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 |  This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario. An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. |
| Plotting Techniques pt.1 The final thing I asked my email people came from a few WdCers: What different plotting methods are there? Now, I’m a pantser, so when I teach plotting I use very basic methods, so these come from links I was sent, and different suggestions from those I emailed. This is part one of two about some plotting methods and techniques. Let’s get to it! So, I found 25 various methods for plotting a book/ story / novel/ work of fiction. 25! Some I don’t get, a few felt too similar to others, and at least one I felt was useless. So here is a list of those I found and was told about that I can see being useful. Sorry if that is me imposing my own personal viewpoint on things, but this is my blog so… yeah. To start, some definitions (from Story-Writing For Teachers and Students, Scholastic, 1996): Story: Everything included in a narrative, like plot, setting, characters, theme, message and unwritten elements, such as backstory. Plot: The sequence of events within the over-arching story. Structure*: How we arrange all of this into the story, including order, what remains hidden, and even if it is non-linear. (*also called ‘Narrative Structure’ or ‘Scaffold’) Most guides will have 5 things that make up a plot. Beginning Inciting Incident Rising Action Climax Denouement Further, most stories take a Three Act Structure: Act I: Introduction, Inciting Incident, with an important Plot Point to end it. Act II: Rising Action, with an Important Plot Point (some say a vital Plot Point) to end it. Act III: Build to the climax, Climax, Denouement. Even pantsers like me need to be aware of all of this. If it is not there in the first draft, then the second draft can rectify any issues. So, with all of that in mind, here are 10 ways to plot your story! 1. 7-Point Story Structure Attributed to Dan Wells This is the most commonly used plotting method, as it works so well for short stories asnd even novellas. Maybe not novels so much, but this is the way those stories tend to go. It involves seven basics: Set up the world (start) The inciting incident Escalation The protagonist becomes proactive (as opposed to reactive) Set-back Discovery (what is needed to finish things) Resolution Extra story beats can be included between and within these, but that is the basic of this method. 2. The Hero’s Journey/ Heroine’s Journey Attributed to Joseph Campbell/ Maureen Murdock The Hero’s Journey is the most popular plotting/structure device used in speculative fiction of all stripes, developed from mythological stories the world over. The Heroine’s Journey is a female-specific version. Campbell had it in three phases: departure (hero leaves the known), initiation (hero faces the unknown and overcomes what faces him), return (hero returns to the known, changed). Later authors, notably Christopher Vogler, extended this into something that will help the plotting of a story. The Ordinary World The Call to Adventure Refusing the Call Meeting the Mentor Crossing the First Threshold Tests, Allies, Enemies (also known as Initial Exploration or Initial Learning) Approach the Inmost Cave The Ordeal Reward/Goal Achieved The Road Back (also known as Final Complication) The Resurrection The Return (also known as The Return With the Elixir) These are the elements of what is known as the monomyth, focused on a single protagonist. Murdock, a student of Campbell, felt the original Hero's Journey method did not take into account the different lived experiences of females. She came up with: Separation From the Feminine/ Rejection of “Mother” Identify the Masculine and Gather Allies (the protagonist takes on more masculine attributes) Road of Trials Boon of Success (there is, however, doubt) Realisation of Spiritual Barrenness Initiation and Ascent to the Goddess Yearn to Connect to the Feminine Healing of Mother/Daughter Split Healing of Wounded Masculine Integration of Feminine and Masculine This is more a journey of self-discovery. Modern authors have been known to combine the two. Finally, there is a simplified version of The Hero’s Journey developed by TV writer Dan Harmon, which he calls The Story Circle. The idea is it is a more internalised version, with the emphasis on characters. From his Masterclass talk: Step 1: They are in a zone of comfort. Step 2: But they want something. Step 3: They enter an unfamiliar situation. Step 4: Adapt to it through facing trials. Step 5: They get what they wanted. Step 6: They pay a heavy price. Step 7: Return to the familiar situation. Step 8: Having changed. This is more geared towards a TV product, and so the changes in a character are small, and there is often nothing earth-shattering about the stakes. 3. Save The Cat! Story Beats Attributed to Blake Snyder This one started as a way of writing a full-length screenplay, but was later adapted to novels as well. A couple of publishers mentioned it, but said it is way too common, especially because of movies that use it all the time. The story beats are: Opening Image (world setting, protagonist introduction) Theme (made explicit) Set-Up (world build more) Catalyst/ Inciting Incident Confusion (should the protagonist respond or not?) Rise to the Challenge B-Story (important secondary character introduced or comes to the fore) Fun and Games/ Rising Action Midpoint (false victory or defeat) Bad Guys Close In All is Lost (often a tragic event) Dark Night of the Soul (this changes the protagonist) Finale/ Climax Final Image: Resolution. 4. The Onion This is a pure plotting device. Start with the beginning, middle and end of the story, the characters and the setting. Add the next layer of where things go, putting this into the gaps. Add the next layer of things happening, putting into the gaps. Keep going until there are no more gaps, adding layers each time. Remove anything that does not work, and add more layers, filling in more gaps that are created. This seems very simple, and the video I have seen of this one involved the woman having a huge sheet of butcher’s paper stuck to the wall with the beginning at the top, denouement at the bottom, a list of characters down one side, and then she just added story beats seemingly at random until she had the entire thing mapped out, with quite a few things crossed out, extra characters introduced, things like that. There was no look at structure or anything until she had all the story beats mapped out like an onion – in layers. 5. Snowflake Method Attributed to Randy Ingermanson This is the Onion Method done in a much more organised manner. However, it is still working from the middle out, adding layers, just there is method to the madness. The way it is done is usually put thus: Story * Start with a one sentence story idea. * Expand this to a paragraph – an elevator pitch – including beginning, conflict, denouement. * Take this to two or three paragraphs with a little more detail. Character * With the story idea written, write a one-page summary of each main character (protagonist/s and antagonist/s). * Write a half-page summary for each secondary character (protag/s and antag/s). * Write a one-paragraph summary for any other recurring characters. Story Expansion Take the story summary and expand it out to a four to eight page synopsis. Take the characters and flesh them out even further (use of character charts is recommended). Scenes The last stage is to take the synopsis and character studies and use them to create a detailed scene chart. This is used to map out the narrative structure as it will appear in the finished work. So, start with what, add who, then expand to when. That’s the end of part one! |
