the absolute greatest writing blog.

C.A. Hall. Reader. Writer. Reader/writer helper. Contact me: [email protected]

[thecahallwrites]

BETA READER

Hello! thecahallwrites, here.

Once again, I'm itching to read something new from the plethora of talented writers on tumblr. I'd also love to help a fellow writer in need.

If you've got a manuscript that needs reading, I'm your girl. However, you'd better act quickly. I'm only accepting the first couple or so requests. 

Things I will read:

Young Adult

Adventure

Dystopian

Urban Fantasy

Fantasy

You get the idea...

Contact information is on my blog. 

[moved-to-tuesti-deactivated2014]

Red Flags for Female Characters

1. If something would be boring and/or undramatic for a male character, it would probably be boring and/or undramatic for a female character. If you’re writing a female character (particularly in a major role), I’d recommend thinking about whether you’d want to read about a male character in that situation or with that trait. If not, then you’re probably boring your readers.

2. The character is useless. Have you made a main character more or less helpless for most of the story? Does she watch as the story happens around her? Does she get repeatedly saved by other characters when the going gets rough? Please think back to #1. You’d probably be bored reading about a more or less helpless guy, right? Your readers will be just as bored by a helpless female.

3. The character’s only defining trait is being hyper-smart or (more rarely) a total ditz. That’s fine for one character among several, but if she’s your only significant female character, it’ll raise questions about your ability to handle female characters at a more relatable level of intelligence. If you’re having trouble with more relatable female characters, I’d recommend checking out some Meg Cabot books, Mean Girls and/or Pride and Prejudice.

3.1. The character is totally pure. A character that always does the right thing and has no motivations besides being friendly/agreeable/nice is probably pretty boring. 100% pure characters strain the suspension of disbelief, are less relatable and usually less dramatic. For whatever reason, these types of boring characters are almost always women.

4. Your readers will probably be able to tell if you have not read many female main characters written by female authors. If you don’t have the firsthand experience of actually being a female, being well-read is probably the closest you’ll get to seeing the subtle distinctions between most women and most men in terms of perspective, dialogue and actions. Conversely, when I’m reading manuscripts, the easiest way for me to pick out male characters written by female authors is when 1) the character is hyper-introspective and collected (even in a crisis) and the author doesn’t realize that’s unusual, and/or 2) a male character notices far too many irrelevant details, such as eye color and hair color, and the author inadvertently makes it sound like the character’s ogling someone or writing a fashion review.

5. The character is a love interest that doesn’t have a role outside of romance. She’ll probably be a more interesting love interest if she has something else going on. For example, Lois Lane is (occasionally) a competent reporter whose investigations sometimes tie into Superman’s work. Pepper Potts figured out who kidnapped Tony Stark by breaking into Stane’s office. Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim had a penchant for awesomeness and a mallet. Also, she was a ninja courier for Amazon.

5.1. The character is defined by her physical attractiveness and/or sex appeal. If you consider physical attractiveness one of the three most interesting things about a major character, I would recommend rethinking the character’s development because most likely the character is a love interest that is interesting only to the author. (Think back to #1–you wouldn’t want to read about a guy whose main trait was his handsomeness, would you?) Also, please bear in mind that most of the professionals evaluating your submission will probably be ladies, so you won’t even have the titillation angle working in your favor.

6. The character has no substantial goals besides going along with other characters and/or getting in bed with somebody. If you’re going to bother writing in a character, I’d recommend giving him/her some sort of independent effect on the plot. If not, why bother having the character? Fortunately, you don’t need to give a character much space to give her/him a role to play. For example, Neville Longbottom had around a page of dialogue (~350 words) in the first Harry Potter book and he still managed to raise the stakes for the protagonists by growing a spine at absolutely the worst moment. (Dumbledore’s recognition of his badassery was probably the highlight of the first book for me).

7. The character is mute. In general, I think the mindset behind this decision is “I’m having a lot of trouble writing dialogue for females, so I’ll just make her mute.” In this case, muting a major female character will only draw attention to how bad you think your female dialogue is. I’d strongly recommend practicing your female dialogue instead–the practice will help, and at least you’ll get out of instant-rejection territory.

