How to approach the revision of that initial messy draft?

First, get a perspective check.  When you’re too close to your manuscript, you’ll experience story myopia.  Both the faults and strengths are out of focus, and you can’t edit properly.

So leave some time between draft and edit — 2-3 weeks, if possible.  Then get started.  Revising is recursive.  You’ll find yourself going back and forth between big stuff and little stuff, between plot holes and line tweakings.

But if at all possible, discipline yourself to do the big stuff first.

Why big stuff first? Well, there’s no point in correcting spelling if you’re going to edit out the word anyway.

When I was a teen in the ‘70s, everyone had big hair, and I, with my curly white-boy ‘fro, was no exception.  Like many, I used a wide-toothed Afro pick to shape my shaggy locks.  It helped catch the big stuff, like twigs, dustballs, and small rodents in the hair.

So go through your draft with an Afro pick, looking for these six big things:

1. Gaps in logic:  If your character is a regular kid throughout most of the story, then she suddenly starts practicing magic without explanation, it’s jarring.  You’ve taken a logic leap and not brought us along.  Make sure key developments are properly set up and foreshadowed.

2. Missing/inconsistent motivation:  All actions and dialog must be motivated.  Go through the story looking at your main character’s actions and dialog.  Ask yourself, would this character really do this or say that?  If your answer is “no,” then revise.

3. Theme:  Does your book have one?  How can you bring it out even more?  In my story Key Lardo, the theme of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes emerged — but I didn’t see it until the second revision. [Tip: In picture books, your theme may be as simple as a catchy refrain you can repeat throughout.]

4. Linkages: Linkages make your story stronger.  When I first wrote PIRATES OF UNDERWHERE, I made the main character, Stephanie, a math whiz.   But she didn’t use that skill to resolve the main problem in the story.  In revising, I fixed that and added mock math problems to open certain chapters.

5. Loose ends, unresolved threads:  Are there any promises made that don’t get fulfilled?  Does one character figure strongly in the beginning, make a threat, and then disappear for the rest of the book?  Don’t leave the reader hanging.  Tie up any loose ends.

6. Overall flow:  Does the story have momentum, or does it get bogged down here and there?  Often the problem is exposition chunks – like where you take a whole page to explain the history of the corset, thus bringing your story to a screeching halt.  Make your exposition chunks smaller, and scatter them throughout.

Of course, that first, Afro-pick revision only catches the big stuff.  To discover the smaller inconsistencies and problems in your story, you’ll have to make another pass with a fine-tooth comb.

But that’s a topic — and a hair care task — for another time.

Bruce Hale is the author-illustrator of over 25 books for young readers, including the Edgar-nominated Chet Gecko Mysteries and Snoring Beauty, one of Oprah’s Recommended Reads for Kids.  He is a popular speaker and storyteller, having presented at conferences, schools and libraries across North America.  Subscribe to his free e-newsletter of writing tips at: www.brucehalewritingtips.com.  Or check out Bruce’s books at www.brucehale.com.

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YOUR STORY AND THE READER’S

Oh, yeah, there is always more than one side to a story. I’m sure you heard that one before. Well when it comes to writing there is the story you’ve written. The story that’s in your head, and the story that the reader reads.

The best part of reading a book opposed to seeing a movie is that no two readers play out the exact same story in their head when they read. Having people test read your writing shows you the things you forgot to tell them. Let’s you know when you tell too much. Picks out the times you forgot to show the story.

As an author, we know the story we want to tell in detail. And those parts that are our tough spots – places in the tale where we get too lazy to figure out. The reader picks up on them with clarity and reminds the author to fix those vague spots.

WHY WRITERS SHOULD BETA

In order to turn your caterpillar of a story into a butterfly, don’t skimp on the Beta Readers. I have several sets of beta readers that I use. I break them up into groups and my expectations for them are different. I also find that coming up with questions for that group or a checklist helps them to focus their reading and gives them permission to be nitpicky.

