Category: Writing tips

6 steps to judging your own writing

  By

When the pages are closing in on you. [image by Thanakrit Du]

When the pages are closing in on you. [image by Thanakrit Du]

You’ve been working on your novel for so long, you no longer know what’s good and what’s bad. You can’t tell whether the tone is right, the pacing is fast enough, or the characters are believable. All you can see is a swarm of words.

You either think it’s all wonderful (you’re wrong) or it’s all terrible (you’re wrong).

And when it comes to editing, with or without beta readers, you’ll have to make your own decisions at some point.

So is it possible to look at your own work with complete impartiality?

Well, no. But with the right preparation, you can get close.

  1. Step away from the novel. Don’t even look at it for at least a month. Work on something different (NOT the sequel).
  1. Feed the machine. In that same month, read some classics and award-winners. Avoid the “guilty pleasure” books that are horribly written but that you love anyway – those are for another time. Get your brain used to the good stuff so it can recognize the bad stuff (like eating McDonald’s after months of home-cooked meals, it stays with you in a nasty way).
  1. Feed the machine some more. Also re-watch some of your favorite movies – being shorter than books, they more clearly show the plot as a whole. Note how each story is structured. How does it open? How does the tension escalate? How does the hero reach his lowest point? What ultimate decision does he make?
  1. Review. Read good books and/or movie reviews, especially ones that point out plot faults. This will help you identify problems in your own work. For instance:
    1. David’s amazingly insightful reviews at Twilight’s Warden
    2. The hilarious animated video series How It Should Have Ended
    3. The brilliant (though horribly crass, so be warned) reviews at Red Letter Media (I’ve only watched the Star Wars ones)
  1. Tell your ego to shut up. We writers have a tendency to waver between extremes of pretentiousness (“They just don’t understand my brilliance!”) and anxiety (“They’re going to think I’m an idiot.”). Tune out both these voices. Neither is truthful.
  • For the pretentious voice: Let go of the things you refused to change before. Pretty paragraphs you refused to delete. Lovable characters you refused to kill. Look at those “non-negotiables” and ask why? If you don’t have a real reason (e.g., “to be edgy” is not a real reason to be gratuitous), then change it. There are many ways a story can play out, and there’s probably a much more exciting and meaningful way yours can.
  • For the anxious voice: Every good writer is scared when he releases something new into the world. That’s normal. But ask yourself: does a certain part scare you—a certain phrase or scene? Does it scare you because it sounds juvenile, or because it exposes a piece of you? If the former, change it. If the latter, have the courage to leave it.
  1. Create a deleted scenes file. You know you should cut something—but it’s also pretty good writing; what if you need it somewhere else later? Don’t be paralyzed by uncertainty. Simply copy, cut and paste any major deletions into a new file. Soon you’ll have a much cleaner manuscript and a whole list of ideas to fall back on should you ever need it.

What part of self-editing gives you the most trouble?

—

Archives for the Holidays: Show, don’t tell: what it means

  By ,

I’m feeling better for the first time in five days! How are you?

To stay on top of the Christmas cheer, I’m posting some of my favorite posts from the archives. This one was originally posted on October 7, 2011.

—

It’s the first rule of writing. We hear it all the time. In fact, it’s almost all we hear. Over and over again, they tell us…

Show, don’t tell.

Show; don’t tell.

Show! Don’t tell!

In the name of all that’s good, what the heck does that mean???

Find out >>

The most important sentence in your book

  By
crying boy

Photo by David Shankbone

You know the feeling. The book you’ve spent the last couple of weeks reading has become a dear friend. You must keep reading it, but the more you do, the closer you get to the end…and suddenly it’s over. It is no longer a companion, but a memory. You enter into mourning.

Sequels aside, only one thing can ease pain of the ending of a great book:

A great last sentence.

We already talked about the second most important sentence in the book – the first sentence. The first sentence gets them to read the book; but the last sentence makes them glad they did. It is the punchline to the joke. The splash at the end of a water slide. The cheers and kisses at the end of the New Year’s countdown.

The last sentence means the difference between the reader feeling the story was cut short, cheated with an early death – or feeling the story lived a good long life and made its imprint on the world.

Last words with a deathbed level of importance.

A great last sentence will do one or more of the following:

  • Refer back to a theme present throughout the book. Bonus points if it mirrors the first sentence.
  • Evoke a sense of victory and/or hope.
  • Show the purpose of the story and/or the meaning behind the title

Here’s a poor last sentence from an otherwise great book, Pride & Prejudice (Austen):

With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them.

