Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self-Editing

Deep point of view (DPOV) is the new trend in fiction. This is not to say that all authors will want to use this style, however, I don’t know why they would not want to at least infuse a bit of this element into their storytelling. It takes point of view (POV) to a higher level for the reader. This is true whether the story is written in first person or third person limited POV.

A simple POV technique is to take the author into a scene and make sure that the character doesn’t experience anything outside his scope of his understanding. In other words, if the character can’t know it, see it, or watch it, the reader can’t see it or watch it. The reader may know it if the knowledge comes through another POV character’s viewpoint, but if our main guy is in the dark about something, he can’t be suddenly enlightened on his own. In other words, Sally may have already met John in a prior scene. If Walter is with Sally in a scene where John walks in, and he has never met John, Sally must introduce John before Walter can refer to him by that name.

Here is an example from such a scene:

Walter stood, plate in hand, by the buffet table looking over the delicious offerings of caviar, shrimp, and other delicacies too numerous to mention.
Sally grabbed his elbow, almost making him drop the expensive china.
“Walter, it’s him. He’s the one who invited us here,” she whispered.
“Who?” Walter looked about the room.
The man stood in the midst of the crowded dining room. “Thank you for sharing this evening with me.” He raised his hand and the crowd quietened.
Walter sat his plate down on the table. “Who is he?” He leaned toward Sally.
“John. The rich billionaire I met last week. I told you about him.”
“Oh, yeah.” Walter slumped forward. “That guy.”

Now, let’s instill some deep POV magic to our storytelling elements and see what we can create:

Walter stood, plate in hand, by the buffet table looking over the delicious offerings of caviar, shrimp, and other delicacies too numerous to mention. Who in this little town could afford such a spread?
Sally grabbed his elbow, almost making him drop the expensive china. On his salary, it would take a couple of weeks to repay the hotel for this single piece of dinnerware.
“Walter, it’s him. He’s the one who invited us here,” she whispered.
“Who?” Walter looked about the room. Yeah, he’d admit it. His journalistic curiosity had pressed him into donning his only suit and tie. The collar of his dress shirt scratched his neck.
The man stood in the midst of the crowded dining room. “Thank you for sharing this evening with me.” He raised his hand and the crowd quietened. Who did this over-made-up, makeup-wearing fool think he was, Jesus on the Mount.
Walter sat his plate down on the table. “Who is he?” He leaned toward Sally.
“John. The rich billionaire I met last week. I told you about him.”
“Oh, yeah.” John slumped forward. “That guy.” The one who bought the paper, the one it was rumored would be sending out pink slips over the next couple of weeks. Him. Walter kind of wished the guy was Jesus. Then, maybe John would show Walter a little mercy, and he’d be able to keep his job.

DPOV deepens the story. In the first scene, Walter is just a guy at a dinner party. He's about to meet an unknown fellow Sally met the week before. In the second scene, Walter isn’t just a guy. He’s a journalist whose curiosity made him pull out his only suit and tie and wear it to a lavish gathering we can easily assume is out of his usual element. Then we learn, with Walter, that John could just possibly hold Walter’s future employment in his hands. The reader isn’t told this. The information is shown (rather than told) through Walter’s deep POV. Writing such a scene takes the author into the mind of the character which, when read, brings the reader deeper into the story.

And if an editor is reading a well-written story, and the POV takes him or her deeper into the lives of the characters, it will make the story hard to put down for the editor, who is often an author’s worst critic.

Even if an author feels that a deeper POV isn’t the way to style a story, when editing, every author should look for those times when a certain thought from the lead character will add depth and understanding to that character’s journey.

Let's do something fun, and I hope the readers will take part. Take the first scene. Provide a DPOV for Walter. With the first scene, the sky is the limit. Walter could be anyone. Sally could be anyone to Walter, and John's bio is yet to be written. Practice your DPOV and see what you can do with it and post it in the comments. (Remember CBA rules apply).

Happy editing.

Thursday's Tips: Complications



In everyday life, people normally strive for as few complications as possible. We plan ahead. We prepare. We come up with menus and grocery lists, and wash soccer uniforms for Saturday’s game. We even worry, as if considering all the negative scenarios will help us avoid them. And life is easier when we’re organized. We won’t run out of pasta on lemon chicken linguini night. Of course, we might be out of lemon. To use a cliché, life doesn’t go always as planned.

Your character may worry and plan, too, or maybe not. Either way, in order to keep us reading, there have to be complications for your character. Don’t let her life go smoothly. Complicate her plans, her day, her life, her obstacles. 
 
One of the ways to avoid a sagging middle (Act II) of your story, is to layer in complications—both in terms of characterization and plot. Maybe your character faces a new scenario she’s never planned for. She doesn’t know how to handle it, or perhaps the situation triggers something in her she didn’t expect. Complications. 

