Writing is a Learning Journey

I started my writing journey in 2002 and my first novel was published in 2003.  I thought it was awesome, but several years later, after many editing sessions and learning through critique groups and on-line classes, I shuddered when I read the finished product and realized the amateur mistakes I'd made.  Luckily, when my contract expired, I took my rights back and reworked the book, improving it.  Is it perfect?  No.  I still find things I wish I would have known and changed, but every book I write is better than its predecessor.

I highly recommend critique groups to help you hone your work and reviewing the writing of others has helped me immensely.  No, I'm not a know-it-all, but I sure recognize problem areas in books, and often wonder why their editors didn't suggest changes.  One I'm reading right now has me scratching my head over that very thing.  The story is very interesting and the author writes with great descriptions, but because I read with an editorial eye, I can't get past what I consider problem areas. 

Several would disagree with me, but one publisher limits the amount of "internal" thoughts an author can use, and I understand why.  My first manuscript was fraught with them, but when i re-read the book, I realized switching from third to first person on a regular basis pulls the reader out of the story.  My preference is to have the internal thoughts posed as questions for the reader to ponder.  See which you prefer:

 I thought he was going to kiss me.  He's good with the girls, and I think he likes me, but he does seem worried about something.

 Her heart raced with hope he'd kiss he but he didn't. She earned only brief hug on his way out the door.  He'd been so good with the girls and acted as though he truly liked her, but he seemed preoccupied. Should she worry?

IMHO, the flow is much smoother.

A second pet peeve for me is using unnecessary adverbs.  Why not just use stronger verbs?  For example: She ate her pancakes hungrily.  How about she devoured her pancakes?  Or...The dog barked viciously.  I'd prefer to have you show me the vicious dog.  The dog bared his teeth and growled deep in his throat.  The fur on his back stood on end.  Better?

My most recent lesson learned deals with eliminating needless verbiage and insulting the reader's intelligence. *smile*  If we, as authors, do our job, we put the reader into the character's POV, therefore it's unnecessary to continually indicate who watched, felt, sensed, saw, etc.  Example:  She watched him pour a drink.   If we've been in her POV, then it stands to reason she's watching what he does, so he can just pour a drink.  He meandered to the bar and poured himself a drink.  Another example:  She felt the cold air on her bare arms.  How about showing the reader?  Goosebumps peppered her bare arms.  She embraced herself against the cold air.

There's a rule in writing called RUE=resist the urge to explain.  Readers are intelligent and little things like "to him, at her, for him" are easily figured out. Example:  He read the article aloud to her.  If they are the only two in the room and he's reading aloud, then I think you get my drift.  Seems petty, but these are the things that jump out at me.

 I learned to eliminate"that" from many sentences because it's unneeded.  He knew that she would feel insulted.  He knew she would feel insulted, or even better, if at all possible, eliminate the "he knew."  Of course, she'd feel insulted if he...  Put the reader into the story and let him/her figure it out.  It shouldn't be difficult. 

Word echoes show laziness.  Instead of using the same word over and over, consult your thesaurus and find something different.  No one likes redundancy.  Of course sometimes, using the same word over again is used for dramatic effect, and that's perfectly okay.

I've listed a few problem areas here.  Feel free to list your pet peeves in the comment area.  This is all about learning, and good authors never stop.  Teach me something new so I can pull out the rest of my hair.  :)


  

Reviewing Books - Yay or Nay...Can't Decide.

Sometimes I wonder if as an author I should review the work of others.  Before I was published, I read for the sheer enjoyment, but now, after going through so many editing sessions and being whipped into an actual author, I cannot read without my internal editor whispering in my ear.  I read with an eye for pitfalls I've been advised to avoid rather than losing myself in the story as I once was able to do.  Heck, before my debut novel, I hadn't even heard half the terms I hear now--headhopping, passive voice, transitions, etc..  Now the simplest mistakes keep me from really connecting with the characters. It could be that the books I read all those years had been finely edited so assuming a place in the heroine's shoes came naturally. 

Don't get me wrong.  I think editors are an essential part of the process, and now when I read, I can definitely tell the novices from the professionals.  Is it fair to report to readers that I've found areas in a story that should have been caught by an editor and the reader advised to fix?  I'm not sure.  Does it make me come across as a "know it all?"  Trust me, I don't.  I learn a new rule every day, and the scary thing is that I'm never sure that the rule is hard and fast.

It's a fact that the majority of editors working in small press are authors as well, and possibly some that haven't been writing very long themselves.  Could it be they are just passing along what they've learned?  I've found that some of what I've been told isn't exactly true, but I think some of the examples I can share with you today make sense.  For example:  Overusing He/She if you've made it clear whose POV your in at the moment.  Read these two paragraphs and see which sounds more polished.

John smelled Joan's perfume as she twirled by him on the dance floor.  He envied the man who held her in his arms.  He believed she was the most beautiful woman in the room, and he vowed to ask her to dance the next time the orchestra played a slow song.  He intended to be the one to take her home tonight.

