published in the creative fields of books, music, and art. Your idea is like a branch on a tree. The trunk is already there and the branches (your idea) are what grow from it. For me, I add my own spin and twist to my story that has never been done before.
Story Triggers taken from: (Professor Tammie Bob, Fiction Class, COD Spring semester of 2010)
1. Anything you see that makes you ask, “What was that?” (ex. A biology professor shoplifting grapefruits, a dog that is friends with a cat, some kind of saucer or space like object in the sky)
2. “True Life” (ex. Is there a story you inevitably tell everyone you meet? A story you tell again and again? What’s its importance to you? What’s the “real” story?)
3. News stories and photographs. (ex. You see a front page piece about a 12-year-old arrested in Cleveland, you read a story about a ghost haunting, you see a Jesus like figure in shape in a cloud in the background)
4. Things You Connect. (ex. Miracles that defy doctor’s explanations, what someone said in your past is coming true now, you share the same birthday as your best friend.)
5. Idiosyncratic details. (ex. Things that make you angry, scared, laugh out loud, annoying or habitual gestures or tics. )
6. “Global” Issues Made Intimate. (ex. hunger, homelessness, racism, as they show up in the lives of relatives, neighbors, friends)
For each trigger you come up with, do some brainstorming about what interests you about the idea.
Britney:
I look forward to reading about your passionate interest in writing. The art of writing is one of the great methods of expression that people have available to them. I had a professior in College who said ” You don’t know what you think or feel until you try to write it down”. I think that has a great deal of truth to it. Writing helps us explore reality and our impressions of truth and knowledge. Best wishes in your writing adventure.
Here is my tongue in cheek prompt using some of your words!
If I could change anything about Christmas it would be the frozen icicles that form on my rosey pink cheeks as I step out into the wintery landscape. It is not my favorite time of year to be shivering as I shovel piles of snow to get my car out of the driveway, nor do I enjoy the zero degrees the temps hover around for what seems like years. I personally don’t mind wearing mittens but do prefer to think of Christmas as more than just the frigid cold Arctic blast that lasts for months, rather it is the warm coziness of having family, friends and beloved pets nearby to sit with and enjoy a game, sip hot tea and just think about the quiet, tranquil beauty of the inner hearth and outer landscape (from inside, thank you very much).
There are so many things I like about Christmas: the cheerful lights-music-faces, warm food, family time, and news of our Savior (= If I could time travel to the 1st Christmas, I don’t think I could say anything in awe of who He is, I could only hug, bow down, kiss his feet, and hold him for a long time. If I could change anything about Christmas, it would be on January 25th when there is a higher chance of snow. If I could ask Santa for one thing, I would ask him for confidence!!
As one ages it seems the circle of life becomes more apparent and you truly understand that it is not the material things in life that fill you with joy, but rather the rich relationships you have with family, colleagues and friends. So it is better to give than receive because in the giving you extend your reach to touch others and when they touch you back the circle is completed and you too become whole. We do not give to get, but when the giving becomes a way of life the blessings are poured upon us, enabling us to give even more. What is God calling you to give? When the time is right it will become clear to you.
One of the things I try to do in my writing is challenge my reader and one of the ways I do this is to use words that they might not encounter in everyday life. I don’t believe they have to be difficult as you suggest in the following point you make in your blog:
“Am I adding so many difficult vocabulary words that my reader is lost or confused? (Ex.“quixotic” which could be changed to the word idealistic or impractical.)”
I admit that using words like quixotic is a slippery slope for the writer because he/she risks losing readers if they have to sit next to their dictionary to wade through a piece, but on the other hand, aren’t challenging the imagination and, dare I say educating, things writers owe their readers? We were taught the importance of expanding vocabulary in grade school. I believe quixotic is a much more colorful word than idealistic or impractical. When I see that word I see Don Quixote tilting at windmills with his lance; a pretty vivid image for a reader. Quixotic is a good word that references Don Quixote as he pursues his “impossible dream”.
I wish I knew the answer to this conundrum as it is something I struggle with as I write. I invite your thoughts as well as those of other bloggers on this.
Good point, but what I was trying to say was that adding difficult vocabulary words is like adding spices to something. Some is good but too much can be burdensome on some readers and hard to swallow. For me if I am constantly stopping while I am reading to look something up I feel its hard to get through the book I am reading. I guess this is why writers write for different audiences. I appreciate your comment though thanks!
Britney, I believe we’re saying the same thing regarding the use of words to challenge our readers. I say challenging and you say adding spices. Either way we are on the same track. We need to use just enough vivid, colorful spice to our writing to keep our readers engaged. If we don’t do that, then what’s the point?