| Ending A Story Yet another WdC question, and another I asked advice on in that all-encompassing email I sent out to professionals and writers. The questions I received were: Crafting different types of endings What if the ending doesn’t work What’s the best way to end a story Let’s hit this! What is an “ending”? The ending of the story goes by a few names – closure and resolution are the two I see most often – but what it is is when the story arcs are finished within the narrative being told. Even if there will be a sequel, or it’s book 4 in a hexalogy, the actual story being told needs to end. There is nothing left to be worked out from this particular narrative arc. Even if threads are left hanging or there is a greater over-arching story, this particular set of events has finished. Yes, that seems logical, but it is important to have a definition first. What if the ending doesn’t work? I’m going to start here because this is the simplest answer: If the ending does not work, the problem is not the ending. What this means is that there is something in the rest of the story that is affecting the ending. Usually, the problem exists in the climax or climactic action scene. If there needs to be exposition to finish a story, then not enough information was placed in the rest of the tale. If the message (if you write to a message) needs to be reinforced, then the story lost the point of the message at some point. Ditto with theme, if you write to a theme. In fact, in some cases it goes right back to the very beginning. The story’s beginning does not set up the ending point you have reached because of subsequent events you have placed in the story. It might look good in the plan you wrote, but something about the beginning does not work. Another issue might be the character does not go through the growth the story’s events should have put them through. There should be a positive or negative growth of the characters. A flat arc coming to the fore at the end might be an indication that the characters need more engagement. Endings do not exist in isolation. They are dependent completely upon everything that happened before in the story. If the ending is not working, then it’s something already written that is creating the issues. What is the best way to end a story? There is no answer to this question. It is so individual to the story being told that it is insane, and then you add in each individual author’s writing and the market… Endings are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. However, in a standalone story, all plot lines, subplots, questions brought up must be answered. Yes, in horror, for example, you don’t need to know why the house was haunted, but that is backstory and probably not relevant to the haunted house tale you are writing. Yes, you might also want to leave the relationship status open, and that’s fine, but the rest of the story should indicate that that is going to happen. Some open endings are fine; readers are not stupid. If you are going to write a sequel, then everything not relevant to the sequel should be tied up with a bow, leaving only those threads that are going to be expanded upon in the next book. If the entire book is left open for a sequel, then this leaves a reader dissatisfied. It just feels like they are waiting for part two of a single book. Now, having said that, it is something that is becoming common; it started with movies, but has drifted into books. I think it’s ridiculous – that is not how books work! – but clearly some think it is fine. How do you reach an ending? Your story builds towards the climax, the climactic scene. Everything the protagonist/s have been doing leads to that pivotal and final point, where the whole plot is concluded, there is nothing more to be done. This part of life’s adventure is over. The protagonist might gain what they have been seeking. The antagonist might gain what the protagonist has been seeking, keeping the protagonist from it. What has been sought might be unattainable by anyone. The protagonist might choose to not take the goal, because they have evolved as a character over the course of the story. No matter what, this goal that has been driving the story is now no longer there as a goal for the protagonist. This is how you reach an ending – the goal is no longer the goal or is no longer attainable. That does seem simplistic, and I apologise, but it is really that simple. How do you write different types of ending? Okay, again, this depends on the writer and the story. In general, though, the ending should invoke some sort of emotion. Happiness, anger, relief that the heroes survived, upset that they died, something. This does come down to the rest of the story and how it was written, and how you have constructed the characters, but the ending should have some sort of emotion involved. Many publishers like the cathartic release of emotion, but not all. Know your audience. I tend to try to relate the ending to the beginning. (My Invasive Species does that blatantly with almost the same words.) Especially if there has been character growth, this can show how different the protagonist is at the end compared to the beginning. I have also been known to end the story right as the climax peaks. The monster is slain, and that’s it. I don’t expand on what happens after, just the goal was killing the monster, and the story ends with that point. Yes, it does leave some relationship lines open, but the reader is allowed to fill in the gaps for themselves. I have a friend who is a romance writer, and she likes to end her stories with a sex scene. Another friend who has the same main character in each book – though they are not exactly sequels to one another – ends with a little bit about how that character’s life has changed. Don’t be afraid of leaving the ending open to differing interpretations as well. So, as I said, it is always individual. Having said that, there are some ways not to end a story. * With a diatribe or speech. The all-time classic of this is the closing scene of the film It Conquered The World where Peter Graves gives a speech. * With nothing resolved. Like I said, this is something that is becoming common, but I don’t think it will last as movies like that are becoming less frequent (even the recent pair of Dune films tried to keep the two films within their own story arcs) and so books will follow suit. * With a deus ex machine. This translates as “the god out of the machine” and is common in ancient tales where a literal god would appear at the last minute and save the hero. In modern works, it is when a character is introduced at the last moment to bring everything to an end, and, yes, it is still used. The truly awful Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band film ends just like that with the titular Sgt Pepper appearing and bringing people back to life and stopping the bad guy. And don’t get me started on suddenly learning (or, worse, remembering) magic spells that save the day… The ending should follow logically from the rest of the story. * So that the message or theme of the story takes precedence over logic. This is especially the case in religious-themed books. If this does happen, as I said before, there is probably something wrong earlier in the story. * Having a forced romance at the end. While not as common in books (usually in films, especially 1980s action films), this is a HEA (or HFN) ending that some writers feel needs to be done. Finally, do not be afraid of trying out different endings, either, and then choose the one you like. As a pantser, I have done this more than once. Should I use an epilogue? If the story calls for it, then, yes, you should. An epilogue ties up a story away from the narrative arc, and so if you feel the need to say where the characters ended up five years later, then an epilogue is a way to go. However, you do need to be aware that a percentage of readers do not read prologues or epilogues, so if there is something important for a story there, it might be missed and could drive readers away. An epilogue is a place to put things that do not fit in the narrative but could place more of a bow on things. There is another school of thought on an epilogue and that is it could be used to set up the sequel. A final piece – like the post-credits scene in a Marvel movie – where the antagonist or a new antagonist makes themselves known, or starts to plot. Some writers like to use epilogues when they write book series. I am definitely not against an epilogue; some writing courses tell you not to use them. It’s personal; go for it if it fits. And that is endings. I know it is vague and/or open, but endings are so individual that there are no real hard and fast rules. I hope, at the very least, this can help someone. |
