If you are writing a novel, the first taboo: no matter how beautiful the writing is, don't let the description stop your narrative. The author of the novel must keep this in mind: don't describe anything too much, 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 Elmore. Leonard's golden advice: "I always try to remove the content that readers will skip." Readers are really willing to skip the 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 more than description. The danger of most background descriptions is that a series of beautiful statements and narrative interruptions push readers to a sleepy situation. " Please keep in mind Luigi's motto and put it on a piece of paper and stick it in front of a computer or typewriter: "The description in a good novel is more than just description." The third taboo is: don't waste the reader's attention on an unimportant matter. This is the most common mistake for beginners. The fourth taboo is: don't generalize, be specific. On the generalization of writing taboo, no one speaks 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 brief and relevant to the theme." We should avoid stereotyped descriptions, such as' the sunset is bathed in the waves of the black ocean, and the purple golden light pours down' and so on. When describing nature, you should pay attention to the details, and to such an 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 young girl in bud; Not "a hat" but "a high-topped corner hat"; Not a cat, but an Abyssinia cat; Not a gun, but a zero. The new automatic pistol with 44 caliber is not a painting, but an Olympia of Manet. By combining the description of four taboos with the good words of Chekhov, we get a rule that all good writers should follow when describing: be specific! You should be able to accurately describe scenes and make the characters authentic. They are doing their daily work in their own country's vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste. -Ravel? 6? 1 Spencer. "How can we make things look authentic?" 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, I can hear, smell and feel these places, just like walking into the pages 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 five senses". Some authors always fail to realize that readers' five senses should be used to gain a sense of reality. It is common to use readers' visual feelings, but how many times do you use readers' sense of smell, hearing (except in conversation), touch or taste? I started writing in 1976, and I still have five words 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 a smell. In fact, some disgusting things have miraculous effects when creating a sense of reality. Think about the smell of rotten fruit when a person opens the refrigerator; When a person peels a bear's skin, the rancid fat; When a woman refuels at an unmanned gas station, her hands will smell of gasoline. It is not enough to mention the taste at the beginning of the story. You have to refer to that table again and again when telling the story. Let's imagine that a man and a woman are 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 any longer. 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 smell of pickled spices and vinegar, this scene will show moral. At some point, I will let readers imagine the smell: "I solemnly warn you, Laura, with her without me, with me without her!" " As he spoke, it was as sour as the smell in the kitchen. Don't forget, Laura was still filling the jar with pickles during the quarrel. When she is quarrelling loudly, she may burn her hand and then put her hand into cold water to wash it. Of course, she may also be pouring salt water into kimchi, spilling it all over the floor, and then wiping it clean. She also dried her hands on an apron made of denim. She can wipe the sweat from her forehead (hot, itchy). She can shout and wave the spoon (hard, wooden handle) in her hand 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? Is there a car rattling on the road? Is it the sound of children playing in the yard next door? When the water on the stove boils, is it jingling? How hot is water? Did you tell the reader the temperature? Does the heroine in the novel put a cup of iced tea or iced coffee next to the pickle jar? The quarrel ended when the man stormed out, 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 similar to 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 to write in), 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 in the cadence that is 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 language are always unprocessed and polished, so let the characters speak shorter. People always ask questions one by one in life, so should the characters in your novel, especially when they want to get 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 while they are working. Use closing words to create images. Look at the following two examples: "You never liked my mother!" " Laura shouted. She put the kettle down with a bang. "You never liked my mother!" Laura flung down the kettle. The second sentence increases the tension, makes the story move forward faster, and removes redundant words, suggesting 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. I learned this from my English teacher. When I wrote my second book, I couldn't write down several plots, but I couldn't find the reason, so I gave the manuscript to the teacher and asked her to make criticism and suggestions. When she told me this rule, I applied it to my novel. As a result, everything became clear at a glance. When the plot is tense, short and pithy sentences should be used, short words should be used in the sentences, concluding remarks should be used less, and writing should be sudden. When you do this, tension can arise. In contrast, in a plot with a dull atmosphere, there is silence and tranquility everywhere. At this time, it is necessary 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 accurately describe scenes and make the characters credible. They carry out their daily work with their inherent sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Well, as I said before, taste is the hardest thing to write in a novel, but four out of five are not bad. Apply these five senses and use sentence structure to create a slow or tense atmosphere, so that readers of your novels can't leave them behind, because they are so authentic. Seize the excitement: For novelists, being able to always seize the magical excitement is the greatest reward. -Felix? 