Tuesday, March 09, 2010

2010: Day 66 Past the Mid Point!

Well, I think I might actually get this manuscript finished this year. Today, when I turned to chapter 33, I found I had written all types of notes and highlighted them in yellow during a previous edit. I do that when I'm giving it a quick read, know something isn't right, or want to record my thoughts about a paragraph or scene without stopping to take the time (at that time) to develop it.  Right now, the opening to the chapter is a little heavy on the narration. I'm not sure I like that but we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I received my Writer's Digest newsletter. This time the article that caught my attention (because of all that narration) was titled, "How To Enrich Your Descriptions." You'll find the article here, http://writersdigest.com/article/enrich-your-descriptions. It's a good piece that discusses not only the use of the right words, but also the sounds of the letters and their ability to create the right mood.  The following quote stood out to me.
A word’s definition appeals to the intellect, while its connotation appeals to reader’s emotions. Beyond that, words can affect readers subconsciously, subliminally. This has more to do with the shapes and sounds of the words than with their explicit or implicit meanings.


Interesting. A short article worth the read.