Happy Thursday Everyone! Thanks for stopping by. I’m Terri Molina, and I write Tex-Mex romance. You can learn more about me (should you choose) at
www.terrimolina.com
I understand, more than anyone, no writer is going to have a
perfect draft. There will always be edits for grammar or punctuation.
However....it doesn't mean you should toss your manuscript "out
there" and hope no one notices or cares that you misplaced all your
commas, or even used too many.
Way back when I first started writing, I joined an online
group that was having a contest where you could post a chapter of your work and
everyone could comment and judge….like American Idol only with writers. There
was an entry I felt needed a major edit and I commented about it, mentioning
the too-much-telling and overuse of adverbs and someone (who's work I didn’t
have a glowing response to) posted this comment in regards to my critique:
Yes, we all know that there will
be revisions and more editing; however sometimes we need to look past that and
just read the story.
Uh....No. Agents and editors aren't going to look past bad
writing so they can find out where your story is going. If you can't grab them
in the first few pages your story is history....it doesn't matter if it's the
best thing since microwave popcorn!
Now, I read close to a hundred of the entries because for
some crazy reason people wanted me to....their reasoning being, they want to
learn and I'm known as the resident Hard ass where my comments are
concerned and I tend to give detailed feedback (when I can), without
sugar-coating. I didn't set out to get such a reputation, but I do know, if you
can't take it from me (when I'm trying to help) how are you going to take it
from an agent or editor??
I’ve learned a lot in the ten-plus years I’ve been writing,
and I continue to learn, refreshing my craft with workshops or books or judging
writing contests and just working with other authors.
Anyway, since we’re giving advice this month, I’m throwing
in my ten cents worth. My advice to new writers is based on contest entries I’ve
read and what I felt the writer could improve on. So….put on your hardhat, debris may fly. haha
First of all, to those who chose to write in first
person...and for some reason, thriller and/or crime fiction newbies seem to
think they're supposed to...I suggest, unless you've read works by the pros who
know how to write first person exceptionally (i.e.; Lee Child, Robert Crais,
Rick Rhiordan, Joe Konrath)...don't
try it at home.
The mistakes I see a lot of new writers make with first
person are
they tend to spend too much time in the narrator's head, explaining
the who's and why's of everything until it becomes monotonous to
read. Granted, with first person your main character is telling you the
story....but the reader doesn't need to know the background of every single
thing that affected the character's life....because it's really not that
important to the scene at hand (and anything relevant can be woven in as
secondary characters are introduced. But at a minimum. Less is more.) For instance, telling us: John met Jane twenty
years ago at the vet when they were waiting for the free rabies shots given
each year and the dogs fell in love so it was natural they would too but it
didn't quite work out because...blah blah blah! None of that has anything to do
with who the character is as a person or why the reader should
relate to him/her. All it's doing is taking the reader out of the story. And
once you do that...you've lost your reader because (unless they're related to
you) they aren't going to want to go back and read to figure out what the heck
you're talking about.
With first person, you have to tell the minute details as
they are happening to you (the MC) because you want the reader to have the same
pieces of the puzzle so they can also try to figure out who-dun-it...assuming
it's a mystery you're writing...but regardless, with first person, you don't
want the reader a step ahead of the character.
Below are my Do’s & Don’ts for writing scenes.
First and foremost, Do
make sure the scene you're writing is necessary to the plot.
Don't throw in a
description of the scenery for the sake of trying to tell the reader you
character is now standing on top of a mountain. In other words don't open with
a panoramic view of your setting just to introduce your character sitting in
his study smoking a pipe by the fire.
Don't give a
history lesson on your setting (like saying when the town was founded, or who
founded it, unless it plays an important part in the story.)
Don't overdo your
prose by using too much descriptive narrative or exposition-such as going
through the minute details of the character's everyday mundane life (she
went home, made a cup of tea, put on some opera and went to bed--y a w n.)
Don't do a
prologue (a majority of agents and editors really hate them!)
And please Don't
open in present day with something exciting happening, then jump back in time
to explain how the character came to that part. It's not only annoying, it's
intrusive. When you do that you're basically doing this:
... Jane waited at the crosswalk
for the hand signal to turn white. As she stepped off the curb the street began
to vibrate. She barely had time to register the danger before the truck rammed
into her. She flew through the air, her last thoughts of Jacob as she landed
with a heavy thud against the concrete.
But, wait....let me tell you what happened before
this....
Don't describe
your characters through their own eyes, build them through someone else's eyes.
(meaning, when you're in Jane's pov she could describe John's traits...and so
on)
Don't start
sentences with THEN, FINALLY, SUDDENLY (because nothing ever really happens
suddenly).
Don't use too many
AND's or THAT's...you don't want your sentences reading like a grocery list of
action.
