I might be the only one, but I find that when it comes to editing, I need a bit extra in the way of motivation to get something done.
For me, setting a deadline goal and making it public works. Because knowing that there's a countdown timer showing how my editing time is dripping away really does a lot to keep me focused.
Maybe you'd need something different, but if you haven't started editing yet, I strongly suggest that you find something to work toward.
Why? Well... editing (while I love it) is not exactly the world's most exciting thing to do. I find it fun, but at the same time, it's a lot more like work than the sheer joy of pure creation as experienced during drafting.
So I need to remind myself that I am working toward something. Because I believe that editing every day is the wisest course.
If I leave long periods without editing, I have to read the story again to pick up where I left off, which wastes more time because reading the story again will either mean that I'll have to edit from the beginning, or taking more time to get distance again.
Also, if I leave the editing too late, I'll either end up taking forever to finish my WiP, or rush towards the date of completion. And rushing is hardly ever a good idea.
If I rush, I get sloppy. If I get sloppy, I'll miss some important things that need to be fixed. Which means that I'll probably have to go back and do it again. No one's idea of fun.
For the same reason, I strongly suggest that you don't see your editing goal as set in stone. Because, if you're still undiscovered, it's more important to do the job right than do the job fast.
But do what you must to get the job done.
Look Out for These:
1) Long periods without editing.
2) Procrastination
3) Feeling pressure because you haven't done any meaningful edits in a longer time than you think feels good.
How do you stay motivated during the editing phase?
Yes yes, I know this is a pretty obvious choice for G, but you know what they say, it's a classic for a reason.
There are always some of the lucky few that have a natural feel for grammar and the other rules. Others don't. Luckily, grammar is an easy (if repetitive and tedious) fix once you have an idea of the rule.
However, because there are so many rules, I'm not going to go into them today. Rather, I will refer you to this lovely lady.
Lucy is also doing the A to Z Challenge and her theme this year is Writing Conventions. Each letter deals with a specific grammar or writing rule.
I also suggest you go check out Grammargirl. She probably has every single thing to know about grammar on her site.
But before you turn yourself into a grammar nazi, remember that the prerogative is still yours. If you want to break a grammar rule for a reason, do it. As long as it works stylistically (ask crits and betas) and the reason isn't because you're too lazy to fix the mistakes.
So what about you? Grammar Nazi, or Grammar Hippie? Or somewhere in between? Have you ever experimented with breaking grammar rules? How did it work out?
Looks like I'm all about the subtle issues this year. Today's issue of choice is flow.
It isn't something that you can see. You have to sense it. Which of course makes it nearly impossible for a writer to detect on his or her own.
Still, it can be done, if the writer takes at least a few weeks off to get a bit of distance from the story.
Once that's done, the writer needs to do two things.
Firstly a fast read through of the story. Reading through your work in as close to a single sitting as possible will hopefully show you where there are lulls in the story that nearly grinds its progress to a halt. Or conversely, where things are happening on top of each other so fast that the reader won't be able to catch up.
If the pace is too slow, either shorten the period before the next big event, or work something exciting into the lull. If it's too fast, you might want to look into bridging scenes. These are slower scenes designed to give the characters and the readers a chance to rest before the next thing happens. It gives them all the opportunity to think of the events just past before the next one. If those scenes aren't there, the story won't have an impact on the readers, because they won't have a chance to sink in.
The second thing that a writer needs to do is an out-loud reading of the manuscript. This is to catch the tiny things that hurt the flow. Words that repeat, sentences always of exact same length, or similar sentence structures repeating too close to each other. Same goes for paragraphs. Think I'm being nit-picky? Try this:
Inspecting the room, he walked in. People stopped talking and started staring. Pausing for a moment, he frowned. Why were they staring like that?
Doesn't feel nice to read, does it?
Compare this:
He walked into the room, careful to look relaxed while he inspected its occupants. Silence fell as he made his way to the bar. Frowning, he ordered a drink and took a sip. Why were they staring?
Still not the best lines ever, but lots better than before. So when you read out loud and things feel weird, look for repetitions and change them up.
Flow issues take a bit of effort to spot but once you know about them, they're among the most clear-cut issues to fix. Only one more thing: The fast read is best done during revisions while you're making big changes to the story. The loud read works best right at the end when you only need to change wording and such.
Look Out for These:
1) Long periods of unending action or no action.
2) Something sounding or feeling off when reading. Few people can catch structure repetition, so if you can't put a finger on what's wrong, go looking for repetitions.
3) Crit partners or betas pointing out the above. LISTEN to them. Odds are they'll catch flow issues much better than you will.
What do you do to catch flow issues while editing? Are you one of the lucky few with a natural feel for flow, or do you have to go looking for the problem?
I actually did a pretty good post about this earlier in the year, but it was quite long and I think it's important, so today I'm doing it again. Hopefully in express mode.
