🌸 how to write ‘prettier’ prose and elevate your writing + free vocabulary list

Рет қаралды 10,971

Күн бұрын

If you find this video helpful, please consider tipping me on ko-fi!
✨ko-fi.com/lynndjung
hey guys! today i wanted to discuss a topic that's been on my mind a LOT lately (ever since I started working on my literary-leaning adult fantasy book...) - elevating your prose!
here are a lot of little tips I've picked up and issues I've noticed in my own writing. as I mentioned in the video, these are mostly based off of personal experience and my preferences when it comes to prose, so your mileage may vary! my only aim is to potentially help jog something in your brain or give you some guidance if you've run into similar issue while writing.
thank you for watching :)
✨ free vocabulary list
docs.google.com/document/d/1j...
✨ timestamps
0:00 - title
0:07 - intro
1:22 - why i’m speaking (mostly) from personal experience today
1:33 - issues i’ve seen in my writing
4:15 - caveats
4:48 - #1: what does ‘bad’ prose look like?
5:29 - good prose goes beyond the line level!
5:59 - bad prose sin list
11:46 - fixing prose issues
✨ music
Music by Lofi Breno - Elegance - thmatc.co/?l=93E5DFF2
✨ links:
travel writings: wherethehellami.blog
blog: lynndjung.wordpress.com/
twitter: / sweater_giraffe
kofi: ko-fi.com/lynndjung
✨ contact me:
lynndjungbooks@gmail.com
✨ tags:
authortube, booktube, writing, writer, science fiction, creative writing, short stories, speculative fiction, fantasy writer, fantasy books, write with made, let's write, story ideas, book ideas, writing inspiration, writing advice, how to write, prose, purple prose, free writing resource

Пікірлер: 53

@KrisMF Жыл бұрын

okay telepathy?!? this EXACT topic was eating away at my mind this week!! your craft videos are my fav, I feel like they always get me reflecting on my own writing habits and relationship w/ craft :)

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

LOL no there's definitely a psychic mind link at work here because I've had the same experience with some of your uploads!! tysm, I love that they help you reflect!

@maryagic7853 Жыл бұрын

If you don't like your voice or accent, you can always use a Microsoft Word audio speaker with the "Read Aloud" option in the "Review" section, to read your text. Listening to what you have written is a whole new level of recognising if the flow is off.

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Seconded!

@damijinadu4184 Жыл бұрын

Reading widely has probably been the most helpful advice when it comes to this topic for me.

@damijinadu4184 Жыл бұрын

I’ve become so complacent with my prose. I needed this so much lol

@petr6782 Жыл бұрын

Ahhh, new video, I’m so happy😭 Thank you for all the work, you’re one of the few writers on youtube, that just seem super real about their writing process, much appreciated :))

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Ahhh wow this is so sweet - thank you!!

@kelleyiswriting Жыл бұрын

I loved this video!! I’ve been toying with the idea of keeping a list of my favorite words and I think I will do that now 🥰 and yessss reading is SO important to the writing process, especially in understanding HOW authors convey meaning. Reading poetry has definitely been helping me create more interesting metaphors lately :)

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

thank you so much Kelley!! you absolutely should, I highly recommend it - even the process of writing them down helps them stick to my lexicon

@unholymetaphor 12 күн бұрын

This was such an informative and well-thought-out video! Thank you so much for your incredible advice. I wish I could read your prose because your tips are spot on and helped me a lot. Thank you so much for explaining what constitutes good prose. I know it's subjective, but the video has given me a clearer vision of what that constitutes.

@lynndjung 12 күн бұрын

thank you so much for the kind words! two of my published short stories are available online and I sometimes read excerpts in videos :) i'm very glad the video was helpful!

@taijavmarie Жыл бұрын

how do you just know when I need certain topics to be talked about?? very excited for this video!!❤

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

haha it's gotta be something cosmic! thank you for your support

@rachelwritesbooks Жыл бұрын

ooohhh I am so excited for this!

@paperwattle9493 Жыл бұрын

this is such a wonderful video, as someone in my final years of highschool (HSC exhaustion yayy) i'm constantly trying to improve and strengthen my writing. your content is always so motivational and incredibly helpful, and i really appreciate the time and energy you put into it! you're honestly one of my favourite creators on here 💖

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Comments like this always make my day! You've got this, high school is tough but it's amazing and inspiring that you're already thinking about taking steps to strengthen your writing at such a young age. I definitely wasn't that advanced as a teenager! Thank you so much for supporting the channel, and best of luck with school and writing

@zaynabywrites Жыл бұрын

This was so helpful! And the part where you mentioned that good writing is often clear and concise smacked! The point of telling a telling a story is so that it gets across to the reader. Tho of course, smooth sentences don’t hurt either😅

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!! I'm gonna be real, after I said that I felt very good about myself LOL. Definitely true!

