Writer's Tip #90: 11 Tips to Consider Before Declaring Your Manuscript Done
Great tips for soon-to-be great writers
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can't quite put your finger on it, but you know you've done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer's tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
These 11 tips are from Renni Browne and Dave King's wonderful book, Self-editing for Fiction Writers. If you are preparing a story for your writers group, for a beta reader, or want to knock out the most obvious errors before spending money on a professional copy editor, this book should be on your Christmas list. You'll notice their comments are more non-judgmental than most reviewers. Their focus is to make you consider important elements of your writing–do they deliver the message you want them to in your writing? Feel free to read more of my review, then check back here for the most important tips Browne and King cover. Here are my favorites:
Narrative summary no longer engages readers the way it once did. Showing your story… will not only give your writing immediacy. It will give it transparency.
Are you describing your characters' feelings?
It's often a good idea to introduce a new character with enough physical description for your readers to picture him or her.
Some writing books distinguish as many as twenty-six different flavors of point of view, but there are really only three basic approaches: first person, third person, and omniscient
(If you move from head to head) Would your story gain power if you stuck with a single viewpoint character or broke your scenes up at appropriate places … to make this possible?
Take a look at your language. Is it right for your viewpoint character?
Take a look at your descriptions. Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint character would notice?
Do you have tangents–little subplots or descriptions that don't advance the plot?
(On the importance of dialogue mechanics: This from an agent): The first thing I do is find a scene with some dialogue. If the dialogue doesn't work, the manuscript gets bounced. If it's good, I start reading.
Can you get rid of any of your speaker attributions?
Read your dialogue aloud
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, IMS tech expert, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything. Currently, she's seeking representation for a techno-thriller that she just finished. Any ideas? Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: writers resources, writers tips Tagged: plot, self-editing, writers resources, writers tips