Why it’s lame: The Gardiners were not a major theme in the story: this is more of an amusing side note than last words. The sentence (er, sentences) could fit anywhere else in the chapter – rather disappointing in a book with one of the most famous first sentences ever. Let’s compare to some great last sentences:

The Book of Lost Things (Connolly):

And in the darkness David closed his eyes, as all that was lost was found again.

Why it’s brilliant: In a book whose first sentence relates the loss of David’s mother, and whose successive chapters speak of many other losses, this sentence, capping an ending full of reunions, is poetry.

The Outsiders (Hinton):

[We learn in the final chapter the character is writing a school paper on a personal experience.]

And I finally began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…

Why it’s brilliant: Everything after that first colon is a copy of the first line of the book. We suddenly realize the book we have been reading is that school paper – and that he is writing about his tragedy to tell the world to keep it from happening again.

A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens):

It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

Why it’s brilliant: The character speaking, who has till now lived a pointless life, has just done something heroic. We feel victory knowing he has risen above, and hope in the peace he will have.

The Book Thief (Zusak):

I am haunted by humans.

Why it’s brilliant: It’s ironic, as the book is narrated by Death, who is supposed to haunt us. It’s also a play on words: he doesn’t mean he fears humans, but that the stories of our lives touch him. And that’s the whole point of the book.

The Last Battle (Lewis):

All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

Why it’s brilliant: It’s the last book in one of the best loved series of all time; that’s a hard thing to say goodbye to. Lewis does it by transforming a death into a birth – for both the series and our own souls.

 

—

What’s your favorite last sentence? Why is it brilliant?

–

What Happened to George Lucas?

  By ,

 

babies dressed as princess leia and obi wan

Image by Steve Winton

Jar Jar Binks did not ruin Star Wars.

Actually, I found Jar Jar amusing. But there’s a reason I put it on my “If I Ever Get Filthy Rich” to-do list to buy the rights to Star Wars so I can completely remake the prequels:

George Lucas ruined Star Wars.

Now, let’s not harp on the guy. He obviously didn’t mean to ruin Star Wars. So what went wrong?

And how do the rest of us avoid doing the same thing?

Obviously, the specific errors are too many to list – from the overuse of CGI to the nonsensical plot – but it all boils down to two general problems:

  1. He knew the originals were good, but he didn’t know why.
  2. Rather than taking the time to figure out why, he opted to start making money NOW through the prequels.

The meat was what made Star Wars great—the characters; the story. Lucas didn’t take the time to understand either of those things. Maybe he was lazy, or impatient, or afraid to fall whilst leaping for greatness. But all he managed to do was copy the occasional catchphrase and the droids’ comic relief, and set up a few scenes to mirror scenes in the originals (whether or not it made plot sense). But all these things are just accessories—they make the story better only when the story is already good. When the story isn’t good, they just aggravate the gag reflex.

Here are the major character errors Lucas committed. If he had taken the time to understand and develop the characters, the plot would have formed itself.

No clear protagonist

Who is the hero of the new trilogy? You know, the Average Joe to whom all the weird stuff is explained (and thus explained to us); the guy we like and root for?

  • Is it Anakin? But we don’t even meet him until 32 minutes into the first movie (which itself is only two hours and change). And even then, he doesn’t know what’s going on until movie two.
  • Is it Obi Wan? He’s on screen a lot, but we don’t get an inside look at his motives or emotions.

Our lesson: Know who your hero is. Introduce him early. Ensure he is likeable.

Role reversals

  • Movie one: Master Qui Gon recklessly gambles with someone else’s ship, while his young apprentice, Obi Wan, sits by wisely questioning his choices.
  • Movie two: Obi Wan switches to the reckless master position: after telling Anakin to think before he acts, Obi Wan promptly crashes through a window to grab onto an assassin droid that really doesn’t look like it can support his weight – and Anakin’s the one to rescue him.
  • Amidala resists a romantic relationship just because she’s in politics, while Anakin, who’s been brainwashed to reject romance for the last ten years of his life, is hitting on her from the very first moment
  • And why does she show all that skin if she wants to keep things professional?

Our lesson: Make a list of the major actions in your story, who performs those actions, and what their motives were. Does it make sense, or do you need to swap some things around?

No personalities

The original trilogy abounded in distinct personalities.

  • Luke Skywalker: sheltered, idealistic, brave.
  • Han Solo: roguish, jaded, heart of gold.
  • Princess Leia: smart, stubborn, caring.

The new trilogy, however…

  • Anakin Skywalker: uh…whiny, homicidal, stalker-ish?
  • Obi Wan Kenobi: doesn’t seem to know who he is (see above).
  • Queen/Senator Amidala: uh. Nondescript?

Our lesson: Can you describe your main characters without mentioning their appearance or occupation? If not, you’ve got work to do.