AUDIENCE – This is the age, gender, group that the book is written for. I usually get a hand full of kids to read my YA books. They usually flush out lags in the story, dialogue issues, believability and story likeability.

PEERS – These are fellow writers. This is my secret weapon. Other writer’s are really good at picking apart grammar issues, plot holes, character issues and structure problems. They are golden and definitely never let anything go out without running your stuff by this group of beta readers at least 2 times.

RANDOM READERS – This is usually adults I get to read my middle grade and young adult books. They don’t usually read YA, but can give me a good indication of hidden audiences. If the story is strong enough to transcend the intended group and go mainstream.

AUTHORS SHOULD BETA TOO

As an author, beta reading others’ work is invaluable. I’ve become a better writer, editor of my work and others through beta reading. Also, it is a give and take. I love doing beta switches with other authors and critique their work at the same time they are critiquing mine. It ensures that they have an invested interest in helping my story succeed as much as I do in theirs.

LM Preston, author of The Pack and Explorer X-Alpha, www.lmpreston.com and http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

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Manuscript: Developmental Editing

The first kind of editing an author will encounter is developmental editing.

Developmental editing helps develop the concept, the scope of the book, the intended audience, even the way elements of the book are arranged.

Developmental editing can be assigned to specific editors, or some of these functions may be done by either the author’s agent or an acquisitions editor at a publisher. Self-publishers who make use of this type of editing will hire freelance editors to help with the development of their project.

Manuscript: Copy editing

When the author and developmental editor have finished organizing the manuscript, and the editor considers it complete, it will go to a copy editor.

Copy editing is accomplished by editors who examine the manuscript line by line, word by word. It takes people who are meticulous and excellent at spotting errors.

Copy editors have vast knowledge of English vocabulary and usage, command over style resources such as the Chicago Manual of Style. In reviewing the manuscript, they will be paying attention to and correcting:

• Punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar
• Errors in word usage
• Subject-verb agreement
• Consistency in treatment of material
• Adherence to established standards of style and formatting
• Accuracy and completeness of citations, references, notes, tables, figures and charts
• Ambiguity, incorrect statements, lapses in logic, libelous comments, and so on.

In the course of editing the manuscript, most copy editors will also produce a style sheet for the book listing the correct spellings of any unusual names, the proper format for each element in the manuscript, and any other guidelines that will be useful to other people reviewing the book farther down the production line.

When the copy editor has finished her work, the manuscript goes back to the author for clarification of any remaining questions, and the changes are made to the manuscript.

Manuscript to Book Page Proofs: Production Editor

The manuscript is next routed to a production editor who will be responsible for the production process. The tasks of the production editor include:

• Scheduling the project and tracking its progress
• Hiring and coordinating the work of the book designers, illustrators, indexers, proofreaders and other professionals needed to complete the book
• Getting estimates from printers or print brokers for the physical production of the book
• Making sure the books are properly printed and delivered on time.

Book Page Proofs: Proofreading

The last stage in the editorial process is proofreading the book. The proofreader is the last guardian of the publisher’s reputation for accuracy and care, and the protector of the author’s reputation for diligence.

Proofreaders examine the book’s complete and final pages for more than typographical errors, although that’s a big part of the proofreading job. They will be on the lookout for:

• Inconsistent line, word, or page spacing
• Misnumbered list items and mislabeled captions
• Improper word breaks
• Page break problems like widows and orphans
• Irregularities in the use of the books type fonts
• Accurate and consistent page headers, footers and page numbers
• Accuracy and completeness of tables, figures, charts, and graphs
• Consistent use of abbreviations and acronyms.

The End of the Line

When the proofreader is finished with their work, the self-published book is corrected for the last time. Once the pages are set, the final page proofs can be sent to an indexer, if one is being used, and the book will be ready to go to press.

Joel Friedlander is the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, a publishing services company in San Rafael, California that has launched many self-publishers. Joel is a book designer, a self-published author, and blogs about publishing and book design. To learn more about self-publishing a book, book and cover design, and the intricacies of the publishing process, please visit Joel’s blog at http://www.theBookDesigner.com today.

