Remember – It’s Your Story!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, Leave a comment

I’ve shared this blog on several occasions, but it’s been a while, and a message I think needs to be repeated. As new writers, we sometimes listen to everyone but ourselves. Friends and critique partners mean well, but if you let them, some will try to take over your novel and mold it into what they think it should be.

I was sitting on my couch reworking a scene in the novel I was writing and stopped right in the middle of it. What am I doing? I asked myself. The purpose of the rewrite was to make some changes based on a critique I received from a critique partner.

The person that critiqued my book is very good at the craft, and I respect her opinion. There were others who critiqued the piece and loved it, offering a few comments here and there to correct grammar or replace a word. So, who was right? The three people who loved it, or the one who thought I needed to go back and make some significant changes.

The more I looked at the changes this person suggested, the more I realized she had her own idea of the way the story needed to go, and I had mine.

With this being said, she’s made some great suggestions. Because of her, my story is more believable, my dialogue more natural, and my POV more consistent. Her critiques have been invaluable.

However, I had to remind myself that this is my story. Nobody has a better understanding of the dynamics than I do. Nobody knows it from beginning to end but me. Nobody can tell it better than me.

Weigh comments and suggestions you receive from others and ask this question. Is it making my story better or changing it into something it is not?

Remember: It’s your story.

-Jan R

Remember – It’s Your Story!

The Five Tools of Showing

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, Leave a comment

There are 5 tools for showing.

  • Dialogue
  • Action
  • Interior dialogue
  • Interior emotion
  • Description-Sensory

If you’re doing anything that’s not one of these 5 things, you’re not showing you are telling.

Why is it so important to show versus tell? Showing provides your reader with a powerful emotional experience. If you want to be a best selling author, that’s what you have to do.

It doesn’t matter how great you do everything else in that novel, if you’re missing that emotional experience, you lose. If everything you did is bad, but you have a great emotional experience, you may still win.

Every great novelist will tell you; you have to give your reader that powerful emotional experience, or they won’t be coming back.

-Something to think about 🙂

-Jan R

The Five Tools of Showing

Rewrite-itis – It’s Real!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , Leave a comment

I got tickled when I first saw this word. I have to admit, I have dealt with rewrite-itis. What is it? It’s a severe condition that affects both published and unpublished writers according to The Everything Guide To Writing A Romance Novel. It means you are unable to call a book, chapter, or even a scene finished. So what causes the condition? For me, it is definitely a fear of failure.

What are the symptoms?

  • Rewriting the same scene, chapter, or book more than ten times.
  • Never finishing a book, because you keep going back to polish the first chapter.
  • Constantly having others read your book with the hopes they will give you some revisions to do.
  • Taking your finished manuscript to the post office to mail, only to return home with it in hand for further revision.

So, what do you think? Do you have a case of rewrite-itis?

Rewrite-itis has a close cousin called Research-itis. Maybe you have that one too. True research is crucial to any novel, but an author needs to know when to say, “Enough is enough.”

So what is the cure? Set goals and deadlines and stick to them. Remember your manuscript is your baby, but sooner or later you have to turn it loose.

Just something to think about.

-Jan R

Rewrite-itis – It’s Real!

YOUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE IS YOU!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, Leave a comment

Writing can be both rewarding and frustrating. I’ve been around the block a few times and have had my share of rejections. Don’t judge me, get used to it. If you are out to write that bestselling blockbuster, and know I’m cheering for you, you’re going to have to develop some tough skin.

I’ve stated in previous blogs, that there are a lot of reasons why your manuscript was passed over, and many have nothing to do with the manuscript itself, but I thought it would be nice to hear from an agent.

You just submitted a query for an awesome piece of work. You’ve had several agents request full manuscripts and one even gave you a call, but just like that it was over. What happened?

You may have submitted an amazing piece of work, but the submission before yours hit the ball out of the park, and the one after yours did likewise. Those two works raised the bar and affected the impact you novel had on the agent.

Maybe you presented a very well written novel, but the market is saturated with the genre you are offering. Agents may have manuscripts for the particular genre you submitted on hold for the next few seasons.

You made it to the personal phone call. Where did you go wrong? Maybe you were missing the synopsis or logline for your next novel. Agents don’t want to just sell a book, they want to represent a career. Another guess would be that you were resistant to editorial thoughts presented by the agent.

While all of the aforementioned obstacles are factual, they are not your biggest obstruction. What’s the biggest obstacle to you getting published? It’s you!!!!!

The biggest obstacle one can have in getting a novel published is quitting. If you’re going to do a little bit right, have that little bit be the fact that you don’t quit. – Barbara Poelle, agent

Something to think about.

-Jan R

YOUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE IS YOU!

Just A Reminder – Less Isn’t Always More

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, Leave a comment

I think one of the best problems an author can have is writing too much. You shared more information than was necessary. It’s a lot easier to go back and cut than it is to add new content. At least it is for me.

The problem I struggle with is how much should I cut. I’ve been known to take a hatchet to a piece when a whittling tool would have worked much better. A quote I read recently stuck in my head and sums it up perfectly. “Less is more, unless it’s not enough.” David Corbett.

I understand and am living that quote right now. I have a project I’ve been working on for years. Yes, I said years, and before you get to critical, note that the average novel takes 7-10 years to get published. I wrote a blog on it one time to encourage my readers and myself not to quit.

At any rate, I took a hatchet to the project and lost interest in it. Every time I pick it up for editing and/or revision, I want to just put it down and be done with it. A story I once loved, had lost its appeal.

Before I even ran across this quote, I was beginning to take a closer look at my work. Why wasn’t it appealing anymore? Well, for one thing, the opening wasn’t grabbing my attention and compelling me to move forward.

I deleted the prologue because I read somewhere that they were a no-no. In doing so, I lost the events that compelled the reader to move forward. I lost a thread that was interwoven into the fabric of the story and pulling everything together. I lost important details that were necessary for the reader to make sense of why certain things were happening the way they were.

The quote, “Less is more unless it’s not enough“, describes what I’ve been dealing with perfectly.  Thank goodness I don’t completely delete my work. It’s still there. My plan is to retrieve that prologue. The first chapter will be set 20 years later and the story will go from there.

And by the way, sometimes a prologue is necessary and works, but I’ll talk about that another day.

Something to think about.

-Jan R

Just A Reminder – Less Isn’t Always More