First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs calls the first draft the 'dirty draft'. Jenny Crusie calls it the 'don't-look-down draft'. The most important thing is to get it written.
Then comes editing and polishing. Some writers love this stage: they can roll up their sleeves and start whipping that book into shape. Others are not so keen. They'd rather have a tooth extracted than sit down and write another word. Unfortunately, a 'dirty draft' is the equivalent of a tooth with a cavity - it needs fixing or it will cause a lot of pain!
There are any number of things you should be looking for when you're editing. If we tried to cover them all here, this would be a book and not a tipsheet. So we'll limit ourselves to four, all of which come under the heading of "Variety".
Vary Your Sentence Beginnings
This is particularly important when you are using the first person. More than one writer has written a desperate note on work sent in for me to critique, saying something like "I seem to be saying I, I, I all the time... but how can I avoid it when I'm writing in the first person?"
Yes, it can be a challenge. But once you learn the strategies for getting around this problem, you'll find yourself automatically making the necessary changes as you write.
An Example
I staggered into the bathroom, cursing the person who invented daylight saving. I needed sleep. Lots more sleep. I was aware, of course, that an hour wouldn't make much difference; not when I'd been up half the night. But what was the use of having an hour chopped off the morning? I wondered whether anybody actually did anything with that hour when it turned up again in the afternoon. We have four sentences starting with "I" in the above example, and one "I'd". This might not look like a lot in this short sample - but if the frequency of the personal pronoun 'I' continued at this level, the reader would probably find it a bit tiresome.
It's easy to change. Look for (a) opportunities to simply drop the word "I" and (b) ways to restructure the sentence so it's not necessary. We'll rewrite the above: I staggered into the bathroom, cursing the person who invented daylight saving. Oh, for more sleep. Lots more sleep. Okay, one hour wouldn't make much difference: not when I'd been up half the night. But what was the use of having an hour chopped off the morning? Did anybody actually do anything with that hour when it turned up again in the afternoon? Easy. With a few simple changes, we've cut out three instances of the word "I". Much more acceptable! And by tapping directly into the viewpoint character's thoughts instead of saying "I wondered" and "I was aware", we're moving deeper into viewpoint, and therefore achieving more reader involvement.
Check carefully for your use of the personal pronoun in all your work. It's all too easy to start sentence after sentence with "She", "He", "I" or "They".
Vary Sentence Structure
Check your sentences to make sure they're not all following the same structure. You saw in the above example how easy it is to change things around so sentences don't all begin with the same word. It's just as simple to make sure they don't all have the same rhythm.
Example
"I don't want you to think I'm not sympathetic," he said, leaning on the kitchen counter.
"Of course not," she replied, crashing the pan down in the sink.
"I do understand what you're saying," he went on, adopting that conciliatory tone she hated so much. "But I have needs too."
"Yes, I know that, Tim," she said through gritted teeth, blasting hot water into the dirty pan. This is all getting a bit dull. There's a lot going on, but we're almost in a state of torpor because of the predictable rhythm. Throughout this passage, we have: [direct speech] + [speech tag] + action or clarification. Let's try a variation:
"I don't want you to think I'm not sympathetic." Tim leaned on the kitchen counter, idly clicking a pen.
Alana crashed the pan down into the sink. "Of course not."
"I do understand what you're saying. But I have needs too."
His voice had that conciliatory tone that made her want to slap him. "Yes, I know that, Tim." She wrenched on the tap and sent hot water blasting into the dirty pan. We have (a) changed the placement of the dialogue; (b) eliminated several unnecessary speech tags and (c) relocated her reaction to his tone of voice to the paragraph containing her words, not his words. Small changes - but a big effect.
Vary Sentence Length
This sounds easy - but judging by the thousands of scenes I've critiqued, it's not as simple as it looks. The worst offenders are writers who like to construct long, flowing sentences with lots of commas, dashes, semi-colons and colons. These might have been de rigeur in Jane Austen's day, but most modern readers would doze off. Worse, they'd get lost. You risk the meaning being obscured by long, unnecessarily complex sentences. It's quite likely those long sentences would also be grammatically incorrect.
