The Devil is in the Details

It is the little things, the details that make a story believable. And just as easily, make it unbelievable.

 

Fiction is all about making up stuff and getting other people to believe it is real enough to keep reading. Even better, if they tell their reading friends that they HAVE to read your book.

 

Some of the detail errors are sloppy self-editing. There is a group of people in the room. Character A leaves. A conversation, or dialogue ensues. Character A leaves the room.

 

Now, either the writer forgot to put them back in the room or they left twice.

 

I think that stems from not paying attention to the story when writing; stopping in the middle of a scene or going back to add something without noting what was already written.

 

Another deadly detail is not putting in correct details when writing about a real place. For example if someone wrote about Phoenix in the summer and stated that Character A was parched and went to the hose for a cool drink, the natives would know that isn't possible.

 

In the summer, warm water comes out of the hose. When it is 110 F outside, there is no cold or even cool water unless refrigerated. When doing laundry there is no such thing as the cold setting in the summer. The cold water comes out warm.

 

Every real location has distinct characteristics; things that anyone who had been there would notice. At the ocean, the air is moist and there is a distinct pattern to the breeze depending on the difference in the ocean and land temperatures. 

 

If it is a fictious location, then the characteristics have to be consistant, and if not, the writer has to note the significance of the difference.

 

In high school we had a writing assignment, fiction, I suppose. The student questioned why the teacher had marked off points for the character's name when the student had made up the name. The teacher said, "Yes, but you spelled it three different ways for no reason."

 

Our readers deserve a well written story. Try not to self-edit with the telly on. Make notes to refer to when you make up something, like a name, a holiday, or land mass. Pay attention to the details. Anything about a walk along the beach that doesn't mention the damp breeze will get my attention. That makes believability take a hit. Enough hits, and the book doesn't get read all the way through.

 

Do your best work. Write right.

How to become published

For the millionth time, I don’t agree with the idea of reading fiction to become a good writer. Basically, that results in mimicking the masters with little understanding of what made their writing great. (Driving a car doesn’t make me a mechanic.)

To become successfully published a writer needs to have a knack for storytelling; interesting stories. For the most part, that doesn’t include therapeutic writing to get over something in one’s past. Put that in a journal and don’t subject the rest of us to it.

Armed with a natural storytelling ability, which includes an awareness of the audience, the best thing an aspiring writer can do is study writing. Take accredited courses at a local college or university. Read books about writing, about character development, about plot, and so on. Put some effort in learning to write well. Join writing groups. If one is interested in a specific genre, then join writing organizations and [professional] associations that are specific to that genre. Become a writer.

Learn about the industry. It is complex. There are support people like literary agents and specialists for hire, such as editors. Keep in mind that not all are created equally. Make sure the Lit agent has a track record in selling the genre you write. Check to see if they are members of their professional association. It doesn’t mean they are a fraud if they aren’t members, but aim to start with accredited people. Learn the ins and outs of the industry. You don’t need a lit agent to query a small publisher. You shouldn’t pay them anything, they work on commission. Postage is a business expense. If they can’t afford postage, then need to find something else to do.

The industry is quite interesting, learn about how it works inside the large publishing houses; what are editorial meetings, what happens to an ms from query to published book.

Finally, if your mom, girlfriend, or high school English teacher says that your ms is the next Great American Novel, but all your query letters are getting rejections, then go back to basics and learn to write better. Hiring a book doctor, editor, proofreader or whatever else you find on the internet is not the solution. If you want a publisher to spend money on your book, then make it worth their investment. And please, don’t write “fiction novel” in your query letter. Novels, by definition, are fiction.

Okay, go write better. Write right.

2241 times

You get one shot at a good first impression. I've written about query letters and there are several awesome websites and blogs that have more details about writing a good query.

 

I've written about the format and content of the synopsis. Again, there are awesome websites and blogs with information about writing a killer synopsis.

 

I've written in general terms about the format of a manuscript. Besides the obvious of great writting, let me say that neatness counts.

 

It is very off putting to get a sloppy ms. Writing is a lot like vomiting -- hard to stop once it starts. Nonetheless, take a few minutes before you start the next Great American Novel, or before you send it out with the perfect query letter, and clean it up a bit.

 

Of course, I can't say what others want to see, but if my dreams would come true, I would want the following: (strong hint -- do this before submitting to Cactus Rain Publishing and you'll earn points.)

