July 2015 — Show Don't Tell—What to Cut

 #7 Revision is a Process 
This is Part 7 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved

Every word is optional until it proves to be essential, something you can only determine by removing words one by one and seeing what is lost or gained. - Jack Hamann

One "rule" of fiction is to show more and tell less. What does that mean? A very simple examples is that saying it's "a flower" is telling but to say it's "a white rose, whose petals are edged with a mist of ruby-pink" is showing. Showing means providing an instant, vivid image so the reader "sees" what was meant.

Yes, showing requires more words than telling, but how much detail is too much detail when showing? Keep in mind that readers will stop reading and skim over sentences and paragraphs of details in order to get "to the good stuff" of drama, action, and "something happening of interest." So it's best to choose those descriptive words carefully. In the heat of drafting, the shorthand version, the telling, usually ends up on the page.

So in this revision stage, the guideline is to highlight all bland, telling words and to highlight all descriptive phrases and passages to determine what needs to be rewritten for visual effect and what is too lengthy.

I'm of the school that one to three sentences (or twenty to sixty words) maximum be used at any given spot where descriptions appear. In other words, no paragraphs describing or explaining how something looks or works. That includes "laundry lists" of right-to-left or left-to-right layouts of what rooms or landscapes look like.

So how do you put such detail in without overdoing it? It's not that hard. Just pick the one or two most vivid, relevant details. For example, Character A walks into an old house. What is the first thing they see, smell, hear, or touch that immediately tells volumes about the state of the house? Maybe it's the antiques that smell of orange furniture oil? Maybe it's the stench of a dead rat because wallpaper is peeling off the walls.

Then, as the character moves about, add in another "vividly showing" detail. Perhaps it's the creak of the floorboards when the character walks across them. Maybe it's the cobwebs hanging off a chandelier dripping with grime-covered prisms. Using sensory perceptions helps the reader draw conclusions. Obvious conclusions. And those vivid images adds tone and mood to the scene.

To restate: Succinct, vivid, instant-images won't stop the action. Describing something in detail does. So I can't stress enough that in revision, it's the important and vital things that should be dramatized. Which means that if you have a character who is alone and the character is taking a shower or a bath, preparing or eating a meal, doing dishes, or driving somewhere and thinking, that's mundane stuff and boring stuff. It's too ordinary. So cut straight to the point and simply state he ate breakfast or she drove to the library mulling over all that had happened.

Also, and this is very important, when showing action or describing things, be sure the words (the vocabulary, diction, and syntax) are those of your story's or scene's narrator and not you, the author (that's called an AI, and Author Intrusion). Readers hate Author Intrusions.

Next, are there items or details in your story that will date the work? Better to use a tissue than a Kleenex, or a black stiletto than a black Prada shoe. Of course, if you're writing about a certain era, then you'll need some of the hallmark trademarks of technology and everyday items of that era. Just don't overdo them. What's overdoing it? It depends on the story, but you can't go wrong with keeping it down to one to three items per chapter or scene.

One more caution—when showing or describing items or actions, look for unintentional repetitions of actions or descriptions, especially colors (not all shoes are black). And do note that not all dishes are china. Not all trees are oaks. Not all flowers are red roses.

So, on your Master Revision Checklist for this step of the revision process you might have:

CHECK FOR TOO MUCH DETAIL—

[ ] Are there any paragraphs of description, details, explanations?
[ ] Have I woven vivid details, particularly sensory perceptions other than visuals, into the action or have I stopped to catalogue (make a laundry list of) the setting or landscape?
[ ] Is my character alone doing mundane things and thinking? If so, why? Can that passage be deleted or a transition used to get to the good stuff of drama or action?
[ ] Am I using my own vocabulary, diction and syntax instead of the character's or narrator's?
[ ] Have I used too many name brands, trademarks, etc. and used them too frequently?
[ ] Are there repetitions of colors, actions, details of any kind?


● This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the next topic is August- Show Don't Tell: Add essentials


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● Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.  If you would like recommendations on how-to books about this post's subject, feel free to contact me.

● "Terrific Titles—an all inclusive guide to creating story titles" and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE.


● IN 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

  



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June 2015 — Characters Who Matter

#6 Revision is a Process

  
 This is Part 6 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved


There are characters in fiction so real, so palpable, that we can reach out and touch them our whole lives.
 — Nancy Kress, DYNAMIC CHARACTERS

So, you wrote your story or novel and now in the revision process, it's time to look at the most common things that might have happened to your characters from when you began the tale and when you finished it.

The first item is NAMES. Both the spelling and the sound of names affects a reader as favorable, unfavorable, or neutral, which happens on a subconscious level more than on a conscious one. That's why it's a good idea to review all the names of characters, things, places, weaponry—everything that you gave a name to.

If you did character and setting worksheets prior to writing, bravo. You only have to do a verifying "word list" to look for misspellings, rhyming, overuse of consonant and vowel sounds, and the penchant for using the same letter of the alphabet too much.

If you are a pantser who has not done a word list (also called a style sheet), now is the time to take a hard look at all the names in your story by using one. If this is your first attempt at a word list, I suggest using lined 3x5 index cards. Use one card for each name of a character, thing, place, weapon, tool, gizmo, etc. That's right, every named item or person gets a card.

As you work through the pages of your manuscript, be on the lookout for misspellings. If you have some oddly spelled words, and you prefer one particular spelling, mark that as the "correct spelling." Why do that? Because it's easy to reverse an "i" for and "e" etc.

Once you have gone through your story, sort the cards alphabetically.

Now, for clarity's sake, no names of people should hold the same alphabet letter as the protagonist, antagonist, and the next major player in the story (usually the romantic lead). Why? Because blocking all other people names from those three letters of the alphabet conveys to the reader that those major story people are exceedingly important. Another benefit is that you avoid confusing the reader as to who is the true protagonist and antagonist.

Yes, you can have a few street names or thing names for the same alphabet letter as your protagonist and antagonist, etc., just not other people names.

Now, back to your sorted cards. If your story has 11 characters, how many alphabet letters did you use? If you have 6 of the 11 names beginning with M, your reader is going to get confused at some point in the story. I lost track of how many times the mix of H names in the Harry Potter series caused me to stop, go back, and reread to make sense of who was doing what.

Here's the thing: the subconscious (your muse) loves rhymes and rhythms. The subconscious also likes to repeat the sound of certain vowels and consonants. By having a word list (or card list) you can sort and "see" what's happened and catch things like Jill, Bill, and Phil.

