Speech Mannerisms & Body Language

I'm reading WRITING MAGIC by Gail Carson Levine, and I was reminded of two ways of communicating--speech mannerisms and body language. I think, I hope, I use body language in my writing, but I know for sure I don't use speech mannerisms as much as I could.

Speech Mannerisms

If the writer's done their job well with speech mannerisms, they sometimes don't need to identify the speaker. Levine tells of a judgmental character in her book, The Wish, who adds or takes away points. When the speaker said, "It's pretty weird, Wilma. Five points off for strange behavior," the reader automatically knew who was speaking. Pretty cool.

Levine's advice is to pay attention to what people say, and take note of how they say it. Here are some speech mannerisms I've noticed in others:

• A man I know clears his throat each time he speaks
• Young people often say "like" a lot when they're speaking (like, you know, the valley girls of the past. Like, not that I would know anything about that)
• Some people start sentences with "you know" or "listen"
• Parents might use the full name of a child when upset, and a nickname when they're pleased

Personally, I need to put much more thought into fun details like this. Can you think of any speech mannerisms you've noticed? Or any you've used in your characters?

Body Language

I'm much more comfortable adding this type of communication to my manuscripts. Characters, like real people, send strong messages without speaking. I wrote an article for kids about the subject here, and learned fun details through research.

Did you know that 93% of our communication is non-verbal? We don't have to tell the reader our character is embarrassed. We can write that his face is flushed, his feet are shuffling, or he's fiddling with his shirt sleeves. Showing, not telling.

If you're unsure which body language matches which emotions, The Bookshelf Muse is the best place to start. The thesaurus entries on the sidebar are valuable tools for writers.

Have you used speech mannerisms and body language in your writing? What other forms of communication can writers use?

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Is your story worth saving?

I'm deep in revisions on a story, and I'm having a love/hate relationship with it. I've even ventured into "is it worth saving?" territory. I scoured the blogosphere for a magic answer, but soon realized I must make this decision on my own. Here are some questions I asked myself:

Do you love this story?

Is the story structure solid?

Does it have a unique hook?

Does it pack an emotional punch?

Despite parts that make you want to pull your hair out,

are there really good parts too?

Fortunately I was able to answer yes to these questions. While not every story can be saved, I realized this wasn't a question of whether or not my story was worth saving, but whether or not I was willing to put in the hard word to rescue it.

What to do? In WRITING MAGIC, Gail Carson Levine tells how she writes several versions of some scenes, then chooses the one that works best. And in this great post by Susan Sipal we're reminded to follow J.K. Rowling's example and "...rewrite until we get it right."

And there are still two life preservers I haven't thrown yet:

1. Beta readers. We're too close to our own work, and it becomes impossible to separate the "what were you thinking?" moments from the "wow, this is good" moments. Plotting & pacing issues, inconsistencies, and unnatural dialog might become white noise to the writer, but beta readers will point this out. A life saver indeed.
2. Patience. This is the tough part. I want my story to be perfect right now. Levine reminds us that no book is perfect, even those currently sitting on shelves (although some are darn close). And there's no rule that says the 5th, 7th, or 18th draft must be the draft. If we're patient, the true story, the one that was meant to be told, will come to fruition.

Is your story worth saving, or should you allow it to sink quietly to the bottom of the sea? In my opinion, that's a personal choice each writer must make. If you've found a resource that helps with this decision, please share it in the comments.

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No Pressure!

I'm reading "Writing Magic" by Gail Carson Levine (thanks, Julie Hedlund!). Levine lists these easy-to-f0llow rules for writing:

1. The best way to write better is to write more.
2. The best way to write better is to write more.
3. The best way to write better is to write more. (Hmmm, I'm noticing a pattern)
4. Write whenever you can, even if it's only for five minutes.
5. Read. (We all love reading, right?)
6. Reread a beloved book. (I should do this more often)
7. Save everything you write, even if you don't like it. Levine suggests keeping everything for at least 15 years. (Wow)

Levine's first three rules got me thinking: she says write more, but doesn't say we must write every day. Semantics?

I try writing every day, but it's not always possible. Does that make me less of a writer? Not so, says Elana Johnson in her post Don't Write Every Day.

And according to the post Don't Write Often, if we're only producing volume, without improving our skills, we're not helping ourselves.

It's important that we hang on to the joy of writing. As Levine suggests, we can sharpen our skills, read great stories, and add words to the page on a regular basis. All without putting too much pressure on ourselves.

How often do you write? If it's not every day, do you feel guilty?

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