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Some are inspired to start writing for the first time. Others are inspired to finish something for the first time. Some, like me, find that writing at breakneck speed produces a lower quality of work that doesn’t reflect what is normally produced when writing within your own timing.

There are ways to make speed writing more effective. The overall goal, is to produce more in a shorter period of time. If you keep this up, who knows, speed writing may become a habit.

Prepare for it

When you set out to write a novel in a short period of time, outlining is your friend. Take a few weeks to write a detailed outline of the story. It will help to work out most of the kinks before you even sit down to write. Create character profiles of the main characters and review outline before the start of your writing marathon.

Plan it

If you are going to focus on spitting out as many words as possible a day, then plan it. Block out your writing time for the month. Figure out when you are most productive. Is it in the morning, at night or midday? Make a rule – no sleep unless you have kicked out a minimum of a certain amount of words. Make sure you schedule extra time for working out of corners or temporary writer’s blocks. Make your schedule somewhat flexible so that you don’t get burned out and give up.

Write it

With a printout of your outline next to you and a bullet list of your character profile – start the race. Follow your outline. If you want to go rogue, go ahead, write until the roadblock. If you reach a road block – write anything, take some time off to think on it, then re-work your outline and get back to it. Whatever you do – don’t stop writing. Remember, you will always have to edit it.

Don’t look back

Whatever you do, don’t read over what you’ve written until you are finished. That is an easy way to get distracted. Remember, you’ll have to edit the thing many times before your piece of art is perfected. Just write forward, don’t make corrections, don’t read over it, just push forward and write.

by: LM Preston, author of The Pack and Explorer X – Alpha, www.lmpreston.com and http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

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LITERARY AGENTS

They are the nicest people. Yeah writers you heard me, they rock. They work extremely hard, put in tons of overtime, and still have to be personable all of the time. Most of them that I’ve met personally during my recruitment process are natural sales people. You know how people that do well in sales are personable, adventurous, and passionate about what they sell – well Literary Agents are just that.

These wonderful people read over 100 submissions a week – ON THEIR OWN TIME.  During their workday they manage the author’s they’ve signed, have sell meetings where they pitch an author to editors, call publishing contacts and do tons of paperwork.

Oh, and they don’t get paid to do the conferences that run over the weekend – that’s their own time. You know what else – each and every author that these agents came in contact with, they encouraged them, answered their questions, and appreciated the contact.

They have specific guidelines of which to pursue a piece of work and they don’t get to decide what their specialty is. It’s more than a job to them, they love books, they love authors, and they love their job – that’s why they stick with it and give over 200% efforts towards it. Lastly, some burnout quick, and leave the field for an easier, more appreciated career.  Wouldn’t you if you were thought to be the bad guy to the very customer you seek to help?

EDITORS

These wonderful people are the ‘inside man/woman’ that pushes for work that an agent sends them. They have to come up with valid support for the publisher to add this manuscript to their list. They also spend their own time reading, editing and working with authors to get the manuscript in the format that will be acceptable to the publisher. You know what else….they work just as hard as Lit Agents, and burn out just as quickly. Lately, they’ve taken on double the workload due to layoffs and cut backs at the larger publishing houses.

*Another nugget: They love authors who are willing to pull up their sleeves and get excited about marketing their product. Wouldn’t you want to hire someone that would work just as hard as you are for the success of the product they created?

THE BENEFITS OF CONFERENCES

Well, if I can toot my own horn here – I will. Strictly by accident, I’d requested that all authors that were scheduled for pitch sessions submit a query letter and the first five pages of their manuscript. Both the agents and editors told me that they appreciated this read ahead opportunity. They told me that at other conferences THEY DON”T GET TO PREVIEW the query letters or manuscripts of those who come to pitch their novels. What?! Yep, you heard me.  So the authors that attended the conference this year, got special attention.

