# Worried my Prose SUCKS!! :(



## WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade (Oct 22, 2013)

As you probably figured from the title, I feel my prose is pretty bad. I am really happy with my world building, I like my plot, and my characters invoke pity, hate and love (often all at once). but my prose is, in my opinion, pretty bad, some bits I like, but I feel that on a whole the level is pretty low, and that this will ruin my writing. 
have any of you had this problem, and could you give me some hints as to how I could go about improving. 
Any one who helps me is eligible for a cookie, but you have to come to me for it


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## teacup (Oct 22, 2013)

Well you see the first thing you do is - wait...I have to come to you? No deal.


Really  though, I think one good tip is to learn the "rules" of writing you  hear about, eg, use active verbs and sentences, eliminate -ly words,  etc. Only, don't follow these rules exactly. Learn them, then learn how  to bend them  The rules are more guidelines, than anything. 

A  good thing for you to do would be to post on showcase asking for advice  with prose, because then people could see exactly what needs improving,  rather than generally.


What exactly do you think is so bad about your prose?


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## WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade (Oct 22, 2013)

I find it hard to explain, I sort of feel that it's just weak, not able to carry the story that well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for flowery prose, to write like (Insert someone with great prose here, as mind is blank - Rothfuss maybe? ). 
Cheers for the tips, I'll write them down and stick 'em by my computer desk.


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## Scribble (Oct 22, 2013)

Welcome to the club.

Yes, I have had this problem, and if I compare myself to great writers - I still do.

Find a writer whose style you love and read their work critically, with a writer's eye. Personally, I love John Steinbeck right now, re-reading The Grapes of Wrath. I also enjoy Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Martin Amis, and others. The way they write, I find I am lost in the writing and I find it hard to come back and read them critically. The words just take me away.

Choose a writer, not necessarily in your preferred genre, whose writing is what you would love yours to be like. Pick a masterpiece. Don't choose something off the bottom shelf. If you are going to learn from another writer, choose the best!

Look at how they structure paragraphs, how it flows. 
How much description do they use? How to they use description?
How do they use metaphors?
How long are their sentences? Do they mix up long ones and short ones?
How do they convey emotions?
How do they build tension?
How do they do dialogue?
How do they do action?

Keep a notebook and make notes as you read your chosen work. You can use sticky notes to mark particular elements that struck you. Learn little bits as you read. Then try to incorporate them into your writing. To help you be aware of these things, read some writing advice from a good site, and then look for these elements in your chosen work.

AND post in showcase. Writing group helps!


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## Sparkie (Oct 22, 2013)

I find it interesting that you refer to your prose as having to 'carry the story.'  Why not just let your story lead the way, and worry about the prose in revision?

And yes, please post some stuff in the Showcase.  I can speak from experience when I say it helps.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Oct 22, 2013)

I could post a bunch of rules I write by but thru will not likely all apply to what you're trying to write. There are many opinions on what constitutes good prose. The advice that sprouts from those opinions is as varied, if not more so. 

There is one point that few will disagree with.... The more you write, the further along you'll come in developing your own style. You will improve if you write a lot. There are no shortcuts...but allow yourself to suck at first. Identifying the need for improvement is the first step toward bettering your prose. You've done that. Now seek solutions geared towards recognizing & resolving those issues.

Sometimes, we can feel a piece we've written is lacking but we cannot single out the cause. Another's perspective can be the fastest way to find those problems. I suggest posting something on the showcase or sharing with someone who will give you honest feedback. Peer critique has immeasurable value IF you're truly committed to improving. 

If you decide to post on Showcase, I suggest keeping it around 1,000 words. You will get more responses for the smaller pieces & the critiques can be focused on specific issues.


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## yachtcaptcolby (Oct 22, 2013)

I'd suggest keeping it simple. One thought per sentence. Avoid joining clauses with conjunctions. Just get a scene onto the page in its simplest form - the action, the dialogue, the emotion, all of it, in the order it happens, every sentence taking just one step. Once it's all there, read back through it to find the places you can combine ideas. When that's done, read it again to find places you can spruce up the language a little bit.

I don't know if this will help you, but it helps me a lot when I'm having a hard time with a scene. It's almost like working with a live outline, except it's already part of what you're working on so it's less daunting than dealing with a typical outline.