Don't use any of
the following words or variation of these words--see, hear, feel, taste,
smell---to explain what the characters saw, heard, felt, tasted, or
smelled...SHOW it.
Don't introduce
too many characters in one scene. If each of the characters are integral to the
story, introduce them in their own chapter and in a way that shows how they're
affected by the incidents that have happened so far (meaning, how are their
lives changed by what happens) And again, don't give the everyday mundane
actions they go through each day.
For any novel (regardless of genre), something has to happen
immediately. Usually something life-changing for the main character. You cannot
spend the first ten pages introducing a character and giving us his/her life
story (as it was or is now) because you will bore the reader
(especially this reader). Just give the minimal facts that are relative
to the character (who s/he is/what's his/her job/what
type of personality s/he has) and weave the rest in as you go to
further develop him/her...but do it in a way that isn't TELLING. In other
words, don't say, John is a cop. Instead, show what makes him a
cop....maybe open with him at work. Don't say Jane has a soft heart for
stray animals, instead show her sneaking a can of tuna fish from her
mother's cabinet and leaving it in the bushes for the cat that's been prowling
around at night.
When writing your dialogue try writing it as you speak
(unless you're writing historical or period pieces of course.) Don't have your
characters constantly say each other's names when speaking to them.
"Hi Jane."
"Hi David."
"How was your night,
Jane?"
"It was fine, David. I went to
a movie."
"That's nice, Jane. What did
you see?"
"Well David, I don't remember
because I fell asleep."
Annoying huh.
Another
thing to look out for in dialogue are your tags. If your writing strong
dialogue, it isn't necessary to use a tag to identify how the character is
speaking. You don't need to say..."They're coming back," she
proclaimed! The dialogue and the previous action should convey the emotion
in the character's voice.
When starting a novel, figure out who your main character is
and write from their POV. Show everything through their eyes as they see it
unfolding. Otherwise, your story will read like an article in a magazine with
no real emotional connection for the reader. And, don't talk at your
reader. As a reader, I want to be pulled into the story, I want my emotions
challenged...not my intelligence (which is what I mean by talking at me
like you're trying to explain everything.) You don't need to hold the reader's
hand. As Dave King states in his book SELF-EDITING FOR THE FICTION WRITER, resist
the urge to explain! Because, really, if you have to explain the who's
and why's of your story...then you're not doing your job.
Here are a few more tips from the comments I made on entries
in regard to what to look out for when writing.
Don't put thoughts in quotes. Quotes are for actual speaking
dialogue only. Thoughts should be in italics.
Don't use adverbs when a stronger verb will work.
She pleadingly looked around the
empty city
How do you look pleadingly? Show it better.
She searched the empty streets,
her heart pounding, searching for someone, anyone who would help her.
Watch out for too literal descriptions (sometimes referred
to as flying body parts...rolled her eyes; threw up her hands, etc)
Don't start your story with a dream if you can avoid it
because it can piss off a reader. It's like a tease. They think something
exciting is happening only to find out it's a dream.
And one more very important thing: READ! Read everything...fiction,
non-fiction, graffiti on the bathroom wall...(heh...just kidding..unless it's
really good. ;-)) The point is, if you don't read, you can't learn.
A few more things to look out for when you're writing: (and
some is repetitive, I know)
Passive voice.
Sentences starting with AS.
Sentences that read like a grocery list (this, AND this, AND this,
happened....you know?) Watch out for too much exposition--meaning too much back
story too soon (or worse, going into back story to explain what happened
previously)
Show don't tell ...in other words, don't use the words: saw/heard/felt/smelled/tasted
as descriptive words.
Give the
reader the benefit of the doubt to know what you mean. For instance, don't tell
them someone closed the door after they opened it. In other words, don't
hold the reader's hand.
Another no-no with exposition is putting it all in dialogue.
"Lettie, we’ve been
together five years. Leave John and come away with me."
" You know I can't do that.
I own him. He is the one who made it possible for me to attend law school.
Before he showed up I had to work long weekend shifts. I was almost ready to
give up the crazy idea of becoming a lawyer while working as a stripper so that
I could give my mother and Johnny a decent place to live. Now John is about to
go to college and Mom doesn't have to work so hard as a maid in order to pay
for everything because her arthritis is so bad."
"Yes, I know. I lived it
with you."
This is called info dump through dialogue. Never have
one character say something to another character that they already know. If any
of this is important, feed it in later.
Another thing I've noticed is sometimes writers will chose
to use their first chapter as an introduction to the story, then tell the
reader, "but wait, the second chapter will explain everything." Well, I'm sorry but I have to reiterate...unless you grab
the reader in the first few pages of the first chapter they aren't going to
bother looking for the next chapter!
Okay....I think I’ve babbled long enough. I hope those of
you who made it to the end have found something useful to consider when going
back to your work.
Regardless....I wish you only the best in you endeavors.