Then there are syllables to consider. Do you have a mix or do 80% of the names have the same number of syllables? Variety is a good thing. Especially true for your protagonist and antagonist.

Oh, by the way, just how many characters cards do you have? Are you overpopulating your story? You might want to download the free "Characters Per Story Cheat Sheet" (link is below) so you avoid a "cast of thousands."

Here's a tip: before you write your next story, use a word list. That way you can avoid misspellings, rhymes, etc. You can also use a word list after you draft a day's work.

Next, be sure to cross reference the names, that is, put the last name first followed by the first name. This ensures catching repetitions, rhyming, and overuse of an alphabet letter.

Now, on the character cards only, add the following:

Eye Color
Hair Color

Do you have duplicates? Do you have various shades of the same color? Again, the muse-subconscious loves repetition. A good storyteller knows it's bad to use repetitions of anything without a specific purpose.

As to eye color? Make sure the character who began with gray eyes has gray eyes all the way to "the end." You'd be surprised at how many writers get confused in drafting and suddenly the eye color changes.

Do the same for hair colors. The same things that happen to eye colors also happens to hair color in the heat of drafting.

Some may think doing a revision check for such things is a lot of work. It can be for a pantser, but a little forethought before writing by using a word list could prevent this revision step.

Some writers will say that the plot is more important then the names of characters, places, or things. The reality is that a plot won't work unless the characters are believable story people who have names that, on a subconscious level, are befitting the named item or character in the story.

In summary, here's a quick "Writer's Cheat Sheet" for this revision check:

CHARACTER NAMES CHECKLIST

□     spellings of names
□     overuse of alphabet letters
□     overuse of syllables
□     overuse of vowels and/or consonants
□     rhymes
□     rhythms
□     color of eyes
□     color of hair

● Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.  If you'd like recommendations on how-to books about this subject, feel free to contact me.

● This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the next topic is SHOW, DON'T TELL - what to cut

● Upcoming workshops: Online and in person are HERE  

● Permission is granted to forward a link to this blog or mention it on any social media.

 
● IN 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

● "Terrific Titles—an all inclusive guide to creating story titles" --it's a must-have for generating titles that hook a reader and can be found by search engines. Go  HERE.

● FREE "Characters For Story Cheat Sheet" available HERE

  
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# # # 

May 2015 -- The Big Picture: Plot

 #5 Revision is a Process

This is Part 5 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved

Plot is structure. Without structure you have nothing. — Ronald B. Tobias, 20 MASTER PLOTS
True or False: There are no new plots.

The answer is a resounding true.  There isn't a story that hasn't already been told. And that seems like such discouraging words. However, here's the catch, everything can be made new again, seen from a different angle, written with fresh insights, fresh words. Thus the story becomes "new again." 

Another factor about story plots is that readers of genre fiction have certain expectations of what should be in their stories. Fail to know those expectations and include them in your storytelling and you won't readers.

In addition to genre specifics, there is a basic foundation, the underpinnings to every story and that under-structure is plot.

In all my reading and studying about a story's format, seeing all the diagrams, and templates used for analysis, it became obvious to me that all stories can be boiled down to a simple plot: Someone goes on a journey. That journey includes danger, like:

– Physical danger (a confrontation, a life and death struggle, etc.)
– Psychological danger (a mind-wrenching experience, etc.)
– Heart danger (loss of love, a broken heart, seeking to find true love or a lost love, etc.)
And here's something else I noted: every story can be boiled down to a simple, straightforward plot line. This plot line is for the story's main plot, no subplots allowed. And best of all, this plot line is a visual that helps a writer "see" their story. This is what it looks like:

A......B............C.....................D..E

Act I                 Act II                     Act III
1/4 *                    ½ *                      1/4 *

A = start of story (not prehistory, not back story, no prologue)
B = The Inciting Incident
C = the middle of the book, the trials and tribulations that reveal how bad the story problem is
D = the climax, the confrontation with the antagonist and the win lose, or draw of the outcome
E = end of story
* = It's also important that the line represents the amount of pages in the story. I often use graph paper where one square equals 10 pages, so a 400 page book is 40 squares. I place dots on the line to indicate the three acts.

This is not the only way to see the plot line. Some writers like curves, others angles, and then there is the W plot line. At the end of this post is a link to a free Cheat Sheet that shows those alternatives plot lines. And here's a tip: pick one that works for you and your storytelling.

As you can readily see with the simple plot line above, the Three Acts is how the story is divided into three parts: the first quarter is setting up the problem and introducing characters. The second two quarters or half the story is about the protagonist going up against the problem or villain and being thwarted, regrouping, trying other things to solve the problem and just before the climax, that last quarter, the protagonist realizes the sacrifice it will take to defeat the villain or solve the problem. The last quarter is the climax, the actual confrontation and conclusion, the question of: Will the protagonist win, lose, or will the story end in a draw?

So, how do you use a simple plot line when you revise your fiction? Glad you asked. Take your Chapter by Chapter Revelations pages and locate your major turning point scenes and mark them on the plot line. This can quickly reveal if you started your story in the right place as well as having ended it in the correct place. You might even notice gaps in the plot that you'll have to address. Or you might see where scenes can be moved about so there is a more linear flow to the plot, which the reader will appreciate–and understand.

You might go one step further and mark twists and turns, like enter and exit of the red herrings, the misdirections. You could include the spots where the villain gets the upper hand (but are there too many of those? After all, it isn't the villain's story.).

If writing a romance, where is the "cute meet" (the first encounter of hero and heroine), the first kiss, the point where the couple realize they are in love, etc?

And as you're doing this, you just might discover that your original theme needs bolstering, or that the original theme isn't the one you ended up with.


*** This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the June topic is CHARACTERS WHO MATTER.
*** Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.

***Free for download is a Writers Cheat Sheet Plot Diagram sheet, which is  HERE     (This offer expires 12-31-2015)

*** Permission is granted to forward or mention the link to this blog or to the free Writers Cheat Sheets

*** IN 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

*** "Terrific Titles" — an all inclusive guide to creating story titles" and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE. If you want a marketable title, one that stands out from the more than 3,500 books being published daily, and catches the reader's attention, then you need "Terrific Titles."

