Comments on: Wordflab Surgery: How to Put Your Writing Under the Knife

By: Daniel Cox

Daniel Cox — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:45:46 +0000

It is challenging to edit ruthlessly. I struggle between remaining conversational and getting to the point. Thank you for this important reminder.

Here’s my homework:

before: There is nothing I would like better than to meet an interesting person who could become a new friend.

after: I would most like to become a new friend.

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:31:26 +0000

William Goldman, in his book “Adventures in the Screen Trade,” told us to enter our scenes at the last possible moment. That implies you know exactly what the scene needs to accomplish, allowing you to maximize tension and effectiveness without obligatory and less-than-necessary set up and description. And that’s flab-cutting at its best.

This works for novelists, especially with thrillers and mysteries — and for that matter any genre after the initial settings have been established and the main characters introduced — as much as it does for screenwriters.

By: Steve Steiner

Steve Steiner — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:36:11 +0000

I want a patron.

By: Shack’s Comings and Goings » Flabby or Plump; Can You Cut Too Deep?

Shack’s Comings and Goings » Flabby or Plump; Can You Cut Too Deep? — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:34:11 +0000

[...] to explain how to improve the pace of prose by attacking adjectives and adverbs. The article was Wordflab Surgery: How to Put Your Writing Under the Knife and the two step rule employed [...]

By: Andrew Opala

Andrew Opala — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:12:33 +0000

Friend now!

By: Pavan

Pavan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:37:00 +0000

There is nothing I would like better than to meet an interesting person who could become a new friend.

I would like to meet an interesting new friend.

By: Friday Link Love 5/29 | Brad’s Reader

Friday Link Love 5/29 | Brad’s Reader — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:05:53 +0000

[...] Wordflab surgery: How to put your writing under the knife [...]

By: Jared | SpiritualZen.net

Jared | SpiritualZen.net — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:51:19 +0000

Befriending an interesting person, there is nothing better.

Not sure if there should be a semicolon in there or not… I’m no scholar or writing expert by any means, but I think as long as it is easy to read and gets the point across in a colorful way, its good.

I like to just re-read my writing and feel it… if I get stuck on a part of a sentence, or if it doesn’t flow or feels awkward, I re-write it.

By: Mary Jaksch

Mary Jaksch — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:58:13 +0000

Hi friends,

Here’s the homework result:

“I would like to meet a new friend.”

By: Caroline

Caroline — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:00:07 +0000

I love puzzles; what’s Stein’s view on the friends sentence? Also – what’s the problem with a semicolon? Damned useful things, semicolons.