• Use MS Word, not something else converted into Word. The conversion rarely works as well as the real deal. I will notice when it comes to formatting an ms into a book. 
• "Select all" and get rid of the widow/orphan command. I'd rather see widows and orphans in the ms than bother to remove the command. This might not be true of other small publishers.
• Use the page break command between chapters. Yes, I will know if you use a ton of "enter" key strokes.
• You really, really don't need to use ellipsis in fiction. It is probably being misused. Stop it...
• In literature, there is only ONE space between sentences and NONE after the last sentence in a paragraph. None. Fix that.
• The first line of every chapter is flush with the margin.
• I like the tab set at three character spaces. Do not EVER use the space bar in place of a tab command.
• Quote marks are NOT just for sissies. Use them and indent (tab set for 3 spaces, please) every time someone talks.
• Please don't use dialogue to have the main character set off on a boring and long rant on religion.
• Not every noun needs two over-the-top, out-of-this-world adjectives. (Get it?)
• You are allowed only two exclamation marks in the entire ms and they better not be next to each other!! (You win points with me if you use zero exclamation marks.)
• You know that slick trick of having a blank line between paragraphs automatically appear and every paragraph flush with the margin? Don't do that in mss submitted to Cactus Rain Publishing. I hate it. That means when I turn it off, I have to put in the tabs for each paragraph. The reason for this post is that I just spend the better part of a day inserting tabs for each paragraph in a very long ms.

• It is a BIG deal to add tabs to paragraphs when there are 2241 paragraphs in the ms that I'm working on at the moment. This really annoys me and it better be the world's best ever story...

I'm glad we had this little chat. Carry on with writing the next Great American Novel.

Where is this story heading?

When a manuscript (ms) is being considered for acquisition, the reading is focused. It is nothing like reading for pleasure. A matrix of evaluation questions are processing while the sample chapters are read, and on the odd occasion, when the full ms has been requested.
 

During this intensely focused reading, it is a jolt when someone's name changes three-quarters into the book. The same thing happens with weather, holidays, and people's age. It can be spring one minute and two pages later the season or weather involves leaves turning or walking through new fallen snow when the storyline has only progressed a few days.
 

It is very important that details that are added to create depth to the story do not detract from the reader’s enjoyment. The writer has to take the reader with them as they progress through the story, rather than jerk them around with gaps. The best thing to do is to write straight through, beginning to end because that is how the reader will approach the story. After the first draft is completed, then go back and do rewrites. The first draft provides the framework on which to build.
 

When I write, I do not allow myself to think about the story, unless I'm at the keyboard. It is too easy to let the story advance in one's mind and leave the reader out of the process. It creates jumps. Jumping around in the timeline is just plain sloppy writing. Yet quite a few people do it.
 

Organic writing flows better than working off of a strictly detailed outline. We will simply pass on the acquisition if the writing is mechanical, stiff, or weak. Write your best story. Submit your best draft.
 

I noticed this. Check it out.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/

Getting Published

Minutes before I left the office on Friday a friend emailed that they had a client who had written a book... The rest is obvious.

 

How to get published? There are no shortcuts. I recently bought a book from Amazon. When I hastily checked "Look Inside" I should have spotted that it was homemade, and not very well done at that. The book was to be a gift, but when it arrived, one look and it went into the recycling bin.

 

For some reason people think that writing doesn't require more than a computer or iPad. Besides imagination and the ability to tell a good story, it requires skills of the craft. As I've said before, reading books doesn't teach writing. It exposes an aspiring writer to writing, but doesn't teach the skills. Let's face it, I drive a car, but that doesn't make me a mechanic. It makes me a driver.

 

With the ease of the Internet, there is no excuse for an aspiring writer not to learn the craft. Better yet, take writing classes at the local university. A writer should KNOW plot, character development, pacing, voice, tense, point of view, grammar rules (there are eight parts of speech and one of them is prepositions -- there are 48 prepositions), learn this stuff; the list is even longer.

 

In the digital age, an aspiring writer must know more than the basics of using a computer. Purchase MS Word. I'm not promoting Microsoft, but the free programs that convert text documents to Word are faulty. Word is the common language of the industry, invest in it. A mechanic isn't going to use a screwdriver when they need a wrench. Aspiring writers should invest in the craft and use the correct tools.

 

Learn the correct format for the document. A manuscript has double spaced lines. Use page breaks at the end of each chapter rather than the enter key a whole bunch of times. Use one space between sentences, not two. A synopsis is single spaced lines and no longer than two pages. It tells the whole story. Don't be coy and leave the end a mystery. Give an overview of the main character's progression from first paragraph to the last line in the manuscript. Practice writing a professional quality query letter. Practice some more.

 

Research literary agents and publishers. Know what genre you write. Avoid being uppity. You're only a writer asking someone to invest time and money into your project. Don't be pathetic either. Why would someone invest their money if you don't believe in the value of your manuscript?

 

There are alternatives to traditional publishing. Learn what they are if you aren't going the traditional route. Self-publishing is a whole new adventure and it requires due diligence to avoid disappointment.