You may have heard that it’s best to keep tripping your character up and then kick him when he's down. The advantage to that is that when things finally do turn around, the emotional payoff is intense. However, this technique is also somewhat transparent and can wear on readers. They’d like to see some victories, or the story may depress them. It’s best to have a balance, without making things too easy on your characters. 

I read a lot, for Pelican, of course, but elsewhere too. One element I’ve seen over and over is writers keeping things safe, both for their characters and themselves. No situation is ever out of control. No barraging circumstances. No unresolved tension. But tension is a reader’s favorite hook. And the complication of barraging circumstances, the chaos of complications, not only feels like real life, but also keeps stories from sagging.

Have you ever tried to train a puppy to “heel?” “Heel” is the command for walking beside the master/owner while on a leash. This command demands the dog not pull on the lead, but rather remain in step. And though temptations to sniff the surrounding area come, once trained, the dog remains faithfully next to the owner. Just like with every other lesson, puppies need training in this. When you first put a puppy on a leash, he’ll twist his head to bite on it. He’ll scamper around in circles, trying to either get the leash off or get it into his mouths. He might stop everything, sit down, and use a hind paw to scratch at the collar and leash. If the owner tries walking (all the while giving the command to “heel”), the puppy may put the brakes on, dig her feet into the ground, and try to remain where she is. All manner of distractions keep her from cooperating. The same should be true in our stories.

All manner of complications should keep our heroes and heroines from their goals. That keeps readers hooked, or on the leash to remain with our metaphor. 

So, what about your work-in-progress? You’ll know if you have a balance by instinct. If the scene lacks life, consider layering in complications. The same is true if your scene lacks realism. Let complications thicken your novel. The goal is to keep your reader on the leash all the way through to the end. And, unlike in real life, in story, complications are desirable.

Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self-Editing


This week, I had a budding author ask me about the latest release by a bestselling novelist. She has read previous offerings from this author, and she had never noticed the problems she found in his current work. She has been studying the elements of storytelling, she has been getting advice from fellow critique partners and authors, and she was curious as to why this bestselling author could break the rules.

I’ve thought about the issues she mentioned: an excessive use of “ly” words (adverbs) in dialogue attributes, a switch in tense within scenes and/or chapters, a lack of description to enable the reader to envision the scenes, as well as a predictable plot.

I know what some would expect me to say: “His books sell in the millions. He can do whatever he wants.” Or what about this one: “The author is experienced, and he knows when to break the rules”?

While I suspect that, to a certain extent, the above comments might be true, I’d like to point out that this multi-million dollar author has a reader who sees a decline in his writing style. Might there be other readers who may not notice the “ly” words, but who could stumble over the change in tense or fail to get a good grasp of a scene? I’ll give the writer the benefit of the doubt. The current books seems to be a book outside this author’s usual genre. Maybe the outcome of the plot wasn’t as important as the events that led up to it.

The questions asked of my friend and budding author brought a few thoughts to mind:

An author must never get to a point in his career where he believes that there is nothing new to learn. He might have gotten away with head-hopping a few decades ago. Today, a manuscript written from more than one point of view per scene screams amateur. Other stylistic changes throughout the decades are seen in the same way.

A bestselling author should not lean on his past record. He should always strive for creativity and innovation. Failure to do so will eventually catch up with him.

An author must not break the rules just because he can. There must be a reason to break the rules, and they should be broken sparingly so that a reader never questions the author’s knowledge versus his voice or style.

New authors who are reading experienced authors and have the ability to spot the problems in a published book are seeing their knowledge blossom right before their eyes. Once a writer begins to critique, she’ll never look at a published book the same. For exactly that reason, experienced authors should work hard so that newer authors can learn by good examples and not by poorly written ones.

Something else that came to mind as I studied on this issue is that quite possibly the greatest gift an editor can give to an experienced author is to treat him no differently than he would be treated if the book were his first creation. Likewise, an experienced author should take special care to self-edit and look for those instances where he breaks the rules simply because he knows he can get away with it.

Happy editing.

Make-A-Story™ - Monday's Writing Prompt


Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.  It means writing what the publisher wants.  Can you do it?  In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements.  The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.   
 
A pitcher of lemonade
Calligraphy
A two story house
 

Tactical Tuesdays: Advice for Self-Editing


Clichés. We’ve all heard about them. Most writers cringe when an editor or critique partner points out a cliché line like “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Sometimes it’s best to delete a cliché from a manuscript, but sometimes just the right line will allow an author to amp up the cliché and make it fresh and new. What if an author has a cynical character standing in the grocery line? He’s holding out his hand in order to receive a mere penny in change. The cashier looks at him as if to say, “Mister, really? You want the penny?” He takes it from her and with a smirk holds it above the little cup left there for other customers to dig out of when they’re short a few cents. “A penny saved is a penny given to the poor sap who didn’t earn enough.” Plink. He drops the penny into the cup.