[jrlbennett]

Editing Your Work (Keep Clam and Proofread*)

I work with a lot of documents at my job. The documents that I work on have already passed several reviews and have already been edited by professionals — in short, these documents have been looked at closely by a bunch of eyes. I always catch at least one important mistake. 

This is true of published novels as well, though a book will have gone through writing, editing, peer reviews, rewrites and a formal editor - it will still contain mistakes. I’m a quick reader, so I’m used to missing typos in a book, only seeing them once they’re shown to me. I tend to think that I am a fairly blind reader, I usually become immersed in my reading to the point that not even spelling mistakes will jolt me out of it. Which is why there is nothing more aggravating to me than someone marking up a library copy of a book, pointing out the mistakes. We’ll never catch all of our mistakes, but the least we can do is limit them. At my job there are two types of editing: technical and substantive:

Technical review looks at the nitty gritty - the grammar, the spelling, checking correct citations etc.

Substantive review looks at the overall flow and content of the work. Substantive reviews also apply to research - making sure that things are described correctly or things are used in the correct capacity. Usually substantive review is the first formal review of a document, that why you can work with the overall feel and tone of the document.

Technical and Substantive reviewing works well for any type of document. I like breaking the review process into these two phases. There are times when this type of editing is combined in one long mark-up session, but often you can force yourself to isolate each type of review or ask others to specifically look at certain areas. Below are some ideas to help you with your editing process, these work for both technical and substantive reviews. Ideally you’ll always do a quick spell check before any type of review, but there are always certain words or grammar irregularities that get lost in the void.

Betas

Beta readers are a godsend to writers. Beta readers are often fellow authors who edit and provide criticism for your work. The key is finding a good beta reader who becomes acquainted with your work and tone, so they can help you suss out any irregularities or known problems. They are the first outside look at your work and usually provide the best advice.

You can shanghai family and friends to act as your beta readers, but if you’re looking for someone that has similar style and writing level then try looking online.

The Nanowrimo twitter account has created the hashtag  #betareader for writers to search for people that are interested in betareading books.

The NaNoWriMo website has forums devoted to Novel Aftercare tips as well as critiquing

Fictionpress.com - the original fiction offspring of Fanfiction.net has a beta-readers section where you can search for beta readers by their activity and their preferred genre.

Use an online writing group (there are plenty online) to test out a couple of chapters. If someone people seems interested in your work, email them and ask if they want to act as your beta.

Beta readers, however, do not write the story for you. You can’t write a bare outline and expect the beta to ‘fill in the blanks’. As well, while beta readers look at the raw version of a story, there is an expectation of spelling and grammar checks before submission to them. You don’t want to waste your beta’s time critiquing grammar and spelling that you could have fixed with a read-through,

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is the best possible way to edit your own work. It’s perfect if you’re not comfortable with passing on your work to a beta reader, or just want to polish your writing before showing off your work.  Reading aloud not only catches spelling mistakes, but also helps with identifying any wonky sentence structures, flow or tone of writing.

I prefer to read aloud alone, either outloud or in my mind. I’m not comfortable speaking into a microphone, I think I would spend most of my time trying not to stumble over words rather than getting a feel for them.

If you prefer to read into a machine, and catch the mistakes later while listening to the playback, there are plenty of hand-held recording devices that you can pick up at any electronic store. Below are different types of recording programs that you can use as well. Remember, the point is not to get fancy with software but to listen to the flow of what you wrote:

Dragontongue  is a dictation software that was a NaNoWriMo sponsor. NaNoWriMo winners get a 50% discount off of the software, 20% for participants. It’s different than just recording your voice in that it types out what you are saying. This would create a separate document that you could edit as you read aloud. There are obvious pros and cons to doing this.

Audacity is a free and open-source recording software.

