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What are abstract words? Well, let me answer a question with a question. What are concrete words? Concrete words are words that refer to things that we can taste, touch, see, hear or smell.
You do not want to have a lot of abstract words in your fiction. Abstract painting is good; but abstract words dilute fiction. You want to fill your fiction with things that your reader can taste, touch, see, hear and smell.
But these “things” must never be random. They must be the right things in the right order. In this way the things will have meaning beyond their physical properties.
Never thought the Old Soldier would get mystical on you, did you? But I’m not joking. And you thought flash fiction was just a very short story. At its best, flash fiction is art.
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Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, readers and writers. That’s enough of the Old Soldier showing off. I’ll do it for you again some time. Maybe tomorrow if PayPal deposits my money in my checking account from my online ghost writing gig.
Man, I’ve been having computer problems lately. I ran a full scan today and my updates are, ah, well, up to date.
Whatever.
Don’t forget that the stories of my Guest Writers are in constant rotation on the front page. And I want to encourage the writers among you to read the submissions guidelines at the top of the page and send me something. You will have a response in three days.
Well, the blogging day is just about over. This may be my last post of the day. I don’t know. But I have to get to bed earlier than I’ve been going. I keep waking up too late for my ghost writing gig. I keep missing assignments. I have to be online no later than 7:00 AM.
So, take care and keep reading and keep writing and send me something.
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A picture is worth a thousand words. How many times have we heard that mantra of writing? Well, it’s true. The more concrete words that you use in your writing, the easier it will be for your readers to not only see what you are writing about, but they will also hear, smell, taste and touch what you are writing about. They will experience your story on the movie screens of their imaginations.
Concrete Language = Show Don’t Tell Writing
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What is concrete written language? It is writing that is full of words that represent things we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. We can see clouds. We can hear sirens. We can taste beer. We can touch the skin. We can smell perfume. See what I mean?
Concrete language is the opposite of vague language.
When a writer uses too much vague language, the writing loses impact. This is why it is better to show emotion then it is to tell the reader what emotion one or more characters are feeling.
If a character is in love, don’t tell the reader that the character is in love. Show that the character is in love. And how does a writer show that a character is in love? There are several ways. Through the character’s mannerisms, actions and dialogue. And when a writer does this, that writer’s character will come alive for the reader because the reader will be able to see and hear that the character is in love.
That is much more satisfying for a reader than the writer telling the reader that the character is in love. Concrete language = show don’t tell writing.
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My Ebook of show don’t tell fiction is ready for download on the Home Page of this blog.
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