6? 1 Whitney There are many exciting moments in a writer's life. It would be even more joyful if these moments were after rejection and disappointment. I will never forget those moments, the first time I heard the words of encouragement from the editor, the first time I saw my own 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. Moreover, it will continue to emerge because we have learned how to stimulate it. I mean when a new novel is conceived, the first flash in my mind is a wonderful moment. When a new story (or novel) flashes constantly in the original idea, the author will have a dazzling feeling, and we usually think that it will be the best work we have written. This wonderful feeling may often appear in a moment, and I will spend days or weeks with it. The flashes in these thoughts gather so many strange brilliance, as if they are constantly flashing due to 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 complete story. What I wrote was never as perfect as my dream. I was too impatient. When I found that I just started the story and had to carry it on, I lost interest. 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 initial bright spots and make them continue to shine or reappear. I found that when I wrote about 30 pages, if I could still maintain my initial excitement, my interest would be highly mobilized until I finished my work. How long the initial excitement can last varies from book to book. I spend some time designing characters in my notebook, collecting bits and pieces of the plot, making clear my writing direction, or jotting down what has popped up in my mind until the moment when I have to start writing. That moment always comes when I haven't fully designed it. 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 beneficial to the continuity of writing, and it can help me get back to the idea of characters and plots at any time. When I read the completed part again, I felt 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 that 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, and he will give me some advice gently while encouraging me, so that I won't get carried away. Sooner or later, I will read the first chapter again to see if I can change it better after thinking. For beginners of writing, it is dangerous to invite people to make criticism too early, which will easily douse the initial excitement. It is safer to ask others to read and judge after writing. Now, I don't expect the extreme excitement to last forever. I know it will reappear, which excites me and inspires me to move on. You know, it is not enough to rely on the impact of a wave of excitement for 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 lead me to the top of excitement again. Novelists should be emotional people. If our writing becomes a conscious movement without passion, the novels we write will certainly be unremarkable. It is also unwise to wait for the sudden inspiration of generate. When I can't finish writing, I often ask myself: What unexpected actions might the characters take in this situation? What kind of plot is both logical and unexpected? I lived a movie in my mind, letting the sparks of inspiration keep hitting me. Let's analyze three kinds of excitement that we often encounter in novel writing. The first is the most important, that is, the author's excited feeling about the story to be described; The second is the experience of the characters in the novel when they play a special role. If you can find the motivation that excites the characters, you will reach another level of excitement. The third kind of excitement is about readers. If you and the characters are in high spirits, the readers will also get satisfaction from your story. The author's purpose is to let readers and characters share the same fate. However, it is not easy to keep the author in high spirits and make him spend months or even years finishing his novel. The main sticking point is getting tired of what you have written and having no long-term plan. In order to keep my writing fresh, I made a rule for myself, that is, don't look back too much at what I have finished. When I start writing every day, I only read the last few pages, which gives me a motivation to continue writing quickly. As much as I want to know what has been done and see what it is like, I will never allow myself to look forward to more than 5 pages, even for a short time. That moment came, and when I began to believe that what I wrote was just a mess, I lost interest and confidence. So I simply read from the beginning until I got stuck in writing. However, they are much better than I expected. Ha, I am full of energy and continue to write. I found that after this browsing, I understood the characters more thoroughly. This situation often occurs in the process of writing novels. My own way is reading, and I communicate with novels. The purpose of reading novels is not to imitate or get new ideas, but to discover certain emotions. My attention wandered between the pages, and when something suddenly touched my emotional