Text to speech software is essentially the opposite of dictation, reading aloud what you’ve already written. Verbose is a free text-to-speech (tts) software. Most Windows operating systems also come with built-in tts software. Robotic voices are dull to listen to but badly phrased sentences or bad spelling will become immediately clear when read aloud by a proto-Terminator.

Go low-fi and read aloud to a friend (preferably a close friend, who doesn’t mind you droning on).

Taking a Break

This isn’t a formal type of editing, but it is used best by writers who don’t want to show their first few drafts to the outside world. There is a point where everyone hits the wall. Whether you’re still writing or just finished, there is a point where you are convinced that everything is horrible and hackneyed. The best way to edit when you’re in these moods is not to edit at all. To step back, write or read something else. Some of my favourite pieces have been written while I was stuck on other projects.

Walk away for as long as you need. When you’re writing you become intimate with the plot, the characters, the setting. Taking a break mean realigning your mindset so you can rewrite with a fresh perspective.

Always view your first draft as Draft 0 — too often people are so excited that they’ve finished their story that they jump the gun and believe it’s ready for the masses. I think this is why self-publishing used to have such a terrible reputation — first time authors publishing their work after minimal editing. Take at least two editing passes before sending it on to peer reviewers: one for technical and the other for substantive. If you know you’re weak in a certain area, make sure to tell anyone that reviews the first few drafts to focus on that area. If you’re unsure about characterization, tone or themes, ask them to focus on the substantive content. If you know you’re addicted to commas and em-dashes (not that I know anything about that), ask for a focus on grammar. 

When writing, we become blinded to mistakes that we make in our work. You know exactly what you want to say and how it should read; but, on a read-through or editing pass your brain reinterprets what you wrote so it fits with what you intended. This is why grammatical and spelling mistakes can slip by when a writer is editing their own work.

  *Keep Clam and Proofread is a poster I’ve seen making the rounds - I wish I could take credit, but I can’t. 

[mooderino]

In the first part of this series I discussed the need for a strong purpose behind a character’s goals. In this post I will be talking about competition and rivalry.

There are stories where characters are isolated or are in competition with themselves. These kinds of...

[nanowrimo]

Curious about striking out on your own, and tackling the world of self-publishing? Miral Sattar, CEO of NaNoWriMo sponsor Bibliocrunch, shares her 11-step checklist for self-publishing success:

Interested in self-publishing that NaNo novel you just spent all month...

[fictionwritingtips]

Learning the Essentials of Plotting Your Novel

I get a lot of questions about plotting, so I figured I’d write up some tips on getting started. Learning how to plot your novel can be difficult, but it’s really all about knowing what your characters want and how they’re going to get it or attempt to get it. A character with motivations and goals will help focus your plot and get you to figure out where it needs to go. Here are a few essentials when it comes to plotting your novel:

Create a plot skeleton

It helps to first jot down the key elements of the story you want to tell. Creating a plot skeleton means getting down to the bare bones of your story. What’s most important? What scenes are essential to your story? Once you figure out those key scenes and have some semblance of a beginning, middle, and an end, you’ll see your story start to come together.

Work on a timeline

If you’re having trouble figuring out when you want things to happen, try working on a timeline. What event needs to happen first in order to lead into the next big event? Your story is going to have some ups and downs, so you need to make sure your story is paced well. You don’t want action, action, action without any rest for your readers. Learning to pace your novel well is an important skill to have as a writer. I suggest reading up on story arcs.

Focus on characters

Your characters will tell the story if you let them. Focusing on the wants and needs of all your characters will help build the plot for you. It’s sometimes as easy as that. Think about what your character wants and go from there. What journey will your character be in for? What does the antagonist want? How do they stand in the way of your protagonist? Think about how one action leads to the next.

Make sure your scenes connect

When telling a story you don’t want to keep saying “and then this happens”. Then you’re just stringing together events without thinking about how they build on each either. You need to think about the “but” in your story. Something like this helps; “Amy wanted to go the school dance, but her mother doesn’t want her to go.” This explains that Amy really wants to do something, but another person is standing in her way. You can begin to think about conflict and why Amy’s mother doesn’t want her to go. You can begin to piece together a story and connect the dots.