| Writing An Autobiography Or Memoir So… this is a weird one. Or maybe not. I have been asked to give a 2 hour workshop to a group of senior citizens at the library on how to write their life story for their families or even themselves. As such, I have my notes, and think it could help anyone here who wants to do the same thing, but also if someone thinks I’ve missed something out, then they can chime in. So, here goes: Welcome to this 2024 Firstival Workshop. I’m Steven and I’ll be guiding you through how to write your own life story. So, I’ll start with a heap of talking, give ten things to be aware of, and then I’ll have a question and answer session at the end. If, however, I say something you don’t understand, ask away. This is not a formal lecture – it’s me hoping to help everyone. 1) It is your story The first thing to remember is that the story you are writing is your own. While other people might be involved and some might be very important, it is about you. Your feelings, your memories, things like that. Yes, you might have to ask others for clarification or to remind you who it was who gave Uncle Ross the gerbil sandwich, but the story is about you. Don’t let yourself be derailed by other people’s adventures unless you were involved. Because it is your story, if you felt something was not good or funny or confusing, then it’s fine to say that. In fact, I would encourage you to say it. It will make the story even more about “you” if you include your emotions and responses to the things that happened. 2) It does not have to be about your whole life Yes, it is fine to write an entire life story, but if there is one thing or two things or seven things in your life that really stand out, then it is just as completely fine just to write about those. Don’t feel you have to include everything that ever happened to you. Things that are important, quirky, make for an interesting tale, those are the sorts of things to include. However, if you do want to include all the minutiae of your daily life, that is also perfectly valid. This is your story and your presentation of it. While my recommendation is to stick to the major events, that is not a rule or a demand. Write your story the way you want to write it. 2b) Do not write it all at once So, this follows from the last and leads directly into the next. Do not think you need to write everything all at once. Writing it event by event means you can write at any pace and things can be written as they come to you. This leads on to: 3) When writing it, order does not matter at first The order of the stories or events from your life does not matter when you write it down to start with. Because you are writing it bit by bit, events as separate tales, order is not important at this time. For example, there might be three big things you remember that happened years apart. Well, write them down first. This might spark other memories, bring other events to mind, lead off to still more recollections. The thing is to write it all down as these things come to mind. Don’t spend days bemoaning the fact you can’t remember what happened in 1974 or 1975 after such a frenetic 1973 and before a glorious 1976. Leave them out to start with. Write those things you can remember. You can come back later. And this brings me to a suggestion that I would really push you to do: date everything. Not the date you write it, but the date it occurred. At least year, preferably month and year. Whether you are doing it on a computer or by hand in a notebook, name the parts of your story at first by the date they happened. This will do two things – first, it will make it easier later on to put things in order; and second, it will make it easier for you to go back and see where there are gaps. 4) Adding things later on does not matter This brings me to the next point – it does not matter when, during the course of your writing, you add past events. So long as you date them, as I said, adding bits and pieces out of order is not an issue. This is something a lot of people find hardest to do and get held up on – the thought that they have to write things in order and cannot go back and make changes. Of course you can. You might recall that it wasn’t Uncle Ross and the gerbil sandwich, it was Uncle Fred and the hamster burger. Go back and change it! Making changes is all perfectly normal. 5) How you write it does not matter This is something else that a lot of people get hung up on – how a memoir is written. They see these autobiographies of famous people (term used advisedly; ghost writers earn the big bucks for a reason) written as almost novels and feel their life stories have to be the same. Why? It’s your life story, no-one else’s. And, more to the point, many of you are not experienced writers. How you write it needs to make sense to you. It might be a paragraph or a few lines about each event. It might be that each event is a poem. It might be that each event is a little stand-alone story. It might be that dot points make it easier for you. It does not matter. So long as they are dated, how it is written is entirely up to you, the person doing the writing. If a relative complains that you are doing dot points, for example, you have two ways to deal with it. First, remind them it’s your story and you can do with it what you want. Or, second, you can ask them to turn it into the wonderful Peter FitzSimons work they so clearly desire. Always remember, though – it is your work, your story. 6) You will most likely need to do more than one draft Writers who do this writing thing for any length of time know that no work is completed after one run through. This is called drafting. Now, I am not asking you to be Hemingway and write 20 drafts of your work. I’m a published author and I don’t even come close to that! What I am saying is that once you have gathered your information, and have put it into some sort of an order that makes sense to you and the story you want to tell about your life, then you will most likely have to rewrite the whole thing to make it feel like a more coherent whole. But… you don’t have to! If you like the way it feels after you’ve got everything down, then that is perfectly valid. I say it again: this is your story. However, going through it and doing a second draft might show you that you need to add detail here, that you’ve repeated this story, that you’ve got a name wrong – it does help you clean it up. 7) The final format is up to you This does follow on from everything else, but the final format of the book is up to you. You want a short little story on a page? Go for it. You want to add photos, go for it. You want to just print it off at the local library and put it into a plastic folder, go for it. You want to go to Copy King and get it professionally bound and do 100 copies, go for it. The final format and how it is presented is up to you entirely. However, I will add three caveats here: a) you are most likely writing for someone else to read, so make sure it is in a format that is readable – using paragraphs, large fonts, things like that: b) be aware of how much things will cost, and set yourself a budget; & c) make sure you are happy with the final product. This might sound logical, but it is something a few people tend to forget because they are so happy to have completed this. 8) Assume you are writing it for a future generation to read This follows on, and it does mean there is often some extra work to do. Yes, you have it in a format that people can read and look at. But future generations – and often you are going to be writing this not for your children, but your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and generations yet to be born – may not understand some of the things. An example. My son has been asking his great-grandmother (who is 100 years old) about life when she was younger. He had no idea what it meant to hand-crank the starter in an automobile. If I was to explain what we did as teenagers, I would have to include an explanation of what a Blue Light Disco was. Things we took for granted that are no longer around, at least not in that form, will need a note of explanation. This can, of course, lead to more memories and things like that, so I would suggest including them as you write. A way to make sure of this is to ask a younger relative to read your first draft, and take note of everything they don’t understand so you can go back and add explanations to your second draft. 9) Defamation This is a tricky one. You are writing your story with your memories. However, if you remember Aunt Lizzie being someone who slept around with the entire first XVIII at high school, and she recalls it very differently, you could be in trouble. Including rumour and innuendo, even in a little book that is not meant for wider public consumption, is fraught with danger in our increasingly litigious society. Fortunately, in Australia, truth is a defence against defamation. If you can prove it, then you are fine. If you cannot prove it, then you need to have words like “I believe” or “everyone thought” or “rumours said” or the like to make sure you are not claiming it as fact. Again, in Australia, that has been accepted as a work-around. However, again, by making the story about you, and not about others, you can avoid this sort of pitfall. 10) Making it public Here at the library, we have the Family History Room where volunteers like myself help local residents and those descended from locals trace their family trees back. In the collection, we also have a number of books – the majority self-published – about families of the area written by their descendants, and some autobiographies. This is something that could, in the future, see your book become a useful resource. However, before donating a copy of your work, you need to make sure: a) there are no defamatory statements; b) you have the rights to include the photographs you have included; c) it has been professionally bound and presented (and so has an ISBN); & d) you have not copied any of it from any other source whatsoever. This is very important for legal and self-preservation reasons. I would also include – get it professionally edited before making it a publicly available work. It just reflects better on you as the writer. And there we have it. I hope this has helped give you an overview of how to write your memoir or autobiography. (I now throw it open to a Q&A session from the floor) (Oh, and Firstival is a library event in SA.) |
