Ummmm.....I Heard You the First Time
As you all know, I just finished my line edits a few weeks ago. One thing that immediately jumped out at me was the same word scrawled on page after page.
Rep
As in, repetitive.
Now, this is a manuscript I finished the rough draft of in 2007. This thing has been through the ringer. I've edited and revised it a million times.
But I was still being repetitive.
Thank goodness for editors!
What a great reminder for me when I start my next story. I see repetitiveness in books already and sometimes it can be annoying. Repetition is not necessarily using the same words or repeating a sentence. For example, I read a book recently which was a good story with some sweet romance, but I felt like every chapter was reiterating the inner conflicts of the main characters.
The reader doesn't need to be told over and over why the hero and heroine can't be together. I find myself doing this in my own writing. Using the character's internal narrative to remind the reader what the conflicts are. I don't think it's effective. The reader will remember. Use external conflict to heighten the inner conflict, but repeating the inner conflict is not necessarily a hook.
Will I take my own advice? I'm trying!
Do you find yourself repeating the conflicts in your stories? What about telling the reader what you want them to know, rather than using scenes? Any advice for someone like me who feels like the queen of repetition at the moment?
Rep
As in, repetitive.
Now, this is a manuscript I finished the rough draft of in 2007. This thing has been through the ringer. I've edited and revised it a million times.
But I was still being repetitive.
Thank goodness for editors!
What a great reminder for me when I start my next story. I see repetitiveness in books already and sometimes it can be annoying. Repetition is not necessarily using the same words or repeating a sentence. For example, I read a book recently which was a good story with some sweet romance, but I felt like every chapter was reiterating the inner conflicts of the main characters.
The reader doesn't need to be told over and over why the hero and heroine can't be together. I find myself doing this in my own writing. Using the character's internal narrative to remind the reader what the conflicts are. I don't think it's effective. The reader will remember. Use external conflict to heighten the inner conflict, but repeating the inner conflict is not necessarily a hook.
Will I take my own advice? I'm trying!
Do you find yourself repeating the conflicts in your stories? What about telling the reader what you want them to know, rather than using scenes? Any advice for someone like me who feels like the queen of repetition at the moment?
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