by Kelly Lynne Romance Novel Editor | Book Editing Associates “I am talking to you,” he said. Then he continued, “Now I’m talking some more.” She replied, “I am responding to what you said.” “We’re the only two people present in this scene,” he communicated. “Maybe the readers will get confused about who is speaking,” she …
By Editor John David Kudrick Are you a pantser or a plotter/planner? If you’re a novelist and you’ve done even a little bit of reading about the craft of fiction, then you’ve likely come across the terms “pantser” and “plotter,” which is also called “planner.” Simply put, if someone asks which kind of fiction writer …
by Caroline Hiley, editor In fiction, story trumps all—which explains why so many weakly written novels get published and even win awards. This creates a dilemma for editors. Who needs us if readers don’t demand excellence in writing? If story is all that truly matters, why should authors bother paying us professional wages, or hiring …
by Beth Bruno, Developmental Book Editor Working alone as a freelance book editor, especially enjoying a busy practice, can get lonely at times. While true, those times are never so much as to tempt me to join even a small publishing company for the daily interactions with colleagues and others. Sure, the planned and unplanned …
Perspective as a Fiction Storytelling Tool by Marie Valentine, editor It sometimes seems like there are as many angles to tell a story as there are possibilities in choosing a genre. Let’s narrow it down and explore a classic fiction perspective, third-person point of view (POV). Third-Person Omniscient Omniscient point of view is told from …
by David Henderson, book editor The characters in your novel are busy, and it’s your fault. After all, it is you who have brought them into existence just to plunge them into some sort of all-encompassing conflict, and as they move about their imaginary lives in pursuit of their objective(s), contending with the various setbacks, …
by Ana Howard We’ve all read novels that start and end wonderfully. But somewhere in the middle, the novel seems to lose momentum. Our challenge as writers is to maintain the same level of tension, developments, and character building in the middle of our manuscripts as what we have created in our openings and endings. …
Don’t Lose Great Story Ideas in the Depths of Your Imagination By Editor John David Kudrick Novelists seem to be able to come up with great story ideas at any given time and in any given situation: morning walks, feeding the baby, staff meetings, sitting in traffic, discussing politics with a friend, etc. So you …
By Amy Bennett A good surprise in a novel is like a good joke. The twist ending satisfies the setup, but goes in a direction the audience didn’t foresee. Because surprises are tricky to pull off, whether the surprise comes relatively early or at the end of a story, often I see writers who withhold …
by DJ Braxton Agents love character-driven novels. That’s because readers love them. Nothing anchors a book more than a well-developed character who we feel attached to, who we can identify or sympathize with, and who can be our guide in the world of the book that the author is created. Without this, readers tend to …
By DJ Braxton Many very earnest and efficient writers like to start at the beginning, providing not only the protagonist’s first and last name but birth time and birth place. I’ve encountered books that will literally describe a hero’s entry into the world … via the birth canal! Starting a book off like this is …
by DJ Braxton Somewhere along the lines, writers mistakenly decide that “purple prose” (the phrase used to describe ornate, flowery, or eloquent passages of writing that resemble 19th-century Royal English tea parties) is the way to go, that lots of big words and multiple descriptors in one sentence trumps simple sentences. Since it’s no …
Floyd Largent One of the attractions of writing nonfiction, mainstream fiction, and most genre fiction is that you and the reader already share the same universe: the Real World, where the cultures, mores, politics, and history are all well known and relatively easy to research. Research is itself a major hot-button topic for writers, one …
By David A. Cathcart Structure is one area that beginning writers struggle with the most. We all know our stories should have suspense, surprise, drama, intrigue, and all sorts of other spicy elements. But how do we create a structure that delivers all of these elements? Over the years of working with writers …
by Marlo Garner Children’s Book Editor and Illustrator Well, I’m doing it. I’m throwing my two cents worth into the ring labeled “POV.” It’s something I’ve considered blogging about for a long time, as it’s one of the biggest, gangliest, toothiest, hairiest, wartiest, most frequent, and most significant technical issues I come across when I …
By David Cathcart Book Editing Associates Every form of fiction writing has its strengths and limitations—as do fiction writers. Therefore, it’s important to figure out your strengths and limitations and then match them with a writing style that plays to your strengths. Here are a few different forms of fiction writing. See which one appeals …
Theodora Bryant Copy editor, manuscript evaluations Book Editing Associates No matter the number, it’s clear that the opening has to be a grabber in some fashion or your manuscript is dead in the water with agents, and according to those in the know, the buying public. Your opening, they say, holds up the entire …
Part 2: Too Much of a Good Thing Isn’t So Good By Editor John David Kudrick In the first installment of this series, we looked at how head-hopping (abrupt POV jumps within a scene) can damage the intimacy between a reader and the story. In this second part, I want to cover another major problem …
Part 1: Head-Hopping Hurts Readers’ Heads By Editor John David Kudrick Even in our fast-paced digital age, readers are still looking for stories that encourage, engage, and entertain them in the midst of a changing world. What makes a good story hasn’t changed, and on the flip side, what ruins a good story hasn’t changed, …
By David A. Cathcart Book Editor: Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Editing Associates Editing-Writing.com Your story will stand or fall on the strength of its premise. It doesn’t matter how well it’s written on a line-by-line level. If your premise is weak, the rest of the story will crumble. But what is a premise, and …
By Marlo Garner Children’s Book Editor Book Editing Associates ChildrensBookEditors.com Beginning another new project has been the very last thing on my to-do list. But phrases have been whispering in my mind, repeating and growing in number, as I go about doing other things. While I scramble some eggs or dump out the compost, phrases …
By Mark Orrin Chuck Hellman, other combined sources To plan a good fiction-structured plot (effective non-fiction memoirs will usually rest on these structures, too), you need elements working together that are seldom found in ideal form in short or long narrative, but that you ought to strive to achieve. One name for this …