Writers' Techniques

[.Rai]

Are there any specific writing techniques you consciously use when writing?

I'm a great fan of weaving subtle allusions and themes throughout chapters. Taking abstract themes and just permeating it through makes it so much richer. I also have a habit of constantly putting authorial intrusions in chapters.

[bury the year]

I... just write? I don't know, trying to consciously insert specific techniques always came off as pretentious to me (no offense). The only thing I consider to be my technique is a buttload of parenthetical statements.

[.Rai]

[quote name='Rinne' timestamp='1354309808' post='6081803']
I... just write? I don't know, trying to consciously insert specific techniques always came off as pretentious to me (no offense). The only thing I consider to be my technique is a buttload of parenthetical statements.
[/quote]

It's more of a beginner's thing. Most experienced writers do it subconsciously. For me, it's more of a learning thing. Forcing yourself to implement things means that you can eventually naturally use them without having to think about it.

[Agro]

[quote name='Rinne' timestamp='1354309808' post='6081803']
I... just write? I don't know, trying to consciously insert specific techniques always came off as pretentious to me (no offense). The only thing I consider to be my technique is a buttload of parenthetical statements.
[/quote]^this. If there's a technique I'm using, I don't know I'm using it. I'm just writing the way I know how. Though... if anyone wants to point out the techniques I use, that'd be pretty cool... -.-

And if you're trying to learn how to write well, I have 2 suggestions:
1. Read. A lot. This is the #1 thing you can do to learn how to write better. The brain has mirror neurons which let you copy how to do that which you see. Of course, the rest of your brain will allow you to change that to fit you better, but that's the basic idea. Read good writing -> Learn good writing
2. Write. Almost as much as you read. Honestly, I think reading a lot is more important than writing, as long as you still write (don't want to edge out the actual writing that you're learning to do). By writing (and proof-reading), you learn what's good, what's bad, what you're doing wrong, and usually, how to fix it (though if you get a proofreader to do it, they can also tell you what's wrong and offer solutions. Usually issues and solutions you missed).
So those are two basic ways to learn how to write: copy & mold, essentially.

[.Rai]

[quote name='Agro' timestamp='1354310594' post='6081811']
^this. If there's a technique I'm using, I don't know I'm using it. I'm just writing the way I know how. Though... if anyone wants to point out the techniques I use, that'd be pretty cool... -.-
And if you're trying to learn how to write well, I have 2 suggestions:
1. Read. A lot. This is the #1 thing you can do to learn how to write better. The brain has mirror neurons which let you copy how to do that which you see. Of course, the rest of your brain will allow you to change that to fit you better, but that's the basic idea. Read good writing -> Learn good writing
2. Write. Almost as much as you read. Honestly, I think reading a lot is more important than writing, as long as you still write (don't want to edge out the actual writing that you're learning to do). By writing (and proof-reading), you learn what's good, what's bad, what you're doing wrong, and usually, how to fix it (though if you get a proofreader to do it, they can also tell you what's wrong and offer solutions. Usually issues and solutions you missed).
So those are two basic ways to learn how to write: copy & mold, essentially.
[/quote]

I'd actually say read intelligently rather than read a lot. Inferring, reading between the lines, and treating the book much like an essay passage, actually makes you conscious of what an author does. But, yeah, reading is really important.

Absolutely important suggestions though. I myself admit not to doing either as much as I should.

[Agro]

[quote name='.Rai' timestamp='1354310890' post='6081816']
I'd actually say read intelligently rather than read a lot. Inferring, reading between the lines, and treating the book much like an essay passage, actually makes you conscious of what an author does. But, yeah, reading is really important.

Absolutely important suggestions though. I myself admit not to doing either as much as I should.
[/quote]Neither do I, and I consider that an issue.

And it's helpful to read short stories that are heralded for how they take on certain aspects of a story with the knowledge that that's what you're looking for.

Might I suggest:
For Setting (including the habitat, community, and society if applicable):
- [i]Speech Sounds [/i]by Octavia Butler
- [i]On the Divide [/i]by Willa Cather
- [i]The Lottery [/i]by Shirley Jackson
For Characters (and relationships):
- [i]Sweat [/i]by Zora Neal Hurston
- [i]Regret [/i]by Kate Choplin
For Plot & Structure:
- [i]A Good Man is Hard to Find[/i] by Flannery O'Connor
- [i]Happy Endings [/i]by Margaret Atwood
For Perspective & Point of View:
- [i]A Temporary Matter [/i]by Jhumpa Lahiri
For Scene and Dialogue
- [i]Story [/i]by Lydia Davis
- [i]I Don't Kiss Strangers [/i]by Shirley Jackson

Those are the main ones, though I also include [i]The Pool People[/i] by Allison Lurie, since it does an excellent job of mixing in fantasy with reality and shows off how to do a really spectacular ghost story.

But yeah, I still think reading, analyzing, and understanding what makes writing good is a great help for those looking to improve. Which is why taking a workshop class can help so much since you're constantly critiquing other's works.

[?someone?]

Err... I'm not too well versed in techniques, I like to keep things simple. That said, I tend to focus on natural-sounding dialogue. I hate bad dialogue.
'Course, that doesn't mean I manage to avoid it most of the time.