Flesh out your story

Once you have all the big scenes figured out, you can begin to add extra detail and flesh out your novel.  Spend more time thinking about your world and the specific details of your characters. Work on scenes that will help reveal the setting and all those character details. Figure out what interactions are necessary to give your readers important information. Each scene should work to push the story to its resolution.

Let your characters resolve their problems

It’s very important that you let your characters resolve their problems on their own. If you’re developing your characters along the way, the resolution should be a result of them finally gaining the power, knowledge, strength, etc., to fix things. I know not every story will be “resolved”, but if you want your protagonist to grow in some way they need to figure out their own problems instead of relying on other factors to get them through. A good plot shows how your characters learned to overcome their obstacles on their own.

-Kris Noel

[writeworld-blog]

Don't be a Dickens: Avoiding Purple Prose

nothing-can-be-gained asked: Where does the line between purple prose and vivid description lie? How can I tell if something I’ve written is purple prose-like?

You know when you read a book a get to a passage or a line and say, “Great Scott, the things I would do to be able to write sentences like that.” Often, in trying to write a sentence like that, you end up with a writer’s disease called purple prose.

Purple Prose: Writing so extravagant or orate that it breaks the flow of the narrative and draws attention to itself.

The Elements of Style calls this writing that is “hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.” There’s no solid example of purple prose since the definition is subjective, but it is something you definitely don’t want. Below is one example of the evolution from concise language to purple prose:

Plain: He set the cup down.

Middle Ground: He eased the Big Gulp onto the table.

ACK: Without haste, the tall, blond man lowered the huge, plastic, gas station cup with a bright red straw onto the slick surface of the coffee table.

Hopefully no one is shooting for the last example. The problem, of course, is differentiating between that writing which invites disgust and vivid, beautiful writing. There is nothing wrong with description; however, learning what needs to be described and when to describe it is vital, and that kind of experience takes time hone.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind while working out the distinction between purple prose and good description:

The author does not exist. Ideally, a reader should be sitting there completely unaware that someone designed all of this. Once the author pokes his head through the cracks of the story, part of that reading experience is interrupted. Another way of looking at this is in terms of John Gardner’s “vivid and continuous dream”.

In bad or unsatisfying fiction, [the] fictional dream is interrupted from time to time by some mistake or conscious ploy on the part of the artist… It is as if a playwright were to run out on stage, interrupting his characters, to remind us that he has written all this. (x)

The story is not about you (unless it’s an autobiography/memoir). The story is about the story. Your merits as a writer will come forward in a faithful telling of it, with language that will vividly depict it, not language that is trying to show off your skill. The real skill in this department is not in flowery language, but in precision of language, which we’ll see below.

Be concise. One of the main complaints about purple prose is that it is unnecessarily flowery and takes forever to read. There’s a story in there somewhere, and your reader should not have to machete their way through your description to get there. There is description that is necessary and helpful in building the experience that the reader should experience, but in can be easy to fall into the trap of pontificating. This is where use of concrete detail matters the most. To learn more about that, check out this post.

Keep control of your adverbs. There’s this whole hulabaloo over adverbs nowadays. Should you use them? Should you not? (There’s a bit about that here.) Adverbs exist, and therefore can and should be used. Using an adverb, however, sometimes indicates the presence of a weak verb. For example, if you say that a character “searched unsystematically,” you’d probably be better off saying that she “rummaged”. We have lots of words in English, many of which have beautifully concise definitions. Use those.

Omit needless words. Using unnecessary words simply bogs down your writing. It doesn’t make your passage richer, it just gets in the way of things that matter. In the words of George Carlin:

People add extra words when they want things to sound more important than they really are. ‘Boarding process’ sounds important. It isn’t. It’s just a bunch of people getting on an airplane. (x)

Using your words effectively will be enough to make your point. Check out this selection from Oliver Twist, in which the narrator tries to tell us that Oliver had a breathing problem.

The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration, - a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence.

