Xennial Memes
A numbered list of eight writing rules in black text on white. 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the…

Vonnegut's Eight Rules for Writing Short Stories

Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for writing a short story, from giving characters wants to being a sadist, a staple of English class and writing advice.

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A numbered list of eight writing rules in black text on white. 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the…

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Color-highlighted text attributed to Gary Provost. Text: "This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety." Next paragraph: "Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The… Black and white circular diagram titled "The Hero's Journey". A circle is split into Ordinary World (top) and Special World (bottom) with World Navel at the center. Stages run around it: Call to Adventure, Mentor, Road of Trials, First Threshold, Ordeal, Second Threshold, Resurrection, Return. Acts One to Three are labeled. A black-on-white typed poem titled "How to Avoid Mixing Your Metaphors". It reads: "It's not rocket surgery. First, get all your ducks on the same page. After all, you can't make an omelette without breaking stride. Be sure to watch what you write with a fine-tuned comb. Check and re-check until the cows turn blue. It's as easy as falling off a piece of cake. Don't worry about opening up a whole hill of beans: you… A text-only list of grammar and literary jokes that each begin with something walking into a bar. Examples: "A bar was walked into by the passive voice." "An oxymoron walked into a bar, and the silence was deafening." "A dyslexic walks into a bra." "A hyphenated word and a non-hyphenated word walk into a bar and the bartender nearly chokes on the irony." Chart titled "The Periodic Table of Storytelling" laid out like a periodic table of color-coded boxes, each a TV Tropes trope with an abbreviation, name and popularity number, e.g. Ae An Aesop, Cal Call to Adventure, 4wl The Fourth Wall. Footer: "All these tropes and twenty thousand more are detailed on tvtropes.org". Infographic titled "Find & Cure Common Writing Flaws", subtitle "A guide for editors". A three-column table: Problem, Symptoms, Treatment. Writing too long: Prose meanders and bores the reader. Suggest what to cut; reorganize what remains. (4). Buried lede: Partway in, you spot the main point. Cut opening paragraphs; move main idea up; rewrite title. (5). Passive voice: It's not clear who's doing what. Rewrite…

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