Category: Writing Tips

Tips for Tackling Edits and Revisions

Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I finish writing a book, I follow a particular routine to get it into shape for publication.  In case my process helps anyone else, I thought I’d share it here.

First off, I read the story through once and make small changes as I go.  Small changes are typos as well as things like changing the age of a character or fixing an inconsistency.  I note on a separate document (Things to Fix) larger changes that I’d like to make. In a recent book, these larger changes included:  adding more scenes for a character, adding another suspect interview, following up on dialogue a character threw out in chapter two, and taking advantage of setting more.Continue reading

Skip Those Writing Speed Bumps

Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

There are a variety of things that can slow you down as you write.  I’m not sure how many writing sessions in the past have been derailed by really simple things.

Here are some of my most-likely culprits and how I manage to move past them:

Timeline.  I just used the word ‘yesterday’ to refer to something earlier in the story.  Was it yesterday, or was it earlier?  Solution: Note it in one separate document.  I call mine “Things to Fix in ______ (Story Name).”  It’s a completely separate Word document that I keep in the same folder as the manuscript.  One entry for my current WiP is this simple: page 95….was it yesterday morning?

Names.  Oops.  This character doesn’t seem to have a last name.  Solution: put an asterisk in the manuscript to point out the issue and fix  later.  When you’re ready to work on the second draft, just do a search for asterisks in your document.

Loose ends that I suddenly remember.  Did Myrtle leave a casserole dish with Nell?  Solution: note it in my ‘Things to Fix’ document.

Plot holes.  Myrtle left a car dealership driving a car.  How did she get there (she doesn’t currently own a car)?  Solution: note it in my ‘Things to Fix’ document.

Ideas that I want to incorporate into past chapters.  Solution: Again, this goes into that ‘Things to Fix’ document. Or, sometimes, I’ll note the ideas in Word’s Track Changes.

Veering off the outline.  Or a POV change.  Any major departure for the story.   Solution: mark it with an asterix (or put a comment in Track Changes) and start writing from the new POV, etc., from that point in the book, on.  Make the changes after the first draft is finished.

Issues realized.  I don’t have enough clues to point to the murderer.  Solution: note the fact in the ‘Things to Fix’ doc.

Although the temptation is to fix the problem immediately, I’ve found that I stay focused on my story and make more word count gains if I just note the issue and keep going.

Do you run into these types of speed bumps in your story?  Others?  What’s your approach toward them?

Speed Bumps that Writers Encounter and Tips to Deal With Them: Click To Tweet

Photo credit: davidseibold on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC

End Your Story Well to Sell

Writing Tips

by Zoe M. McCarthy, @ZoeMMcCarthy

If you don’t backload a satisfying ending to your story, readers may not buy your next book.

We’ll look at tips for a satisfying ending scene(s). When I say ending scene, I don’t mean an epilogue.

Tips for a Satisfying Ending*

Tip 1: Don’t Rush the Ending

The reader will feel like the author wrapped up everything quickly to meet a deadline.

In a romance, you might be tempted to hurry the heroine to agree to an engagement or say “I do,” at the altar. Perhaps you could slow the ending down by wrapping up a minor subplot. Maybe the heroine has wanted a place to call home since the beginning. Without belaboring the ending, maybe you could bring this idea full circle before or after promises of love.

Tip 2: Don’t End in a Flurry of Conflicts and High Emotions

Cutting off the story when actions and emotions are intense is like characters sprinting to a cliff with bad men in pursuit and the reader turns the page to find “The End.”

Readers need to come down from the emotional frenzy and witness what the characters feel and do when they’re in their more normal state. In a legal thriller, after a highly emotional court drama and verdict play out, a short scene occurring on the next day might follow. Over breakfast in a diner, the defending lawyer shares with the released defendant how at the last moment he obtained the one piece of evidence that saved the defendant’s life.Continue reading

Fight, Flight, or Freeze? Psyche 101 for Writers

Writing Tips

by Becca Puglisi, @beccapuglisi

Fight or flight.

I think we’ve all heard this phrase. It refers to the way each person is hard-wired to respond to real or perceived danger. Psychologists have recently added another option, giving us three ways we might respond to threats: we fight back, we flee, or we freeze up. This happens in life-or-death situations, but it also occurs on a smaller scale whenever we feel endangered:

  • At the mall, when you see someone who mistreated you in the past
  • At work, when the boss criticizes your work
  • At a party, when a friendly conversation takes an uncomfortable turn
  • At school, when you hear an ugly rumor someone has started about you

So whether the situation is potentially fatal or just a little threatening, you’re going to respond in one of those three ways. What does that look like? Here are few possibilities that cover a range of intensity:Continue reading

Your “Easy As Pie” Guide to Subplots + Giveaway (Part 3 of 3)

Writing Tips

by H.R. D’Costa, @scribesworld

Oh, no.

You just took a look at your outline or draft.

It’s definitely too short.

Or, in a different scenario, it’s long enough.

But, unfortunately, it’s rather bland. It lacks texture and variety.

Who are you gonna call to fix it?

Not the Ghostbusters.

Not a developmental editor. (Save that for a more dire writing emergency.)

Because, you see, you can fix this easily on your own.

All you need to do is to weave a subplot (or two) alongside your main plot.

Your page count will expand, and at the same time, your story will become more textured.

This three-part series on subplots will help you get there. Here’s a quick overview:

  • In Part 1, we covered 5 uses for subplots. (Definitely read this if you’re struggling to come up with content for your subplot.)
  • In Part 2, we covered how to structure your subplot—plus the golden rule to follow regarding subplots.
  • In Part 3, we’ll cover how to weave subplots into your story as well as conduct a subplot “safety check.” (You’re reading Part 3 right now.)

Note: These subplot tips have been adapted from my writing guide Sparkling Story Drafts, which will help you write cleaner rough drafts, reduce your revision time, and get a crazy-good story onto the marketplace—faster. To learn how you could win a paperback copy, see the end of this post.

And now let’s get to today’s tips (served a la mode or not, your choice*)…Continue reading

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