In an effort to improve my writing skills I recently decided to start studying the literary techniques of other authors. I have found that most authors, while they may have different styles and genres the basic technique is the same.
You may wonder what I mean so I will expand.
All authors need a subject, whether the subject be animate or inanimate, often authors consciously or subconsciously use their own experiences in the development of their storylines.
Furthermore, all authors need plots that will grab the attention of the reader.
Whether the genre is poetry or novels, this principle still applies.
The greatest writers of all time knew the importance of elaboration.
No reader wants to read something that is so obscure or abstract that it leaves them asking a million and a half questions at the end.
While it is ok to use metaphor, one should always give enough elaboration that the metaphor may be easily interpreted. Some authors will tell you it's best to avoid using metaphors altogether if possible.
To sum up this article, let us recap the necessities any writer will flounder without.
- Subject
- Plot
- Experience. Writing from personal experience gives your readers and yourself insight into how things, seemingly unrelated, can in fact be tied together.
- Elaboration
