For authors: Advice for aspiring writers!

[Dvora]

I am an aspiring writer and I could use some help. I thought perhaps other people like me could as well. I would like to use this topic as a place aspiring writers can ask advice and published authors could give. Or if you are an author, you can share valuable lessons you have learned before, during and after publishing a book.

So here is what I need help with: I am on the beginning stages of editing my first YA/NA paranormal romance novel. I am looking for tips/advice on what to look for and perhaps a little encouragement to keep going. LOL

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

The fun part! (And by fun, I mean least fun!) Well, the encouragement is that your book will likely be a million times better after this stage (at least mine always are). The first draft is meant to be rough and require quite a bit of rework, so the carrot at the end is that you will have a much more polished piece of literature :)

Advice: -show vs tell- this is what I focus the most on in the first draft stage so that when it gets to my betas the story draws them in and they don't feel like they're doing work. They can enjoy the story then and give you your honest opinion about the characters, plot, ending, etc. They won't be saying they were bored because you told them everything...Focus on the emotional parts of the book for this exercise, because they're the most important ones to get right.

-Dialogue! Read ALL the dialogue out loud, and if you're really game, the ENTIRE book out loud. This makes a HUGE difference for me. Dialogue should be crisp and natural and things people would really say.

-Beginning and ending- the two most crucial parts of the book, give them a lot of your focus, particularly the beginning. Have a hook at the beginning and make sure that the main conflict from the book is resolved at the end, although you can still have a cliffhanger of course, if you choose!

-Descriptions! Do the pages represent what you have in your head? Are the characters all described well enough that someone could picture them? The places? At the same token, be careful of overdescribing, it's a really fine line sometimes.

Well, those are some of the main areas I focus on in revisions. I know, it's a lot to take in, but it really is worth all the effort as you'll end up with an amazing story!! You can do it Dvora! You wrote a book already, that's the hard part!!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

And by the way everyone (both aspiring/published authors and interested readers), I'm always willing to answer questions and give advice using my somewhat limited, but growing experience. You can put them here or send me a GRs message as many of you have already. I won't necessarily have mindblowing secrets, but I'm starting to build up a decent bank of what works and what doesn't, at least for me.

I'd also love to hear what types of things you'd like me to blog about. Late last year I did one on The Dos and Don'ts for Attracting New Readers and it's become my most popular blog post, so I'd love to do more of that, particularly if people find it interesting/helpful.

[Eva]

I heard as well that its easier to edit on a hard copy, a few authors have told me they print their book because they find it easier to correct mistakes. That's what i'm going to do.

[Eva]

David wrote: "The fun part! (And by fun, I mean least fun!) Well, the encouragement is that your book will likely be a million times better after this stage (at least mine always are). The first draft is meant t..."

the "show vs tell" is the pain on my backside, I've been told i show more the unimportant things than the important ones. Argh!!

[Lola]

Get beta readers :P

[Brandy]

David's advice is right on. The biggest issue I had with my first book is the show vs tell dilemma. Now with my third book my editor says big improvements in my writing has been evident from book 1 to book 3. Showing readers instead of telling them is a big player in making a great book.
And like Lolita said, get some Beta readers. Any outside help with fresh eyes that hasn't stared at your manuscript for months, days, and many eye burning hours will see a mistake or need of improvement that you might have missed no matter how much time and re-reads you put into it.

[Chris]

Wonderful thread!!!!

Agree with everything that has been written: read out loud, printed is easier to edit than digital (IMO), I would add one of the struggles that I have is wanting to seek feedback before I'm actually done (and 'done' is a very relative term).

As I write I might find myself skipping over parts and coming back to them later, leaving a little note to remind myself what needs to go there. But when you get to your draft manuscript, that is ready to go out to beta's, there should be no notes, no missing pieces...it should be whole. There will still be changes and lots to do, but it should be a fluid story.