Example
Allow me to reconstruct the previous paragraph into one sentence to show you what I mean:
This sounds easy - but judging by the thousands of scenes I've critiqued, it's not as simple as it looks: the worst offenders being writers who like to construct long, flowing sentences with lots of commas, dashes, semi-colons, and colons... these might have been de rigeur in Jane Austen's day, but most modern readers would doze off - worse, they'd get lost: you risk the meaning being obscured by long, unnecessarily complex sentences (which are also likely to be grammatically incorrect). Phew. I feel the need to take a long gulp of air after just typing that one.
Just as annoying are writers who like to write a succession of sentence fragments. Like this. One after the other. Like machine-gun fire. It drives readers nuts.
Sentence fragments, used sparingly, can be very effective. They do a good job of reflecting the fragmented nature of most people's thoughts. Overused, they arouse homicidal instincts in the reader. Be warned!
Bottom line: vary your sentence length. Avoid long, wordy sentences and use sentence fragments wisely. Most of the time, write grammatically correct sentences that are appropriate for the style and tone of your chosen genre.
Vary The "Voice" Of Your Characters
Here's a good writing exercise for you.
(c) copyright Marg McAlister
Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/
Every hero has a seminal insight - the apotheosis. Once... Read More
ESSAYS ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY: NUMBER 1Preamble:Nearly seven years ago I wrote... Read More
Suspense novels, unlike any other genre, need fast starts. Fans... Read More
Not long ago, I went to an Internet Marketing Seminar.... Read More
Back in the mid to late 1980s I was a... Read More
Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization... Read More
"If you want to change your life," Harry Beckwith wrote... Read More
Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More
As a freelance writer, it is important to present yourself... Read More
I've been in the communications business a long time?over 25... Read More
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's... Read More
Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're... Read More
I've just come back to work after nine glorious, sun-drenched... Read More
Joyce Carol Oates. Langston Hughes. Anne Sexton. F. Scott Fitzgerald.... Read More
Remember the days when we wrote with pen and paper?... Read More
I'm willing to bet that quite a number of you... Read More
Have you ever started a creative writing project with great... Read More
Regardless of what sort of writer you are and how... Read More
Ever wonder what an author's life is like? What that... Read More
It is certainly true that we don't get a second... Read More
PASSED, PASTPassed is the past tense of pass. Past means... Read More
Good writing requires self-examination. Why is one writing? What part... Read More
Most people can easily identify with the dreaded "writer's block".... Read More
Beginner's Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as... Read More
How to Come Up with Fresh Story Ideas When Your... Read More
One of the best ways to blow someone's winning streak... Read More
So you want to be a writer, except you don't... Read More
User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More
As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More
I started writing as a way of keeping safe memories... Read More
Story Structure Templates are the fastest way to write screenplays.... Read More
Writing better is critical for students. But it's even more... Read More
If your cash is running out fast and you have... Read More
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More
You know you've got writing talent. Others enjoy your work... Read More
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea... Read More
My Dad has this old joke that goes, "What's the... Read More
Peter Abrahams is the author of thirteen novels, including "The... Read More
If you either want to write a book to help... Read More
FIVE MINUTES ... Is All You Need ........to phone a... Read More
When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More
How to get a lot of traffic to your website... Read More
Calling all publishers, editors, journalists and freelance writers. It's time... Read More
You can learn a lot about what it takes to... Read More
Typically when falling asleep in bed at night great thoughts... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?The writer, who doesn't have the time... Read More
There is no doubt that a staff writer enjoys advantages... Read More
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More
A writer writes. Bet you've heard that one... Read More
The Internet has truly revolutionized the careers of writers worldwide.... Read More
I've seen it time and again. One of the most... Read More
Whether you are writing a magazine article, composing a press... Read More
Sometimes I can be dense when it comes to realizing... Read More
It is satisfying to be a part of such a... Read More
Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More
Chances are, you'll be busy over the next several weeks.... Read More
Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More
Want to write your book? But, need a blueprint on... Read More
You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence,... Read More
Choosing the wrong words can have a poor effect on... Read More
What do people expect when they join a writing group?The... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More
Winning writing contests can provide several advantages to writers. For... Read More
The Blogfest 2005 Writing Contest has only been running for... Read More
Most writers are familiar with first and third points of... Read More
With the expansion and diversion of businesses, manufacturers, and even... Read More
Writing |