 

Your best friend, family member, or Grammar geek is not the same as a certified proof reader. If you're serious about becoming a published author, print your manuscript and read it aloud. If you short cut this rule, then don't be disappointed with a lack of success in the industry.

 

Be patient. Unless you self-publish, expect the process to take up to two years to see your ms converted into a published book. Realize that effort and expertise is being added to the value of your ms. Be thankful that someone who knows a lot more about publishing than you do is investing in your manuscript. Success requires effort.

 

Check out part 1 and 2 of this article.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

And this:
http://www.salon.com/2010/02/24/readers_advice_to_writers/
 

Most Important Tip

The other day I was asked what was the one thing that makes the most difference in writing fiction. If I can choose only one thing, which was the case in that conversation, it would be to learn to recognize the difference between passive and active voice.

The reason that having a friend who is good in grammar or an English teacher edit a manuscript doesn't guarantee a marketable piece of work is that having impeccable grammar isn't enough. While it doesn't hurt for a writer to learn the eight parts of speech, it certainly doesn't make them a fiction writer.

Fiction writers, of any genre, should be able to deliver the basics of character development, story line with arcs, and an engaging beginning with a satisfying ending.

But it is voice, I think, that brings the story from the slush pile to publication. An active voice that shows far more than tells will grab the reader and hold them though to the end. And, if that reader is an acquisition editor of your most desired publisher, all the better.

Good writing isn't one skill; it is a skill set. I've mentioned other skills above that a writer who wants to improve their writing should learn: character development, strong story line, engaging beginning, satisfying ending, basic grammar, showing versus telling (and when to do each), and an active voice. That list isn't complete, but it is a start. Part of a writer's job is to continue to learn their craft, and perfect it.

What tip do you give people about becoming a writer?

 

Sensory Dos and Don'ts

One thing that easily gets overlooked in writing is the sensory component. After the storyline is solid, the characters have unique personalities, and all the settings are imaginable for the reader, it is time to go though and make sure that there is sensory input.

We need to feed, not overfeed, the five senses of the reader. Consider it surround sound, but for all the senses. For example, when I write about the beach in Kathryn's Beach, occasionally there is mention of the hard packed wet sand. The dry sand sifts through her fingers, but it isn't just sand, there are shell bits (and assumed other stuff).

This is not the place to wax literary and go over the top with adjectives and adverbs in every sentence. Remember that less is more. Remember that the reader is an intelligent person with stores of experiences to tap. Avoid switching into the telling mode. Hint at things with simple additions, rather than lengthy descriptions. Allow the reader to tap their knowledge from a key descriptive word.

Keep the momentum of the story moving forward, rather than diverting to sidelines to describe things in detail. Not always, of course, but once in a while note a significant change in smell when changing venue. If something is different from what one would expect, for example a quiet bar, then briefly mention it. Or a fishing boat mysteriously floating unattended for days - wouldn't there be the smell of rotting fish from the morning catch on some fateful day? Basically, you don't want to have something obvious missing from the scene.

Visualize your story and once in a while add a small prop to the set. Read your ms aloud to a friend and both of you look for places where sensor items are missing. Avoid overloading the senses and it getting in the way of the storytelling.

Let me know if you try this and how it worked for you.

Storytelling

Quite simply, anyone can tell a story if they start at the beginning and go to the end. However, some people have trouble knowing where the beginning is and start before the beginning. Some people try to put in every detail of the backstory. Other people drop in things they forgot to mention and later need to tell to make something make sense or work.

The other important part is to know when to stop. When there is a group of listeners who become restless, then it is likely that it took too long to get to the point, or the storyteller kept going after it was finished.

But more than that, a writer has to engage the reader to care about the characters and what is coming next. Just because a person can tell a story, doesn't mean they can write a novel.

Make sure you write about people who other people can care about and put them in a setting that the reader can experience too.

Write well. Tell your best story.

Wimpy Words

Sometimes beginning writers are apologetic without realizing it. It shows in word choices. At some point in the process of transforming an ms to a publishable book, I go through metnodically and evaluate the strength of each sentences, word by word.

I'm looking at the following:
Clarity - does it say what the writer meant?
Continuity - the connected whole (without jumping around in time or big gaps that are distracting).
and
Wimpy words - words that drain the energy or strength from the sentence.

Most people know (or have heard of) the eight parts of speech. I often mention that there are 48 prepositions because my youngest child counted then and it stuck in my mind. As a side bar, I don't think it is necessary to memorize them as was my son's school assignment, but it is worth having a sense of what they are so you know them when you see them.

What I think we do too little of is diagram sentences. That's where clarity gets sorted. A missing punctuation (as exampled by the book title, Eats, Shoots & Leaves) or a misplaced modifier can have humerous and possibly disasterous results. That is where diagraming a troubling sentence can help sort the problem.