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April 2015 — The Big Picture: POV-Viewpoint

  #4 Revision is a Process
 
 This is Part 4 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved
 
Let the reader see things through the eyes of the characters instead of the eyes of the author or narrator. -- James V. Smith, Jr. / THE WRITER'S LITTLE HELPER

The rhetoric runs deep that writers must shun analyzing their work because doing so will destroy the creative process. It's the old "analysis equals paralysis" theme. Hogwash. Knowledge is the power that enables a writer to rise above the ordinary and commonplace. One critical phase for the revision of a story is taking a look at Point of View (POV) and Viewpoint.

Author and educator Tim Easais reached a conservative estimate that there were 9,720 different Point of Views (POV). No how-to-write book gives the rules, guidelines, or information for all those choices. However, you should know what POV and Viewpoint are and work out for yourself which ones fit your comfort zone. In essence, POV and Viewpoint are "the voice" the reader hears on the page. It's also "the voice" the writer must hear when they create and read the story. That voice, of course, should be a compelling voice.

That's why using the Chapter by Chapter Revelations' "header notes" can be a great help to ensure the reader is going to follow the POV-Viewpoint narrator (for information on the Chapter by Chapter Revelations, scroll down to #3 March 2015's blog entry).

For a POV-Viewpoint revision check, print a hard copy of the Chapter by Chapter Revelations. Then use highlighters to color-code the POV-Viewpoint information that you entered on the pages' headers. For instance use:

          BLUE for the protagonist (male or romantic lead)
          PINK for the protagonist (female or romantic lead)

 Note: A story has only ONE PROTAGONIST because a story is about one person's journey and struggle with a problem. Therefore, the color of the protagonist depends on whether or not they are male or female. If the lead is an entity, what color best reflects their essence?

         ORANGE (or other awful color) for the antagonist or, in a story without a single, vile, and evil villain, to highlight the "complicating characters" who oppose the protagonist.

Once you have color coded the POV-Viewpoint characters on your Chapter by Chapter Revelations, look for the protagonist's scenes and chapters and count the number of times the protagonist narrates. Do the same for the antagonist. And depending on the type of story and the word length, you might have a Second Major Character, who is often the romantic lead or the protagonist's sidekick who gets a POV-Viewpoint. Count those.

What if you have other characters in addition to the main characters who narrate? Then you likely have a serious problem called "a cast of thousands." For a copy of my researched data on the number of characters for a story's word length, go to the end of this post for the link.

Ideally, the protagonist gets 60% to 100% of the POV-Viewpoint (it is his or her story!). If you have a protagonist-villain-romantic lead in a story, the protagonist will get 60% and the next important character (romantic lead or villain) gets the higher percentage of what's left. Here's an example for a 300 page manuscript:

          Protagonist = 18 chapters/scenes (approx. 180 pages) 60%
          Antagonist = 4 chapters/scenes (approx. 45 pages) 15%
          Romantic Lead = 7 chapters/scenes (approx. 75 pages) 25%

Yes, there can be exceptions, and the percentages are not written in granite. If you're writing a saga or high fantasy, those stories have the length to accommodate additional POV-Viewpoints. If that's the case, you'll need to know what percentages are the usual for your genre.

After you look at and evaluate the statistics:

1) Did you notice any patterns, like a minor character appearing once or twice and narrating? If so, is there a way to eliminate that character and have another, more important character, do the same job or relay the same information to the protagonist (or villain)? Doing so tightens the prose and keeps the cast down to a more manageable size.

2) Was the protagonist narrating up until chapter ten then nothing from his or her POV-Viewpoint until chapter fifteen? That's too long a time to separate the reader from the most important person in the story.

3) Any "Head Hopping," that is, the POV-Viewpoint switches many times in one scene or chapter. Some authors can do this trick with an unseen slight of hand. Most novices lack the skill and knowledge so their story is a choppy read. If you're new to fiction writing, it's best to master one POV-Viewpoint per scene or chapter. Your reader will appreciate that.

Once finished with this POV-Viewpoint check, don't fix anything.  Make notes about fixes, but don't rewrite because you also need to look at the plot-line, which is the subject of next month's blog.

*** This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the May topic is The Big Picture: PLOT  (Be sure to Connect with Catherine HERE so you're notified of the blog post.)

*** Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.

*** Permission is granted to forward the link to this blog or mention it on any social media.
*** FREE: "CHARACTERS PER STORY - WRITERS CHEAT SHEET" - details are HERE

*** "Terrific Titles—an all inclusive guide to creating story titles." This and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE.
 

*** In 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

 # # #

March 2015 — The Big Picture: Chapter by Chapter Revelations

 #3 Revision is a Process

This is Part 3 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved

An understanding of how techniques of writing work in the revision process can help you. – David Madden


So, you've completed the first read through of your manuscript and noted problems with how the narrative flows. Now it's time to look at the other half of The Big Picture, "seeing" the story and determining its theme.

Theme is the point of the story (also known as the "why you wrote that particular story" and not something else). Themes are stated as morals, adages, cliches, etc., but they don't necessarily jump out on the page of a story. For example, the theme of a romance might be, love conquers a hardened heart.

And, of course, that means at the story's plot will prove the theme. You might want to say: "plot proves the theme" a million times because your muse must understand there can be only ONE DOMINANT THEME in order for the plot of a story to work for the reader.

And, yes, this means that ONE PLOT DOMINATES (and all the other "plots" are subplots). That dominant plot goes with the dominant theme, and any subplot will have their own sub-theme in the story.

So, how do you cut the confusion and narrow the story down to the ONE DOMINANT PLOT and ONE DOMINANT THEME? After all, you don't want the story to be confusing for the reader, do you? Oh, you're saying you're confused by the plots and themes you think you have? Or are you thinking you don't know what the story's theme is. Maybe that's because the majority of writing is done by the the Pantser Method. That is, the writer sits down and writes the story, not knowing what will happen until it happens. This type of writing often generates confusing plots and themes. However, there are nine other methods of creating a story. (If interested in the "10 Types of Writers," I've provided a link at the end of this post.)

Regardless of how the story comes into being, the plot and its theme must be clear and flow in some sort of logical time sequence (even flashbacks must fit in). The plot and its theme must also be believable. To insure that, it's best to use a simple chapter by chapter summary or "outline." The revelations of such a summary nets many benefits, one being to reveal the essence of the main plot (and the number of subplots) as well as to simplify finding themes. All of which helps a writer see the story's weaknesses and strengths.

Okay, for far too many writers, doing a chapter by chapter outline sounds like a lot of work because they think they have to follow a formal outline. Forget that. I recommend a "booklet" format, however, some writers use giant desk calendars, or storyboarding, or use a wall full of sticky notes. The how isn't as important as generating a practical look at the story.

