Quotes from Dwight V. Swain

This time, the girl asked Jane to loan her a dollar for lunch. Sighing, she gave it to her." Like who gave what to whom? Or, are you becoming as confused as I am?

A story is a succession of motivations and reactions.

The lesson here is, don't try to cram too much into one sentence; and the issue lies less in length than it does in content. Any time you feel the need to explain some aspect of your basic sentence, take pause. Odds are that what's bothering you really calls for an additional sentence or two or three, so that you can keep your developing line of thought straight and clear and simple.

To get maximum effect, put adverbs at the beginning or end of the sentence: "Angrily, he walked away." Or, "He walked away angrily." Though special cases may justify "He walked angrily away," or the like, most often the effect of the modifier upon the reader is lost.

And so it goes with words and language. They're tools. All your writing life, you work with them . . . using them to tie your reader to your story.

Arbitrary rules restrict and inhibit you. Knowing why sets you free.

But for now, let's assume that you're properly impressed with words' significance, and therefore stand ready to move on to a related but somewhat more involved aspect of the subject . . . the application of language to the manipulation of reader feelings. Is that important? I won't kid you. It's the foundation stone on which you as a writer stand or fall.

What makes you think that you could ever write anything worth reading?" Voices like that sap your courage. They drain away your spirit. They make you want to run and hide, or lock a mask over your thoughts and feelings . . . and never, never, never write again. Don't listen to them.

Spontaneity. Freedom. The opportunity for unstudied, impulsive roving through the backlands of his mind. Which are most detrimental? Inhibition. Self-censorship. Restraint.