Wimpy words are the easiest to fix. Simply delete them. But what is a wimpy word (a term I coined, I think)?

But what is a wimpy word? We use them in everyday conversations and in our head as we write. They are words that weaken the dynamics of the story.

It was almost 5:00. Since this is fiction, it doesn't have to be exact. Remove almost and read it again. Stronger? The added bonus in removing almost is it picks up the pace. Pacing is important in keeping the reader from disengaging with the story. (More on that some other time.)

As everything else in First Draft, this is strictly my opinion, and I'll have to add to the list as time goes on because I only think of them as I'm reading an ms (hopefully they aren't in professionally published books).

Always, almost, any, often, sometimes, about, and (to connect thoughts when it should be two sentences rather than one), even, nearly, also, each, both, and others I haven't thought of at the moment. A few of these words goes a long ways.

As you read through line by line, with a magnafying glass in your mind, notice these, then run a search for them. Keep only the essential ones and delete the rest. Less is more. By keeping the ones that really matter in the sentence, they are more powerful. The nonessential ones weaken the sentence.

My personal trigger is and then. It slows down the pace horibally to use both, pick one. I know I'm crossing the line on grammar rules, but it bugs me to have both words together.

And if you get bored with that, run a search for places you have two blank spaces after a period/full stop. Replace them with one blank space.

Stop!

Frankly, most first time writers think they are finished when the first draft is written. Trust me, it is just the beginning. That is why it is called a 'draft.'

I don't care if your mother, lover, or best friend says it is wonderful. It is not. What they probably mean is they think YOU are wonderful. And that is probably true.

As a side note, I just read an article about how many people in America think they should (and could) write a novel. If I find it again, I'll post the link at the bottom.

The reality is that most people who write are hobbyists. Being a professional writer is a different mind-set. For one thing, those people study the craft. It is pure BS that you can learn to write well by reading tons of novels. It shows when I read a submitted ms and no study into the craft has been done by the writer, though their library card is well worn.

There are very few natural writers who write at the professional level from day 1. I only know of one writer like that.

So what about everyone else, the non-naturals, who has a passion for writing? I'd say, harness that passion and drive. Take your writing to the next level. Study the craft. Study the industry (which is far less interesting than studying writing). Get serious and disciplined with your writing time. Talk is cheap. Get some ink on the paper.

Write the first draft straight through. Some people like to make an outline first, but I think that is best suited for non-fiction and it drains some of the energy out of the story if too much time is invested in writing an outline for a novel.

Plus, I contend that with an outline, the writer knows things that never get in the book, and that leaves the reader in the dark. They are expected to make leaps when the writer could have easily provided the stepping stones - those tidbits that were in the outline.

Basically, a writer needs to know where their characters are at the beginning and where they want them to be, developmentally, at the end. Find your starting point and write to the end point. If you've learned about the craft, you know how the journey from beginning to end should look on paper. A professional knows how to write a good middle story.

Some people think they need to edit-on-the-fly as they write the first draft. I can tell those who have edited one chapter before writing the next one. It has a disjointed feel to it when I read it. I don't know how else to explain it. Even if I like them, I 'pass' on the ms because it is too much work to fix the flow of energy that should be there.

The correct way to write a draft for a novel is to write from the beginning to end, straight through. Keep your eye on the prize. If you get preachy, it shows. If you go on a side excursion, it shows.

Besides stopping too soon, such as when the first draft is done, some writers do one or two edits and think it is done. Even if a line editor is hired, most do not provide content editing. The only suggestion I'll make on that is to print the whole ms on paper, get a friend who has not read your draft, sit for a whole weekend, and read it aloud to them. Even if you have to go it alone, read it aloud and listen to what is on the page.

Watch for stiff dialogue. How many of us speak grammatically correct in our conversations? Watch for time warps. Watch for telling the reader what is happening rather than showing them. Watch for side excursions where a secondary character tries to upstage the main character. (You can write a novel featuring them some other time.) Of course, you'll see lots of typos. Watch for homonyms and synonyms gone awry. Watch for sentences that are too long (how many breaths did it take to get through that one?). Watch for recycling unusual words too many times. Watch for places that are simply boring as hell and don't move the story forward.

The sooner you read your ms aloud from paper, the shorter the polishing process is...that means the fewer rewrites you will need to do.

There is one odd thing that always seems to happen. As soon as you submit your ms to someone with the hope of a publishing contract, you will see previously hidden mistakes that begin to glare at you and probably would glow in the dark if you were brave enough to turn out the lights.