Charlie (can I call you “Charlie”?), we know that breathing is necessary for existence. Just tell us that Ollie had a hard time with it. That’s all we need.

Omitting needless words does not mean cutting out all of your description or only using simple words and single-clause sentences, it only means that every word must serve a specific purpose.

Get rid of zombie nouns. Along with omitting needless words and using concise language, a great way to combat purple prose is to purge your work of as many nominalizations (deemed zombie nounsby Helen Sword) as you can.

Nominalization (n): A type of word formation in which a verb or an adjective (or other part of speech) is used as (or transformed into) a noun. (x)

These words, though often thought to be impressive, can actually blur the intent of your writing and make you seem pretentious. For more on nominalizations, check out Beware of nominalizations (AKA zombie nouns).

Use your ear. Trust yourself. If you read something and say, “Hmm, this might be a little purple,” chances are that it is. When you look at a passage and say that a bunch of lines could be condensed into one, or a clause could be substituted for a single, stronger word, do it. Try not to use something outlandish without a good reason. Try literally reading aloud to help you hear the cadence and tone of your writing, as well as listen to how long you dwell on descriptions of a particular subject. However, when reading out loud, be sure not to lend your work a favorable rhythm that is not really there.

Purple prose is not impressive. The language that blows us away is not the language that is excessively ornate, it’s the language that is precise. Don’t feel a need to impress your reader with your writing abilities. If you get around that pretension and focus instead on focusing the intent of your words, your readers will end up impressed.

Murder your darlings. This advice (actually first given by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, not Faulkner) is another barometer to use in terms of purple prose. Being impressed with a lovely turn of phrase isn’t always a bad sign, but it could be. If a passage that you wrote amazes you, take a good hard look at it. It might have to go.

You still have the right to write. Cutting out purple prose is not cutting out talent. Cutting out purple prose is cutting out language that looks more like a vocabulary exercise than a story. Use all of the vivid description you want, but be sure to pay close attention to the purpose of your words. Keep the above advice in mind, but know that if you have a lot of description and it’s all worthwhile, keep it.

Clearing out purple prose is a service to your story. It gets the reader more involved in its reading in the sense that it becomes a more intimate experience, as the story is being told without interrupting the vivid and continuous dream. It also can help tell your story more effectively if you cut down and use language that is more focused.

There is no straight answer to this question. Because each writer’s style is different, the line for purple prose may change from person to person, and what pleases you will not please everyone. There are things to keep in mind in terms of keeping your diction focused, but your style is your style.

Further Reading:

The Elements of Style

Purple Prose

Avoiding Purple Prose

Purple Prose Parody Contest (some really fun reads in here)

How to Avoid Purple Prose

Thank you for your question! If you have any comments or questions about this article or writing in general, use our ask box!

- O

[clevergirlhelps]

How would you write about being wounded by an arrow or by a sword?

Look in the injury tag for tips to describe pain and wound healing (tw: gore, blood, etc.). If you’re looking for how the blade could injure someone or information on blades in general, look in the sword and knife tag. 

Here are some words/phrases to use when someone has been wounded:

By an arrow

Pierced

Grazed

Drilled

Perforated (esp. with multiple arrows)

Stuck

Punctured

With a sword

Stabbed

Slashed

Pierced

Gashed

Slit

Rent

Sliced

Chopped

Lacerated

Ripped

[fullpraxisnow]

Our eyes tell us that people look different. No one has trouble distinguishing a Czech from a Chinese. But what do those differences mean? Are they biological? Has race always been with us? How does race affect people today?

There’s less - and more - to race than meets the eye:

1. Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide people according to physical distinctions, but according to religion, status, class, even language. The English language didn’t even have the word ‘race’ until it turns up in 1508 in a poem by William Dunbar referring to a line of kings.

2. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the members of one so-called race from all the members of another so-called race.

3. Human subspecies don’t exist. Unlike many animals, modern humans simply haven’t been around long enough or isolated enough to evolve into separate subspecies or races. Despite surface appearances, we are one of the most similar of all species.

