Setting, mood and atmosphere are the most crucial elements of any story. Without use of guided imagery or sound, it is up to the writer to create scenarios that appeal to the imagination...situations that can be expanded upon by any mind willing to read. I find my over use of adverbs and descriptors somewhat appalling; I am college educated, but I seem to rely on 4th grade structure...almost out of panic. 


![john-updike.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQefPgsw67D9ehg7P49scLQuaoLuCxgrsTNJeZDSdBvZb/john-updike.jpg)

My overuse of ellipses in order to convey a pause seems dramatic and interesting to me...but it is improper with my usage and I must make it a habit to stop. I along with many others overuse preopsitions and prepositional phrasing. At times I have to delete blocks of text because I have overstated where a protagonist is in relation to a particular object. An author's worst fear is to not fill in the gaps, and to leave a story inconsistent with plotholes. 

I have been attempting to write a novel since I was 7 years old. The weekend my uncle taught me the rules of chess was the same period of time I wanted to write everything I could about the game. I had so many thoughts and chased my dreams into a college English career...but in retrospect it all meant nothing to me. I am still a collective experience of this life I live and I just haven't done anything worthy of the story I'd like to tell. 

![c1f7e50b0ba8b366c4383db3ffd7fcdd.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmawD2BL9rGqpDCin6n5rq2WCUN1K4BXjiwW23BdW68K1F/c1f7e50b0ba8b366c4383db3ffd7fcdd.gif)


It is somewhat melancholy just staring at a keyboard with so much to say...but nothing comes fluidly. Words, phrases, thoughts all come in a bubble, and as a writer I have to pop the right ones in the right order or whatever I am trying to convey turns to mulch. I'm on a mini vacation, and yet I've never felt more confined to my own head. I want to write a bit everyday on steemit, and I will. I have so much sweet nectar in this beehive of a mind, I just need help extracting it....


![words.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTAXVNyZxDfyaZa6bo9KAveD6wuyLcT7f8nbtanFFnjjk/words.jpg)

I've been recommended a few books and techniques by professors and friends; I've begun reading 'Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer' by Roy Peter Clark. This book has around 55 main strategies for young (at heart) authors seeking a balance in their writings. I am slowly understand more and more how to create mood without forcing it, and starting from there is big for me. I want to take people to places, I want them to see what I saw in that inspiring moment when I wrote down my thoughts...I want it, and I will reach that place!

Source Image Credit: [1](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1600&bih=769&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=pE9iWsefDpLctQWMvr34BQ&q=actors+at+typewriters&oq=actors+at+typewriters&gs_l=psy-ab.3...22324.76079.0.76133.28.20.2.0.0.0.296.2504.0j8j5.13.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..13.8.1333...0j0i67k1j0i13k1j0i13i30k1.0.1iv48ySDWkA#imgdii=oIqzXp2ZVCLbbM:&imgrc=vYSLKNmqEHH-dM:) [2](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fc1%2Ff7%2Fe5%2Fc1f7e50b0ba8b366c4383db3ffd7fcdd.gif&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F491314640589298164%2F&docid=Aul1g4dT5mkXUM&tbnid=rLKlXoSGJruq0M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwj_kNWC6uTYAhUwia0KHWPhA18QMwhtKCQwJA..i&w=1280&h=1750&bih=769&biw=1600&q=actors%20at%20typewriters&ved=0ahUKEwj_kNWC6uTYAhUwia0KHWPhA18QMwhtKCQwJA&iact=mrc&uact=8) [3](https://www.google.com/search?q=words&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZyofT6uTYAhUIWqwKHcbfAl4Q_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=720#imgrc=yQrsS6h2skc-cM:)