Tuesday's Writer's Tip - A final bit here - Simple and Succinct #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Tip #Simple

I've reached the end of this series of tips and we'll look at the SS theory. This means simple and succinct. It also mans things to avoid.

Avoid vague or incorrect words. It is one of the major very vague words. It was dark blue and sleak. Now this could be many things but suppose the heroine was describing a car or an art object. The reader would be scratching their head. Another of these vague things is the word thing. He wanted the thing with every ounceof energy. The reader would wonder just what this thing was. This carries over into nouns. Car is a great word but sedan, convertible, sports car all give a better picture of the car. I often find myself doing this so I'm not alone. Neither are you.

Now we come to the senses. She smelled. He saw. can run you into problems. She smelled something awful. Rather vague. She caught the aroma of death, a musty odor that made her stomach churn. He saw a bird. He feasted on the roasted turkey all golden brown and rousing his appetite.

Another way to confuse your reader is to use the wrong word, perhaps one that sounds alike the word you want to use. Hope flaired in her eyes or Hope flared in her eyes. Which one is right. He piered at the sky or He peered at the sky. The English language is full of these little glitches.

So when you're revising that manuscript look for these things. Next week we'll talk about Simple and Succinct.