[Patricia]

Eva wrote: "I heard as well that its easier to edit on a hard copy, a few authors have told me they print their book because they find it easier to correct mistakes. That's what i'm going to do."

That's what I do. In fact, I find the most in the print proof copy. At first, I was just going to post-it flag things I found, but I soon figured out that wasn't going to cut it. A pencil works just fine. No one has to see the scribbled up proof.

[L.W.]

There are a few amazing books that I've read that really helped develop my writing. Check out these ones



In particular the First Five Pages is excellent!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Thanks for that L.W. The Stephen King one L.W. listed is a MUST READ for all writers. And I'd add by Donald Maas. It's one of the best books on writing, in my opinion.

[Dvora]

This is amazing! Thank you so much everyone.

Question: I am working on my editing (remember this is my first time ever doing this. I just finished the book and I'm doing the first rounds of editing.) I work for about an hour or sometimes two and even though I feel like I'm doing a lot as I work, when I'm done, I hardly moved forward at all!

Normal? Or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you!

[Patricia]

Dvora wrote: "This is amazing! Thank you so much everyone.

Question: I am working on my editing (remember this is my first time ever doing this. I just finished the book and I'm doing the first rounds of editi..."

Normal, for me anyway. I've been editing my zombie book since early December. I can only do so much before I start getting sloppy. Not as fun as writing them. I recently blogged about editing. I wonder if your experiences are similar to mine.

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Thanks for sharing that Patricia, I really enjoyed it and agree with everything you said, particularly your comment near the end about needing to read the entire book front to back as if you were a reader trying to enjoy the book. I do that about six times at the end, tedious I know, but crucial as that's where I catch so many of those annoying things you mentioned, like using the same word way too many times, or other awful forms of repitition.

To your question Dvora, it's different for everyone. A lot depends on how you wrote the initial draft. In the past, I've written the first draft straight through, with very little effort to go back and do any editing/revising while I write. That makes for a much longer editing phase. With Fire Country, for the first time ever, I edited as I went, spending time at the end of each writing session to read everything I'd written. By doing that it significantly reduced the editing time I required after the first manuscript was finished, although it was still a substantial amount of effort, especially once my 12 beta readers comments started pouring in!

In any case, try not to get frustrated, every page you move forward during your editing sessions is progress, and you'll get there!!

[Erica]

Ok I'm 13 and I love to write... I would really like to start a book, but have no idea where to start! Any suggestions?!?

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Aww that's awesome that you're so young and you love writing! It took me a long time to realize how much I enjoy it :)

I was always a bit nervous about starting to write a book (which was why it took me so long to write one) because I didn't think my ideas were good enough. I didn't have the next Harry Potter or Hunger Games. But then my soon-to-be wife, Adele, told me to just start writing a book with the best idea I had. So I started and fell in love with writing and then couldn't stop! Two years later I've written 13 books, 11 of which are published. All it took was that first step.

My advice is to come up with a few ideas, pick which one you think is your best, and then just go with it. Even if it's not the next Harry Potter (my first book, Angel Evolution, was certainly miles from that!!), we all need to start somewhere, and the more you write, the more you improve and learn what works and what doesn't.

[Erica]

Great! Thank you so much.

[Patricia]

Cool, Erica! David is right. Just take the best one and run with it.

That and have fun with it.

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Erica wrote: "Great! Thank you so much."

You're most welcome!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Patricia wrote: "Cool, Erica! David is right. Just take the best one and run with it.

That and have fun with it."

Great point, Patricia, fun is the most important thing of all! Writing should always be fun :)

[Eva]

I have a question. I think the dialog in my novel is pretty poor, I mean I've been reading other books and dialogs take most of the story. My dialogs are more like snippets on the main character's memories. How could i improve that? Has anyone else had this problem?

[Reem]

Eva wrote: "I have a question. I think the dialog in my novel is pretty poor, I mean I've been reading other books and dialogs take most of the story. My dialogs are more like snippets on the main character's ..."