4. Skin color really is only skin deep. Most traits are inherited independently from one another. The genes influencing skin color have nothing to do with the genes influencing hair form, eye shape, blood type, musical talent, athletic ability or forms of intelligence. Knowing someone’s skin color doesn’t necessarily tell you anything else about him or her.

5. Most variation is within, not between, “races.” Of the small amount of total human variation, 85% exists within any local population, be they Italians, Kurds, Koreans or Cherokees. About 94% can be found within any continent. That means two random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and an Italian.

6. Slavery predates race. Throughout much of human history, societies have enslaved others, often as a result of conquest or war, even debt, but not because of physical characteristics or a belief in natural inferiority. Due to a unique set of historical circumstances, ours was the first slave system where all the slaves shared similar physical characteristics.

7. Race and freedom evolved together. The U.S. was founded on the radical new principle that “All men are created equal.” But our early economy was based largely on slavery. How could this anomaly be rationalized? The new idea of race helped explain why some people could be denied the rights and freedoms that others took for granted.

8. Race justified social inequalities as natural. As the race idea evolved, white superiority became “common sense” in America. It justified not only slavery but also the extermination of Indians, exclusion of Asian immigrants, and the taking of Mexican lands by a nation that professed a belief in democracy. Racial practices were institutionalized within American government, laws, and society.

9. Race isn’t biological, but racism is still real. Race is a powerful social idea that gives people different access to opportunities and resources. Our government and social institutions have created advantages that disproportionately channel wealth, power, and resources to white people. This affects everyone, whether we are aware of it or not.

10. Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn’t exist is not the same as creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism, we need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage some groups at the expense of others.

RACE - The Power of an Illusion was produced by California Newsreel in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS). Major funding provided by the Ford Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Diversity Fund.

[thecahallwrites]

WRITING IS ABOUT SIMPLIFYING

If you're a writer like me, you know that there are times when you're writing that 500+ page science fiction novel with a thrilling plot, compelling characters, and terrifying villain, and suddenly you're looking at what you have and you're just like:

I have no idea what to do next.  

Maybe you've written yourself into a corner. This could mean a variety of things - the plot is stuck, the characters are falling flat, etc. When this happens, I always try to follow my number one rule.

SIMPLIFY. 

Simplify, simplify, simplify. I can't stress the word enough. This probably seems confusing to you. Here's an example. 

During the revision process of my own novel, I always had this horrible feeling that something wasn't working right. My spidey senses told me that something was off, something was contrived, but the worst part was, I had no idea what it was. 

Obviously, the plot needed reworking, and the minor details like wording and sentence structure required a fair amount of polishing. But I knew that whatever it was that was bothering me: it went deeper than that. For a long time, I avoided the feeling, too scared to face the fact that this problem, this feeling might be irreversible.  

The bad news: I was right about there being a problem.

The good news: I was wrong about it being irreversible. 

I had this one character - let's call her Sally. She wasn't the MC, but she was definitely my child. You know the feeling. Anyway, I had all these plans for a gloriously heart-wrenching back story, with twists and turns and betrayal and sacrifice. The backstory was a novel in itself. She lived in Place A - tragedy strikes, and she has to move. She lives in Place B - tragedy strikes, and she has to leave. She lives in Place C...yeah, you get the idea. 

I was so proud of Sally's backstory. Sally was going to carry the story. People were going to love Sally, I just knew it. Unfortunately, it soon dawned on me that Sally, my child, had about as much personality as a damp paper towel. 

How could this happen?!? 

I'll tell you. She was too complicated. 

You see, the problem was that I was trying too hard. The story wasn't even really my story, it was about what I thought people wanted to read. This manifested itself in the plot and sometimes, the characters. I was trying so hard to avoid cliches that the whole thing was sloppy and complicated and impossible to get excited about. None of it felt natural. I was focused on my audience more than my characters. The real story was muddled behind all of the extraneous details. 

The problem is that as a non-published author, I don't really have an audience. At the very least, not yet. 