| Plot Holes Yet another question from a WdCer, and something that a few editors (and one author) responded to when I sent out my emails. How can we avoid plot holes and how do we fill them afterwards? Okay, first… what is a plot hole? A plot hole is a point in a narrative where something happens that does not make sense based on what happened before or the laws of the world it is set in. Logic takes a holiday and that suspension of disbelief in the reader is pushed beyond normal limits. Most often, plot holes are seen in visual media (movies, TV), and many alleged plot holes are just continuity errors or were created by stupid editing mistakes. Or are seen as such by people being pedantic. Oh, and despite what some modern critics claim: Plot holes do matter! The most commonly cited plot hole is in the original The Karate Kid. In the final Daniel uses a crane kick to win. But, people cry, kicks to the head were deemed illegal by the judge! Plot hole! Well, no. Punches to the head were deemed illegal (Johnny was warned about that earlier), not kicks. Not a plot hole, just people not bothering to watch properly. The police emerging from Gotham’s underground after months of being trapped looking clean-shaven is not really a plot hole but a continuity error. Indiana Jones surviving outside a sub for a long journey is not a plot hole, just not explained. A cut scene, in fact, shows him hanging onto the periscope. So, editing issues as well. In Black Panther, T’Challa is rescued by fishermen from the Northern tribes, who are isolated and do no trade with any other tribes. Later on, the leader of said tribes says they are vegetarians. So, why do they have fishermen? That is a plot hole. I hope that explains it. Basically, when something is explicitly stated and is important to the plot, then later contradicted in that same plot, it is a plot hole. Now, in a book, because you can explain things, and the editing is not going to cut chunks of explanation (unless it’s cutting chunks of info-dumping exposition to make it, you know, readable), plot holes should be the sorts of things that a good beta reader (or even an alpha reader if you use them) will see and point out. A publisher and editor should also find any missed by readers. Should. Some things still get through. I guess the most famous is in Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe where he strips naked, swims out the ship and then fills his pockets with biscuits. Unless pockets is a euphemism **shudder**. A more recent example is Michael Crichton’s Timeline where the concept of time travel is not actually time travel, but travelling to the present of an alternate universe… and yet a pair of glasses are left behind 1000 years in the past for people in the future to find. Yeah… that’s a plot hole. Anyway, so the first thing is to work out if it is an actual plot-hole or not. If in doubt, then assume it is. Plot holes to be aware of as a writer include: 1) Events that don’t make sense or are impossible. I bring this up a bit, but a story I read had a horse ride from Melbourne to Adelaide take a day; it’s 8 hours by car at 110 km/hr. Even something as simple as no-clipping to get from one room to another can be like this. Another is characters coming back to life; don’t laugh, killing a character in chapter 2 and then forgetting you did and them coming back in chapter 31 is surprisingly common. On a wider note, the wizard who has a spell that can kill a person then cannot kill the hero at the end is one that appears way too often. The impervious hero is another; how did they survive that explosion? This is the most common plot hole I have seen in written work. 2) Character contradictions is the next most common. This is where a character’s personality undergoes a change for no apparent reason, or they perform actions that are completely out of character. 3) In-world contradictions is one I see most often in fantasy and science fiction works. This is where established laws/rules of the world are established and then broken later on; this is most common with magic systems. Some also consider continuity errors as plot holes when it comes to writing. I think it depends, as these are usually easily dealt with. That’s because continuity errors are often just a matter of making cosmetic changes. One of the surprisingly most common is a character’s name changing halfway through a story! This is simply a matter (on computer) of search and replace. If it goes beyond that and does affect the ending, then, yes, it does become a plot hole. So, how to avoid these pesky plot holes. First problem is recognising them. As the writer, we are often too close to the work, so it could well be that an initial reader is needed to point it out. Anyway, here’s the best ways to avoid them. 1) If you are a plotter, use the plan or skeleton of the story beats to identify plot holes before you write them into the first complete draft. 2) Even if you are a pantser, have an idea how plot beats lead to other plot beats before (or as) you write them. Think before you write is what this means. I know that when you are on a good flow, that can be an issue, but it can help prevent future issues. Even as a pantser, when I wrote Invasive Species I had the life cycle of the monster all plotted out and even wrote a sort of an essay first to ensure it followed in the story. 3) Make sure characters are behaving in a logical manner in the context of the story. That last is important. A meek woman might be able to lift a car to rescue her child because it’s been reported and adrenaline is a mighty drug, but a meek woman becoming a popular public speaker in one day goes against what a meek woman would be mentally able to do. Use character sheets – I do that in my fantasy especially – and refer to them. This is my greatest weakness. People who beta read my novel here at WdC recently will note that I often asked if a character’s actions/ motivations made sense in the context of the story. I use betas to help me get it right. 4) Especially if you are creating a world, make sure you have a list of all the laws of the world. I mentioned earlier I did a detailed outline of the monster so the immersion was not broken. The more fantastic the world, the more you will need to make sure these laws are there. James Cameron did this with Avatar, to the point he has published essays about Pandora. Remember, though: not all of it needs to be included! Make sure you have it so your story has a logical through-line but don’t info-dump it all on your readers. Cameron’s essays have not made it into the films, but they show his world has remained consistent. I might be a pantser, but my fantasy worlds have been carefully created, often once I realised I was in a foreign world. So vital. 5) Never throw away a draft! If you make changes, keep the original. Sure, this is easy if you hand-write, but on a computer, create a new file and rename it! I am currently writing a horror and, after 25 pages, I knew I’d gone down a wrong path. So I created a file called ‘mummyB.doc’ and this is where I changed it. I am currently at page 60 and the file I am using is ‘mummyC.doc’, and the original ‘mummy.doc’ is still there as well. What this means is if you read later on and find a plot hole, go back to former versions and see if you didn’t have it there, and how you got around it. 6) Give yourself space before editing. Space is normally time, but could also be editing it in a different location (the human brain is a wonderful thing). I make sure I have written something else before editing, so it’s often months. Why write something else? Because then my head has pushed that first story aside and is concerned with something else, so when I return to a work to edit it, it is with fresh eyes. For example, some just find that three months is enough to forget about it. But the long and short of it is: do not edit straight away. Now, one area that I am ambivalent about is that some consider unresolved storylines (especially concerning secondary characters). This is when a subplot is not finished. Now, sometimes, it does not matter and is a nice little mystery, sometimes it leaves it open for a sequel or can be closed in a sequel, but a lot of the time (and I am guilty of this) it is just ignored because the writer (usually a pantser) has forgotten. So a subplot checklist (an editor I contacted uses the term) is what is needed here. I do this. As things appear in a story, I write