Lee Allen Howard's Blog, page 3

What Do You Need on the Fiction Editing Spectrum?

When a fiction writer says, “I need an editor,” what exactly does it mean? What kind of editor? What kind of editing? This post discusses different levels and types on the fiction editing spectrum.

Five levels of editing

I offer comprehensive fiction editing at the following levels that range from high-level down to the nitty gritty:

LevelType of EditingAimVery highManuscript evaluationRealize your story’s full potentialHighDevelopmental editingTell a better storyMidLine editingTell tha...

Dark Fiction Writers: Do You Need Editing?

You’ve been toying with a deliciously dark story idea but need professional direction before and during the writing process. Or you’ve drafted pages you’d like an opinion on before continuing your work.

Perhaps you’re nowhere near a polish; your manuscript needs evaluation and suggestions on the story level before you finalize writing.

Could be you’ve finished a short story, novelette, novella, or novel. Bravo! Now it’s time to polish your work for submission or self-publication. But, if y...

Does Your Dark Fiction Need Manuscript Evaluation?

You’ve drafted a piece of dark fiction, but you’re not sure whether it’s ready for editing. Are the plot and structure as effective as they could be? Are your characters fully developed and believable, or do they come off as flat? Did you pick the best POV—and execute it correctly? What could you do to improve your story before you revise and polish? A skilled editor can answer these questions through manuscript evaluation.

What is manuscript evaluation?

Manuscript evaluation, or critique,...

How Line Editing Benefits Dark Fiction Writers

Good dark fiction isn’t just about story. Equally important are the clarity, readability, and style of your writing. After finishing a work of dark fiction, if you want to improve it, you need to concentrate on how you communicate your ideas. That’s where line editing comes in.

Can you do it all?

Examine how well your paragraphs and sentences fit together. Do they flow from one to the next? Do your words successfully evoke the tone you’re going for? Is your language precise and understanda...

What Developmental Editing Can Do for Writers of Dark Fiction

Developmental editing, also called substantive or content editing, focuses on improving big-picture narrative elements in your writing. For fiction, developmental editing considers these aspects:

Genre concernsStory structureCharacters and characterizationNarration, point of view, and use of narrative modesPlot and paceSettingThemeMood and toneStyle and voiceExamples of developmental editing

As a developmental editor, I give your manuscript a careful reading to evaluate the previo...

What Copy Editors Can Do for Fiction Writers

What exactly are copy editors, and what do they do for writers, especially writers of dark fiction?

What copy editors are not

Copy editors are not writers (although I’m both a writer and an editor). They’re not rewriters. They’re not developmental editors, line editors, or proofreaders.

What copy editors do

Copy editors review an author’s text to do the following:

Correct spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation errorsEnsure that the writing adheres to the standards of their cho...

What Copy Editors Do for Writers

What exactly are copy editors, and what do they do for writers?

What copy editors are not

Copy editors are not writers (although I’m both a writer and an editor). They’re not rewriters. They’re not developmental editors, line editors, or proofreaders.

What copy editors do

Copy editors review an author’s text to do the following:

Correct spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation errorsEnsure that the writing adheres to the standards of their chosen (or assigned) stylebookClarify t...

Omniscient POV in Peter Straub’s Ghost Story

Peter Straub’s Ghost Story is one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read. Is this because it’s written in omniscient POV? That’s not the only reason, but it’s a primary one.

As I mentioned in Third Person Subjective Omniscient POV in Hell House, sometimes you must read for a bit before you fully discover what POV the author is using. This is true of Straub’s 1979 novel.

Discovering the book’s POV

Chapter 2 of the Prologue (3ff) presents in an opening frame a man who has abducted a yo...

Paranormal Activity (2007) Scares the Old Fashioned Way

Despite its use of time-worn horror conventions and tropes, Paranormal Activity (2007) manages to instill the creeps and dish out the scares.

Director Oren Peli’s ultra-low-budget film features a supernatural haunting by a demon in a home footage/amateur documentary format. Originally shot for $15,000, it’s “the most profitable film ever made, based on return on investment” (“Paranormal Activity”).

This movie touches all the bases for a supernatural horror flick and checks off a number of ...

Ghostbusters Improved from 1984 to 2016

In both Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), four wacky characters find themselves out of jobs and band together to form a supernatural pest-removal business, where paranormal investigation meets high-tech extermination. They’re called “ghostbusters.”

I can say little of depth about either of the films—especially the first one. The four male characters are sophomoric, and the comedy—characteristic of Saturday Night Live of that era—is bad and stupid. (Director Ivan Re...