The Six Traits: Ideas

And now for (what I think) is the most important trait : IDEAS.

No matter how good a writer is, if they write a bland story a reader, won't bother with it..

What makes Twilight so fascinating? A girl falls in love with a dangerous predator. Harry Potter? The idea of a school for magic and the concept of the entire wizarding world in general.

Creativity and Imagination are the cornerstone of most books.
Every writer who ever had any amount of success had at least a teaspoon of creativity.

But let's see what the rubric has to say;
This paper is clear and focused. It holds the reader's attention. Relevant anecdotes and details enrich the central theme.

Turn on some music, work-out, dance-like-no-one-is-watching sort of thing.
Let the Ideas come to you.

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
~Arthur Koestler

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
~Edward de Bono

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My Soapbox

For you new readers out there (and the older ones) I thought it about time to give you a quick welcome.

Welcome to WRITER SENSE. It's basically my little soapbox to share tips and hints I learn.

Every writer has a few puzzles pieces towards the perfect book-writing process. Not every process works for every writer, mind. I'm just trying to give others a leg-up in return for all the support I've recieved.

“If you are a dreamer,come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer.
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
for we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!”
~Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

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Writing Schedule

Your writing need a GOAL.

Even if its just "Finish this chapter by Friday," or "Write a novel this year," its a Goal. Your stretching yourself to get something done instead of doodling aimlessly on a sheet of paper.

Do you want to be a published author someday? Someday soon? Short spasms of a few genius pages a month won't get that novel done.
If I waited for inspiration to knock on my door before  I wrote I'd get, say, about five chapters done a year. (Trust me, that's what happened.)

But get this; if you don't achieve the goal, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. Just give yourself a new due date.

But reward yourself IF and WHEN you accomplish your goal. (Mmmm...chocolate.)

GOALS. Set goals for yourself and push yourself to meet them. Authors don't get anywhere if they're not willing to find the time to write.

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Dialogue Part 2

What do you, as readers, prefer in a book; Long winded descriptions of the scenery, of every detail or Dialogue.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
(If you chose scenery you are the most patient reader around.)

Dialogue can not only convey messages about the character's relationships with each other, their background (i.e. slang). Dialogue can also tell the reader about the scenery. For example;

"...five steps, six steps. Six steps long."
"What is?"
"This cell."
"Quit splashing around in the water and sit down."
"Sit down where? Everywhere is wet."
"Well standing by that barred window won't help your health much either."

We can already see that a) they're in a cell, b)it's wet, c) it's small, and d) it has a barred window.
A little more interesting than
The room was wet and cold. It had a barred window. It was small.

Dialogue can also show things happening;

“Duck!” roared Joseph.
"Thanks.” 
“That arrow almost had your name on it.” 
“Speaking of arrows, hand me another; I’m out,” said Marcus. 
“Er, so am I.” 
“Move your backsides soldiers!” roared the captain. “Retreat! RETREAT!”

Instead of:

When Joseph told Marcus to duck, he didn't argue. He was glad he had listened because an arrow missed him. When he asked for more arrows he was dismayed to learn that there wasn't any more. The captain called a retreat.

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The Six Traits: Sentence Fluency

One rule for sentence fluency: READ ALOUD. Read it, hear it, make it better. Does it sound like it flows? Is it lyrical?
Every sentence shouldn't sound the same.
Sentence fluency is what you hear aloud and in your head as you read.
Each should have a different amount of syllables than the previous.
For example;
See Spot run. Spot runs fast. "Good Boy Spot." We love Spot. Hear Spot bark.
or
Spot ran, his lean legs pulling him forward effortlessly. He skidded to a halt in front of Jack.
Jack patted his head. "Good Boy."
He cocked his head to one side and barked.

Rubric:
The writing has an easy flow, rhythm, and cadence. Sentences are well built, with strong and varied structure that invites expressive oral reading.

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