Corset Writing

I could have called this "Tight Writing" but the corset thing really was more fun, don't you think?

What is tight writing? Er, Corset Writing?

Okay, okay, tight writing shows when a writer can take an incident, no matter how small, then use that incident to mold the characters action or reaction later on.

For example. Your heroine wakes up to a beautiful morning. All is well until. . .she spills a bowl of cereal down the front of her silk suit. Now she is rushing to clean up the mess, change, and get to work on time.

Later, Mr. Right comes up to her as she is busily working on the computer. She's in no mood to melt into a puddle because the spill made her late for work and the boss noticed. So Mr. Right's conversation starter is shot down by heroine's terse responses. Then Mr. Right does something sweet. He makes a paper airplane and flies it into her cubicle with an invitation to lunch scrawled on the wing. Heroine's irritation begins to melt away. . .

Ahhhh. . .

Keep in mind, the longer the book, the harder it is to write tight. But every event should have some tie to the main event and show different aspects of your main character's personality.

Winners of last weeks contest: Bluerose AND Angie. Oh, and Lisa can have a book too. She is my fan club.