them down on a separate piece of paper. This way I can keep tabs of what is happening when and where. I plot in reverse, I guess, but it does make me ensure I no longer leave these plot threads hanging. Some plotters will have subplots running concurrently alongside their main plots to ensure they do not leave something out. One surprisingly common error in this regard involves pets or animal companions. Dogs disappearing and re-appearing without explanation are very common. Not sure why. The solution is a simple one: if you have a dog with a character, don’t think of it as two beings, but one entity. This means whenever you think of the character, the dog is there as well. So, let’s say we tried all of this, but unfortunately for us, a plot hole has been discovered by our eagle-eyed beta reader. We can’t just hand-wave it away, and there is no simple “add a paragraph” or “add some extra explanation” fix for most plot holes, or adding some exposition in dialogue, or hand-waving it as “magic” (hello, Harry Potter) to disguise the fact you made a boo-boo. Getting rid of a plot hole does generally involve a new draft. Sorry, but that is the way it goes, which is why avoiding them in the first place is by far the best way to go. You might have to change the personalities of characters, change the way the ending is reached, change subplots, add a new character, remove an old character, even changing a law of the story-world which will have knock-on effects all of its own. But it will make the work much better. Just remember, the simple fix of a plot hole is most often not the best fix. So, that’s a lot of writing, but plot holes are something that no creator of a narrative wants to be faced with. |
| Starting A Story This came up as a question when I asked for questions on WdC, and has come up a couple of times on Discord, and a fellow local writer and I had this discussion the other week. It’s been tough to come up with an answer, so I have been asking other published authors, and the following is what, as a collective, we have come up with. Before I start, I will freely admit this list is not comprehensive, and some people have found other ways of starting that work for them. These are just what have worked for those I have spoken to, and what does not work from the point of view of slush readers, editors, and publishers (who I also asked). I should say now that when I asked everyone by email, etc. about publicity (see not last post, the post before that), I also asked about beginnings, endings, plot holes and plotting techniques… so get ready for some more topics you asked for! Preferred: 1. In Media Res This Latin for “In the middle of things,” and it means you start with some action. Especially in a short story, starting with action already happening is a way to hook a reader. This is also very common in some specific genres – fantasy, thriller, Western being the most common. When using this technique, you need to make sure the characters are introduced organically and that there are no info dumps, as it takes away from the pacing of the writing. This is a good way of starting, in my opinion. 2. Description of Setting This is used primarily when a scene is central to the action, or when the location can almost be considered a part of the story. There should be description of what is there, and any exposition should be set seamlessly into the narrative. It takes a writer who is very good at description to pull it off well (not me). This tends to crop up in horror and romance more than most other genres, though some science-fiction starts this way, especially when set on an alien world. One big issue with this, according to a few professionals, is when the writer switches to second person in a description. For example: If you look to your left, you will see the ancient Halberk Mountains, where King Harold fell to the forces of Prince Henri… This info-dumps the history lesson and uses second person (and it comes from a published book). But if this is your strong point as a writer, don’t be afraid to use it. 3. The Climax Start with the events right before the climax of the story, then back-track to the beginning. Works best if used in a first person PoV story. This can best be exemplified by the meme of a record scratch, action on a screen stopping, the music of The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ starting and a voice-over saying, “I suppose you’re wondering how I got myself into this mess.” Don’t use those words or anything like them! Cliché alert! However, it is not a bad way to start a story. Maybe not a short story, but a longer work can certainly utilize this. I have seen it most often in horror, comedy and romance. Difficult to pull off well, but when done well… it is really effective. 4. The End This is related to the previous one, and is becoming more and more common, especially in science-fiction, action-adventure, thriller and romance. What this involves is starting right at the end, after the climax is over, and the protagonists are going over the ashes, but also leaving questions that need to be answered. It is becoming more common, as I said, and I have experimented with it a few times, and I can see it working, although it can reveal the ending too much. Yes, in these stories, the journey is all the fun, but if you show that a person everyone thinks dies on page 12 is still alive afterwards, tension is not maintained, so too much being revealed can be an issue. This I have seen used a bit in young adult fiction of late. Again, it needs to be done well, but can be an interesting way of approaching a longer work. Questionable: 1. Dialogue This one was a split in professionals! Starting with two (sometimes more) characters talking, having a conversation, is seen as either a strong way of scene setting and character establishing, or lazy. Yes, it is split quite far apart. So, it is two people have a conversation about something relevant to the story action to follow, or discussing something that has just occurred in media res. If they are just talking about irrelevancies, then why is it there? Remember Chekhov’s gun! I think for a short story, it can work, but it needs to flow into the action seamlessly. Also, if a story is dialogue-only (becoming more and more popular, by the way, and quite the challenge to write well), then, obviously, it is going to start this way. Some people also think starting with an argument can work for their tale. I have this as questionable because of the split amongst those I spoke to, but I personally see nothing wrong with it. Not preferred: 1. Info Dump This is one of the most common errors seen in beginner writers, though it can also be seen amongst more experienced authors as well. Starting with a dump of the back-story of the story, a history lesson, what has just happened as a tell not show – all of these info dumps just feel like the writer has no idea how to incorporate the details into their narrative well. What is worse is when a reader manages to wade through such details, finishes the book, and finds that 90% of the info is completely irrelevant to the tale. I’ve covered this in quite a few previous posts – it is word count for the sake of word count, or just the writer telling the reader, “Look at all the stuff I made up; aren’t I clever?” 2. Character Description While describing a scene can be a good way to start, describing the characters is not. Especially if describing them like a sportsperson’s statistics or what they are wearing like a reporter from Vogue magazine. For example, Emily was a five foot three girl with blue eyes and a body she thought was too skinny. Her hair was just below her shoulders because she was growing out an awful pixie cut. She wore a pink t-shirt and blue jeans and her favourite crocs. She liked the music of Dua Lipa and thought Taylor Swift was over-rated. And she liked to draw pictures of ponies in her school-books. I have copy-pasted that from a story I was asked to edit a few years ago. This is the sort of information that, if it is important to the story, should be blended in seamlessly. Not dumped like this. It’s worse when there are four characters in a row where this happens (which I have recently seen in a “novel” here on WdC). And when they describe the person as "perky" or "intelligent" or the like, we hit tell and not show and it grows tedious. 3. A Question This used to be a way some stories started from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s. the writer poses a question that the story is then going to answer, usually a philosophical one, or a moral one. Horror writers especially were prone to this. If not a question, then a statement that the story examines. It has simply fallen out of fashion, and modern readers have rejected it in newer works. The professionals don’t like it and readers wonder why you do it. Having said that, some capital-L Literature short stories have started this century using it again, so – who knows? It might be on the way back. Personally, I am not a fan. And that is a quick look at starting your story. Hope this helps someone! |
