The Art of Self-Editing: An Essential Guide for Novel Writers
Self-editing is an essential skill for any writer. It allows you to polish your work and create a more compelling story. In this comprehensive guide, I lay out various tips and techniques to help you become a proficient self-editor, focusing on novel writing. Drawing inspiration from Evan Marshall’s The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing and my own The Elements of Active Prose: Writing Tips to Make Your Prose Shine, this article will provide you with a roadmap to successfully edit your novel. 1. Establish a Strong Foundation: Time, Character Goals, and Logical Behavior Ensure Time Tracks Accurately in Your Story An essential aspect of self-editing is ensuring that time flows consistently throughout your novel. This entails verifying that the sequence of events and the pacing of your story are coherent and logical. Pay close attention to details such as the progression of days, weeks, and months, as well as the…
Writing the Perfect First Paragraph of a Novel
As a writer, I know how challenging it can be to start a novel. You have an idea in your head, but putting it down on paper can be intimidating. The first paragraph of a novel is the foundation of your book, and it’s essential to get it right. In this article, I will share a step-by-step guide to crafting the perfect first paragraph. Why the First Paragraph of a Novel is Crucial The first paragraph of a novel is the first impression your reader will have of your book. It’s your chance to hook them in and keep them engaged throughout the entire story. A great opening paragraph can set the tone for the entire book and leave a lasting impression on your reader. Think of the first paragraph of a novel as a handshake. You want to make a good first impression and establish trust with your reader.…
The Ultimate Guide to Worldbuilding in Fiction Writing
As a writer, you have the power to create entire worlds with your words. Worldbuilding is the process of creating a fictional world that is immersive and believable, a place that readers can lose themselves in. In this article, I’ll be taking you through everything you need to know about worldbuilding in fiction writing. Understanding Worldbuilding in Fiction Writing What is worldbuilding in writing? It’s the creation of a fictional world, usually one that is entirely different from the real world, but some aspects of worldbuilding also apply to any work of fiction. When writing fiction, you have the freedom to create your own rules, cultures, and geography. Worldbuilding is essential because it helps your readers to understand and relate to your characters and the environments in which they exist. Worldbuilding is not just about creating a setting for your story; it’s about creating a complete world that is…
Is What Makes Good Writing Just an Opinion?
Is what makes good writing just an opinion? To answer this I think we need to look at the different levels of editing. Developmental editing This is the level of editing that looks at the book’s big picture – the overall structure and story elements such as plot, pacing, characters, world-building, dialogue, descriptions, and so on. Any books on writing that you read that deal with this level of novel writing pretty much agree on what makes a book work at this level. How you apply these commonly agreed upon guidelines to any particular book, however, is necessarily subjective. But one thing I suspect all editors would be able to agree on is whether or not a book needs more work. They could also probably agree on where the problems are, on what isn’t working as it should. They are also likely to make the same kinds of general suggestions…
Book Genres – What you Need to Know.
When I wrote my first book, I didn’t know much about book genres. I knew I was writing young-adult fantasy, but that was all. Later I discovered the book was also metaphysical fiction and magical realism, and knowing that made it easier for me to find my readers. That’s why it’s good to know a bit about genres before you start writing. When I wrote Worlds Within Worlds, many years later and with much more knowledge, I knew I was writing magical realism, but when I examined my writing at one point, I knew the plot needed to be stronger, and it was my understanding of genre that helped me know how to pull it together. I realised that it had the makings of a thrilller/suspense style plot, so I strengthened that plot thread in accordance with what thriller readers expect, and the book came together. My knowledge of genres…
How to See Edits in Word Documents
When you work with an editor on your book, you’ll need to know how to see edits in Word documents. You’ll want to be able to read the comments they left for you, find the parts you need to look at quickly, and accept or reject edits. For that you need to be able to use the comments, bookmarks and track changes functions in Word. If you trust your editor such that you’re happy to hand your manuscript over to them and accept whatever they do, then you can dispense with learning about track changes, but you will need to know how to use bookmarks and read comments. This article refers to Word 365. For older versions of Word, see this post on track changes and this one on comments and bookmarks. Comments Editors leave comments in a manuscript so they can relate their points to a specific part of…
Finding an Editor You Can Trust
Finding an editor you can trust is vital for a smooth relationship, particularly when you come to check your edits. But trusting your editor is also an important part of the relationship for both of you. Editors don’t want clients who don’t trust their judgement – it’s a recipe for frustration. Your editor needs to be someone you can relate to well, someone who seems to be on the same wavelength as you. They need to be someone who always remembers that it’s your book, who can work to your aims for the book, rather than what they think it should be, but they also need to be able to make the changes necessary to fix issues with your book and make it shine. Finding an editor Finding an editor is easy, but finding the right editor for you, once you can trust, can take time. Some authors write and…
Why Self-Publish?
A question every author will probably ask themselves one day is Why self-publish? Today, Stacy-Deanne, author of romantic suspense, contemporary romance, thrillers and women’s fiction, answers this question for you. Note that although self-publishing is only one kind of indie publishing, in this article the term ‘indie’ refers to self-publishing. Thanks Stacy. I think you put it really well. Why self-publish? As someone who was once published by a (at the time) Big Six Publisher in the US, spent years in trade and have been indie since 2015, I don’t think trade pubs have any advantages these days unless you write stuff that only works for trade. If you write things that can sell well being indie, I suggest you do it. Trade publishing’s disadvantages FAR outweigh any advantages. The problem with taking the mainstream publishing route. 1) You’ll need an agent if you want a big publisher and it…
What Makes a Good Editor
What makes a good editor? Is it their knowlege of grammar, punctuation and spelling? That’s an important part of it, for sure, but correcting grammar, punctuation and spelling is only one part of editing. That’s what a copy editor does. But the developmental editing and line editing are just as important in the production of quality writing, and different skills are required for the different areas. A good editor in one area is not necessarily a good editor in all areas, and it takes more than a fancy piece of paper from a top university to make a good editor because in all but the copy editing and proofing, good editing relies on artistry and intuitive understanding of the author’s intentions as much as knowledge. So what makes a good editor? What makes a good structural/developmental editor? This is the person that does your manuscript appraisal and tells you how…