Gosh, was I glad that I didn’t know the protocol for pitch session, lol!

PITCH SESSIONS

I know what you’re thinking – why should I pay for this when I can just mail them my submission. Trust me – these are sooooooo worth the money. The agents and editors I worked with, admit to reading over 100 submissions on their free time a week. Wouldn’t it be nice to get one-on-one time with an agent and know that they read your stuff before they met with you? I believe because the agents read a sample of the author’s writing prior to the event, several people from our conference were asked to send a partial in. Wow! Many other authors got their questions answered, got quick critiques of their manuscripts and the complete and utter attention of a possible champion for their work.

You know what else – some people were even advised to set up a platform for their book, self – publish first, and to seek out someone to clean up their manuscript for submission.

NUGGETS TO RUN WITH

Conferences are a definite must do, pitch sessions are too – but BE PREPARED, PRACTICE FIRST, and if at all possible, send your submission to the conference organizer and request to send your stuff ahead of time. Also bring hardcopies of your submission to the event. You never know what opportunity may knock at your door.

Lastly, agents and editors are hardworking people who go the extra mile to find a gold nugget in a mass of submissions. Figure out a way to bring your gold to the top.

LM Preston is the author of Explorer X – Alpha and The Pack, http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

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Manuscripts are like cars; both need “repairs.” A manuscript may only need an editor to proofread, checking for simple grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization errors ? what I refer to as the “jiffy lube” or oil change ? no major surprises. Some manuscripts may need more in-depth editing, or copyediting. In addition to proofreading, this process highlights words and phrases that are repetitive and ineffective, revises sentence structure, and looks for glaring inconsistencies, making the story read more smoothly. This is like a “tune-up,” replacing worn or overused parts and cleaning clogged lines, helping the vehicle run more smoothly. The third, most thorough type of editing ? line-by-line or substantive editing ? involves major revisions in a manuscript, reorganizing, and often rewriting chapters. This, you might guess, is like a car needing a new transmission or engine overhaul.

Depending on which service is performed will determine what price is warranted. Obviously, proofreading (jiffy lube) is less time-consuming than copyediting (tune-up), which is less involved than line-by-line editing (engine overhaul). Costs, then, are reflected in the amount of time and effort needed, like “parts and labor” on your body shop’s invoice.

This brings up a good point. Auto mechanics charge for parts and labor. But how does an editor determine pricing? Some editors charge by the hour; “labor,” if you will. I wonder, though, if I get up for a cup of coffee or take a phone call, do I deduct fifteen minutes from the hourly charge? Do I take a lunch hour? Do I charge overtime if I edit for more than eight hours a day?

Some editors price by the page, but page count can vary by font size, margin size, line spacing. Does a page with only a few sentences on it get charged as a page? Does a page with photos or illustrations count as much as a full page of text? I can see confusion and arguments just around the corner.

I base my pricing on word count. A manuscript of 60,000 words is just what it is: no confusion, no argument, no problem. The price doesn’t change if I take ten hours or ten days, nor does it matter if the words are squeezed into one hundred pages or spread out over two hundred. The price varies only by the number of words. Simple.

Convincing writers that they need an editor is not so simple. Computers have program tools to check spelling and grammar and Aunt Martha (a former English teacher) is more than happy to read and critique the great American novel. So why do they need me?

Hold that thought.

Let’s say you want to sell your car. Before you put it in the classified ads, you’ll probably take it to the mechanic to change the oil, replace the belts, clean the engine. Hopefully, you’ll take it to the car wash, and maybe have it painted, too. In essence, you’ll make sure it looks good enough to attract a buyer.

Selling your manuscript requires the same attention to detail. Editors will catch errors, correct problems, and format your document for submission, knowing that publishers will not invest in manuscripts that need lots of work. They will clean and polish your writing to attract the attention of publishers. They want your Pinto to hum and purr like a Porsche.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Jami Carpenter currently works as a ghostwriter and freelance editor for two publishing houses and independent writers. Jami is also co-author and editor of Education in the Neon Shadow; The First Fifty Years of the Clark County School District. You can contact her via email at jamicarpenter@yahoo.com or phone at 702.768.5949 or visit her website for more information at www.redpengirl.com.