For the booklet method, what's needed are either 5"x8" lined index cards or, if using a computer word processor, using 5"x8" sized pages. FYI: 5"x8" is the size of a half sheet of paper. If computerized the 5"x8" sheets can be printed out for use.

Why such a small writing area? It's to prevent getting creative and rewriting the story or adding more characters or ideas. In essence, one 5"x8" page or index card or large sticky note will equal either ONE chapter or one scene in a chapter. In other words, all you need are the highlights, nothing more. Well, maybe a few extras that come in handy for later revision items. Those "extras" go in a "header" for each scene. That header includes:

-- who is narrating (that is, the "who" that has POV-Viewpoint)
-- which characters are in the scene
-- what the setting is (where the characters are)
-- what the time is (day, night, full moons, storms, etc.)

Here is an example of the from my Chapter By Chapter Revelation from my novel KARMA AND MAYHEM:


Chapter 1                                          Page 1 of 2
POV-Viewpoint: Janay
Setting:    spaceport city near ocean, warehouse district
Time: 2 hrs. before dawn, clear staru night, calm bay waters

Characters in scene:
    Janay (protagonist)
    Celinae (witch #2)
    Shelzat (darkon archangel) [a baddy]
    3 tormantratas [hell-beasts]
    Adrada (Archangel of Departing Souls) [good angel]
    Rowen (brother of the Romantic Lead)
    Tal (veed to Rowen) [energy symbiote in form of a great cat]

Scene #1 - [opening of the story]
    Suffering insomnia, and with her bad hip bothering her, Janay, an ex-peacekeeper, walks the night and inadvertently comes across a meeting of witch #2, 3 tormantratas, and Shelzat. Janay hides until they disband and they never noticed her.
    Rattled by memories of previous encounters with darkons and tormantratas in the aftermath of a battle against witch-generated creatures where she and her fellow peacekeepers fought alongside heavenly angels and archangels, Janay goes to a meditation garden dedicated to Adrada to calm her nerves. Only she meets Rowen, a teenage Zantharian warlock holding his veed, Tal. The teen is fighting drugs and a spell used on him. He's trying to get home to his brother, Tienan. When the boy passes out, Janay prays for guidance and Adrada appears. He tells Janay the boy and veed will die when the sun rises unless a reunification right is done by her and Tienan. Adrada leaves the choice to help Rowen or let him die up to her.
    Janay decides to help Rowen get home and to do the reunification rite.
***Note: these 176 words covered 24 manuscript pages

NEW PAGE:

Chapter 1                                            Page 2 of 2
POV-Viewpoint: Tienan
Setting:    Wolcott House (Tienan and Rowen's home)
Time: 45 min. before dawn

    Tienan paces in his home's office, worried about his brother (Rowen) roaming the night because Tienan knows his brother fits the profile of a serial killer who preys on teenage Zantharian males whose veeds are in their cocooned state.
    Tienan is also angry with himself for causing the argument that sent Rowen storming out into the night.
    When a rapping comes on the front door, Tienan thinks it's Rowen. When he opens the door, his joy is short lived. He sees Rowen carrying his veed--and behind him is a woman who's fighting tormantratas with dirks that seem to fly like boomerangs.
***NOTE: these 102 words covered 5 manuscript pages

***Additional Note: If one sentence sums up a scene, that's great and the rest of the page is blank. As you can see from the example above, Chapter 1 included two scenes so each scene had its own "revelations" page. Also, if there is a particularly long scene or a pivotal scene you may have an additional page for it.
    If within a scene, the POV-Viewpoint changes, then that needs to be noted by simply inserting POV-Viewpoint: (and name of the POV-Viewpoint). This will quickly "show" how often the POV-Viewpoint changes so you can "see" if you have a head-hopping problem, which often causes a jerky flow to the narrative.

I can't stress enough that if you truly want to improve your manuscript, taking the time to do a mini-version of your story:

1) helps you sort through the story to spot problems

2) helps you "see" chapter lengths, scene lengths, sequel lengths, back story, etc.

3) helps you uncover repetitions

4) helps you uncover pacing problems (POV-Viewpoint, or blocks of little action or blocks of too much action - which you might not have noticed on the first read-through but didn't know why the pace was "off" in some way)

5) helps you uncover unnecessary scenes or where you may have gone off on a tangent

6) helps you uncover a need to include or reinforce or foreshadow something


and the Chapter by Chapter Revelations is also useful for checking other aspects of the story and the writing, which will be covered in the next few installments of this series. For example: in April's "The Big Picture: POV-Viewpoint," besides head-hopping, you can easily figure out who's got how much POV-Viewpoint and which dominates.

Another advantage of the Chapter by Chapter Revelations pages, cards, or stickies is they can help you locate information in the story without having to thumb through the entire manuscript. For example: In my latest work-in-progress, I realized a character, the leader of a clan, was to be called by his title, but I'm not certain I had the main characters call him by his title. So, I opened a new file on my computer that I call "fixes-rechecks" and added that note to myself. When I'm done with the story, I'll be able to check. After all, I don't want to stop drafting to go back and look for where the scenes are. But when the story's drafted, I'll have the chapter revelations be able to locate which chapters that particular character was in, check those scenes, and fix things (or reassure myself that I didn't goof up, which is always a welcome relief).

By the way, it's a good idea to keep each of your novel's chapters in separate files to prevent a disaster, like a computer crashes or corrupted data in one sector prevents a file from opening. Smaller files are also easier to work with. Once you have all your corrections done, you merge the chapters into one document for marketing.

Lastly, some editors and agents want a "Chapter-by-Chapter Outline" instead of a synopsis. Which means, if you already have your chapter by chapter revelations done, you need only clean it up, tighten the language, and use it.

*** This blog is updated the 1st of each month. Don't miss next month's: THE BIG PICTURE: POV-VIEWPOINT by following this blog or Connect with Catherine

*** Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.

*** LINK TO the Cheat Sheet "10 Types of Writers"

*** Permission is granted to forward a link to this blog or mention it on any social media.

*** IN 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

*** "Terrific Titles—an all inclusive guide to creating story titles" and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE.

# # #

February 2015 - The How-to of Revising

#2 Revision is a Process

This is Part 2 of a 12-part series on Revision is a Process @ 2015 All Rights Reserved
 
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
  - Maya Angelou

Last month, you learned about the need to switch from creative to editor mode and about setting your work aside to break the vicious cycle of frustration with creativity versus logic (editing).