Clichés can also encompass more than a line in a manuscript. An entire character may be cliché. For example, if I mentioned the name Snidely Whiplash, what picture comes to mind? A mustache that curls at its ends, a black top hat and a coat to match. A man standing over poor Pauline, the hapless, and also cliché, heroine he’s tied to the railroad tracks.

Unless the story is a parody, a Snidely Whiplash-type villain just isn’t going to work. So what can be done with him and with other cliché characters? Turn those characters inside out. Rather than a handlebar mustaches and an evil laugh, Snidely has a smooth baby face with blue eyes that can charm most women into doing anything he wants. His laugh is soothing and draws people in. The heroine comes to believe he’s the man she wants to take home to meet mother. He’s so perfect, and his name is Brian or Josh or David—nothing to make the reader assume his villainy.

Then little by little, we see his imperfections. We get a look into the evil that dwells just beneath the surface, and we scream for Pauline (who also isn’t a helpless heroine. She’s smart, and crafty, and she’ll be able to get away with or without help from a hero) to run as fast as she can.

When editing, authors should look for familiar and overused lines to either delete, change, or whenever possible amp up with a new twist. Characters should be examined to determine if anything about them is cliché. If so, add a little twist to the character and bring someone new to life.

Happy editing.

Make-A-Story™ - Monday's Writing Prompt


Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.  It means writing what the publisher wants.  Can you do it?  In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements.  The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.    
 
A basket of flowers
Westminster chimes (clock or church bells)
A garden cart

Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self-Editing


Conflict-conflict-conflict. If you plan to write a scene without it, stop. We avoid conflict in real life.

In fiction, conflict is the one element that has your readers turning the pages of a novel. Some authors mistakenly believe that conflict has to be physical. There are other kinds of conflict, including but not limited to emotional, psychological, a race against time, and a fight with nature. Conflict can be in-your-face action or subtle tension between characters.

Much is made of conflict, but there are a few elements to look for in your prose:

Does the conflict match your targeted genre? A Freddy Krueger-like character isn’t likely to appear in a contemporary romance. While romantic conflict can occur in any genre, if it isn’t a contemporary romance, that conflict must be a subplot.

Does the conflict build to the resolution of the story? In other words, adding a fistfight that has nothing to do with a plot or subplot, is useless. All conflict should be a natural part of the story and build to the story’s conclusion.

And speaking of building to a conclusion: while subplots can be wrapped up at various times in the story, it is not wise to start a conflict in a scene and resolve it by the end of the scene. Even the end of the chapter is too soon. Adding conflict and resolving it within the same scene or chapter begins to tire the reader. If the conflict involved in the story doesn’t sustain the whole story, an author may want to review his manuscript to see how it can be maintained or if it needs to be deleted.

Happy editing.

Make-A-Story™ - Monday's Writing Prompt

Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.  It means writing what the publisher wants.  Can you do it?  In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements.  The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.  

A bouquet of flowers
A pony
A guitar  

Tactical Tuesday: Advice for Self-Editing


You’ve read the stories where the characters have repetitive actions. They’re described in different ways, but in the end, they mean the same.

Harold glanced at Audrey. “Are you okay?”
Audrey peered through the darkness at him. “Scared is all?
Harold narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of ghosts.”
“I don’t like anything I can’t explain.” She stabbed him with her glare.
A low moan came from somewhere within the house. Harold closed his eyes. He’d taken the dare. He couldn’t turn back now.

You get the idea. Some take the adage, “The eyes are the window of the soul,” to the extreme. Those authors, if they aren’t using a speech attribute, give all movement to the eyes.
Some authors will have their character’s gripping everything in sight. The same rule applies. Characters’ actions should be varied. Deep thought can be used to aid in presenting rounded characters.
The best authors use beats that provide insight into the personality of their characters:

Harold strolled up the steps of the old abandoned house. His friends had called him a coward. Still, he had a mystery to solve and nothing would stand in his way.
Audrey clutched at the back of his shirt.
He reached for her hand and with a gentle tug brought her to his side and slipped his arm around her shoulder. Supposedly haunted houses were great places to take a date. Girls loved to be frightened, even if they wouldn’t admit it. “Are you okay?”
Audrey leaned in closer to him. “Scared is all?
Harold chuckled, but not too loudly. He didn’t want to awaken anything that could be waiting for them in the dilapidated mansion. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of ghosts.”
In his arms, Audrey shivered. “I don’t like anything I can’t explain.”
A low moan came from somewhere within the house. Harold stilled every muscle in his body. It wouldn’t do to let Audrey know he was just as frightened as her. He’d taken the dare. He couldn’t turn back now.

When self-editing, a helpful hint for authors is to highlight repetitive motions and, when possible, provide a more vivid picture of movement. Characters do widen their eyes, narrow their gazes, glare, look up, look down, and look away…but the best stories limit those actions.
Happy editing.

Make-A-Story™ - Monday's Prompt


Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.  It means writing what the publisher wants.  Can you do it?  In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask you to create a story with these elements.  The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.  
 
A camel
Garden chimes
A feather