I get follow-up emails with a horrified panicky tone. If the query letter is well done, and the synopsis is correctly done (and interesting to me), I can over look errors in the ms - providing there aren't a million of them and the writing is still solid.

However, that said, there are so many people writing these days due to laptops vs the manual typewriter, that it is worth it not to submit without letting the ink dry and reading the whole ms again before submitting it to anyone.

And the final word on the topic of "stop" is to not over write. Stop when the story is done. Some people like to keep writing and writing, and writing, because writing is fun. But you have to think about when the reader will feel the story is finished and stop there.

Go! Write your best work!

www.publishingperspectives.com/2011/05/200-million-americans-want-to-publish-books

Thou shalt not...

There is a lot written about how to write, and perhaps a bit less written about how not to write. Somewhere in the middle is perfection. The closer a manuscript hits that mark, the more likely it is to become published.

In my mind there are two types of writers: Those who plan every detail so that by the time they have written, rewritten, and edited each chapter before moving forward it is totally rigid and has no energy left; and those who write stream of consciously thinking every word is golden, which results in a whole lot of superfluous dribble and clever remarks to the reader.

Either style has to have an end point in mind. The story line has to stay on track and get from A to B with little distraction and wandering off to too many antidotes that do not advance the story. The writer has to keep asking, "What does this have to do with the story?" and stay true to the story line.

The elements of good writing that I look for when I consider a queried piece are these:
1) Does the story move along to a logical endpoint in an interesting way to keep the reader reading?
2) Are the characters developed with a heartbeat so the reader cares about them?
3) Is the dialogue realistic or forced? (Someone once told me they write the first draft, then go back and add the dialogue. I can't imagine how that would work.)
4) Has the ms been polished enough to show me the author cares about the craft?
5) The ms has to be marketable. Marketability has many facets. It has to appeal to a definable audience, and for me, it has to contribute to the Cactus Rain catalogue.

Before a book can reach the reader, the author has to first reach a literary agent or publisher and sell the story. It would be insane not to do multiple submissions, but each should be tailored to the recipient. Do the research. It makes no sense to spend years writing the perfect ms then sending it to the wrong person.

di·a·lect [dahy-uh-lekt]

The question of writing in dialect, particularly when it involves phonetic spellings, is usually answered emphatically, "NO! Don't do it."

Strictly following EVERY rule of writing [of course], I gave the parade lady (in my trilogy) the voice of a street version of a southern black Appalachian woman. As with most things in literary fiction that was an enigma. Later the reader understands who that woman really is and her message (role) in the story.

I've seen dialect done extremely well by Jewell Parker Rhodes in her Douglass' Women. She did a reading (by memory) that totally silenced the room. I would dare anyone to tell Jewell not to write in dialect. She did it masterfully.

Historically, the grand master of dialect is Mark Twain. Recently there was the [misguided] notion to sanitize Mark Twain's writing and remove the offensive N-word [and a bit more].

Having heard several stage productions (by Hal Holbrook) of Mr Clemens' essays, I'd doubt he would go along with such a project. He didn't treat any subject delicately, and his writing would not be immune from his brisk no-nonsense opinions either.

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. Mark Twain

"Fixing" Mark Twain's writing would make as much sense as "fixing" Shakespear. (Who comes up with these ideas?)

Like anything in fiction writing, dialect has to be a justifiable part of the story. And, it has to be done extremely well.

Catch this link, it is what started me thinking on this topic: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/02/20/fans-love-scots-writer-s-e-book-but-can-t-understand-slang-86908-22937251

24-hour day

In my recent newsletter, which posted today on my website, http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/, I wrote about the 24-hour day quote I often use.

It is quite simple to me that we have the same length of day as do the people we admire, our heroes in history and those around us in our daily lives.

My kids grew up hearing this. (Yes, they still talk to me!)

It isn't meant to do anything other than to inspire people, myself included, to think. Nothing is impossible if we truly want to achieve it.

It is unlikely and certainly unusual that someone as dyslexic as me would write a novel. Much less that I would write three, and they are fairly well received books. Even more unlikely is that a dyslexic person, the class dummy who was sometimes put in the re-tard class, would start a publishing company.

But I did that too. The debut book is at the printer. It will carry a publishing date of November 1, 2010. For those who know these things, that is a holy day in my religion. (It just worked out that way, but I think it is a good thing.)

The debut novel is The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, by Glyn Pope.

I hear a lot of people say they want to write a novel, and some even start, but it is never done. I don't know what they're waiting for. My blog and hundreds of others tell how to write. There are probably thousands of books and courses on writing well. (Yes, it is more than taking a grammar class ~ sorry.)

So the point is, quit talking and start doing (didn't Yoda say that in StarWars?).

Nadine Laman http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

Drama Anyone?

