Writing Sound Work: More Than a Skill

The skill of writing sound work is barely a skill at all. I would argue that writing sound work is actually just that; work.

If you want sound, clean copy, you need to put in the time. You know that old saying, “life is like a sewer, you get out what you put in.” Something like that.

This time you put in is generally from rereading and rereading your work, so much so that you could read it without even looking. Once you get to that point, you need to have someone else look at it. You could be reading it and because you know your piece so well, you’re filling in the blanks where there are mistakes (look I rhymed).

Hand the piece over to a close friend who you know will be honest, and is strict when it comes to the rules of grammar (you know, that person who always corrects the mistake on your Facebook status).

Once they read it over, you should read it over again. If you have yet to read it out loud, do so! That is when you pick up a lot of mistakes. I mean, if you want sound copy, it makes sense to sound it out, right? If it sounds good, chances are it’s grammatically correct, or at least close.

Even after that, there can still be mistakes. This is a good time to call in the big guns, just to make sure. It seems obvious, but if you are writing on a computer, USE SPELLCHECK! It doesn’t pick up everything but it can pick up a lot. Better safe than sorry. Something like this could make it into the newspaper, and it's difficult to change words that are in a news paper, trust me...

Now, if you put the time in, you should be ready to post your beautiful blog about “writing sound work” on the World Wide Web.

Funny, that’s what I’m doing now. Better go through my steps… if there are any mistakes in this it will be embarrassing.

Yup. Caught a few. That was a close one!

Making Memorable Characters

So, I, Philip Drost have to write a blog about writing. Since I didn't want to write about the proper use of commas or why synonyms are actually ghosts, I have decided to go with the topic "Making Memorable Characters".

Instead of telling you what makes memorable character, I'm going to show you.

Here are the first five that popped into my head.

1.       Veronica Mars (From the show Veronica Mars)

2.       Saint Dane (From the Pendragon series)

3.       Samwise Gamgee (From the Lord Of The Rings books/movies)

4.       Deadpool/Wade Wilson (From Marvel comic books)

5.       Chuck (From the TV show Chuck)

How did these five make it on the list? Good question.

Veronica Mars was an easy choice. First off, she is played by Kristen Bell. I understand that when writing a character, you can't count on him/her being played by Kristen Bell, but it sure doesn’t hurt if that’s what ends up happening. If it's a character for a book, then you can design your character to look exactly like KB, but it's not the same.

Regardless, Veronica Mars is as memorable.  She is witty as it gets. She has a snappy comeback for everything that is thrown at her. She solves murders and saves puppies, and she does it all while being incredibly sarcastic. If I was sarcastic, maybe I would enjoy that.

Example

Logan: [standing in front of Veronica's car] Do you have any idea what your little joke cost me?

Veronica: Well, I'm pretty sure you won't be getting your bong back.

Logan: [smashes Veronica's headlights with a crowbar] Wrong answer. Would you care to guess again?

Veronica: Clearly your sense of humor...

Witty, kick-butt, and sarcastic. Easily #memorable 

 Then there is Saint Dane. He is the only villain on the list. Who doesn't love an ultra-powerful villain? Not only that, but he was impossible to predict. He was absolutely terrible and heartless. Regardless, even as he was threatening to kill thousands, he was able to be cool. #memorable

Next on the list is Samwise Gamgee. He is just the best, and by best, I mean best. He is the good guys of all good guys; a faithful friend who is as brave as it gets. He can't fight well with a sword, and he doesn't have any superpowers, but he has the purest heart, purer than any other character I've ever read or seen. 

  #memorable ----->

 

Then comes Deadpool. He is just hilarious. Not only does he have a ridiculous knowledge of pop culture for a killer assassin with the ability to regenerate, but he also fully understands he is in a comic book. He makes reference to being played in a movie by Ryan Reynolds, and has an unhealthy obsession with the Olsen twins. This, with being a kick-butt assassin makes him unforgettable.

Last on the list is Chuck. He, like Sam, is just an awesome guy. Chuck, because his TV show takes place on earth, is just slightly more relatable. He is just an average guy who ends up getting a super computer in his head and falls in love with an absolute babe. Besides his clever lines and his excellent moral compass, he also gives hope to the Average Joe that wants to date a super-hot spy chick.

 

Uh oh. The blog is almost done and I have more to say! There's the reason tha-...

 (Stay tuned, folks...)