Yes! I'm starting to write my book, and at first I would write it between (or during) classes in my notebook. When I started copying what I wrote onto my computer, I noticed how rushed the dialogue I wrote was (usually characters would exchange a sentence or two in each scene, it didn't make sense) so when I started re-writing it/ copying it, I found my self adding in more and more details. I think you might want to try that ;)

[Chris]

Dvora wrote: "This is amazing! Thank you so much everyone.

Question: I am working on my editing (remember this is my first time ever doing this. I just finished the book and I'm doing the first rounds of editi..."

As David said Dvora, different for everyone. I consider my editing in two parts - 1) revisions and 2) line edits. Revisions is the storylines, major plot things that need fixing, character development, character deletion - the stuff that beta readers are going to let you know. I print out the story, read through it, make notes which essentially become "revision tasks" for each scene. Then I go through and make all those revisions. When I'm done, I do it again...and there are less revisions. Usually I have to do it about 2 or 3 times before it's where it should be.

THEN comes the line editing. I don't care a thing about line editing (commas, mispellings, grammar, etc.) until the very, very end and you know the story is exactly how you want it (or at least 95% how you want it):-) My problem - and it's taken my time to get over it, was wanting to fix every comma and every mispelling, even in the revising stage. For me, that doesn't work...it might for others, but not for me.

Hope that helps some...one man's advice...one man who is still in the revising stage of his current novel - so take it for what it's worth;-)

[Patricia]

Chris wrote: "Dvora wrote: "This is amazing! Thank you so much everyone.

Question: I am working on my editing (remember this is my first time ever doing this. I just finished the book and I'm doing the first ..."

Good advice. :-)

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Reem wrote: "Eva wrote: "I have a question. I think the dialog in my novel is pretty poor, I mean I've been reading other books and dialogs take most of the story. My dialogs are more like snippets on the main ..."

Really good point Reem :) I would add that they most important thing about dialogue is that it seems natural and realistic. It helps for me to read it all out loud and ask myself whether someone would really say each line, whether it's consistent with the voice I want the character to have. But dialogue is really tricky and takes a lot of practive I've found. I think (I hope) I get better with each book I write, but it really is a learning process.

[Chris]

Totally agree with David...reading out loud makes a huge difference. And usually with dialogue, less is more...but it does take practice.

[Eva]

Thanks guys!I thin maybe that's something i can fix when i start editing.

[Dvora]

Help!! I took a break from editing because I just couldn't get to it. So instead of stressing, I thought I would go back to it once I knew I could. I tried today and I pretty much know where I want to go with the story. But I just got bored doing the editing today! Does that mean my book is boring or am I just frustrated? Either way, any advice? Thanks!

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

It does NOT necessarily mean your book is boring! I know I can't read most books more than once, even the ones I like, so when it's your book and you've been through it a million times, of course it will get tedious. It definitely starts to feel more like work the more into the editing you get. I prefer the writing to the editing! For me it's all about having a goal and working to reach it no matter what, and that goal is usually the publication of my novel. Editing is one of the necessary stages to reach that goal. Don't give up, keep your ultimate goal and dream in mind, and focus on that!

[Dvora]

David wrote: "It does NOT necessarily mean your book is boring! I know I can't read most books more than once, even the ones I like, so when it's your book and you've been through it a million times, of course i..."

David, you always know how to make me feel better! Thank you. :)

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Aww I'm glad Dvora!! More than anything, I want you to enjoy the experience and feel good about yourself for what you've accomplished so far! And of course never give up because you deserve to reach the finish line :)

[Eva]

Hey, has anyone ever thought about getting your novel translated into other languages?

[David, Mr. Blue Eyes; He's the Best--Ain't no lie!! ;)]

Eva wrote: "Hey, has anyone ever thought about getting your novel translated into other languages?"

Not yet, but that would be amazing to do in the future!!