The other day I watched several interviews. Actors were discussing the movies that most impacted their careers. They each mentioned older movies, many are today's classics. Hands down, they all said it was the drama that appealed to them.

When they listed actors who were most influential in their careers, they said the quality of the acting set them apart; that they could carry the scene single handedly. They discussed dramatic acting, not good looks or athletic bodies.

They discussed modern movies with computer generated special effects and exotic settings, too. But they kept retuning to one theme - drama. It was made up of two elements: story and acting ability.

To translate that into print, it brought me back to story line and character development. Both have to be well rooted in technique, but not so rigidly that they lack substance. Just like acting has to be well presented and believable, so does writing. Books can't rely on big explosions that fill the theatre with sound and lights.

The single biggest mistake I see beginning writers make is tiring of the edits and rewrites before the drama of the story line comes through in polished form. Both the story and the characters have to be something the reader can relate to on some level. People want to see a little of "me" in the story and the character so they can slip into the unreal, but real-like world of fiction.

Tempus Fugit

Yes, time flies. Mostly it files in manuscripts when the rewrites are done and things get moved around, like scenes and such. Or worst, when the novice insists on editing while in the midst of writing the first draft.

The best way to write a novel is straight through, beginning to end. Never, ever go back and read more than the last paragraph before starting to write each time. Please don't jump around in the ms making changes. It is a habit worst than nail biting to break, but to move from novice to professional writer, it must be broken.

I have a friend who is one of the most stubborn women I've ever met. Honestly, when I read her ms I can tell that she has jumped back and forth while writing the first draft. Not only are there gaps and time flying involved, the tone of the characters zig-zag until I'm certain they must be schizophrenic with the number of mood changes occurring.

It is a bear to fix the time changes and gaps. One way that works (and is a lot of work) is to go through and read the ms in a printed copy - away from the computer and temptation to change other things. Write it in the margin every time change, (Friday, Tuesday, two weeks later, morning or afternoon ...something very clear). It usually means an extra read-through because it is hard to focus on too many things to check at once. But if beta readers are making notes that say, "What day is it?" then it must be done. You can bet that an agent or their reader will catch it and it might be the final blow to getting a contract offered.

That is the easy part compared to sorting out an unintentional moodiness in characters that comes from jumping around while editing or writing the first draft. I've know some who write scenes; keeping them in their own documents then stringing the scenes together with bridges. That equates to the biggest mess I've ever seen. I won't read those mss, it is just not a good way to create a storyline for fiction.

Seriously, only work on your ms from beginning to end. Regardless of whether you are writing the first draft or in the rewrite process, never jump around in the middle. Your readers might not be able to put their finger on what it is that isn't quite right, but people in the industry will see it right off.

The only way I know to fix a mixed up moody character, when that wasn't the plan and really doesn't work even if it was, is to get help. You're either going to have to hire a professional content editor or owe your best friend something very special.

Print two copies of your ms. Get your friend and some snacks and settle in for a long weekend of serious work. Don't think you can pawn it off on your friend, you have to be involved or shell out the big bucks for a pro. Read the ms aloud, but not so fast that it isn't being heard by either of you. The friend's job is to notice, if you don't, when characters are out of character. Then you have to decide if it adds to the story or is simply sloppy writing. Be honest. If a character is talking in a way that they should develop into later (you jumped around), then it has to be fixed. If a character knows something they shouldn't know yet (you jumped around), then it has to be fixed.

I know some people think it is okay to bank scenes for later and write to them. Fine, but know this: very few writers can pull that off and the tone (your voice as the writer) will show as it change from one scene to another with the "bridges" between, especially if the scenes were written out of sequence.

I bet after this, no one will write out of sequence again. That is my hope anyway.

Something useful

Whether it is researching the business end of things from trends to licenses and legal issues or being on the creative side of the mind, patience is the key. One of the things I find the least exciting is building a business plan. There is very little motivation behind it because with this [USA] economy and the state of the industry, no bank is going to loan me money for a start up publishing company.

Patience to plan and save the funding for each step of the process to build a business, any business, is a slow process. When I think of creating the web content or the more creative aspects of the company, it makes the mundane more manageable.

The same is true when writing fiction. The first draft is the worst draft. It takes nerves of steel not to jump the gun and push an ms through the process before it is ready for the light of day. Almost everyone I know dreads the third or fourth or twentith rewrite, never mind editing. But once into the process, it isn't so bad and usually takes on a momentum of its own as the ms becomes refined.

Same is true for the query process. The pre-query research is mind boggling. Where to start? How to know if the agent is a good one or a dud? Do they shop the type of ms you have? Do they already have one like it under contract?

It gets tempting to ship it to the quickest, easiest online printer that can be found. I have several books in my collection that look amateurish. I have one that is out right horrid and I ache for the author. But on the other hand, they 'knew it all' and it shows in the finished product.