However, like I said, this is fixable. If your story doesn't feel right, one thing you can do is go back to the basics. Cut out those extra, pointless scenes. Simplify your MC's back story. Shorten your sentences. Go back to the basics. Outline your plot in the shortest way possible. This will help you start over again without really having to start over again. Get rid of all the unnecessary things, and the details will shine through. 

Resources:

Simplifying Your Novel - It's a GOOD Thing

25 Steps To Edit The Merciful Suck Out of Your Story

How To Make Cuts Without Losing Anything Useful

[referenceforwriters]

10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You—but Should

1. You should avoid the temptation to hire someone to edit your first draft.

I know you’re really excited that you finally finished that book! I’m happy for you … you should be happy for you. Celebrate it! But don’t send it to an editor yet. Put it away for three weeks and then reread, making notes on its strengths and weaknesses, asking yourself what’s missing, and flagging places where you find yourself skimming. Then rewrite the manuscript at least once—twice is better. Don’t bring in a professional until you have made the book the best you possibly can on your own. At this stage, you are still best equipped to take your book to the next level. Only when you’ve taken it as far as you can on your own will you get the most for your money in hiring a freelance editor. Which brings me to a related point:

2. An editor is not a ghostwriter.

It’s not uncommon for nonfiction clients especially to believe that because they have an outline, research notes or interview transcripts, their book is “almost done” and ready for an editor. But if you’re looking for someone to take any of the above and shape it into a manuscript, what you want is a ghostwriter. A nonfiction editor won’t do extensive research for you. A fiction editor is not going to invent characters, flesh out dialogue or write missing scenes. If you hire an editor to do a ghostwriter’s job, you’ll surely be disappointed with the outcome.

3. Your editor is likely to feel more invested in the kind of book she enjoys reading.

Your editor should be familiar with the conventions of what you write. You don’t want her suggesting, for instance, that you include an explicit sex scene in your Christian women’s fiction. Even more important, you want her to like your book enough to want it to be the best it can be. If a prospective editor seems lukewarm from the start about your manuscript or genre, walk away. Find an editor who exhibits genuine excitement about your project. This doesn’t mean that if you’ve written a young-adult paranormal vampire romance you need an editor who specializes solely in that genre. But it does mean that you don’t want an editor who hates teenagers, hates vampires and hates love stories.

Read More

[just-writer-problems-deactivate]

Requested by stiles-slutlinksi.

[writingquotes-deactivated201509]

My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.

Anais Nin (via writingquotes)

[classicpenguin]

To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, published seventy-five years ago today.

Monday First Sentences | Every Monday, we offer the opening sentences of a Penguin Classic to start the week

(via classicpenguin)

[fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment]

Do you have any tips for writing power hungry characters? (Btw, I love the blog! :) )

This is all I have so far…

General Traits

This list doesn’t mean your character should have every single one of the traits on it, but they’re strong ones to consider. Pick and choose the ones that fit your character best from these:

ambitious

manipulative

dedicated

ruthless

intelligent

dishonest

calculating

decisive

immoral

controlling

pragmatic

aggressive

disillusioned

inspiring

You may be able to think of more…! Either way, it’s important that you keep this character balanced. It’s too easy to attribute too many negative traits to power-hungry characters. So here’s how to round them out…

Question Time

The key things you want to know are:

Why does your character want power? How have their current circumstances influenced that desire? What do they stand to gain, and what do they stand to lose? This is where you can really get to understand your character. Ask them ‘why?’ until they can’t answer you any more. They should have a clear reason for striving towards their goal, after all.

What kind of power are they aiming for? Do they want to become the head of an important company, or are they looking more at ruling the country? The world? Think hard about the extent of the power they’re after. If they did ever achieve the top spot, what kind of things would they be capable of, or be allowed to do?

Who is in the way? To get power, you have to take power. So who is your character up against in their quest for more influence?

When did they become power hungry? In other words, what is the catalyst to their ambition? People don’t seek further power without a real reason; there are plenty of people in the world who are happy to accept where they are, and what they are allowed to do in that position. There is generally an awakening moment when the person thinks, ‘actually, I don’t want to live this way any more’ and so they seek a way to change their circumstances.