| Quitting I get a few newsletters on writing, and this one from John Matthew Fox struck a chord with me recently. It’s about quitting. Now, this is not about stopping writing, but when to realise that things you are doing are not necessarily working. I’ll go over John’s concepts, add a couple of my own, and hopefully give people some idea about stopping. Now, having said that: when it comes to quitting writing altogether, the simple answer is: don’t. We’re not talking about quitting writing completely, going on to become a golfer with a four handicap or a cage dancer. We’re talking about quitting habits and practices that could be holding you back, but have become so ingrained or have been drilled into you by courses that if you do not do them, you feel you have failed. So… quitting. The modern interpretation is that only losers quit. But, way back when, quitting was seen as a way of avoiding the wasting of time. We have sayings like “flogging a dead horse” which show that our ancestors knew that not everything deserved our time or effort. “Quitting… is one of the best skills you can have as a writer.” (John Matthew Fox) Fox says there are three types of quitting you might need to do as a writer: Project Quitting Method or Approach Quitting Genre Quitting I will add two more: Audience Quitting Expectation Quitting Let’s get to it! 1. Project Quitting So many top writers will tell you they quit books part way through because they were not working, the plan didn’t make sense, something in the world changed, anything. I think you would be hard-pressed to find a professional writer who hasn’t stopped work on something and never gone back to it. This is not a sign that you have failed. Not everything works, that’s all. The problem is, so many writers think because they have invested time and effort into something, they must see it through to the end. And if they don’t, that fail word crops up. The thing about giving up on a project is it can free your mind to work on something else. If you are solely focused on that piece that just is not going anywhere, then your mind has no room for any other ideas. Once that blockage is gone, the mind can once again run free. 2. Method or Approach Quitting John Matthew Fox and I have two different takes on this. Fox sees it as changing where you submit, the audience you want to write for, going from short stories to novels, changing something about the style of writing you engage in. To me, it is about changing the way you approach writing. Are you a plotter? Trying pantsing a story. Do you write in silence all the time? Try going to a café and writing in the noise of a busy place. Do you do five drafts? Try seven… or three. Do you use a certain beta reader? Try a new one. To me, it is quitting the way you have “always done things” because sometimes that change can be as good as a holiday. On a personal note, this is something I did. I went from writing a certain length of work – “this idea is a novel”; “this is going to be a 3500 word short story for XYZ Magazine” – to just writing, and letting the idea length fall where it may. I quit setting myself a definite word count. Yes, this does mean I have a number of stories of a length that is going to be difficult to sell, but the ideas were seen through to completion. Writers – especially beginner writers – who go into an idea telling themselves “this is going to be a five book epic fantasy series” and then fail to even get chapter 1 of book 1 written maybe should quit that length mind-set and just write the idea down. Fox uses the examples of self-publishing v traditional publishing and writing for fame v self-fulfilment. More methods of writing and getting writing out there that you can look at from your own personal point of view as a writer. He points out that this sort of quitting might go against some of the gatekeepers of writing, and he is not wrong. But you are not writing to keep them happy – you are writing to simply write. 3. Genre Quitting Another one I can relate to! Fox indicates that this can prove to be a career boost, and I am not one to disagree. I was selling horror short stories, but my first novel was a comedy about ancient poo. That change helped. However, a writer who likes one genre and just works in that genre risks running out of ideas in that genre’s limitations, or starting to ape others or even self-cannibalise their older works. I know science fiction writer who tried to shoe-horn every idea they had into the sci-fi genre. It was only when his wife (a poet) told him that an idea he was struggling with would make a far better urban fantasy, and worked with him to do that, and then the story sold, did he realise that there are other genres out there he could do. It is not about quitting for good, by the way, but a change in what is being written, maybe even only temporarily. Probably even only temporarily – first loves are hard to let go of. 4. Audience Quitting Who are you writing for? That’s a question I often ask people, and, at the risk of sounding clichéd, the first answer should be, “For yourself.” However, there are external audiences as well. if you are writing to just please these external audiences, are you giving yourself a fair go? Put yourself first. However, many writers do write for an external audience. They might see themselves as a capital-L Literature author, and so write for those people, or a modern poet, so write with those readers in mind, or even the next Stephen King, so write in that style. So this sort of quitting is easy – write for a different audience! This can be related to genre, but can also be a matter of writing in a different style. Young adult instead of adult, more formal instead of pulp fiction, form poetry instead of free-form. Different audiences can free up the mind, and quitting an audience might also mean quitting self-expectations. There is another form of this, though. A person writes and their family and friends seem to like it, but when they make it public, they get negative feedback after negative feedback for their work, and this can put them off. I have seen it so often – it puts people off writing for good. What it should do is make the writer realise that maybe their audience is not public but private. (Unless they want the feedback in order to improve; that’s different. But so many writers just want affirmation.) So, quitting the public audience for a very select private one, or even to just yourself, is a perfectly viable option. 5.Expectation Quitting This is one that a lot of people who believe they have talent and have been told they have talent struggle with. As a writer, nothing is set in stone. I might have been lucky to have well over 100 pieces of work traditionally published, and, I am going to admit, my expectation was to be traditionally published, short story, poetry and novel. I had that expectation and I made it. Not everyone is going to get there. I have a very close friend who has been trying for more than 20 years to become traditionally published. She has tried selling poetry, short stories (and I think her stories are great) and novels, all to no avail. Maybe she needs to quit the expectation to become trad published. I won’t tell her that, but maybe it’s not in the cards for her. On a smaller level, I have another friend who has an expectation of being published in one of the big-4 SciFfi-Fantasy magazines (Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, Analog, F&SF) after having a few shorts published in other trad published magazines/anthologies. I don’t think she will make it, but she has that expectation based on feedback from independent readers. The problem is, if these expectations are not met, then the writer sees themselves as a failure. Quitting these expectations and just focusing on being a writer could be better for mental health. To quote John Matthew Fox again: “I am here to tell you that it’s okay to quit. You’re not going to stop being a writer if you abandon your current project. You are not going to be a failure if you switch tracks. ”Listen to me: it’s okay. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel like you’re a failure. Think of it using one of the euphemisms the military would use about retreating: it’s a ‘tactical repositioning.’ ”You’re not running away from writing, you’re just choosing to run in a different direction.” Quitting like this does not make you a failure. The fact you are getting words out of your head into a physical medium puts you ahead of 99.99% of the world’s population. So keep on writing. |