My Godmother once told me patience was only a virtue if it was difficult to wait. Maybe. But in this industry it isn't about waiting, it is about methodically going through the process and not stopping when discouraged, because everyone gets discouraged at some point from first word to first royalty check.

Keep the faith - keep writing.

The Publishing Industry of the Future!

I chuckle at the industry news that says the publishing industry is changing, needs to change, or the really funny ones about the look of publishing in the future - as if they know the future.

First off, the industry - as any other - is changing daily. Glyn Pope mentioned in the comments the other day about a book he was reading from the 1930's and how the writing style was different from now.

Besides writing styles, the technology is ever evolving. From a better ink for the monks to use to today's digital presence, we are always looking for a better way to publish books.

When I get an ms to read the first thing I notice is the formatting. I don't know how searchable it is on this blog, but learn about formatting - it is paramount. (There are posts that cover this on somewhere in First Draft.)

Over the years, I've received some real ms messes and spent months working with the writer to get their ms in shape to query a literary agent. With Cactus Rain, I won't do that - there isn't the time. The mss have to arrive in good shape -- in writing and formatting, and the correct file type.

It is extremely important to understand how to use your software (MS Word is practically the industry standard - because it used to come installed on new computers so everyone had it for free).

With a typewriter, which some of us began with, what you saw was what you got. While the results and some of the procedure are (or can be) the same with a computer, the difference is the dynamic language of the CPU.

Because computers 'think' in a binomially language from the DOS-prompt years, (I'm sure you know, but it is a two 'letter' language for the computer that is two numbers, one and zero, often grouped in multiples of eight digits), it does not 'think' like a typewriter. Right, a typewriter does not think. "BINGO!"

A computer computes in its one's-and-zero's-mind with a 'language' called codes - you've heard of coding for websites - yes? What you see may not be what you get. Remember the time something looked fine on the screen and printed out differently - e.g., badly?

Tabbing to center something isn't the same thing (to the computer) as using the center code command to position the text. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to use the 'enter' key like the typewriter's return to get to the start of a new page.

The problem with that during editing is, if enough words are added or deleted to change the number of lines in the chapter, it will move up or down the following lines (in the next chapter). That is why it is REQUIRED to use the 'page break' command at the end of each chapter. Note that I wrote REQUIRED. Please don't forget to number the pages.

After putting the ms in basic format, such as chapters starting on a new page and double spaced line, then I am ready to read. I add paragraph and scene breaks as I read as well as turning on track changes for the comments and suggestions I make - which is basic content editing.

In the years I've been doing this for people (for free), I've seen some of them grow as writers and a few who won't take any direction from anyone, who then self-publish a book they aren't happy with in the end.

A couple of months ago someone suggested that I download a free software that is almost like Word. (Are you kidding me?) Why would I want to put extra software on my computer? I bought MS Word and Corell WordPerfect - the wantabe writer needs to provide their ms in the correct software file. Don't go all diva before it is time. Buy the correct software to be a real writer - your competition will, every year thousands of writers do this stuff correctly and get published.

Please don't send mss to me to content edit. I don't have the time. Once I announce that I'm accepting unsolicited mss, feel free to send a query in the usual, industry standard manner.

While I don't do formula writing, there is a 'formula' or industry standard to getting a book from the first draft to the published book. Research my blog and other sources of information and learn how to do it right, so you succeed in your dream to be a published author.

A matter of opinion

My friend in California and I were talking [on the phone] the other day about how it seems that when [some] friends read our works, they feel they should critique them. We decided they meant well, but it is published now, so there is no "fixing" anything at this point. Besides, I'm not sure anything needs fixed. The funny thing too is these are non-writer people.

There are writing groups for that sort of thing - before it is published. I suppose book clubs might take it in a different direction, more about what the story meant to them. Classrooms of people might analyze the style and the mechanics of the work. Reviewers give an overview, some times telling key points that become spoilers.

I certainly think because I wrote a trilogy it is easy to see what is my style and what growth occurred as a writer in other areas over time. But then, one is a bit locked into a form when the books are a set, a trilogy.

Will my future books be different, of course. The characters are much different so they will have different voices. There will not be the extensive interior dialogue that Kathryn had. Also, I won't do diary entries again. Nothing wrong with doing them, just each book should be its own work.

We all have our own ideas of what makes a good book good. Publishers try to figure out that combination of factors for target audiences that makes a book into a commercial property. Plus they look at what the author is like and hope the agent can baby set the debut writers as well as the divas - male and female.