This month we'll look at the tactic of going through a manuscript for one specific item, maybe two (if they are closely related) and noting the problem, but not fixing it. Why not fix-as-you-go?  Because there may be some other spot in the manuscript that will be affected and you won't realize that until you find that other spot (or spots).

It also goes without saying that multitasking doesn't work when revising because you get distracted by other elements, like grammar and punctuation, and forget what you were supposed to be looking for. Enough said. Onward.

When ready to do the first edit, a good way to break the enjoyment cycle (that is, being creative) is by printing a hard copy of the entire manuscript. That's right, you don't work on the computer for this step because you want to read the work like a reader, not the creative author. You want to look at each word and hear how it sounds, how the narrating voice on the page sounds, how the characters' voices sound. You want a symphony, not off-key kazoos.

Here's a tip: Since you'll read the text, single space it. That will help discourage writing on the page. Using a mono-faced font like Courier New in 12 points will cut down on eye fatigue and actually help you see every letter that constitutes a word. One caution: only print on one side of the page. (See ** below.)

It's also a good idea to punch holes in the hard copy and put the work in a three-ring binder. Placing a colored sheet of paper between each chapter aids in quickly finding chapter beginnings and endings. You could also use the sticky style of file index tabs and number the chapters, or use address labels folded in half over the long edge of the colored paper to form a "tab" that you can number.

When you find a problem on a manuscript page, immediately number it. Next, make a note. This note can be:

1) ** written on the backside of the left-hand page (since it is blank).

2) use a 3x5" index card or a 2x4" piece of paper, or even a sticky note. Using such small notes means you won't be tempted to write volumes, or rewrite something.

In all cases, number the note to match the number on the page you're working on.

Here's another tip: if you use index cards or slips of paper, punch a hole in the upper left corner and insert the note onto one of the binder rings for that page.

As to numbering the notes, you can start with 1 and go to 1,000+ or you can begin at 1 again when you change chapters, but be sure to indicate the chapter, like CH1-1.

Yes, you can write notes in the margins of the manuscript, but that will eat up the margin space when there are multiple notes. What's better is bracketing the sentence or paragraph (or highlighting it) and assigning a number to it and making your note. However, some items you can put a "code" in the margin to designate:

       LS = long sentence

      AWK = awkward

      RUE = Resist the Urge to Explain (that is, there's too much explanation or description that slows the pace)

      HT = heads talking in a vacuum (meaning beats and stage business are needed for the dialogue)

Although you should be using proofreader's marks, sometimes you'll use your own code. In that case, make a master list of your personal codes so you'll remember what they mean when you edit your next project.

What else will you need for this first read-through? A colored pen (like red or purple or green) so notations vividly stand out against the text. You may want highlighters, again ones that vividly stand out on the text.

Now, take that hard copy in its binder along with your note taking material, pens, highlighters, etc. and go somewhere that you don't associate with creating or writing a story. Why? Because doing so reinforces your desire to read objectively, not create or get lost in the story again. For example, my office is upstairs. When it's time to do edits, I take my hard copy downstairs to my dining room. I know writers who go to their local library for an afternoon and others that go to a local bookstore that has comfy chairs and tables, even refreshments.

So, exactly what are you looking for when you go through this first read? Look for:

a) How the words, narrative, and characters sound. Is the work interesting to read or are there tongue twisting phrases, repetition of vowel and consonant sounds? (Note: the creative self loves rhymes and repetitions, some may work, most don't.)

b) How it sounds also has to do with pace, tension, urgency, suspense— the things that keep a reader turning pages to find out what happens next. It's paying attention and picking up on boring spots (places you, or a reader, will skip over to get "to the good stuff"). These are often huge blocks of text on one page or which carry over to other pages. It's recognizing the drone of information dumps, explanation, and descriptions that slow the read.

c) It's about recognizing when you stop and go back to reread something that you've uncovered an awkward or confusing aspect that will need clarification, or deletion.

d) And, lastly, is there too much going on too fast that is confusing? This often happens in high action and fight scenes.

If you're making yourself a Master Revision Check List, it might look like this:

      FIRST READ THROUGH -

     [ ]  Voice (narration and characters)
     [ ]  Pace, tension, urgency (page turning, not boring stuff)
     [ ]  Awkwardness (having to re-read a sentence or paragraph)

As you make this first pass through the work, keep telling yourself to make notes. Once you've read the story completely through, do not fix anything. Go to the next step, the chapter by chapter look at the plot itself and the time line. Remember, you want to find the problems with the big ticket items before you handle the nitty-gritty little things that can turn readers off.

By the way, as you went about making notes for things to fix, your creative self will be alerted that those areas need adjustments. When you go to actually make the fixes, your creative self should have words and solutions ready. That beats making something up on the fly that later proves unusable and which causes many more revisions and skews other aspects of the story.
*** This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the next topic is CHAPTER BY CHAPTER REVELATIONS

*** Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.

*** Permission is granted to forward a link to this blog or mention it on any social media.

*** IN 2016, these posts will be put into one file for downloading. To be notified when this is available, Connect With Catherine

*** "Terrific Titles—an all inclusive guide to creating story titles" and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE.

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January 2015 — Revising Fiction

#1 Revision is a Process

When you race to get books up before they are ready, or not care that the manuscript is not your best work, that stuff stays around forever—and hurts you.  — Susan Meier, Author


Nothing causes more aversion, angst, depression, distaste, and frustration then having to revise and rewrite. Editing in all its forms seems like a never-ending torture. But here's the thing— clarity trumps all rules. If the story isn't clear to the reader, then you have failed to share your stories, your views, your characters, and your plot's twists and turns.

Readers are the judge, jury, and executioners of books and stories. Most writers realize this when their books don't sell, or they see one-star reviews that basically say, "there's a story here, but it's not well told."

So, if you're mindful that readers only have the words on a page to go by to visualize a movie in their mind of your story, you must face the reality that all manuscripts benefit from editing. Of course, there's the expense of hiring developmental and copy editors (who are worth every penny), but it is best to hire them after you've self-edited your story and made it the very best you can.

To be proficient at self-editing means taking time to educate yourself on the aspects of storytelling and learn all the craft, techniques, and devices of fiction you can. After all, writers are self-taught— and basically self-educated. How-to books on writing fiction, storytelling, and craft techniques abound. Notice I said books, not those blog entries and essays you'll find online. Those short pieces cannot delve into every aspect of a technique or device, but a book does. Knowledge is power— and it can help your work stand out to readers and give you an edge when submitting to publishers.