Photo courtesy of Michael Stucker, Racing Photography. Used with permission.

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Before I get into that, first let’s agree that POV is the viewpoint character or narrator of your story.

1st person is the most intimate, Omni the least, and 3rd falls in the middle.

1st—————————————–3rd————————————-Omni

Intimate——————————-midway———————————-Distant

When new writers ask me, “Which one of my characters should tell my story?” my response is, “Whoever you think best serves as your narrator.”

Generally, the viewpoint character is the character with the most to lose. However, remember  Nick in The Great Gatsby?. Or Doctor Watson in Sherlock Holmes? Or the killer in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd? You can have one narrator, or several.

But you settle on George because it’s his story; he has the most to gain from the outcome and he has the most to lose if things go wrong. Now you need to decide in what tense George speaks to your reader.

Should it be first person present tense: I verb?
Or first person past tense: I verbed?
Or third person present tense: George or He verbs?
Or maybe third person past tense: George or He verbed?

The answer should showcase how intimate you want George’s relationship or connection with your reader to be.

1st—————————————3rd————————————Omni

Intimate——————————-midway——————————-Distant

I’d stay clear of third person past tense perfect: George had verbed. Unless you’re up for a challenge.

To discover how George should narrate is to write a scene from his perspective in each tense, then choose the one you like best. Trust your instincts. Choosing POV needed be complicated. Your skills at spinning a gripping tale will make or break your story. Don’t over think POV.

You know those articles: “Choosing POV is the most important…”? Writing should be enjoyable. If you’re stressing over POV, you’re missing something. Writing is about experiencing passion head-on, not worrying about choosing the perfect perspective, or what tense they should use, or whether they should share the perspective with other characters. Just write.

You love your characters, and you think it’s better if they all have a viewpoint in your story. And how better to do that than by using Omni to — head hop.

Write the story. When you’re finished, if your POV and tense are wrong, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.

But know that you are not alone.

Most new novelists think they need to write in Omni’s POV to include all the backstory. And why wouldn’t they? Like you, they’ve had the influence of television and movies their entire life.

The camera shows you everything. Who else but Omni can zoom in on one character, then out to include a dozen, then travel 5000 miles away? Or jump from George’s POV to Amy’s, then onto Tom’s?

Sadly, the camera is not the same as POV in a novel. Yes, the camera can let me hear the character’s thoughts, but seldom do voice-overs work. Except maybe in Dexter.

Ten times out of ten Omni doesn’t work and you’re left wondering why. “Omni is suppose to head-hop!” you cry.

Yes, but your job is not to give your reader whiplash, nor are you to divorce them from your protagonist. Your job is to entertain and make the transition from one POV character to the next as smoothly as possible. Even in one scene. Especially in one scene.

You succeed when you show the scene from one character’s pov, then explain something that character wouldn’t know, and then ease into the viewpoint of another character in the same scene. Lead your reader by the hand. No throwing us into the middle of action filled scene.

You’ve seen the television series ER? ER is filmed from the many perspectives of the doctors and staff. But notice how the camera does it? (ignore what I just said about cameras) Two or more characters interact, then just as the camera is ready to move on to a different perspective, the lens zooms out, spans, then zeroes in on different characters in a different part of the emergency ward. It’s all done easily, effortlessly and smoothly. No jarring.

If you are bound and determined to let Omni tell your story, and you’ve picked the tense you think works best, keep this rule of thumb in mind:

#1. Show a scene from inside the head of POV #1.

#2. Just as you’re ready to move on, have Omni explain something that relates to what POV#1 just experienced.

#3. Then have Omni settle his gaze on the next character connected to what POV #1 experienced.

In other words, don’t head hop without a tour guide. Keep a tight focus on the topic.

