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WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL? PART 5
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English For Poets .
ALLUSIONS, THOUGHT BUBBLE:
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An allusion is a reference made about an historical fact, person, thing or quote.
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Examples:
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He broke into a sprint that would make Jessie Owens smile.
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They sparred for a while, then Tommy started a duck and weave dance yelling, "I'm gonna put the rope-a-dope on you!" and we all fell out laughing.
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A thought bubble is a cartoon comicbook representation of what a character is thinking; words inside a rough edges circle over their head usually in italics to distinguish from dialog. In fiction, it is what is said outside quote marks in italics or expressed as what is thought without italics.
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Example:
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Thought bubble: I'm not doing that. It's immoral and illegal! Dialog: " I won't shoot anybody!" Ii screamed. (This is also a thought bubble): I saw from his frown that I had said the wrong thing. Each line is an emotional unit. Each descriptive paragraph is an emotional explosion unit. If the chapter does not leave the reader transported into another reality it has failed as the ultimate emotional vehicle.
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Thought streams say how a character is responding emotionally to the action or setting, problem presented, or explains their feelings toward another character. Bubbles can be used to forward action as intent to do something, also can give the motive for a choice or decision. They are excellent places to put description of a place or of other characters as well.
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Example:
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I have to kill him. I am in love with him, but he's a vampire. If I don't stab him in the heart with this stake, he will rise tonight and kill all of us.
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This is first person narrative that gives the motivational thoughts of the heroine. Why she is doing this and the consequences explained if she refuses to act is in her thoughts.
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Thoughts are excellent places to describe setting, give opinion of other characters, and advance novel toward the end. Actually, forward motion in all elements of every sentence is mandated in any fiction. Ask the question: How does this section/passage/conversation push the novel toward the crisis ending? If it is way off the path, purge it. If it is necessary to the surrounding action/terrain, or important to future development, keep it. Get used to purging (deleting) text. It takes a while to grow into the disciplines of writing well sculpted extended prose. I have killed entire chapters - going nowhere and way off course. Get use to that too. You will be doing a lot of it during your first two to five years of writing. If you have edited the work and not removed the dull parts, the out of style passages, the image that is not as good as needed for the emotional impact desired, or removed because it does not "fit" like the wrong word or is just plain incomprehensible, then you have not mastered the art of writing yet. Think of it as proofreading, taking out a repeated word or correcting a misspelled word Remember, they are your words and you can do to them whatever you want/need to do to them. Good is not good enough, the goals are excellence and originality.
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Example:
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Thaddeus is a good guy, but he can't fly a plane. He likes taking charge at all the wrong times. We have to let Alice fly us out or we die in all this snow. "Give her the keys Thad," I said shivering. "It's freezing out here!"
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Use thoughts to enhance every aspect of the novel, expand information, and give emotions a run through the text for variety to keep the reader engaged. Secrets are great in thought bubbles where belief versus truth or lies creates great drama or irony and all important tension, offering opportunity for exhibiting human failures and unseen vulnerabilities. Conversely, thought bubbles can expand understanding of action, clarify allusions, create hope, add humor or wit, irony, or puns to the text.
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If characters could speak to their writer, they might say, "Thank you for getting us caught in OUR thoughts." Write a thought bubble, insert it where needed, take out for a spin with a few extra emotional expressions, and watch the magic happen. Good luck!
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Lady A
10-15-16
1138a
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