So... Earthing the reader is a term I've taken to using when thinking about when it comes to reader perceptions.
Broadly speaking, it works like this: There's an aspect or thing that has an impact on the story or character. Say... a gun that kills an intruder. Easy, right?
Well... no. Because if you want to keep your readers happy and the tension going, two things need to happen.
1) The reader must be shown that there is in fact a gun in the house.
2) The reader must be on the edge of his seat,
biting his fingernails because of the fact that the intruder broke in.
Now for things to be made even better, the gun and intruder can be earthed further. For example by showing the reader that the gun in fact does not work and later revealing that the intruder is there to kill the main character. Drama abounds, right?
All because the reader was earthed right. If they aren't gently lulled into the story with wisely inserted but vital information, the climactic scene will not have an impact on the reader except apathy. Or worse: disbelief.
Earthing the reader isn't just about the storyline, though. It's in every scene. If your characters are eating, make sure the reader knows this before the character puts her plate aside. Every single thing that the character interacts with has to be set up, otherwise it looks like he or she is conjuring it out of thin air.
It also extends to character motivations. Characters shouldn't be doing things without reasons, so you should be earthing the reader by either showing their motivations in small ways before something big happens. Conversely, a huge, seemingly incongruous reaction can be used to set up an important revelation of a character's motivation.
All of the above have to be done with skill and subtlety. Make it too obvious and the reader won't like it either, finicky creatures that they are...
Look Out for These:
CP and Beta reader reactions are a major indication of problems in this area. Look out for these (or similar) reactions:
1) "I don't like the Deux ex Machina in the ending."
2) "Where did this come from?"
3) "Why is the character reacting like this?"
What do you look for when earthing a reader? Do you ever pay attention to it while editing?
When the time for revisions come, this one is pretty important to look at.
For a reader to enjoy the story, something has to change. Maybe it's the plot changing the character's world. Or maybe it's the character that changes. Or even both.
But something has to change. Because if it doesn't, and everything goes back to how it was before the start of the story, what would be the point? Why would a reader sit through the thousands of words in between?
So during revisions, you might want to see if your characters grew. Especially if you're more of a plot driven kind of writer. It's something I find quite a lot, that the plot-driven stories have awesome development in the plot, but almost none in the character. In fact, they can potentially let characters go through the motions required by the plot and leave the characters relatively unchanged. (And in some action-books I've read, unscathed.)
On the other hand, character-driven writers tend to have excellent character development, but the plot development is a bit lacking. I actually think it's easier for a character-driven writer to get both right, because a character can't change if something didn't happen to him or her. Still, the plot aspect to the story might feel murky or undefined. As if something happened, but the reader can't be sure.
Both of these can be acceptable if it's what you're going for. If not, you might want to spend a revision round either defining what's going on inside the character, or outside around the character.
More specific than that, I can't really help you, since it depends on the story. But if you have development issues in your story, you can contact me and I'll go through your work to see if you can improve on character or plot development. Otherwise, you should have a crit partner who's able to help you out.
Look Out for These:
1) Plot feels like it's going nowhere, even if it is in fact moving towards a point.
2) The plot is full of events, but the character seems to have learnt nothing, or didn't change, or seems largely unaffected.
3) Plot development: Crit partners say that you have pacing issues, but deep down you know the pacing is fine.
Are you a character or plot-driven writer? Do you find yourself having to go back to make sure the development of plot and/or characters need to be better defined?
When I draft, I'm not really fussed about specifics in my description. All I want to know is what's happening, when, where and with who. Sometimes it's nice to know what the who's and where's look like.
So my first draft (and rewrite, for that matter) is riddled with cliches. Riddled. Because let's face it, Callan has jet black hair. And it's referred to as such in my two rough drafts. When I edit, though, it's time to change things up. Jet black hair is done. So is comparing it to a raven's wing. What then, do I change it to?
Well... this is where us character-strong pantsers have a lot of fun. We just let the view point character tell us. For example, I have a half-elf referring to hair as a glossy ebony. Simple. Perfect sounding coming from him. And that's the thing. Because it's not about how you the writer would say something. It's about how the character says something.
Remember what I said about characters having to act? It extends into narration. Because they have to sound right as well. And look right in the way they move. The perception of others have to fit the character doing the perceiving. If you get that right, and your character isn't a cliche, you'll pretty much cut out cliches in your word choices.
Which brings me to another point. Unless you're trying to lampoon the heck out of them, stay away from stock characters. I'm not saying that the ugly guy isn't evil. I'm just saying that there has to be more to a bad guy than being ugly and evil.
Or her...
You know, (ignoring the fact she's wearing a wedding band) the most popular girl in school. Confident. Pretty. Just so make up and body. Cliche. Does that mean she has to go once you edit?