As a boutique publisher I probably look at the second factor even more than larger publishers do. I'm at about a 75% rejection rate for queried works. I doubt there has ever been an ms come through the door at any publisher that is totally ready to go. How the author reacts to rewrite requests has a lot to do with whether I'll offer a contract.

I let one ms go that I liked and thought had a strong audience base. The writing was weak and the author unwilling to work at improving it. "Mom" telling the writer that it is perfect isn't the same as someone in the publishing business reading the ms.

Another surprise to beginning writers is that most of the time the title is changed, so assume your title is a working title. Don't fall in love with it. The publisher will probably change it. However do title your works. I think writers need titles to set the tone of the book for them; it needs a name so it can be written. Not to mention it has to be called something in the query letter.

Do you get unexpected critiques of your works?

Damage Control

Just so we're clear on this, I stand behind my judges' 100%. As the writers noticed from the comments, the opinions about the stories varied. What that means is that there is no 'universal reader.' Writers have to target their market and the only way to do that is to understand who reads your genre.

While I liked something about each story, I didn't like each story equally and if they had been part of a novel, I would not have bought some of them. All that means is I was not the target audience for some works. No big deal.

In the real world of publishing this post wouldn't have been written. This industry does not apologize. Usually, it does not explain. The judges' comments were blunt at times, both positive and not so positive. Most times to get that kind of feedback there is a fee. My judges were dead on about where the stories needed improving. Use that info to your benefit. This is not a touchy feely industry, so get over it and move on.

I understand that artists, especially writers, are sensitive souls. That is exactly why I did not say what I didn't like. However, let me make perfectly clear that unless your mother or lover works for a literary agent, you will not get big hugs over every word put to ink. This is a business. Agents are looking for works that will sell and that are as close to "ready to go" as possible. Fixing mss takes time and time is money. Fix it before you submit it.

Agents understand that acquisition editors do not want [or have the time for] mss that need a lot of rewrites. It ain't happening. Certainly it won't be happening in this economy. So take the comments about the lacking dialogue (stilted, clichés, strange tags), unemotional characters, and grammar errors and use them to improve so you can compete with an edge others don't have.

Seriously, rejections hurt. Most rejection letters do not say why, or might say "Not for us," which tells you a whole lot of nothing. I've said before, so far I've had 216 rejection letters in my career. You can only lick your wounds so long then get to work to be an awesome writer.

I'm not writing this to any one person. Even people who did not enter, for whatever reason, need to know that this is a very serious industry and if you want to be part of it, grow up and act like it. Believe in your skills and craft. Write your best works. Keep in mind, no matter what else happens, I love you guys.

Dead Reckoning

Traveling back and forth 70 miles across Phoenix to my new home, I look at the mountains with their green fuzz from the monsoon rains. These aren't the Rocky Mountains, but still most people don't expect any bump in the desert landscape. I thought I'd share a photo of Camelback Mountain - he looks west. Photo was taken from Papago [the name of a Native People] Mountains by one of my sons. See the camel's two humps? Go left to his ear and follow his nose. There is another mountain behind it that gets in the way - sorry, I didn't notice that at first. BTW, all of this is in the middle of the City. Cool?

There are all kinds of embarrassing stories to tell about me getting lost in my new hometown. The thing is, Phoenix is laid out on a grid where the roads are wide and point in the four compass directions. The exception is the mining roads, such as Grand Avenue which cuts a diagonal to the assay office (or where it was then) from the mines in the northwest. All I can say is there must have been a lot of directional impaired people in this part of town. Nothing is on the compass in my new town - but I do like it here even if I can't see Camelback and fix my position.

And what's the point of all this, you ask? Readers. Readers expect to be able to navigate through a story without feeling lost. My big annoyance is dialogue that I can't follow without stopping to count down to see who said what. Misdirection is a part of mystery writing. There are all kinds of writing tools, but we are expected not to misuse them or slop through our stories.

The point is: if your dialogue needs tags, use them. Who cares what 'they' say is the way to write, if it isn't clear without them, use tags. The other point is: don't get cute with misdirection. I hate being on the outside of an inside joke - I think it is a rude thing to do to guests.

The point is: Write to your readers. Write honestly - no tricks, no alligators over the transom. Write clearly, tell your story to the reader, don't just write to hear yourself talk. (Okay mixed metaphor, but you got it, didn't you?)

I've heard novice writers talk of falling in love with their characters, of needing to write like it is an addiction. My opinion is, they are writing for the wrong person. Fall in love with your readers. Romance them. Adore them like a lover. Bring them gifts and surprises. Bring them the flowers of your best work (and that metaphor isn't my best work).

This isn't about what's in it for the writer - I guarantee very few make a bucket of money; this is about the reader, your reader. Love them well. Everyone else (agents, acquisition editors, publishers) will fall into place if you fall in love with your readers.