chord, I could continue to write, because I had been able to convey that emotion to my characters. I rewrote the dry love scene, and this time it worked well. I also found a way to deal with the loss of interest: replenish your brain with new supplies. "Anxiety" is one of the effective ways worth using, but I don't admire this method with negative effects, it is just a way. We can use all kinds of ways to convey the excitement to readers, and make it strengthen constantly, so as to keep the initial flash of thought. For novelists, it is the greatest reward to always grasp the magical excitement. Suspension tension method in novel creation: One of the secrets of mini-novels to attract readers with only a small space is to skillfully use the "suspension tension method" in description. "Hanging Tension Method", also known as suspense, suspense, setting buttons and tying burdens, is a common and very important technique in novels. Chernyshevski used the "hanging tension method" in this way-he said in the preface of his novel "What to do": "I quoted the usual trick of novelists: take out a few ostentatious scenes from the middle or the end of the novel, put them at the beginning and put a layer of fog on them." In "What to Do", Luo Pufu faked suicide from the beginning, which caused suspense, and then flashback his past relationship with Vera and Guilchard Novo to explain the reasons for his fake suicide. In fact, "suspension tension" can be used not only at the beginning, but also in the middle and even at the end. For example, in the movie "Gunfire of the State Secrets Bureau", the ending scene is that Chang Liang unexpectedly shot and killed the spy chief, rescued Liu Xiaochen and Ah Ji, and then followed the fleeing national army-who Chang Liang really was, and the film did not explain until the end. This kind of "suspense" at the end is bound to arouse the audience's speculations and associations. 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", so that readers can judge and guess the progress of the plot by themselves. For example, in "Borrowing Arrows from Grass Boat", Zhuge Liang had already predicted that there would be heavy fog in the sky, and he could "borrow" 100,000 arrows in three days, but the reader was completely ignorant and worried anxiously about Zhuge Liang's fate. First, the reader knows most of the plot, but some characters in the work are "in the dark", which makes the reader open his eyes to see how these characters will act. For example, in Fifteen Guan, the reader knows that Lou Rat stole the money, but the characters in the work know nothing except Lou Rat, so the reader is looking forward with concern: How will this unjust case be handled? When using the "hanging tension method" in long novels, we can tie a small burden in the big burden, tie a small button in the big button, buckle one ring after another, and push the contradictions and conflicts to the climax. However, the length of mini-fiction is extremely short, and it often only sets a small "suspense", which suddenly shakes off the "burden" at the end of the description, which surprises the readers and thus receives good results. Using the "suspension tension method", we should pay attention to its authenticity, which should be both "suspension" and "mystery", that is, we should not pretend to be mysterious and destroy the artistic truth of the work; Second, we should pay attention to "suspending tension" closely around the theme. If we "suspend tension" in the details, it will only weaken the theme of the work. Twelve Commandments of Writers: One of the Twelve Commandments of Writers, avoid following the trend: "Don't fix the truth if it is popular, and write about the Three Kingdoms if it looks good." Second, avoid' I' "This is not much to say, for all writers, writing in the first person is a big taboo" Third, avoid running accounts "The article is too simple, and there must be more dialogues in the article, the description of the environment and the description of the characters" Fourth, you can't copy "at least the readers can't see that it is copied, and some people's works will know at a glance that it is copied to find the plot of Qin Ji" Fifth, avoid. Try your best to explain some useful things and foreshadowing, and lengthen the length of the article in some words, but don't force it if you are not skilled enough. The article is too short and too long. It should be of moderate length. " For example, science fiction works are best not to be combined with martial arts, and those martial arts science fiction cartoons full of fragrance are the most failures. Because they just balance martial arts with science fiction. Every novel has its central theme. Science fiction is science fiction, and martial arts can appear in it, but it plays a negligible role. Because science fiction is the theme, everything must be explained from a scientific perspective, not both science and martial arts. " Eight, avoid Superman "The most taboo in the article is that besides following the trend, the protagonist becomes Superman overnight. The protagonist's ability to get unexpected order when encountering adventure can be! But you get super power overnight, and the power afterwards is 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 have cited, 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. " Ten, avoid examples table "theme setting is always for yourself, don't force it on the article, readers are not interested in reading your settings, which is like telling the ending of a book in advance, making people lose the taste of reading." Example: The author of the Magic Thief wrote the Magic Thief without any setting. At the beginning, I looked at it and thought it was writing a noble story in the Middle Ages. Finally, the magician suddenly