| External Writerings V As is the norm, here are the articles I had published last month on Weekend Notes. You will find lots of music, and some movies. I have removed the local events as they have finished. Hope you find something to enjoy! Songs about battles! The original three Star Wars films looked at. My favourite songs from Eurovision 2024. (Spoiler: the song that won is not on this list, and half of this list did not make the finals… Nostradamus I ain’t!) Songs about shouting and yelling. (With a lack of Britney Spears.) Memorialising Roger Corman. Songs about screaming. (And still no Britney.) And, to counter some previous lists, songs about falling silent. Songs that say, “Thank you.” And we finish with songs about butterflies. Clicking on these does help me. Honestly. And you might even find some new songs to enjoy! |
| Publicising Your Book (Work) Another WdC question: How to publicize your book 10, 15 years ago, this was easy! Nowadays… not so much. Not at all. There are so many variables, so I reached out and asked several publishers, trad published authors and self-published authors what works for them now. In all, around 16 people responded to my email, but they are all people doing better in the published sphere than me. Interestingly, the results were reasonably universal. Paid advertising works best. If you are a self-published author, if you are doing personal marketing for a trad-published book that is not going to sell hundreds of copies, if you are hoping to make a large profit, then this option will most likely not be cost-effective. Traditional publishers with a large number of books to sell – be they a large or small business – will benefit from advertising as the cost can be spread across multiple works, but for the run-of-the-mill independent, going-it-alone writer, it is not seen as worth it at all. Having said that, here in Australia some community newspapers charge only a nominal amount for artists to advertise, as well as some newsletters, community papers/newsletters, people’s personal websites, etc. So, if you don’t mind the leg-work, you might be able to find some cheaper options. However, no matter what, this needs to be balanced alongside the money and sales you will get in return and what you have already laid out (if self-published). One free thing is to allow local newspapers, websites, radio stations, even community TV, interview you for actual news articles. (This does include writing guest blogs.) There should be no cost to you (I have yet to be charged for my forays into this in the US or Australia), but as to its effectiveness, the people I spoke to are divided. Personally, I think it is only time it is costing you, and so I would suggest this as a viable option. A personal website is something that used to work really well, but has fallen by the wayside, although indications are that it is on the way back. Swings and roundabouts in this one. The way a personal website works is not through random searching, but if someone buys a book of yours, or an anthology/magazine you have appeared in, or they saw you in mainstream media, and want to know more, especially other works to buy. It comes from referral from an external source. Twenty, fifteen years ago, it was where many authors – traditionally and self-published – got the majority of their sales. Then it fell out of fashion in the mid-2010s. The general consensus is that everyone suffered from “Internet fatigue” and were just sick of looking for things, and stuck with the sites they knew. However, post-COVID lockdowns, things are picking up again. All but one person I interviewed has their own. Find a free website host and, well, go to "20240528 Author Website" . I think I covered everything there!Sticking with the Internet, let’s go to social media. All but 2 of the people I spoke to says it makes no difference. Many use it out of habit, but it no longer results in sales. The problem is, you are talking to like-minded people who would likely have bought your books anyway, and so the effort of advertising results in not much. Twitter was never brilliant for sales; X is worse. Facebook used to be fine, but because of changes to the way Meta runs things and Meta’s relationship with search engines, you are again advertising to friends and relatives who are likely to have bought your work anyway, unless you pay them. Facebook used to be a strong platform; it is no longer. Other sites, though… Now, there is something called “BookTok” on the TikTok platform. This is where TikTokers push a book, and it works for those in terms of sales. There are three caveats, though: 1) the book needs to be adopted by that community organically; 2) the book needs to appeal to a rather specific demographic; & 3) the writer needs to be very open-minded when it comes to comments and interpretations. If you get adopted by “BookTok” – congratulations! You are going to be successful! The biggest downside? The China connection with the site; some “BookTok” successes have found their books pirated in China, meaning they are out of money from a huge market. And, no, China does not care. Discord is a strange one, and only a few I spoke to use it. If you advertise across your Discord communities, then it’s split about 50-50 through those I spoke to as to whether it results in an increase in sales. But, it’s free, the communities tend to be supportive (hence the reason they are in communities), and it certainly can’t hurt. The final big one is Instagram. I left this one for last because it was the most confusing when I spoke to those I spoke to. A group said it was exactly like Facebook, in that it made no difference. The next group said it made a small impact, in that they saw a spike when they put an initial post on the platform. The next group said it worked better than their website for people searching for them and finding older works, so they updated with older works semi-regularly. The final group said it works rather well for them. Then there is “BookGram.” If you get adopted by “BookGram” then you are made. Unlike “BookTok”, the demographic is not as restricted and the comments tend to not be as strange, but it is still a requirement that the book is adopted organically by members of that community. Yes, Instagram could be good, it could be useless, tending towards possibly helpful. Next we have “author pages” on websites. These are not personal websites, but pages dedicated to the author. Everyone I spoke to was positive about these, without exception. There are two worth considering: Amazon has the largest platform, and if you are selling on Amazon, it is a great idea. There are two issues – it is difficult to get things published in other countries to appear across all Amazon sites, and some anthologies only appear under the editor’s by-lines, as some small publishers refuse to list all the authors, and Amazon is bound by publishers wants. Still, a good idea. And then there is Goodreads. The Amazon issues do not exist on Goodreads, as publishers must allow all contributors to list books, and it is not geo-blocked or geo-specific. The other good thing is that it is a site for readers, so people are more likely to go there to look for things just to read, and you won’t get lost in the shuffle of them selling everything, like Amazon. It does not yet have the reach of Amazon, but it is getting there. Goodreads also allows friends to share recommendations and authors to include their own blogs. Finally, the very best way, and something that is really only open to writers in North America – the convention circuit. Yes, it costs, but if you team up with other authors, these costs can be shared., But it is the networking, the chance to listen to talks, that sort of thing that makes these so worthwhile. And you might even be asked to join a panel. While I’ve heard sales do not necessarily cover costs, the publicity and people you meet more than make up for it. I do not know about the UK scene, but in Australia there’s the annual comic-cons in most capitals, and we in Adelaide (a city, I should remind you, of more than a million people) have only a book convention, which is cross-genre. Sydney has a spec fic con, a romance con and a general con; Melbourne has a spec fic con; Brisbane used to have a general con, but I don’t think it still happens, and I don’t think Perth has any extras. Cities of less than half the population base in the US and Canada have conventions! So, yes, you have that in North America – if you can, take advantage of it! Having said all that, Australia has the country market scene, and many self-published authors sell enough books at each of these to cover the nominal cost of table hire. However, they will say once you add in petrol and accommodation, it can be pushing it. I will also say, on a personal level, that it seems I have had a small number of sales from writing.com members (and have bought 3 books by members here), so do not ignore the power of this community as well. (Please buy my books!) Final notes: Author photographs are not as important as they were in the 2010s, author bios are now recommended to be short, and if you want to include quotes from reviews, don’t just use one, but don’t put up any more than 5. Just recommendations. And that’s what I have learnt in the past 2 weeks about publicity! |
