It’s not exactly what I’d choose for my new kitchen, but my husband saw great potential in this find and salvaged it before they demolished the house.

So what does this have to do with writing? This old [...]]]> About thirty years ago this ceiling fan was a lovely addition to this old home.

It’s not exactly what I’d choose for my new kitchen, but my husband saw great potential in this find and salvaged it before they demolished the house.

So what does this have to do with writing? This old fan is like your first draft– rough around the edges, lacking luster, and maybe downright ugly! Despite misgivings, your draft and this fan might be worth salvaging.

Editing is one of the most important tasks a writer must complete.

As beginners we often write until we reach the last line and consider the novel complete. WRONG! Writers must consider every word, paragraph, and page several times. There may be occasions when entire sections or chapters should be eliminated or reorganized before the novel is ready for viewing by a contest judge, a publisher, or a reader. Many writers hire professional editors before a novel is printed. Don’t stand on your own opinion about the book. At least have critique partners who evaluate and make suggestions to improve your work.

You may have a good draft that just needs polish. It’s more likely you’ll discover mounds of debris requiring a complete renovation of the chapter or book. Practice is the best way to learn self-editing. Don’t expect an agent or editor to do this task for you. Eventually you’ll acquire less debris and rough drafts that require less drastic measures.

Polish a chapter in some draft you have completed. We’ve given tips in previous lessons if you need ideas.

Exercise:

• Look for sentences that seem out of place or awkward when you read them aloud.

• Omit unnecessary words. (You’ll find lessons in the archives with examples)

• Show the actions of the characters instead of telling us what is happening.

• Check for misspelled words. Don’t rely on spell check. It will leave you with a mess.

A coat of paint and new blades brought this fan from outdated to modern. Its leaves coordinate with the other light fixtures I bought for our new kitchen. The old fan now adds to the décor.

If you practice self-editing, your new draft can be a reflection of the old version with polish and flare that makes your book worth reading.

In May we will begin accepting entries–the first five pages of any story you feel [...]]]> We’re gearing up for our third annual NOVELWritingSite Contest for young writers!

I hope you’ve been writing regularly, putting these lessons and exercises to work as you hone your storytelling skills. Are you ready to get some encouraging feedback?

In May we will begin accepting entries–the first five pages of any story you feel is ready. Stay tuned for more info as we near the date, but for now…

Exercise:

• Look through your work. Which stories show promise? Which ones won’t “let you go” until they’re told?
• Use the archives and categories to review specific storytelling skills.
• Apply a couple of new tricks to your work. Remember to save an original copy so that you can use whichever you like best.

Icebreaker Makes Push to Reach Iced-In Alaska City

and my caring nature*, couple with my earnest desire to be reassured of the imminent safety of my stranded fellow countrymen, forced me to click and read the article immediately.

*ahem, yes, sarcasm…but really, I DID click.

Within three paragraphs I [...]]]> I just read this headline:

Icebreaker Makes Push to Reach Iced-In Alaska City

and my caring nature*, couple with my earnest desire to be reassured of the imminent safety of my stranded fellow countrymen, forced me to click and read the article immediately.

*ahem, yes, sarcasm…but really, I DID click.

Within three paragraphs I learned that Russian barges are cutting through the ice at a rate of about 5 miles per hour to sell Alaskans some oil because they might run out before Spring.

Say what? Where’s the fast-paced drama, the life-or-death stakes, the selfless sacrifice to save mankind?

I feel a little duped, click the big X in the corner. Screen closed.

That’s what happens with all too many books, I’m afraid.

Picture yourself at your local bookstore. You walk in, and the smell of java and fresh ink makes you a bit giddy. You wander the aisles until a cover catches your eye. Maybe the title is clever or the artwork is arresting. Either way, unless this happens, you don’t pick up the book. You just walk right by. Same thing happens if you’re browsing Amazon for an ebook. You scan the lists of titles and thumbnail images. If nothing catches your eye, it’s as if the book did not exist because, for you, it didn’t.

But something DOES catch your eye. Giddiness becomes anticipation. What next? You read the book’s description and take a peek at the first page or two.

A good story needs a high concept–a compelling need to conquer an obstacle before a looming deadline.

And that’s why the story above lost my interest. It seemed to be purely a commercial venture. The ships are well equipped to cut through ice, and they’re in no particular hurry. No one is in any immediate danger of freezing to death.

Ho-hum. The book goes back on the shelf.

