Where Do I Put This?!

I have a big problem: where do I put which scene? Even when I have an elaborate outline, I sometimes wonder if the scene placement is right, or if the scene is even needed. It's difficult at times, but there's an easy solution: write. Just get everything down, write all the scenes, and worry about sequence later. When you finish your book and reread it, you'll notice things that are out of place. Since you already know where the story is headed, you'll realize that one scene may be better somewhere else, or that it maybe be completely irrelevant.

Don't get overwhelmed with placing your scenes. Some may come easily, and some you may be wondering about. Just get everything down and concern yourself with sequence when you know you're finished.

The Thesaurus is Your Enemy

I know we all do it. Heed to the call of the ethereal thesaurus, the companion to writers everywhere. But I warn you of the consequences. Stephen King wrote: "If you have to hunt for a word in a thesaurus, it's probably the wrong word." At first, I was appalled. I used the thesaurus all the time! We're great friends. So, I asked a teacher of mine what he meant. She said," Think of it. If you're an author, you should know a lot of words already. If you go looking for a word to replace another, you'll probably end up using it wrong and look like an idiot."

Then I realized I probably used a lot of words wrong when writing. Whenever I feel like I'm being redundant, I search for a word in the thesaurus and use one I don't even know the meaning of. Now, I'm not saying using thesauri is bad. You can use it to help remember a word you forgot, or maybe you can use a word you already know. Just DON'T learn new words from the thesaurus.

It is your enemy. Shun thy enemy.