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## Bruce McKnight (Oct 22, 2013)

Read someone who writes prose in a manner you admire.
Read someone else who writes prose in a manner you admire.
Write a little on your own, without trying to copy those you admire.
Repeat.

I think you can pick up a lot by osmosis. You have to write to work on it and you can't force anyone else's style, but I think if you keep practicing while looking to others for inspiration, you will evolve.

At least that's how I do it.

Also: don't worry about prose during your first draft - you have twenty seven revisions to improve upon it!


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## WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade (Oct 23, 2013)

Cheers people. I'm not sure, but I think that people who write fantasy are awesome + helpful, and the people on mythic scribes are the best of the lot. It really reminds me that the world isn't all full of nasty people. (just read an article about elephant poaching  )
Anyways, I shall take into account all of this, I do try to write like some of my favourite writers, (especially Abercrombie, really like his style, but have been met with limited success, I really chafe when copying things.) 
I am going to post something up on the old showcase, It will be titled " Prose analysis", or something dreary like that


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## T.Allen.Smith (Oct 23, 2013)

WeilderOfTheMonkeyBlade said:


> I do try to write like some of my favourite writers, (especially Abercrombie, really like his style, but have been met with limited success, I really chafe when copying things.)



I'm a firm believer that part of the process in developing your own unique style and voice starts with emulating your favorite writers. You won't be able to write exactly as they do because you're...well, you're you. But, that's good news. The world doesn't need carbon copies.


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## wordwalker (Oct 25, 2013)

Two simple, important tips:

Read your writing aloud. This is an easy but very powerful way to spot phrases that just don't flow. (It does have its biases, so when in doubt side with the written words of your role models, but it's a superb simple test.)

Show it to people, the right people. A trusted friend can mean a lot to you, and so can our Showcase or a good writers group or any chance to hear from people who think about writing on their own time. Plus, critiquing them back is a great eye-opener.


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## Mythopoet (Oct 25, 2013)

Keep reading. Just soak in as much of other author's prose as you can. The more you absorb the more it becomes part of your subconscious. 

Keep writing. Good writing doesn't just happen. You need to practice. Write, write and keep writing until the words are a natural extension of you. 

If you keep at it you will improve over time.


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## Malik (Oct 25, 2013)

Blade, this is gonna suck to hear, but you're sixteen. 

And you're from a generation that barely spells anymore, much less writes. Hell, you're from a generation that barely communicates anymore. I know recent college graduates who still can't write a coherent sentence. You're not doing badly, but you're in the very first stages of this.

Writing takes time. It takes reading, it takes study. There is an entire course of study on this through universities that you can, if want, follow all the way to a Ph.D. (You don't have to, but the point is that the material is out there.) Some people spend their entire lives learning how to write. It's like learning to become a concert pianist. It's communication through a medium. Some have a talent for it, but talent without study is meaningless.

I would suggest that you get with your English teacher -- I don't know if teachers do this anymore, truth told, so I may be way off the mark, here -- and ask him/her if you could, on your own time, learn about basic literary deconstruction with their help. Take a book whose prose you LOVE -- mine was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; your mileage may vary -- and learn WHY you like it. What about the writing makes it work for you and how did the author put it in there? 

The prose that seems the most effortless and natural is usually penned by writers who have agonized over those words deliberately for what seemed to them like forever. Powerful writing draws on a command of the language, literary theory, linguistics, symbolism, and a lifelong thirst for always finding the right words. That last part is something that people your age don't do; in fact, you guys specifically choose not to. You can change that. I hope you do. Here's where you start. Now all you've got to do is not quit. Ever.

Cheers.


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## Addison (Oct 25, 2013)

Every writer thinks their prose or entire story sucks at the beginning. The feeling comes back at random moments through out the writing process. There's four stages to a writer's writing: 1st, "My writing's not too bad, I'll be okay." 2nd, "My writing sucks this isn't going to work." 3rd, "My writing's terrific, this will be huge!" 4th, "My writing's awful, what was I thinking? I'm ruined!" 

Your prose is part of what makes you new and original in your own way. If you really think it needs work have a few honest friends read it and give their opinion. But most likely this is just nerves, I get them all the time. Everyone does and anyone who says they don't is lying to themselves.


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