Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Photo Tuesday - Cause & Effect

There's a law that states that for every action, there is a reaction. A stone tossed in a still pond will cause ever-widening ripples.



As writers we need to apply cause & effect to our craft.
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Are our scenes and characters designed for a purpose? Do they serve a point? Is our storyline in need of some tightening so actions aren't meaningless?










For every cause...





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..is there an effect?









Look back over your work - see any situations that simply fizzle into nothing? Places where you've started the ball rolling but it gathers moss instead? Pointless points will only disappoint your readers!

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Point taken?
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In a nutshell - don't build and prime the pump unless you're prepared for water!

9 comments:

  1. Great point! And our editors will thank us that they won't have to strike through all the pointless scenes, themselves...

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  2. And boy have I gathered lots of moss through the years! But I do think I'm at least getting better at recognizing situations that go no where. I enjoyed your analogy.

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  3. Jane I am working on a project right now that will probably need some serious pruning as well!

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  4. Excellent advice. Thanks for posting this.

    Jai

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  5. That's an important thing to be looking for during the rewrite stage. Great advice & fun pictures to illustrate.

    Helen
    Straight From Hel

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  6. What a lovely way to illustrate a writing point!

    Best,
    Carolyn Howard-Johnson
    Blogging at Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites pick www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

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  7. I love this post. Brilliant advice

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