John inhaled the sweet smell of Joan's perfume as she twirled by him on the dance floor.  The man who held her in his arms was one lucky guy.  Before the evening ended, John intended to share a slow dance with her, and if his prayers were answered, he'd be the one to take her home.

See, you don't need he envied, he believed, he intended.  You've let the reader know by John enjoying the aroma of Joan's perfume that we're in his POV, so anything you type should be interpreted as his perspective.

Another pet peeve are needless tags.  It's always best to use an action tag in place of he said, she said, but if you end the dialogue with a question mark, do you really need to say, she asked?  I think the punctuation is a big hint.  *smile*  When only two people are in the room, using the character's names over and over becomes redundant.  The reader is usually smart enough to determine who is talking, and if you need to clarify, you can say something like:  "Are you crazy?"  John's eyes widened beneath a furrowed brow.

Editors become very important in keeping the redundancy out of the story line.  Authors don't usually write an entire book in one setting, so it's very hard to remember everything you've already written.  For example:  If you've pointed out to the reader that the heroine broke her leg by falling off a horse, it isn't necessary to repeat that information again in dialogue with someone and then add it in a descriptive paragraph pages later.  Readers, me included, roll their eyes and say, "enough already...I know, I know."

Since I don't plot my stories and find my memory isn't what it used to be, I've taken to making notes about the physical attributes of my characters.  It's quite easy to describe sky blue eyes in one chapter and chocolate brown in another further down the line.  Unless you're writing from the perspective of an Australian Shepherd, both eyes should be the same color and remain that way throughout the story.

As an historical author, I learned long ago, and I'm still learning, that you really need to be on guard to assure your language is appropriate for the period about which you write.  I've read some love scenes lately that left me shaking my head because of the present day terminology used for body parts.  It's really not believable that an Indian brave would bust out with the word "clitoris."

I've found the online Etymology dictionary most helpful in determining the origin of most words, but judgement helps too. Think about your story's time period and how people spoke.  While you might find word origins described from the 1500s, that doesn't mean they were used all over the globe.  Example:  Ma/Maw/Momma is how a child addressed their female parent rather than just Mom in 1840.  Although "kid" has been a word for a long time, the manner in which it was used in the 1800s most often referred to a baby goat.  Children were not kids, but you could kid with them (tease).  Historical credibility is all a matter of knowing your time period and doing your research.  Trust me, if you make a mistake, someone will notice and let you know.

My most recent editor pointed out her amazement that my heroine still had a bottom lip as she constantly chewed on it.  *lol*  It's so easy to utilize the same action without realizing you've overdone it.  Here again, that's because we don't write books in one sitting nor do we usually go back and re-read the previous chapters.  Thank God for those who devote their time and talents to making us stop and think about our writing habits.  What would we do without our editors...internal and external?

Ya Think?

I may have over-extended myself a bit: volunteering to judge two contests...three actually if you count the one that starts in November, participating in a critique group, trying to maintain two blogs, posting to Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, posting promos, chatting and even moderating two loops and maintaining a publisher's Myspace page. In addition I babysit my grandson in the afternoons. No wonder my head is spinning.

So far, judging is the biggest challenge.While reading a few entries, it dawned on me that once you've become an editor, it is very hard to JUST read a story for the story itself. Oh, as the judge, you're supposed to point out obvious flaws and deduct points, but I can't stop focusing on things I've learned that some other authors obviously haven't, and it stops me dead in my tracks. It wouldn't be fair to fault them because before someone pointed out the obvious to me, I was guilty of the same things. For example:

If we are in Cindy's POV, thoughts, realizations, and feelings are assumed to be her's, right? There are just some things you don't need to spell out for the reader if it's a "given." Of course, I won't dwell on the annoyances for me of reading could hear, to sit, and would run. Why not just heard, sat and ran? You realize of course, I've really created a mess in the following paragraph and smoothed out the second. *smile* So which do you prefer:

Cindy realized the temperature had dropped drastically. She could feel goose bumps forming on her unexposed arms. She should have brought a jacket. Feeling totally unprepared, she knew if she hugged herself, she would feel warmer. She thought of building a fire, but didn't have any matches. She knew if she huddled against the tree, the trunk would provide respite from the growing wind.

The temperature plummeted. Goose bumps peppered Cindy's exposed airs. Why hadn't she brought a jacket? She embraced herself against the cold. A fire would be nice, but she didn't have matches either. Not very prepared to be caught out in the elements. She huddled against the tree. At least the thick trunk provided some respite from the growing wind.

How do you feel when you read the following? "she reached to turn off the light." As an editor, I see 'to turn' as considering the deed, but always wonder...did she do it? Unless she had the lamp in her lap, she had to reach. I think I've gone over the editorial edge. Someone throw me a rope and pull me back.