Shallow romance

Why do Anakin and Amidala fall in love? Aside from the fact that they are both good looking, and they get shot at together a couple times, there is no foundation for Amidala telling Anakin “I truly, deeply, love you.” I mean, Amidala’s been dealing with galactic politics since she was 14—why is she attracted to this kid who complains about his teachers being too strict?

Our lesson: If your story includes romance, ask yourself what, particularly, makes those two characters suited to each other? Find something in their personalities that’s complementary.

Contradicting ideals

Lucas contradicts not only the facts of the story (for instance, according to the original trilogy, Anakin never knew Amidala was pregnant), but the ideals. We go from Yoda telling Luke that “War does not make one great” to Obi Wan telling Anakin of his lightsaber that “This weapon is your life.”

Our lesson: Know what ideals your characters hold, and check that their actions and dialogue match those ideals.

—

What bothered you the most about the new Star Wars trilogy? What did you like about it?

—

NOTE: I owe many of the points in this post to Red Letter Media’s Star Wars reviews, which are horribly inappropriate—but annoyingly insightful.

—

20 great FREE online resources for writers

  By , , ,
Photo by Rocky

Photo by Rocky

I’ve amassed a lot of resources over the years – here are some of the best ones I use both for copywriting and fiction writing. Some you’ve seen in previous posts; some are new!

 

Staying Sane

Evernote

I sometimes refer to Evernote as my best friend. It’s a notebook program you download to all your computers. I add a note from work, and when I get home, there it is. I have separate notes for blog post ideas, prompts, story ideas, daily life to-do lists and more. All bundled in one notebook and accessible with one click. This program saved me from sending myself email notes all day.

Tick Tock Timer

A simple online timer. Set it for any amount of time, and it alerts you with three gongs when the time is up. You can use it to block out time for writing, cleaning, whatever. I use it to remind me to look away from my computer screen every hour or so.

 

Finding the Right Word or Phrase

Thesaurus

I love MS Word, but its synonym tool isn’t very good. This online synonym finder is far better. I use it several times a day.

Thsrs (The Shorter Thesaurus)

If you are specifically looking for a simpler or shorter version of a word, this is the thesaurus for you. I sometimes use it for writing Google or Facebook ads (which have tiny character limits).

Idioms at The Free Dictionary

Enter a word and get a list of common phrases in which the word appears. Another tool I use daily, mostly for writing headlines. But it could also be used for story, novel, and chapter titles as well. Anything that requires a play on words (change the original idiom slightly to give it a new and witty meaning).

WordHippo

This tool does several things, but I mostly use it for the rhyming dictionary and the “words that start with” feature. I use it mostly for writing headlines, but I imagine it would be super useful for poetry.

Urban Dictionary

This user-generated slang dictionary is 90% crass. However, you can use it to ensure a word or phrase you are using doesn’t have a secondary meaning that is negative or disgusting. If the term you search does come up with a bad meaning, check the number of user votes it received. If there are more thumbs down than thumbs up, you’re probably still okay to use it.

 

Fun & Inspiration

My Favorite Word

A long list of fantastic words. People submit their favorites, usually with explanations why. I chiefly use it for naming projects.

Wordsmith’s Anagram Generator

Enter a word, it scrambles the letters into other words. Use it to come up with names or aliases of characters or places. Or just type in your own name for a laugh. I’m Anti-Sheep, apparently.

Six Word Stories

Inspired by the story Hemmingway reportedly considered his best (For sale: baby shoes, never used.), this site allows users to submit their own six word stories. The good ones get posted on the main page. Read for inspiration – and submit a few of your own.

 

Rules & Grammar

Daily Writing Tips

This blog will grow your vocabulary and improve the way you use it.

Grammar Girl

Quick and Dirty grammar lessons. I go here when I can’t remember the difference between affect and effect.

The Elements of Style

The free online version of the writer’s bible, penned by Strunk & White.

 

Character Development

Meyer’s-Briggs Personality Test from HumanMetrics

Answer a few yes-or-no questions on behalf of your main character, get a detailed outline of his personality traits. So insightful.

Baby Names

To name all those characters!

 

Getting Published

Duotrope

Helps you find a literary magazine to publish your short stories.

Miss Snark

A literary agent ruthlessly tears apart query letters submitted by her readers. She’s no longer snarking, but the archives are a gold mine for those looking to learn how to write a good query.

Query Shark

The savior for those bereft of Miss Snark, this lit agent is still critiquing queries with gusto.

Agent Query

A database of literary agents with an easy-to-use search that makes it easy to build your submission list.

Preditors & Editors

The site writers have long relied on to ensure agents aren’t con artists. Look up your agents here before querying.

—

What are your favorite online resources? Share in the comments!

—