The Writer's Connection, ^SM
a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach ^SM

 

"The Creative Process of Writing is a
Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"
 
www.virtualwritingcoach.com

November 2004
 
In This Issue:
 
1. Preview

4. Getting into Action
 

 

1. Preview
 
The Writer's Connection ^SM explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions. We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.
 
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript, and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.
2. Publisher's Note
 
November, 2004
 
Dear The Writer's Connection ^SM Subscriber,
 
This month features advice for editing your work.
 
3. More Editing: Tightening and Lengthening
 
We've talked before about cutting out unnecessary verbiage before submitting your final draft to an agent or publisher. This month I will offer some specific advice on how to do this:
 
1. Say it Simply: Instead of impressing your reader with your knowledge of syntax and sentence structure, never say more than you mean. As an example look at my above sentence. I could have easily have said, "Keep it direct and simple."
2. Avoid unnecessary gerunds and participles and forms of the verb "to be." Look at the following sentence: Keith Barton was writing his autobiography and also submitted a suspense thriller. Get rid of the gerund phrase "was writing." Instead I might say "Keith Barton crafted his autobiography."
3. Avoid unnecessary modifiers: Omit anything that ends in "ly"; also don't use "pretty" or "very." For example: The author was very upset with the agent's rejection of her manuscript. Instead one might say, "the author construed the agent's criticism as harsh."
4. Avoid clichés: These will get you a rejection letter faster than a speeding bullet (notice the cliché?): Examples include: all things considered, awesome, cold as ice, drastic action, drunk as a skunk, hot and heavy, join the club, smooth as silk. Okay, you get the picture (another cliché)
5. Just say "said." Dialogue tags describe who is talking in your story. Oftentimes tags are unnecessary when the conversation is fast and each person has their own "voice." This is intended to convey a fast action sequence or beat in your dialogue to increase the intensity or tension between two characters. An example below may demonstrate this technique for you.
 
"Let's go get a bite to eat. I'm hungry."
"You sure you got the stomach for it, Mr. Macho?"
"Who you kiddin'? I've seen worse of Friday night in the ER."
 
These two obviously know each other wellperhaps at work or a relationship. There are no tag lines as to who's talking but it's obvious it's two people who like to kid and banter with one another. The dialogue is a tension release after a grueling chase scene in my first book, High Rise.
 
Lengthening a Story: The trick here is to lengthen the piece without weakening your story. Some examples of doing this are:
 
1. Use more quotes: Quotes give more action to your story. Your characters are telling the story through their talking rather than the writing "showing" what is occurring in the back story or narrative description. Remember to "show, don't tell."
2. Give additional factual support: Last month we talked about research for your writing. This is where your hard work pays off. Let the reader know that you're an expert in the making of bombs or incendiary devices; make sure you have the correct barrel caliber, firing mechanism, and forensic evidence to find your villain.
3. Use specific description: Don't give a general description"it was a dark and stormy night," when a specific one will do. For example, "Lightness descended on Lt. Calvert as he lay in a drunken stupor, devoid of any recollection of the night's events."
4. Use more anecdotes: Don't overuse the anecdotes but a few might suffice to lend more credibility or facts to your story. Use connecting phrases like "another time" or "a month later." This hooks your reader into wanting more meat in the story and can tease out idiosyncratic character traits or tics.
 
4. Getting into Action
 
"Getting in to Action" is a monthly feature of The Writer's Connection ^SM . In this section of our Newsletter, we will discuss action steps the writer can take to improved his/her knowledge base in writing novels.
 
This month's recommendations:
 

 

1. Take the phase: "Now is the time for all good women and men to come to the aid of their country." (Remember from typing class?). Triple the length by adding two or three more sentences that add to your statement without being repetitious.
2. Take a paragraph from today's newspaper editorial and cut the number of words in half. See if the meaning is changed significantly.
3. Buy the book, The Writer's Handbook for Editing and Revision, by Rick Wilber, NTC Publishing Group, 1997. (which provided the basis for this month's newsletter).
 
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