No, but if possible, you might want to explore her a bit more to add depth. Like the fact that she's been living on 1200 calories a day - every day - for five years in order to look the way she does. And you know that perfect make-up? Ruin it with a few tears. And that confidence? Reveal (or just hint at) her many MANY insecurities. And if the story is about your character befriending her, maybe it's a good idea to let them stay friends in the end. With them BOTH showing character growth.
So to sum it up, cliche avoidance is about knowing your characters. If you know how they think, you'll know how they'll describe something in fresh and beautiful ways. If you know all of your characters, you can add little bits of them into the story that will add that extra dimension they needed to become awesome.
Look out for these:
1) Phrases as old as time.
2) Characters that fall squarely into a trope with nothing to change it up.
3) Also, characters who are pretty much cliched except for the single token quirk. The readers won't fall for it.
How do you fix cliches?
To me, beginnings are so important to stories that I devoted special attention to mine for Doorways. Before I even let most of my crits see the post-first-edits version.
After all, first impressions matter.
For some readers, a good opening chapter will make a difference between them closing the book and finishing it. So yeah. It's pretty darn important.
On the other hand, it's common to find people who work their butts off on the first lines and neglecting the rest of the chapter or on the first chapter and neglecting the rest of the book.
It sort of makes me think of a guy with this body:
And these legs:
See when we focus on one portion of a book too much at the expense of others, the story could (and often does) come out looking lop-sided.
Most of the places I've read about beginnings talk about hooking readers with the first line. About how important the first lines are and so on. Those aren't wrong, but there's more to hooking a reader than a first line. In fact, I see an excellent first line as something of a bonus. A sweet sensation I enjoy for all of half a second before moving onto the rest of the story.
According to me, the beginnings are there to serve two purposes:
1) To introduce at least one character in a way that draws the reader to the story. If not to the character.
2) To set up the story in a way that leads the reader into the rest of the plot. That's why personally I'm not a huge fan of opening in dream sequences or in the middle of action.
Both of these must be done in a way that moves into the second chapter without a hitch.
It's incredibly important to draw the reader in, but the effort can't stop at the end of the first line or even the first chapter. It stops at the end of the story.
Not a moment before that.
Look Out for These:
1) The beginning differing in tone or pacing from the rest of the story.
2) The characters are introduced, but with telling or in another way that bores or irritates the reader.
3) The opening not setting up the rest of the story plot-wise. If the first chapter doesn't slot into the subsequent chapters in a way that affects the rest of the story, it's better to start somewhere else.
How do you do your beginnings? Do you write it first and make the rest of the story fit, or do you write the story and tailor the beginning to fit?
Acting is quite tricky to catch when editing.
"Now what is this silly girl talking about?" you might ask.
Well... your characters, of course. For your story to work, your characters need to be realistic. By realistic, I mean they must act in a way that people do.
Which is a fun concept, because every person is different.
So how can I say characters must act like people?
Easy. People (usually the sanish ones, but the less than sane ones too) have motivations, dreams, desires. They have personalities. Complex personalities. Including quirks. And they are ruled by them.
So. Take this guy (and yes, I am aware that this will be a cliche fest):
Let's call him Jack. Jack looks like a really nice person, and he is. He has some issues about his image (which is silly, because he's actually a good looking boy) from when he was a small boy wearing specs. He's sensitive and caring and generally speaking an affable guy. Everyone's best friend. Including Jill's:
He's not going to snark. He's not going to be a badass dude waiting to knife you in the back. So anything that he does and says that goes against that, has to be fixed when you edit.
Except, of course, it happens around this guy.
See this badboy (let's call him Stephan) is cheating on Jill. And everyone knows. Except Jill, because she refuses to believe it. So if Jack didn't have a negative reaction around Stephan, he wouldn't be acting to character either.
So if you were to write Jack's story, it's vitally important that everything that Jack does and says fits with who he is. Even the things that look like they're out of character until closer inspection.
Look out for these:
1) Moments sticking out because it isn't gelling with the rest of the scene.
2) Dialogue that doesn't suit the character.
3) A supposedly sane character looking bipolar because there's no constancy to the way he acts.
Do you get your characters to act true to who they are? What shows you that your character's "acting" is off?
In a few hours, the A to Z Challenge will start. Whooo hooo!!!
Welcome to all my new blogging buddies. To the old ones, welcome back.
Last year, I cruised through the challenge, hitting over a thousand blogs and finishing every single post on time.
This year, I went bonkers and entered a second blog as well. WHILE I have a countdown timer to the completion of my edits.
Yeah... every ticking second pokes at my heart.
But I digress.
Since I am so incredibly creative, I'm doing the A-Z of edits and revisions this year. Yep... I'm going to list every single thing I've learnt while editing and revising my first book. In alphabetical order.
Yep... this girl has some major ambitions...
Sadly, this will mean that I won't be visiting back blog commentors until May, since I really really won't have time. But I will follow back as close to immediately as I can.
If I'm scarce on your blog, please think of me and know that I'm missing you.
See you on the other side! X