[Dr. Cakey]

[quote name='?someone?' timestamp='1354325742' post='6082042']
Err... I'm not too well versed in techniques, I like to keep things simple. That said, I tend to focus on natural-sounding dialogue. I hate bad dialogue.
'Course, that doesn't mean I manage to avoid it most of the time.
[/quote]
I'm merciless when I listen to movie dialogue. At least once a movie I'm like, "no no no, that sounds totally fake, you should have..."

No idea if that means I actually write good dialogue, or if it's just a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

[Not-so-Radiant Arin]

Write. Write as much as you can. Don't stop writing until you complete your daily quota of three pages. Write when you are most alert. Don't get up to grab a dictionary and look up a word; put a question mark in the margin and look at it later. Don't jump up out of your seat to plan your next scene; put a question mark in the margin and look at it later. Don't drink coffee, and don't use the restroom unless kidney stones would result.

I've always used this technique since the beginning of my writing days, and honestly, it's one of the foundations of great writing techniques. Oscar Collier is a pure genius. <3

[Thar]

I dunno if it's a bad thing, but I tend to satire the sh*t out of my writing.

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

Same as Rinne tbh, I just write what comes naturally, somebody will say 'oh I like how you did that', and I'll say 'yeahhhhh... I had no idea I did.'

I dunno, my writing technically isn't as good as other's on here anyway, but I like to think I keep it the right blend of descriptive and pacy.

[Agro]

[quote name='みゆきサン' timestamp='1354332644' post='6082092']
Write. Write as much as you can. Don't stop writing until you complete your daily quota of three pages. Write when you are most alert. Don't get up to grab a dictionary and look up a word; put a question mark in the margin and look at it later. Don't jump up out of your seat to plan your next scene; put a question mark in the margin and look at it later. Don't drink coffee, and don't use the restroom unless kidney stones would result.

I've always used this technique since the beginning of my writing days, and honestly, it's one of the foundations of great writing techniques. Oscar Collier is a pure genius. <3
[/quote]Kay, so I'm going to suggest almost the exact opposite of what you said. Write everything at 2 a.m. Get all your ideas onto paper when you're not thinking completely straight. Then when you're more focused, get as hyper active as f*cking possible and edit everything you have.

[Aerion Brightflame]

I guess aside from the obvious read and write a lot to naturally improve things, I will research stuff where possible and applicable. It often makes writing easier for me if I don't have to worry about things.

Otherwise... Really I just think things through in my head. Mostly thats conversations, and despite the wierdness, even at times I'm not writing I will have moments I've planned going through my head, thinking over whats the right thing to say and do at any given moment. Almost like an inner monologue, only slightly sad.

But given I'm not hugely known for my writings on here my techniques probably aren't that good relatively.

[?someone?]

[quote name='Agro' timestamp='1354339224' post='6082154']
Kay, so I'm going to suggest almost the exact opposite of what you said. Write everything at 2 a.m. Get all your ideas onto paper when you're not thinking completely straight. Then when you're more focused, get as hyper active as f*cking possible and edit everything you have.
[/quote]

Yeah, I have most of my ideas at 3 in the morning, but what I scribble isn't entirely comprehensible, so I have to go over it later.

[Altαir]

I've needed help with literary devices myself; I can pinpoint them out fine enough, but relaying them becomes extremely difficult for me.

I should note, tone, diction and mood are my favorite to use, because they are so easily manipulated. However, I find people tend to think I made a mistake when I purposely misspell things, purposely change tenses, or use seemingly incompatible words.

I am at fault as to how I can fix this. I think it may be something else in my writing that chops down my merit as a writer (which is already only a shrub), but I may also be using these techiques wrong.

[Dr. Cakey]

[quote name='Altair' timestamp='1355073602' post='6089141']
I've needed help with literary devices myself; I can pinpoint them out fine enough, but relaying them becomes extremely difficult for me.

I should note, tone, diction and mood are my favorite to use, because they are so easily manipulated. However, I find people tend to think I made a mistake when I purposely misspell things, purposely change tenses, or use seemingly incompatible words.

I am at fault as to how I can fix this. I think it may be something else in my writing that chops down my merit as a writer (which is already only a shrub), but I may also be using these techiques wrong.
[/quote]
Well...having read nothing that you've written (unless you've posted something in the post that I've forgotten about), I'd say intentional misspellings and tense changes are usually too meta for prose.

[NoshpalStefan]

I use an excessive amount of specific literary devices, most prominent of which are Metaphors, Symbols, Allegories, and less frequent, Similes, Synecdoches, and Metonymies. I know I'm probably sounding pretentious with all these terms, but, even though I don't directly take their definition and put such a definition in writing, as many mentioned here, I do it subconsciously, but afterwards, when I reread what I've written, I can see that I use an abundance of these comparative figures of speech. I think this is mostly because I love finding connections of difficult to explain things with simple objects or matters. As for techniques on how to write more prominently/better, I agree that later in the day, when I'm rather tired, such as 2 AM or 3 AM, I tend to write the most creative things. That's why I think it's much better to write at night; rereading/proofreading your work is much easier during the day, that just takes easily-achievable focus, but, coming up with the ideas and forming the creative process can become utterly difficult.