Writing Tips from Oakley Hall

by xiaolai on 2010/08/08 · 12 comments

in 作文素材, 写清楚(系列)

When asked a few years ago, as a novelist and teacher of writing, for a list of writing tips to accompany a publicity piece in a San Francisco newspaper, I produced the following list:

  1. Write every day.
  2. Observe and listen.
  3. Employ all the senses.
  4. Use strong verbs.
  5. Detail!
  6. A specific always beats an abstraction.
  7. Describe in motion.
  8. Anglo-Saxon words are usually more effective than romance based.
  9. Fiction is dramatization; dramatization is point of view, sense impressions, detail, action and dialogue.
  10. In dialogue, keep speeches short.
  11. Look for likenesses, parallels, contrasts, antitheses and reversals.
  12. Beware the use of the habitual case (would), the passive voice and the word there.
  13. Plotting is compulsion versus obstacles.
  14. In the second draft, start deleting adverbs.
  15. Borrow widely, steal wisely.

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

小蕾 August 8, 2010 at 01:53

笑来老师这么晚还没睡哦

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Leo Min August 8, 2010 at 02:45

Great tips! 顺便提一下,的作者谭恩美(Amy Tan)曾经师从Oakley Hall。

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Leo Min August 8, 2010 at 02:47

“喜福会“的作者。

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LoveFish August 8, 2010 at 07:15

哎~~~每天写

笑来,如果我今天真的写不出什么东西,我就随便找本杂志或小说抄一章,就算OK了。可以不?

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Dreamz August 8, 2010 at 11:23

In the second draft, start deleting adverbs.
Borrow widely, steal wisely.
很喜欢这两句,hoho

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helaclesh116 August 8, 2010 at 16:12

There are a great many careers in which the increasing emphasis is on specialization.
请问这句话该如何翻译?
尤其是in which 中的in修饰哪个词,还有on specialization 中的on 是什么意思呢?

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李笑来 August 8, 2010 at 22:19

in不是修饰谁,而是which做in的介词宾语;which指careers;on是与emphasis连用的(惯用法)。

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helaclesh116 August 9, 2010 at 09:47

如果which做关系代词的话,in做谁的介词,那on specialization就是倒装句了吗?

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alifeofrhyme August 8, 2010 at 22:12

thanks for sharing these tips and this is a blog about free rhyming poerns for birthdays, weddings, and all other special occasions, hope click back, thx

http://alifeofrhyme.blogspot.com

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helaclesh116 August 9, 2010 at 09:45

笑来老师,如何克服重新学习英语那种急躁的心态?尤其又要考研又要从基础抓起,明年还要考托福,我感觉很难平衡,尤其是按你说的方法:挣扎着搞清每一句话,真是太难了,一篇文章就折磨了我两天(6个小时),许多看似懂的句子(意思大意明白,但转述起来却发现语言组织能力好差)一旦深入分析就发现语法不过关,词汇意思把握的不准确,而且翻译出来的感觉始终不太好,觉得差了点儿什么。最可怕的是觉得速度慢。半天也抠不出来一句,实在是一种折磨,我该怎么办呢?以目前这个进度,我觉得完成考研这个任务(65分)都很难,内心的恐惧着实让我不安,尤其还要每天上班,应对无聊的工作,时间完全不够用,有什么方法能够改善这个状况呢?期待你的指导

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chenyz December 18, 2010 at 11:43

第8条没看懂。Anglo-Saxon words是什么?

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