appeared. Only! Clearly understand that this is a fantasy work. It gave me countless surprises, and the author didn't see more magicians for a long time from then on, which made readers interested in reading more. Dragons and other things slowly appeared at last, describing them one by one, rather than making an 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, and the goblin has never seen it.) In my mind, I have built the world in my mind one by one with a long writing style, which is his success. Eleven, avoid saying that "as an author, we should try our best to stand in a neutral position to read and write, so please don't appear in the article and call her little XXX and Ah XXX to save trouble." The article must give people a neutral and cold feeling. However, nicknames are used instead of names for the sake of intimacy between relatives and friends. I have never seen those people with excellent writing style use these nicknames instead of the names of characters. What are you doing as an author with your own role? " Twelve, avoid the confusion of the relationship between the upper and lower levels. "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 eldest brother around him to do something, he said, "Brother XXX, go and help me shoot something down." Instead of: "So-and-so listens to the order and shoots XXX for me." Public and private affairs cannot be made public, and the relationship between the upper and lower levels is chaotic. You see which army in the world will use this tone when fighting and in the workplace. This only shows the author's lack of social experience. On the other hand, in many works, the author stands on the protagonist's side too obviously, and makes the serious war awkward, just like a child's play. "ah! I'm a little late. That someone actually killed them all, leave some for me! " "You this good boy, unexpectedly will all the enemy defeated, that I play? Don't leave any for me. " This is not like what a soldier should say! Soldiers ~ national events, places of life and death. How can you let the relatives and friends of these protagonists do whatever they want? Where is the military law? Make the battlefield play like a house. -Comment on the Gains and Losses of Writing Comment on the Gains and Losses of Writing First, for an author, many novices like to use me to write books, or to say the first person. I don't understand why they think so. In the end, such as the records of different people, the business of the Three Kingdoms and so on gradually switched to him, the third person. Because this writing technique has many shortcomings, people who have traveled on the Internet know that you can never write a good book with' I' in general, especially for beginners. Therefore, many readers don't have a good impression on the author who wrote the book by' I', so they don't read it after reading the first page, unless they enter VIP or something and expect him to improve later. Therefore, it's best not to use me to write a book. Jin Yong never used this writing technique, but Huang Yi stopped using it once in the blade master, and the authors actually asked themselves that they could be better than these two masters. I really admire them. Second, women, I don't know how much love experience these authors have, or that the ratio of men to women in China's current market is too outrageous, which makes the protagonists in the book lose the character and self-esteem that a man should have, and let women beat and scold at will. It seems that it is enough to have a girlfriend. Even if the girl makes any mistakes, I can't see the protagonist angry or anything. This is too saint. There are many such protagonists, ah! Then this kind of protagonist has lost his own character. Especially some books about kings, kings will never let anyone threaten their authority. They must be ruthless, and sometimes they must give up their beloved women to be dead steel, but many authors insist on writing perfect love stories. Go! Neither the reality nor the novel world is perfect, because the readers themselves don't believe in perfection. Isn't this writing clearly telling readers that this is just my delusion? Also, I am a man, and 90% of online readers are men. If authors want to write about love, they can consider writing love novels. I don't think that the factor of love should not appear in men's books, but I have seen many people adjust the proportion of love components in novels to be ridiculously high. Obviously, novels of kings insist on being related to love, and those of iron and blood insist on playing house. It seems that women are more important than the country. Ha! You can't have your cake and eat it. Sometimes you have to choose between a woman and a country, but many authors just write a happy ending, okay! It is classic enough to love only beauty and not Jiangshan. It is a satire of these readers, and it is impossible to write it perfectly. Also, in many books, the protagonists are too soft-hearted, at least I haven't seen any killing of women, no matter how bastard and arrogant that woman is. Alas! Wu Zetian's world. Third, you can choose to skip things that you are not good at, and take them lightly instead of describing them in detail. If you really have to write, you can look up information, but there is no information about love, so I advise you who have no love experience or only understand love from comics and novels not to write hard, which will only make rice stick to flies. Fourth, what should be detailed and what should be simple, if overhead, then it is mainly to describe the strength of the established empire. Generally speaking, it is the YY of a country, not the YY of the protagonist. I think the difference between military and overhead is only historical and non-historical.