Such knowledge also means self-editing minimizes the aversion, angst, depression, distaste, and frustration because you can change your mindset and adopt the mantra of—

                         REVISION IS A PROCESS

That's right, "revision is a process." A logical, straightforward process where you don't try to fix everything at once. You break down the monumental task into component parts and work on only an item or two at a time.

Okay, so the reality is that creative people, especially writers, hate logic and straightforwardness. And it's a fact that logic and creativity have always been at war with each other. After all, creativity gives a writer a buzz, a high like no other. It's the fun part of writing and storytelling. On the other hand, revising, rewriting, and self-editing are linear, logical, objective— and absolutely no fun.

But writers can find a middle ground. Revision-as-a-process actually enables you to be creative because you not only create a one-of-a-kind (it works-for-you and only you) "Revision Master Cheat Sheet" or "Revision Master Plan," but you also employ creativity to fix problems, add depth to characterizations, and create better scenarios that wow a jaded editor or reader. In other words, let the editor-self point out the problems and let the creative-self solve them.

Revision-as-a-process starts with big items and works down to the final edits for punctuation and grammar. As I announced in December, each of the 2015 Writers Cheat Sheets' blog posts will deal with an aspect (or a how-to step) of the revision process.

However, there is one thing a writer should do before self-editing anything. And that is to develop a way to switch from a subjective, creative writer to a logical, objective, editor-mode. The best way, and the most recommended way, is to set the manuscript aside for a few weeks, maybe a month or longer. That's so the highly creative joy of the characters and the story's plot fades. You see, at some point, the creative mind will tire of the story and want to move on. Which means, the creative-self won't aggressively interfere with or shun the editing.

This also allows the conscious mind (the logical, editor-self) to objectively look at and analyze structure, flow, and the actual meaning of the words, punctuation, and grammar in the manuscript.

So, if you've been struggling with revisions or editing your work, how about setting your story aside and take time to put together your very own Master Revision Cheat Sheet? Maybe begin a computer file or, better yet, a three-ring binder in which you put a hard copy of this post (and the ones to follow) to refer to when needed.

The 2015 posts will be —

January 2015 — Revision is a Process — An Overview
February 2015  — The How-to of Revising
March 2015 — The Big Picture — Chapter by Chapter Revelations
April 2015 — The Big Picture — POV-Viewpoint
May 2015 — The Big Picture —  Plot
June 2015 — Characters Who Matter
July 2015 — Show Don't Tell —  What to Cut
August 2015 — Show Don't Tell —  Adding Essentials
September 2015 — Show Don't Tell —  Dialogue
October 2015 — Special Checks
November 2015 — Punctuation Pitfalls & Grammar Glitches
December 2015 — Read it Again


*** Questions and comments are welcomed and are always answered.

*** This blog is updated the 1st of each month and the next topic is "The How-to of Revising" 

*** Permission is granted to forward a link to this blog or mention it on any social media.

*** "Terrific Titles—and all inclusive guide to creating story titles" and other Writers Cheat Sheets are available HERE 
 
***@2015 by Catherine E. McLean, All Rights Reserved

December 2014 - Don't underutilize the dictionary and thesaurus

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

-- Mark Twain, The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

Words have meaning.

That seems straightforward and obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many writers put the wrong word down on a page. What am I talking about? Well, here's a little quiz— What is the root word that applies to this list:

pique
indignation
pissed off
rage
ire
wrath
irritated
annoyed
enraged
vexed
choler
go ballistic
livid


Answer:  It's "anger."

What I've just pointed out is that anger comes in many forms. There are also many degrees of anger. In it's mildest form, anger amounts to annoyance or pique (indignation). In the extreme, anger is livid rage that may be extremely violent.

If you haven't grasped the idea yet, let me state it this way:  using the precise word, the correct word for what is actually happening or going on, insures that the reader immediately understands just how emotional your character actually is.

Of course, "angry" is just one of many words that writers tend to slap on a page when drafting. In revision, the wise writer will ask "how __angry, sad, etc.__ was he?" Which often means going to a dictionary and looking up the exact meaning of the word to test if it's the right choice. In other cases, it might mean looking through a thesaurus until you hit on the correct word.

As to other words like "angry?" Here are a few—

anxious
fearful
sad
terrified
surprised
shocked
frustrated
perplexed
happy


You might want to add angry and the words above to your Master Revision Check List Cheat Sheet, do a global search through your work, and see if you have any in your manuscript. If you find one, evaluate it by asking: does this correctly and accurately convey the meaning or emotion or action taking place?

After all, a reader only has the words on a page to go by to form images in their mind. Isn't it time you use the most precise one, the most vivid nouns and verbs in your storytelling?*** THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH

DARE TO BE A GREAT WRITER -- January 2015 will start a year-long series on "Revision Is A Process." Each month I'll post the self-editing steps to revising fiction that will cut down on the frustration of revising and help insure bloopers, glitches, typos, etc. are caught before sending a work to readers, critique partners, or editors.  For those who aim to self-publish, self-editing is the first step in generating a worthy book.

To follow this blog --  Connect with Catherine at her home website HERE or follow by e-mail using the box at the upper right on this blog page. 

***Christmas Gift Idea for yourself or a fellow writer:
"Terrific Titles--an all-inclusive guide to creating story titles"

*** Christmas Gift Ideas for Readers (all available at Amazon.com and other book outlets):

ADRADA TO ZOOL an anthology of short stories
JEWELS OF THE SKY, a futuristic (sci-fi) adventure
KARMA AND MAYHEM, a paranormal fantasy romance

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November 2014 - Don't go overboard and drown in descriptions

"To live through a story . . . a reader must capture it with his own senses." – Dwight Swain




For a reader to be anchored in a time and place, to feel the urgency and drama or the mood of any scene, means writing with vividness and economy. It means showing, not telling. But how much description is too much? How much telling is too much?

There are no easy answers.

On the minimalist side, the average sentence is considered twenty words.  One "rule" says no more than three sentences (that's twenty to sixty words) in any given spot. At the other extreme is someone who uses such a unique, narrative voice and such evocative language that a reader would happily listen to a detailed description of an ocean and become lost in the feel of the waves coming onshore, the smell of salt air, and the squawk of gulls.