Exercise:

• Analyze a favorite thriller or adventure story (book or video). What’s at stake? Why can’t the hero just walk away or call 911 and wait for the authorities?
• Take a cold, heartless look at your current writing project. What’s at stake? Why can’t your hero walk away? What compels him (or her) to fight through?
• The American patriot Thomas Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Recognize that few people leave the comfort of normal life except for the fear of loss or hope of gain.

In telling a story with a high concept you will not have to preach to inspire and encourage moral greatness in your readers.

The lessons will unfold naturally from context and be all the more memorable. Everyone needs a hero.

In my last blog post, I discussed genres and mentioned that what genre you write affects how you [...]]]> NOTE: Please welcome Shannon McNear back to the NOVELWritingSite, but this time she is not a guest. Shannon is the newest member of our pool of contributors, and we’re so glad to have her with us!

In my last blog post, I discussed genres and mentioned that what genre you write affects how you write. This time, I’m going to expand upon that idea.

I spent a lot of years just writing whatever I wanted, however I wanted. The idea that different kinds of stories called for different modes of writing seemed too restrictive—until I began to really understand that structure was what made genres what they were. (See my last post.) And it wasn’t just the structure that made the difference, but building materials as well. I found that when I was expanding my 60,000 word story aimed at the category romance market (those short Love Inspired reads you can find at Wal-Mart) to a full-length, 90-100,000 word story, it involved more than adding a subplot and including scenes that I’d only referred to before in passing. It changed how I worded the sentences, because suddenly I had the freedom to add description there wasn’t previously room for.

Like last time, this won’t be an exhaustive list of all the details, but just some highlights of what die-hard readers have come to expect. I pretty well covered the basic types of plots in the last post, so this time I’ll start with your …

FIRST CHAPTER

The overall principle for first chapters is, of course, that you want to get to the meat, define what kind of story you’re writing, and what it’s about.

In romance, the hero and heroine should meet by the end of the first chapter, with sparks already flying. We should know what drives each of them, and have some hint of why they’re perfect (or mostly so) for each other, and what they have to overcome to have their HEA (happily ever after).

For mystery, the reader wants the fun of finding out “whodunit,” so the story should begin with some kind of crime being discovered, with clues laid out along the way—but don’t reveal until the very end “whodunit.” This differs from …

… Suspense, where you’re allowed to not only reveal who the villain is, but have scenes in his POV (point of view). Something is at stake—the life of the hero or heroine, or someone close to them. Maybe it’s a regional threat, or worldwide, in which case your story is considered a thriller. These stories often start with a BANG—jump right into the action, with either a literal shooting, something blowing up, or a car chase.

This kind of beginning, however, wouldn’t work for a women’s fiction, where the story is more about thoughts and emotions and how people deal with them than about the actual events. Women’s fiction should, in its own way, be no less gripping, but remember that the draw is emotion, not action. (Hence why it’s called “women’s” fiction … and suspense tends to be the genre of choice for the guys.) You don’t, however, have to have the main character’s love interest (if there is one, and it’s perfectly fine to have a thread of romance in WF) show up in the first chapter.

Science fiction is generally, but not always, set on other worlds or in space, with technology that we don’t have yet, but theoretically could at some point. Here you have your choice of openings from the other genres—I’ve seen suspense-style first chapters, romance-style first chapters, and so on—but remember, you want to establish right away that this is SF. The same applies to fantasy, or steampunk, or paranormal … or even historical, for that matter.

Now, let’s talk about …

POINT OF VIEW (POV)

In romance, you generally have only two POV’s: the heroine and the hero. Since girls are usually the ones reading romance, the story usually starts with the heroine’s POV, and is split about 60/40 or 70/30 with the hero’s.

In women’s fiction, mystery, or chick-lit, or the young adult versions of the same, it’s perfectly fine to have one POV. In many genres, however, there can be two or three or even more. Some sweeping historical or fantasy sagas employ a dozen or more. Just remember—the more POV’s you use, the more work you make for yourself, and the more skill required to weave them all together and keep everything consistent. This is why new writers are generally counseled to keep their early stories to one or two POV’s.

Another thing: romance and other classic genres are generally written from third person, past tense. Women’s fiction and chick-lit (and much YA) is equally first-person, whether past or present tense. I’ve also seen classic westerns written in first person. (Louis L’Amour was wonderful at this.)