IE. Jane, surrounded by devastation, is a warrior living in 2248 Earth. She’s protecting her section. She worries. She wonders. She thinks about life on the other side. Omni zooms out and shows what Jane doesn’t know: the entire perimeter, the enemy, the foreshadows, etc.

Stewart, Jane’s enemy, is also surrounded by devastation. Right now he’s digging a trench and wondering if there will be enough food tonight to feed his family. He worries that the city’s leaders aren’t acting responsible. He looks back in the direction of HQ and fears the worst.

Omni narrates about Jane and Stewart having reason to worry. Leaders are meeting at this precise moment in the underground room at HQ. They’re a greedy bunch who hate each other. Jason is about to bring the meeting to order. He feels….

It’s tough to write Omni and not give your reader whiplash. It’s also far less intimate. Third person lets the reader connect with one protag at a time. It’s not as intimate a relationship as 1st, but it an exciting journey. And whatever else we do: we promise the reader a good time. That’s why we love revising!

Happy writing.
–
Joylene Butler‘s second novel Broken But Not Dead will be released by Theytus Books in 2011

“Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard.” Standing Bear

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Hint Number One – Your Name, Page Number and Book Title in the Top Left Corner of Each Page

In the top, left corner of the page, many editors prefer your last name followed by a hyphen and the page number, and one single space below this, the title of your book.  Then three single spaces below this (if you’re not beginning a new chapter, which I’ll cover later) begin your narrative.

Hint Number Two – Double-Line Space the Narrative

No one I know will accept a single-line spaced manuscript, and there is good reason.  In the days of the covered wagon, when everything was edited with a pencil, the suggested corrections were made between the lines.  Most editors still prefer to work this way, and this format is paramount when line-editing material.  Plus, most people find double-line spaced copy on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper much easier to read and therefore more comfortable to work with.

Hint Number Three – Double Space After a Period

Double spacing after a period enables room to annotate punctuation changes and draw lines to move sentences around.  I am aware that some people are saying this is “old school,” and therefore the double space after the period is no longer necessary, but every editor I know prefers or demands it, as do I.

Hint Number Four – Indent Paragraphs 1/2″

Most word processing programs seem to use a 1/2″ indention as standard, but I often receive manuscripts with erratic or inconsistent paragraph indentions.  If you always indent 1/2″, then your text’s appearance will be consistent and this will also enable you to “fudge” when you want your text to look its best from an aesthetic standpoint.

Hint Number Five – Never Justify Text (Except for Chapter Delineations)

Under no circumstances should a manuscript be submitted with justified text.  This makes line editing a nightmare (sic, impossible), since extra spaces between words are something a line-editor flags.

Hint Number Six – Locate the Chapter and its Number in the Center of the Page

As with unusual or inconsistent indentation, I receive a wide variety of chapter set ups.  My suggestion is to type out the word Chapter with a capital C and follow this with the number 1, 2, 3, etc., one space after the word; i.e., Chapter 1.  This isn’t as Mickey Mouse as it seems, because this differentiates a Chapter 1 from Part 1, for example.  The Chapter designation is a location in which centered text is not only acceptable but desirable.

Space the chapter identification down however far you desire with an equal number of lines below it before your begin the narrative.  Five single spaces from the book title in the top, left corner to the centered chapter identification, then five single spaces to the beginning of the narrative is a good template.

Plus, this again provides room to “fudge,” if need be, during later revisions and not require a writer to have to repaginate an entire chapter–or even the entire book.

Hint Number Seven – Use 12 Point Times New Roman or Courier Font

Many in the publishing industry seem to recommend these fonts.  Also, if a writer sticks with either Times New Roman or Courier, this could save having to manually go through an entire manuscript to clean it up should it have to be changed to either of these font styles.  Because, even today, with all of the word processing genius that’s out there, different fonts don’t often wrap properly when the entire text is converted from one font style to another.