| Leaving Contracts I have looked at agents and publishers, what to look for, what to avoid, etc. However that leads us to this series of WdC questions: What to do if you don't like your agent and when to jump ship Same as above with your publisher What to do if you disagree with your editor/publisher Okay, first and foremost, if you’ve signed a contract and there is no “out” clause, then you are stuck. Contracts are legally binding, and if you signed one that did not give you (or the publisher/agent) an “out”, then that is, unfortunately, on you. That is something else about Hybrid Publishers – often they do have “out” clauses (it makes them look legitimate), but these often do not come into play until six or twelve months after the contract starts, so disgruntled writers are stuck with them – including having to pay them over and over – until then. Sneaky, but also perfectly legal. If in these situations, a lawyer is your only recourse in the USA. Otherwise, you need to abide by the way of getting out of a contract through the legal system open to you through the terms of the contract. Publishers can be awkward to get out of a contract with. First point of recourse, to my mind, would be to discuss your issues. It might be marketing, it might be covers, it might be editing, but make sure you are clear, concise, not too emotional, and not at all abusive/obnoxious or passive-aggressive on your communications. You might think that goes without saying, sure, but in the heat of the moment, with your “baby” (your work) on the line, sometimes it is not always the case. The reason publishers are harder to break deals with is that they have already invested money into your work, based on the fact you have signed a legal contract with them. As such, you may be required to buy them out of your contract so they have not lost money, for example. However, if the publisher has not come up on a Preditors & Editors site (and if they did, why did you sign with them in the first place?!), word will get around and you may find yourself blacklisted, at least for a while, as a writer hard to deal with. I know the excitement of having that first book published can overwhelm everything else, but you need a clear head. Don’t sign every contract put in front of you. I have refused three in the past 5 years (including one book) because I could see issues arising. So, agents are actually easier as there is less money involved. A simple exchange of polite emails often sees agents willing to let a potential or unsuccessful client go. If, however, they have found sales for you, then you will still owe them whatever moneys are dictated in the terms of the contract signed. This could be a percentage of royalties in perpetuity (a standard clause, by the way, for agents) and so you will never be rid of the agent. But it is also the same as a publisher in every other regard. Buying out of contracts, risking that negative reputation, all of it applies here as well, just that the initial breaking of a contract, before any sale has been made, is easier for both parties. Disagreements! If you disagree with a publisher, try negotiating. I have done this with every one of the books I have had published. Mostly it was to keep Australianisms, but in one case I didn’t like the first cover (they changed just the female figure and it became amazing!). If that does not work, look at your contract. You might have signed these rights over to them. If not, then, yes, always try negotiating, and listen to their reasoning for what they want to do. If you disagree with an agent, the vast majority are open to discussion. What would you disagree with, though? I have a friend who has told her agent not to sell to any company that has ties to Walt Disney. This did result in a book being sold to a lower paying publisher, but the agent was fully aware of my friend’s wishes and it was settled before the agency contract was signed. If that agent had then on-sold to a Disney subsidiary, my friend, under terms of the contract, would have been within her rights to fire the agent without financial recourse. Make sure those contracts do not disadvantage you! (As an aside, Disney and subsidiaries are the worst major company/ies to sign with. I could explain why, but don’t want to rant.) If you disagree with an editor you pay for, then there is nothing to say you have to take on board their edits. It’s just money you’ve wasted, and don’t use them again. If you disagree with an in-house publisher, then you better have a good reason to. Like I said, my desire to keep my work “Australian” has seen me have discussions with editors, and it has nearly always resulted in something we can both live with. Be polite and decent, and you will generally come out okay. So, in the end, everything comes down to the contracts you have signed, and what they say. It is really that simple… and also that complicated. |
| Hiring An Editor Next WdC question: To hire an editor or not. What to do if you disagree with your editor. When to stop editing and submit. Okay… here’s my thing. Hiring an editor or not is up to you. BUT I feel having an external editor is vital for success in traditional publishing, and to be taken seriously as a self-published writer. So, here’s my deal. I started by using a friend who edited my work until I came to realise he was not that good. I used another friend for a while, but when she got married, her husband didn’t like our close friendship. Then myself and a fellow writer decided to do swaps. It was slightly unfair as I would write 2 or 3 long works a year, she would write one every eighteen months, and yet she was quite happy to go along with it, and that lasted for over 20 years. Then she had a stroke, and could no longer do it. So I used a student studying editing and professional writing at TAFE for a couple of years, then she wanted to charge me too much, so I found a local retired writer who does it for me in return for me doing some computer stuff for her. Using an editor has been vital to me being published. And I will state here and now: an editor who relies on Grammarly or the like is a waste of your money and time. Now, when you submit, the publishers will also do an in-house edit. Especially coming from Australia and submitting to US and UK markets, there are differences in style, and not just spelling. So traditionally published will see your work edited twice. And that is not a bad thing. So, what happens if you disagree? Well, with the editors you pay for or use personally, if you disagree with a suggestion they make, then ignore them. They won’t know. However, if you think they are wrong, look it up to make sure. Not online – use Strunk & White or something else decent. If, on the other hand, you disagree with the in-house publisher, you had better have a good reason. You can negotiate – I’ve done it to keep my stories “Australian” – but if you argue every point, you will get quite the negative reputation. As I’ve said before, many publishers talk; this will not go well for you. But if you really do disagree, explain yourself. The final question above I think is more about personal editing, going over works again and again, though it could well be hiring editor after editor – when to stop. This is not easy. Once I’ve given it to an editor or a beta reader, then I stop. But some people use self-editing as a crutch to avoid submitting. It’s a mental thing. If you are going to use an external editor, then rely on them and stop. Way too many will edit over and over again. If you find yourself going back and forth between two phrases in the same spot, if you find yourself just adding words and deleting them, if you find yourself moving sections only to return them, then it’s time to pass it on to an external person. While over-editing is often an avoidance tactic, it can also be an indication of genuine fear. While it’s easy for me to say, you need to trust yourself and at some point let go. And that’s working with an editor. NOTE: I am not going to go into the different types of editor. There are three reasons for this: 1) the different types of editing has different names to different people (Wikipedia and Google are rubbish); 2) too often people do not agree with what various types of editors actually do; & 3) having people look for spelling, grammar, punctuation, context, etc., is what an editor should be doing; story beats can also be done, but that is also what a beta reader is for. IN MY OPINION! |
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