And that leads to …

THE ENDING

Mystery readers like the element of surprise. They want to guess who committed the crime, so don’t give anything away! Suspense and thrillers, however, are all about—big surprise here—the suspense and thrill of the chase. Build yourself a big, bad, super-smart villain, and then build how the hero/heroine will go about outwitting him. Neither suspense nor SF/fantasy readers, however, enjoy the resolution just coming out of nowhere. If your hero is going to suddenly develop superpowers at the end, you better have laid clues along the way that this will happen.

In romance, everyone knows the hero and heroine will end up together, and the readers are expecting that HEA (Happily Ever After) ending! The fun is watching them get there, the push and pull of the dialogue, seeing the characters discover how the other person has that one quality they can’t live without.

In women’s fiction, however, it isn’t guaranteed that the heroine’s going to end up with a particular person or in a particular place, so you still have that element of surprise. But the reader usually expects an ending that “feels right,” even if isn’t happy.

Now let’s talk about …

SENTENCE STRUCTURE and WORD CHOICE

For suspense, thriller, and adventure, you generally want shorter, choppier sentences that get right to the point and aren’t cluttered with a lot of description, especially in the more tense scenes. (There are exceptions to this rule, but usually these are writers who have been published for decades.) The same for your dialogue. A good website for digging deep into suspense-writing techniques is the Forensics and Faith blog by Brandilyn Collins. Anything I have to say on the matter would be rendered redundant by this site!

Romance, historical, and fantasy tend to have a more relaxed sentence rhythm. Your sentences can be longer and more flowing, the descriptions more detailed, the dialogue less terse. Don’t go overboard, though, or you might find yourself guilty of writing something called “purple prose.” Then again, it’s possible you lean more toward literary fiction than genre fiction, but that’s another post for another time …

ONE LAST THING!

These are not hard-and-fast rules! These are general guidelines … observations about how things work, if you will. Be careful to not get all legalistic about something that is not a rule. (That would make a good post topic, too, wouldn’t it?)

These clues gave us interesting background into the lives of people we never met. We know what they ate for breakfast, [...]]]> In a well-developed story there’s so much more than meets the eye.

As an analogy, look at some of the things we found recently when we opened the walls and floors of our house!

These clues gave us interesting background into the lives of people we never met. We know what they ate for breakfast, what brand of coffee they enjoyed, even (judging from the era of the products) the dates they lived here.

As you develop characters for your story, be sure to take a peek behind the surface. Don’t settle for an angry antagonist. Find out WHY she’s mad at the world. Is your hero truly fearless, or does he have a secret weakness? Why does he struggle with this one thing?

Some authors interview their characters in their imaginations. Their background stories may remain hidden, merely adding a realistic dimension to their lives on the pages. Or, like the fragments we discovered in our walls, their secrets may come to light at some surprising moment as the story unfolds.

Exercise:

Grab a writing instrument and a sheet of paper and “interview” your characters. Get to know them as you would get to know a new neighbor. Begin with obvious surface characteristics and work your way toward an intimate understanding.

Snapfish is an online photo development company. Around the holidays, they offer special prices on photo scrapbooks–bound books, in a variety [...]]]> November is past, and NaNoWriMo with it. Whether or not you took the challenge to write 50K words in a month, here’s one way to see a story by YOU in print by Christmas!

Snapfish is an online photo development company. Around the holidays, they offer special prices on photo scrapbooks–bound books, in a variety of sizes, printed in small quantities with lots of full-color illustrations. Mixbook is another online company that offers similar books at a reasonable price. Most people use scrapbooks like these to preserve family memories, but there’s no reason you couldn’t use photographs or even jpgs of your own artwork to illustrate a short story of your own.

You could present an original story or collection of poems to someone you love for Christmas.

Exercise:

• Decide on a recipient and a story. Believe it or not, this is a very real part of professional writing. Before writers begin a project, they know who their target readers are since this will affect so many style decisions.
• Decide on an appropriate format, number of pages, and price. These are also decisions that professional writers and publishers make up front so that a book appeals to readers’ interests and their pocketbooks.
• Experiment to see how your story will fit into the number of pages you have to work with. Page design is another aspect of professional publishing. While you’re at it…
• Select a font style and size. This is also a part of page design. It’s important to choose a type face that is readable and fits your story and page size. It’s best to stick with one font style, though you might use a second style for your title.
• Choose illustrations and decide how they will work with the text on each page. Original photographs and artwork can make the story more personal, and they will also save you money and time for securing the copyright permissions required to use other people’s work.

Even if you decide, in the end, not to place your order, you will still have gained valuable experience by trying your hand at several steps required to produce a finished book. And if you DO decide to “take the leap,” you may be surprised to experience the thrill of producing something all your own.