Hint Number Eight – Leave an Extra Double-Spaced Line at the End of Each Page

If you choose to ignore everything I’ve written, please don’t disregard this idea:  Leave an extra line or even two at the end of each page, especially during the early drafts of your work.  Meaning, instead of typing to the last line, which will generally be line 24 of double-spaced copy, type only to line 23.  This has nothing to do with editing, but will enable you to revise and often not have to repaginate work, thus saving a huge amount of labor.

If you follow the eight suggestions outlined in this article, I think you will have a very happy agent, editor or publisher–and I hope all three.

Robert L. Bacon is the founder of The Perfect Write™

The Perfect Write™ offers manuscript review and revision, including comprehensive developmental editing and line editing services.
Also For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write™ Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

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In conversation, a tone of voice may indicate one thing when the intention is quite different.  Should the speaker recognize the error, this misspeak can be remedied by an apology, by glossing over the infraction, or simply by an abundance of rhetoric intended to cause the listener to forget what had been said, earlier. But when the words are committed to paper, the luxury of remedy is not always possible.

We were trained via our business communications textbooks (a hundred years ago in my case) to practice certain techniques related to tone that unfortunately were seldom applied in the real world of professional correspondence, then or now. The correct tone from the outset makes the task of the letter that much easier, unfortunately, this vital precept is often violated.

Someone might still ask if consistency of tone is really that important. Here is my response: After writing a complicated personal or business letter, how often does one ask if what was written really conveyed what the person wanted to say? And after several rewrites, it is still not uncommon to pose the same question? In an overwhelming number of instances, the problem is not the content, but an issue–somewhere–with the tone of the narrative. Check it out and see how often this is true. 

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

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The literary critic for The Palm Beach Post, Scott Eyman, has written many outstanding books on the legends of the cinema. In an article he wrote some years ago pertaining to a trend in film making that was conceived to sustain an audience’s attention span, he stated, “Action has become confused with movement.” I was so taken by what I felt was an exceptionally acute and accurate comment, I asked for and received his permission to cite his line, since I am of the opinion this issue applies equally to crafting a novel.

There is a Time When you may have to Kill your Babies

In writing, a glaring fault occurs when an otherwise perfectly good scene has nothing to do with the plot. What happens when the story has evolved, from that plot element, to the state of rendering the scene superfluous or no longer pertinent to the story–but the writer doesn’t want to lose the scene? As harsh as it sounds, to paraphrase Faulkner, this is the time the writer may have to kill his or her babies. But not many who write their gems want to do it. And not without a battle of intestinal tumult that often reaches epic proportions.

Whether Exposition or Dialogue, Lateral Movement is Equally Deadly to Advancing the Plot

No aspect of a narrative is immune, and to imply the problem is found more in exposition than dialogue would likely be inaccurate, but flat scenes seem easier to identify in the latter. Stagnant dialogue while dining, for example, although much less dramatic, is not dissimilar in its end result for a moviegoer who experiences a fight scene or an explosion or a car chase that is ridiculously positioned or overused as a plot point. In leaving the theater and asking why a particular scene was in the movie, there is no difference should a reader say that a passage of exposition or a rift of dialogue had nothing to do with the story line of a novel.

Writers of Books Don’t have the Luxury Filmmakers Possess

But movie makers have an advantage, since their medium is visual. A lot can be remedied in a couple of minutes and a few scene changes. A novel requires much more time to regain the reader’s confidence after a lull in the narrative. And it requires much less effort to put down a flawed book that might take another eight hours to read than to hang around the theater for a half hour until the movie ends.

It is Impractical to Write around an Ineffective Scene

It sounds simple, but this is the whole magilla: For anyone desiring publication by a quality royalty publisher, all of the words have to be focused toward the goal of advancing the plot. If not, revise or cut them. It is impossible to write the plot around rhetoric in its original context, no matter how brilliant it might be, if it does not move the story forward. When a writer accepts this, the task of transitioning prose becomes easier (sometimes exponentially so) and the overall narrative, with the rarest of exceptions, more effective.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

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