Immortal Writing- Night And Day

Night and Day are two styles of writing of which a proper knowledge is vital to any story writer. If you are keen on essays or short articles about current events, this post will help you very little, but these principles once employed in creative writing are invaluable.

Night and Day writing styles are complete contrasts to one another. Both have purpose and should be used in proportion to one another depending on the genre. These two terms could also be called Heavy and Light writing, inferring that one has a deeper, more intellectual basis and the other is easy-reading. 

Though each has its own use, flair, and flavor, neither should be taken by itself. An entire book of Night writing would overpower the senses, rendering the flavor and style androgens by effect of its overbearing nature. The Day, when it consumes an entire story, mitigates the already minuscule charm and flavor of the style, rendering it bland and boring.

Night: this style is reflective of its name, dark and drear. Examples of Night writing can be found nearly anywhere. They dominate suspense novels and nearly anything that has anything to do with fantasy. Night is characterized by anything bad that occurs, or anything somber: death, fear, hate, moments of wondering and worry. 

Day: this style bears opposite marks to the Night style. Day writing is characterized by happiness, fun, jest, pleasure, even what we call dead-time, (time in which no important events occur). Day writing fills the majority of time in Romance, action, adventure, and historical stories. 

The styles must be taken into proportionate balance to return a good product, for without Night the Day would not be as joyful, carefree, and lighthearted; and without Day, Night would not be as intruiging, alluring, and saddening. They are vital to each other because they are complete opposites. 

This brings us to our first problem: what proportions do we use for different genres?

If it is to be a horror story, obviously the tendency is to write it in Night, however, to be written in utter Night would have no contrast and lose its draw completely. I would venture to say that the correct formula for horror or suspense stories is a 80/20 balance of Night and Day, respectively. Because of the dark nature of the story, the Night style should dominate due to the elements and overtones you wish to include. However, Day is nessecary to reset the reader’s perspective so that the Night can be truly effective.

Finding the proper balance however is just the beginning. To compose the story correctly, you must descide how long between sections of Night writing a section of Day will appear. However, it is sufficed to say that given the proper formulae you can figure that out on your own.

I am currently progressing in a story which I cannot but consider as a History book. Though it be not preexisting history, but rather the history of my own fantasy world. When the rendering of a story causes it to be in a History or such type genre, the Night and Day factors become nearly irrelevant. They are minimized and made of little importance by virtue of the type of writing. The composition is defined to a box called Formal Accounting, that box restricts the entry of Dynamic writing and allows the facts in their most consice portrayal to enter. 
The Night and Day exist still, but in taciturn doses that are noticeable only by the circumstances in which the event are portrayed and not the portrayals themselves. Still, the principal of Night and Day is one that is of value to any author, though more to some than to others. If we remember to keep these two styles in balance, it will improve our writing and make our stories much more enjoyable reads. 

As always, thanks for reading.

–the anonymous novelist

Immortal Writing- Introduction To Magic

As I look back upon my previous posts-, first I still cannot believe I’ve been able to keep this blog going for as long I as I have. Second, I’ve noticed a phlegmatic change in my quality of writing and choice of topic. There has been a rise and fall like the swells of an ocean tide and I admit it to be the fault of my neglect alone. 

I’ve discovered that every topic can be analyzed and written on, but not all are interesting to my readers. Thus, having perused my post history and discovered the most viewed and liked posts, I will attempt to resurrect their quality of concept and composition.

Now that formalities are over with, I’d like to pick up a topic that I scarcely write about on this blog, though it is perhaps my favorite: writing.

We’ve learned a little bit about classification and genre, but hardly anything about mechanics and style; both of which are vital to learn and develop. 

Everything In Moderation:

This phrase has been used to censure writers for decades, it is commonly used in reference to an excess of one area of content, such as: violence, love, suspense, or horror. All of which are tools and useful in their own ways, but the problem is often not with the simply the excess of content, rather it is with the discriptive nature of the content. For, if the writer was more discrete with his/her usage of certain terms or allusions, the excess of content would not be noticeable. 

I’m not saying that it is not possible to be too discriptive, but, it is very possible to be poorly discriptive. Descrecion is a tool to ensure everything is kept in moderation. Remember, description, especially word-imagery is used to help the reader envision what is happening in the story, and there are certain things you would not want your reader to envision. Also, it is wise to note that your writing is also your credentials, though the writer in you can be viewed as a separate personality, the work of that personality will reflect back upon you nonetheless. 

The lower the standards the writing holds, the lower the credibility the writer will.

Enhancement And Enchanments:
The fine line of fantasy as opposed to reality in writing is a topic for a different time, but magic is in the writer’s pen regardless of his/her beliefs about fantasy. 

Magic in writing is in symbolism and idioms, the phrases that immediately associate the reader with the object of these discriptors. The enhancement that we use to incarnate our words are the enchanments that make them come alive to the reader. 

Symbolism, is simply the process of causing something to mean or remind you of something else. To reference pre-existing symbols or to create your own to be referenced later on in a story is a good way of associating your reader with an object or idea.

Idioms are, in my opinion, a lot more enjoyable to work with. An idiom is like a blown out of proportion cliché. More or less, idioms were inside jokes that became common phrases. The definition an idiom is: a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not dectible from those of the individual words.

Essentially what that is saying is that the meaning of phrase is not determined by the words that compose it. Example, “it’s raining cats and dogs.”, it’s not really raining literal cats and dogs, it’s a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the words of which it is composed. Like I said, idioms are very fun to work with and the enchant your story immensely when used properly.

To ehance your story requires a level of skill and a few choice words, to enchant your story requires a knowledge of vocabulary and a touch of magic.

Keep in mind, even too much magic can be a bad thing. If every other paragraph contains some kind of idiom, symbolism, cliché, or some other manner of enhancement, your reader will tire of the frequency and the magic will lose its allure. Everything in moderation, with tact and selection, make your story one to be remembered; make it… Immortal.

As always, thanks for reading, and please, let me know what you think and how I’m doing. I’d love to chat with you sometime. 

–the anonymous novelist