There is also Point of View and Viewpoint to consider. The omniscient narrator (God or The-Fly-On-The-Wall) tends to tell all and describe all. On the other hand, first person and the deepest third person narratives filter everything through the character's highly opinionated voice, which means the character is not going to stop and describe a lot of things in detail. The character can't take that kind of time because the character is on a mission or quest to achieve a story or scene goal, or solve a problem.

And, of course, there are thousands of blended points of view with varying degrees of showing and telling. One size does not fit all.

But there is a "tipping point." At some point, the description will either slow the story to a crawl or stop the action. When that happens, the reader skims to get to "the good stuff" and that means action or dialogue.

My advice is— do not stop the initial draft process to edit or limit descriptions. Write what you must. Once that draft is done, make one pass through the work looking for wall-to-wall words, that is, any page with four or fewer paragraphs. When you find a page like that, use a highlighter and highlight every word of description. That way you "see" the bulk of words. Next is to cut adjectives and adverbs or replace them with one, vivid, image-producing noun or verb. Lastly, determine if there is a way to say the same thing better, and with more economy of words, but which doesn't violate the point-of-view or viewpoint.

Revision is a process. Describing to show more with less wording, is a matter of using good writing craft devices and techniques.

Craft can be learned. And craft enhances talent!


 ***THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH --- December 2014 - Don't underutilize the dictionary and thesaurus


***Christmas Gift Idea for yourself or a fellow writer:
"Terrific Titles--an all-inclusive guide to creating story titles"


*** Christmas Gift Ideas for Readers (all available at Amazon.com and other book outlets):

ADRADA TO ZOOL an anthology of short stories

JEWELS OF THE SKY, a futuristic (sci-fi) adventure
KARMA AND MAYHEM, a paranormal fantasy romance


***Connect with Catherine at her home website HERE
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October 2014 - Don't put your whole story into one file because...

I like things broken down into manageable increments, so when I draft a story, each chapter has a separate file. After the final polish of all the chapters, I'll merge them into one document for submission. 

When I was writing short stories, one computer file sufficed —  UNTIL — I was into writing novels.  At a writers' conference, the after-hours topic came up of one file or chapter files for novels. Well, the floodgates of stories about computer crashes, hard drives having damaged sectors, dropped laptops, floppy disks (and later the 3.5" ones) being damaged by  unintentional exposure to heat/cold, and so on, was my wake-up call. A few conferences later, there was the "theft" stories that then had me backing things up. So, I'm all for—

1) keeping one hard copy around of all completed work (I keep the drafts and the backup paperwork, sketches, research, etc. in a Banker's Box) but the final, finished document I put in a 3-ring binder.

2) keeping a backup disk (CD or USB) copy (which is in an environmentally safe place so it will last the eight years, or so, that's their average lifespan before they have to be recopied)

3) keeping a backup on my external hard drive (my own "little cloud" because I don't believe in or trust The Cloud)

and—

4) one hard copy always goes to my daughter who lives out of state (in case of an unforeseen natural disaster - fire, tornado, etc.)

Have I ever had a problem with losing a story? Not the entire story, but yes, a long, long time ago, one story had no Chapter 13 because the computer developed "a bad sector."  Was I devastated by the loss? No. I had a hard copy (at the time I didn't have a computer with floppy disks). Of course, I didn't like having to retype 5,000 or so words, but at least it wasn't the entire novel.

So, have you ever lost a story or a piece of one to a computer glitch? Lost a USB drive or CD with your story on it? What happened and how did you remedy things so it wouldn't happen again?

 ***THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH November 2014 - Don't go overboard and drown in descriptions

*** MY WORKSHOP SCHEDULE CAN BE FOUND HERE

September 2014 - Don't Shun How-to Books Because—

My pet peeve is the writer who says they don't read how-to books on writing because: 1) they don't want to write like someone else or b) they'd rather learn as they go and just write (the frustrating trial-and-error method).

Okay, so there are how-to books that basically say "write like this and you'll sell a blockbuster." There are also far more how-to books by authors that spout the rhetoric of bygone fiction philosophies. I should know, I've read some 400 how-to books on fiction writing over the years.

For those wondering, my shelves hold a meager forty keepers in the way of how-to books. Those are the books that teach concisely and clearly. Interestingly enough, the best of the best on my shelves are by multi-published authors who teach writing at universities known for their fiction writers. And, hey, good teachers know how to teach. I consider each of those author-teachers to be my mentors.

Which brings me back to the old trial and error learning, the write-as-you-go experience. Trial and error is a time-sucker. It  creates frustrations and causes stories to dead-end or get completely out of hand by going in first one direction then another. Another thing about trial and error is that it actually reinforces bad writing habits. And I know first-hand that bad writing habits are darn hard to unlearn. However, you can't learn fiction techniques if you don't know what they are and, more importantly, why they work and when to use them.

Now, some will say they can get writing how-to's at online blogs and writing websites. Trouble is, the information isn't going to be very comprehensive. The Internet is known for brief blogs and essays, which gives an overview of just an aspect of the device or technique. The best how-to books are tens of thousands of words that cover all aspects of a fiction-writing device or technique. So, the more you know, the better choices you can make for your style of writing fiction. And to know means not just reading a how-to book, but STUDYING the technique and doing exercises to convince your story-telling self to use them in your stories. This is part of "the learning curve."

If you think I spent a fortune on how-to books, well, that's not so. I always go to the local libraries and get a copy or request a library loan for one. If I discover a "keeper," I'll buy myself a copy and study it, adding tools of the trade to my repertoire.

If you ask me which of my keeper books tops my list as the very best one, it is ON WRITING WELL by William Zinsser. It may be billed as a book for nonfiction writing, but it actually changed my thinking and attitude on writing well and telling a story well— and it had advice on writing good fiction.

So, do you read — or do you read, study, and practice — fiction writing techniques from how-to books? If you do, what's the one book that top's your list?

 ***THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH - October 2014 - Don't put your whole story into one file because ...

  ***My September and October workshops:

--Candid Characters (what's hidden in the answers to those character questionnaires)
--Writing Believable Dialogue
--Bloopers and Writing Blunders
--Characters, Clues and Creativity
--Prologues–do you really need one?
--The Master Project Bible
--Show, Don't Tell


Information is at —  http://www.writerscheatsheets.com/workshops.html

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August 2014 - Don't write for your college professor

 
Who do you write for? Is it your grade school teacher? Is it your high school teacher? Is it your college professor?