Editing, Headaches, and Dying Brain Cells

Writing can be a joy and a pain at the same time. Of course, when you're in the middle of writing a story, you have no idea the challenges that await you at the end. I can honestly say I've learned tons since my first book was accepted by publication, but you can never assume what you learn is set in stone. Guidelines for publishing vary from house-to-house and what an author believes is a well-written story may fall victim to the editorial red pen from hell. *lol*

There are some things you can truly believe will enhance your story if you avoid them, and I'd like to share a few with you. I have the 'whip marks' to prove that I previously engaged in using these unsavory writing practices, but no more... or at least I'm trying to train my feeble brain to avoid these pitfalls:

Avoid over use of the word 'that.' You can delete 95% of them from your story without changing the meaning of your sentence. It actually helps with the word count, but does little else to enhance your story.

Avoid prepositional phrases at the end of your sentences. To her, at him, etc., are usually implied and the reader can figure it out. Another tendency to weaken your writing if you engage in this practice.

I tend to be the queen of "Seem." This has been a hard one for me to break. For some reason, everthing 'seems to' rather than actually does something. Now I'm learning to search and eliminate these instances. Rather than saying, "his musty smell seemed to fill the room," I'll use, "his musty smell wafted upward and...." 'Seemed to,' 'tried to,' and 'began to' are considered 'stall' phrases and prevent showing the action as it unfolds.

My good friend, Phyllis Campbell, has kept me on the straight and narrow with her critiques when it comes to Cause and Effect. I've learned you must have a cause before you can have a reaction. Cause and Effect...Action/Reaction. If someone jumps, something has to happen first. Simple rule, but one I never thought about before it was brought to my attention.

Overuse of 'it.' Using a noun over a pronoun to strengthen the sentence is a much better idea. Of course, you have to try to avoid word echoing in the same paragraph, and you don't want to have too many names back to back. Confusing, but sensible when applied effectively. Example: If I had written the second sentence...It's a better idea to use a noun over a pronoun to strengthen the sentence.

Predicting dialogue. What the heck is that, you ask. I've recently learned myself. Don't place tags that describe the person's voice before they speak. Simple. Here's an example of predicting: Her voice trembled. "Shouldn't we stop?"
Should be: "Shouldn't we stop?" Her voice trembled.

Sensory details. Another good friend from my critique group, Diane, keeps me on my toes by commenting in my chapters, "what does it smell like?" I'm pretty good at describing scenes, but I often forget to include smells. Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, Sound should all be included when you write. Reader's want to sense it all.

And my latest discovery, last but not least...Avoid 'to be' verbs. These include is, was, are, were. I wondered most about 'was,' but learned when I use 'was' with an 'ing' word, I'm telling rather than showing. Same with could, would, should. These words make the narrative past tense. Example: was hearing or could hear is better written 'heard.' Could see, was seeing, is better written 'saw.'

There's tons more to share, but I'll save it for another day. By then, I'm sure I'll have even more tips for a well-written manuscript. :) Whatever you do, don't forget to put the punctuation marks inside the quotes. *lol*

D is for Discombobulate

In an effort to stir your interest to the blog where I post with six friends from a critique group, I'm sharing a sample. Each week, we take a letter, in sequence, from the alphabet and use it to describe how it applies to our writing or lives. My other blog spot is called Synoptic Storm, and you can find it in my favorite links on the left-hand side of this blog.

D is for Discombobulate

I get discombobulated just trying to spell it. :) Our word this week, taken right out of on-line Merriam Webster's dictionary is:

Main Entry:
dis·com·bob·u·late Listen to the pronunciation of discombobulate
Pronunciation:
\ˌdis-kəm-ˈbä-b(y)ə-ˌlāt\
Function:
transitive verb
Inflected Form(s):
dis·com·bob·u·lat·ed; dis·com·bob·u·lat·ing
Etymology:
probably alteration of discompose
Date:
circa 1916

: upset confuse
— dis·com·bob·u·la·tion Listen to the pronunciation of discombobulation \-ˌbä-b(y)ə-ˈlā-shən\ noun


There are many things in life I find discombobulating. By far, the most confusing are the various editing and formatting rules used by all the different publishers and agents. Writing a book is very time consuming and requires effort; it's no simple chore. Shopping the manuscript for publication is even harder.

You have to compose a query letter guaranteed to grab the attention of your targeted publisher or agent, create a synopsis that captures the essence of your book in the most precise and detailed light, then determine if your manuscript meets any one of the zillions of extra requirements needed to submit.

Do they want it formatted in 12 point Georgia font, or Times Roman? Single spaced or double...or maybe one and a half? Do they want page numbers in the header or footer? Centered, or perhaps left or right justified? How about those margins--one inch or one and a quarter? Do they allow em-dashes and ellipses? How about gerunds? Do they forbid or allow them? C'mon folks, how about some consistency?

My point is, most people don't engage in multiple submissions. And this is the reason. You can't just print off a copy of your manuscript, query and synopsis and stick them in the mail or attach them via email. You have to make sure each is formatted to meet the nuances of each publisher or agent. In my opinion, writing the book is the easiest part. The rest is totally discombobulating.