@iBrixar 4 сағат бұрын

One thing I really tend to struggle with when it comes to writing is trying to maintain good, beautiful prose. Normally, I find myself stressing over trying to conjunct a strong set of words to enhance the sound of my articulation, however, when I re-read my work, my writing comes off clumpy, short, and very forced.

@futurestoryteller 26 күн бұрын

Two fairly recent epiphanies I had that really unlocked this for me (as someone who hadn't read in awhile) were "in medias res": if we can understand a scene that starts in the middle, we can understand a sentence that "starts in the middle." And description and detail is not about what it is, it's about how it is. Also how it might be. And what we wish it were. Jenny doesn't have to literally punch walls for the narrator to show us Jenny is angry. The "show" part of show and tell is "be evocative" - assuming that it's all about what physically occurs in literal space would make metaphors completely useless. Imagine getting the note "If Jenny wants to self destruct, don't tell us that, show that. Make her blow up, and take three city blocks with her!" It's not about seeing things with our eyes, it's about seeing things from a point of view. And letting the audience glean that point of view on their own.

@catgro9901 Жыл бұрын

Omg I was just searching for videos on this topic, so glad you posted this!

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS

@wordcharm2649 9 ай бұрын

You're so generous with what you share with your followers, btw.

@GaryMcSnail 2 ай бұрын

I also recommend that if you don't have the energy to read out everything you've written (or get distracted easily like me) text to speech helps with this as well

@lynndjung 2 ай бұрын

Great tip!!

@wordcharm2649 9 ай бұрын

Good point! It seems the best writing pulls from within the story itself. So figurative language works best when filtered through your character's interest (as you said: etymology), but for a less character-based piece it could be the subject matter of the plot or unique external element, say a procedural with an investigator hunting a pyromaniac could have a lot of fire-based language. This is a great way to connect language to character, plot, and theme.

@mistyspencer7249 7 ай бұрын

Thank you, Lynn, I enjoyed your informative video and appreciate the list you have provided.

@lulucool45 Жыл бұрын

broke: show vs. tell woke: dramatize vs. narrate!

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Exactly!!

@Arillou_ Жыл бұрын

So happy you posted this! Just in time haha

@yasmin-uk4gt Жыл бұрын

so helpful! thank you 💗

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

of course, thank you so much for watching!

@livavind5661 Жыл бұрын

love this thanks

@gregahunt 6 ай бұрын

good video! i relate to your 1st draft prose woes

@EmmaBennetAuthor Жыл бұрын

What a lovely video!

@bea_rose Жыл бұрын

Great video💛

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

@AW-hn6ro Ай бұрын

my book is about the horrors of limerence 😭

@Trampoline-fn2yt Ай бұрын

1:43 i cant believe someone has the same problem with their writing as me- i thought it was only me!

@jeffrey3498 19 күн бұрын

Watching this video I think of John Updike. My prose champion.

@RelaxxationStation 11 ай бұрын

Yes. :)

@keirscott-schrueder5625 8 күн бұрын

I'm very new to writing prose or creative fiction in general but my favorite author Joe Abercrombie says to write with honesty; is what you're saying honest, is it true? Within that mindset I still think its possible to write 'flowery'. Something that always stuck with me.

@lynndjung 7 күн бұрын

Love this!

@keirscott-schrueder5625 7 күн бұрын

@@lynndjung words of advice from his mother apparently, so the credit goes to her haha

@doraburigetne1078 2 күн бұрын

Hi, Lynn. I am an avid reader who is always looking for the next book to read that has beautiful prose. Would you name a few "literary" books, writers? If someone asked me, I would list Edith Wharton, John Updike, Jane Austen among writers and as for books, anything written by them of course, and A Gentleman in Moscow, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Song of Achilles, Bel Canto, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (this is kind of random but I am just scanning my book shelves).

@lynndjung 2 күн бұрын

Hi! Off the top of my head: Ocean Vuong (primarily a poet, but also writes prose), Emily St. John Mandel, and Madeline Miller (esp. Circe!) are some of my current favorites :)

@doraburigetne1078 2 күн бұрын

@@lynndjung Thank you. Vuong's "On Earth .." is on my reading list. I am not familiar with Emily St. John Mandel, but her "Station Eleven" appears to be quite a success. I will definitely put it on my reading list.

@v333spertine 11 ай бұрын

how do i access the vocab list?

@lynndjung 10 ай бұрын

It's linked in the description box, but here it is again!: docs.google.com/document/d/1jrZMS6ZWlL_X66qFW0W3dJfRa_00Xk4AgOk_ejwYN1Y/edit?usp=sharing

@awakenmystory Жыл бұрын

i’ve been researching into this topic recently, so thank you so much for this video!! 🫶🫶

@ladysyin Жыл бұрын

This is a problem I frequently face as a young writer. I thank you with my whole heart for this video! It is actually so helpful, and it eased some of my worries related to my writing! 🥹🩷

@lynndjung Жыл бұрын

Thank YOU for taking the time to watch this! I'm so glad it was helpful