Okay, so over your lifetime, you likely wrote for all three of those teachers. They taught you to use words and symbols (the English language) to convey ideas. Yet to write good fiction, you will write for a different audience— "the reader." Your reader.

When writing genre fiction, you write "informally" rather than formally. Formal writing is for literary, academic, or business. But you need the diction, syntax, and vocabulary that a mass-market reader will easily understand. The key words here are "easily understand." How can you tell if you write for the reader? By getting a Flesch-Kincaid score. Just google Flesch-Kincaid and pick one of the free online test sites like https://readability-score.com/.

That F-K score tells you how simple or complex comprehension will be for what you wrote. Dr. Seuss comes in at 1.02 for GREEN EGGS AND HAM. That's first grade level. A grade level of 22 would be grad level.

Now, here's the thing— for fiction, you want a score between fourth and eighth grades. That's where the greatest comprehension level for genre stories is said to be. Otherwise, you're writing for yourself— or professors.  By the way, this blog entry came in at 6.21.

So, if curiosity got the better of you and you took the F-K test, won't you share your score, revelations, or thoughts?

***THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH -
September 2014 - Don't shun how-to books unless . . .

WRITE BETTER, LEARN CRAFT --- isn't it time you attended one of my in-person or online workshops?  This fall's schedule is posted here.

Connect with me  so you are notified of updates to this blog.



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July 2014 - Don't blatantly talk to the reader (Author Intrusion)

Quack, quack, quack . . .


Author Intrusion, or the "intrusive narrator" happens when the author inadvertently or deliberately steps out of the story and directly addresses the reader. Doing so is as intrusive as a quacking duck waddling across the page. You see, Author Intrusions make the reader suddenly realize another "voice" is narrating— or the author is now speaking directly to them (the reader). When either happens, the action of the story stops. The writer is not longer invisible, or working covertly behind the scenes but is center stage.

Most annoying and distracting are Author Intrusions in the form of "spoiler alerts." A phrase like: "little did he realize he'd be dead tomorrow" is such an Author Intrusion. It's a blatant one because that's information the narrative character would not know, see, or realize but which the author, knowing the story or plot, would— and gleefully, it seems, feels compelled to share the information with the reader about what's about to transpire. Thus the drama, the anticipation, and the curiosity that's been keeping the reader reading is gone. Such "spoilers" are not foreshadowing. They actually ruin the story for the reader.

Another type of Author Intrusion is when the writer expounds on themes or takes a stand on an issue (and pontificates or lapses into their personal dogma). Those opinions have very little to do with the character's point-of-view and viewpoint. That's why it is so very important to know the story's characters before writing the story— to know the character's personalities, their "voice" (their diction, syntax, and vocabulary). Such things make characters individuals and independent of the author's interests and opinions.

Coupled with the above is when a writer saturates a story with facts and data (which said writer found so fascinating while doing research or speaking with "experts"). Setting details that bring a scene to life are one thing but swamping the story with too much detail bores the reader.

However, my pet peeve concerning Author Intrusions is when a character of the opposite sex than the writer sounds like the writer’s sex. This happens a lot in romance fiction when the female author portrays her Alpha Male Romantic Lead acting emotionally and angsting like a woman. Worse yet is that female author having this hero spout "feminine" words, which readers recognize and shout, "a guy would never say that!"

It's not easy to identify Author Intrusions because they can be subtle. However, an excellent way to find Author Intrusions is to have critique partners and readers who "hear" the differences in narrating characters and who will note when the author steps on the page or the characters deviate from being "real story people."

Best, of course, would be for the author to develop and cultivate a keen "inner ear" that hears the different narrative voices of the characters and also recognizes words and phrases that are not part and parcel of that character's characters. Again, to know a character before writing the story is an asset.

So, what's your pet peeve when it comes to Author Intrusions?


***THIS BLOG IS UPDATED THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH -
August 2014's topic—  Don't write for your college professor

ANNOUNCING: I will be giving a hands-on, online course, "Characters, Clues, and Creativity," October 1-31, 2014 hosted by Pennwriters. Details are currently HERE.
 
***  Make sure you're notified when this blog updates by joining my private e-mail list at Connect With Catherine
***Comments and questions on craft are always welcomed and answered either here or, if you prefer, by private email (go to Connect With Catherine)
 
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June 2014 - Don't repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat . . .

Have you gotten feedback on your writing that says you're repeating words? Okay, so critiquers will often cite repetition of "red flag words" like: was, were, there, so, and, as, just, or but.

However, what I'm addressing this month are words and phrases not so easily found. It's the old can't-see-the-forest-for-the-trees syndrome.

You see, every word or phrase leaves an echo in the reader's mind. Words like "the" scarcely leave an echo, but use a word like fortuitous and the "echo" lingers. And lingers.

Now, the Muse, which is your storytelling subconscious, loves rhythm and rhyme. That's why it will latch onto words just to hear them resonate again. And again. Which means that if you use an "echoing" word (like fortuitous) in the next sentence, or the next paragraph or on the next page, the reader has not forgotten that word. The reader, on a subconscious level, begins begins to wonder—  and anticipates— if there will be a payoff when the third repetition occurs. This is also an example of the Rule of Three, which is a good thing if there is a payoff. Not such a good thing if there isn't.

What's the Rule of Three you ask? It's about deliberately repeating something three times, and the third time is a payoff or offers a surprise or results in a wow factor. For example: mention a Winchester rifle in chapter one, then mention the Winchester in chapter eighteen. With that second appearance and "echo," the reader thinks the rifle is VERY important (because it has been mentioned a second time). The reader now anticipates that the rifle will be used a third time. When the gun is used, and in a significant way, that's the payoff. 

Do you know what happens when the reader pays attention to the rifle after the second mention, but the rifle is never brought into play again? On a subconscious level, the reader is irritated— and not likely to enjoy any more stories by that writer.

How do you know if you're repeating words or phrases that don't generate a payoff? Self-editing with a keen internal ear and listening carefully helps.  Better yet is to read passages out loud or have someone read the story and you listen. Even better is to join a critique group or find critique partners who can see the forest for the trees and hear the echos across the valleys of words.

After all, craft enhances talent and craft can be learned. And here's a tip: craft makes the difference between a ordinary writer and a great storyteller.

***This blog is updated the first of each month. Next month: July 2014 — Don't blatantly talk to the reader (Author Intrusion)

*** Note: Act now! 
Make sure you're notified when this blog updates by joining my private e-mail list.

***Comments and questions on craft are always welcomed and answered.






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