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Writing in the Disciplines: Creative Writing. Garbl's Fat-Free-Writing Links. [ Home ] [ Style Manual ] [ Plain English Guide ] [ Concise Writing Guide ] [ Writing Bookshelf ] [ What's New ] Garbl's Fat-Free Writing Links is an annotated directory of websites that give advice on cutting the fat from your writing--so your readers can easily chew, digest and be nourished by your top-choice words. Also available here through my association with Amazon.com are several books that provide excellent advice about concise writing. "Any one who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour, before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid. " Nearly a century ago, renowned British lexicographer H.W. Fowler wrote those words to introduce the first chapter of The King's English . In that chapter on vocabulary, Fowler translated his principle into these practical rules: Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched.

Vigorous writing is concise. Most of us are busy and impatient people. Wordorigins.org. Manuscript Editing Software - AutoCrit Editing Wizard. Ideas for writers | 5,000+ great ideas for writers, novelists, journalists and poets. The Journal 6 - Journal Software/Diary Software - Free Download. Free Novel Writing Software. The Building of Worlds. Fantasy fiction, like its sibling Science Fiction, often depends on worldbuilding to be successful.

A contemporary tale that takes place in our world depends on our sense of being alive in this present to give us grounding. But secondary worlds often demand explanation - whether it’s how a particular history developed, what kind of creatures exist in the world, what the physics are, whether magic exists and how it works, and so on and so on. Opinions on worldbuilding differ among writers, and tastes for worldbuilding vary among readers.

Some on both sides of the page demand well thought out, detailed worlds with histories and maps and even languages. Others see this as ponderous and plodding and a detraction from the overall story. But generally, some form of worldbuilding is necessary. In This Corner: The Architect One of the best examples for wordbuilding on the comprehensive side has to be J. Tolkien’s success could be seen as reflective of his laborious worldbuilding. But is it?