How do they gain power? What kind of behaviours are they willing to carry out in order to get their way? What obstacles do they have to clear? Think about their path to power and how it shapes them.

Basic Formula

The Catalyst

We’re not born with an inherent need to take over the country we live in, or to lead a business or beat the whole class in academic exams. Something makes us decide why we want those things. Your character needs a catalyst to their desire for power, too.

Either they’re pushed into it, they decide they want it or they are taught to strive for it.

The Path to Power

You need to think about when your character sets their plans in motion, and what kind of things they do as they climb up the ladder. Nobody goes from the very bottom to the very top overnight. Treat each rung like one major event in the timeline until you get to the end.

Gaining power requires a lot of groundwork. Some things to consider:

The friends they make;

The enemies they make;

How the one currently in the position of power views them (do they admire your character or distrust them? What kind of things might they do (either intentionally or unintentionally) to allow your character to creep closer to the top?);

What your character does to gain trust/likability;

What your character does to gain control/fear.

Evasive Maneuvers

Achieving power is one thing, holding onto power is another. What does your character do to protect their place? Who threatens their position? This is when your character becomes desperate to justify their actions, and when they may consider behaviour they previously thought immoral (or never considered before).

At this point, your character may be ruthless. What is the worst thing they are prepared to do in order to keep their power?

Support and Protest

Of course, other people keep this character in power in two ways:

Through support;

or through silence.

What happens to those who don’t keep silent? What kind of things do the supporters have to do to retain their power? Additionally, how much support is there, and how much protest? What kind of things do the protesters do to affirm their beliefs?

The Fall

Nothing stays the same forever. Either power is ripped from your character or they pass on the power to somebody else, beginning a whole new era. Think about what kind of end would suit your power-hungry character.

I think that’s about it…

History has some of the most fascinating and awful tales of people rising to power. Even if you’re not writing a character aiming for a throne or to rule a kingdom, country or world, understanding real people is a good step forward when it comes to basing characters on them.

I hope all of this is of some actual use, ha ha… ;;;;; (Btw, the blog loves you, too!)

- enlee

[incarnadind]

Eight Tips to Bring Your Setting to Life

by Anne Marble

Description is something that gets in the way of many authors. Why? Well, because it’s so darn hard to write. And no wonder. If you’re not careful, descriptive sequences can become static, even dull. Writing action and dialogue is so much more fun. On top of that, description incorporates so many elements. It doesn’t just cover describing the setting — it also involves descriptions of the characters’ clothes and appearance, the “props” your characters use, the weather, and so forth.

If you’re not very accomplished at writing description, then sometimes you might want to avoid writing it. But then, you can wind up with stories where people wander vague hallways or buildings, and readers don’t get a sense of time or place from your story. A story without enough description is missing something. People who read a story that’s lacking in description might ask “Where does this take place? Are there buildings around them?” I must admit that often happens when people look at my early drafts.

At the same time, some writers err in the other direction, including too much description. They fall in love with their setting and can’t help tell the readers about it. And tell and tell. This can impede the flow of the narrative. Imagine readers skimming your book in the store. If they see pages and pages describing the castle grounds, or the chic hotel, they will probably put it down and pick up someone else’s book instead.

How bad is bad description? Think of bad description as being like that teacher who droned on and on and put the class to sleep. Good description is more like the teacher who got students involved by using anecdotes and making the class interactive. You don’t want the descriptive passages in your story to put your readers to sleep, do you?

Read More

[writing-questions-answered]

Advice: Jumping Into the Action

Anonymous asked: HI I have a storyline in mind but I’m a little iffy on the beginning. I wanted to start it out with the main character (A) finding character (B) trying to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge but (A) intervenes even though they are complete strangers. Do you think its bad to start off with such a dramatic opening?

No, not at all! In fact, it’s often a good idea to jump right into the action if you can. Doing so hooks the reader and keeps them interested in turning the pages right from the start. :)