Kelly Abell Books

Tip #38 - How to Tighten UP That Writing

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

When you are writing a novel one of the most important things you can do before you submit to an agent or editor is tighten up your writing and make it be the absolute best it can be and avoid really long run on sentences that don’t add much value and really drag your story down.

(Whew) See what I mean? Many times it’s the simple things that keep your book from being read by an agent or an editor. Here are some tips…

You’ve got to have a HOOK! In the first few paragraphs, or at the very minimum, within the first page, give your reader a reason to keep going. Set something in motion that draws in your audience. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic fight scene or a bomb that blows up, although that could be interesting. It can be something very simple that makes your readers want to know more about your story. Without it, you’ve lost before you’ve even started. Many agents have told me, “If I don’t find the hook in that first sentence then I’m done. I read so many submissions that the work must stand out right away.”
Clean up your basic writing skills. Use correct punctuation and spelling. Avoid run on sentences with three or more conjunctions and really try to avoid adverbs. Choose more active verbs to keep your story moving. For example, He cried loudly. Change to He wailed. See how easy that was? Many times it’s all about word choice. A good editor can help with this.
Avoid unnecessary details. You don’t need to spend paragraphs describing a scene. It can drag your reader out of the story and bore them to tears.
Remember whose head you’re in. I can’t tell you the times I’ve read books where I’m seeing the story through one set of eyes then I get yanked into someone else’s head in the same paragraph. Even worse is getting yanked from a person’s head to an omniscient (see all) point of view. The reader can feel completely removed from the story and find it difficult to dig back in.
Spend some time with your synopsis and your thirty second pitch. A talented writer can say what their book is about in two sentences at the most. Work on this. It can be used at conferences for agents, or in your submissions to publishers. Stay tuned for more on this topic.

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Tip #37 - A Look at Third Person Point of View

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Third person POV can be quite confusing and take on many forms. A writer needs to be cognizant of their utilization of those forms. In this blog entry I will attempt to help you as a writer distinguish between the types of third person POV and how to successfully use them in your writing.

The first method of third person narration is the Dramatic or Objective Point of View. This method is used most often by writers and involves rendering action and speech that all the points of view share. You are not in a particular person’s head from a narrator’s standpoint. The presentation is limited to only what is spoken and what happens. There is no presentation of inner thoughts of the characters. This leaves readers the freedom to react on their own accord, much like a jury in a trial.

Next let’s discuss the Omniscient Point of View. Omniscient means all-knowing. This narrator can see all, know all and potentially disclose all. Here the speaker of the novel presents not only action and dialogue but also reports the inner thoughts and reactions of the character. In reality we can never know what is in another person’s mind, but we make assumptions and that is the purpose of the omniscient point of view. This can add dimension to the characters in a novel.

Within the omniscient POV you may have the Limited or Limited-Omniscient POV and this focuses on the thoughts and deeds of the main character in a story. Personally this style works well for me. Here I can present my character’s thoughts and motivations. The reactions and emotions of my characters take on a depth I can’t accomplish with dramatic point of view. It gives a story richness without limiting whose eyes a reader can view a story through.

Limited-Omniscient POV leads many editors criticize writers for “head hopping”. With head hopping a writer adjusts this Limited-Omniscient POV too quickly and without a scene break. It can be utterly confusing for a reader when a writer presents a scene from two limited-omniscient points of view. That is not to say that you can’t use more than one Limited-Omniscient POV but it is easier on your reader if you have an obvious scene break or chapter break prior to changing which character’s thoughts and emotions you are presenting. This is particularly important in love scenes or arguments. You can illustrate what your POV character is observing and that will give you the ability to show your reader what is happening without getting into the other character’s head.

Third Person POV can be an easy way to tell a story and give a writer the ability to richly describe the events and actions of a story as well as demonstrate the deepening of all the writer’s character’s development. Write on my friends and enjoy exploring many different points of view for the depth they can add to your stories.

Writing Tip #36 - When Trimming the Fat Don't Cut the Muscle

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:45:00 +0000

Many new writers travel around the internet reading various writing tips like these and a vast majority of them all boil down to someone's opinion, and I guess mine are no different. But I do want to comment on something I've seen recently in my editing. Many writers read the advice - Trim the Fat - If your manuscript has unnecessary scenes, cut them out. Don't bore the reader with meaningless detail. They also read - "A publisher won't publish work over 100,000 words so you should keep your manuscript tight and clean."

I don't disagree with the above advice, just don't trim too deep. As you are going over your manuscript don't cut details that do the following:

1. Help the reader get to know your character better. If there is a scene that portrays something critical to helping your reader "feel" who your main character is, or gives them a little more insight to the plot then leave it in.

2. Blend in your backstory. Don't overload it all at once, but in the editing process don't trim those things that are necessary for your reader to understand what's going on.

3. Don't cut a scene that builds upon another scene. If it is important to the future leave it in and make sure the link comes sooner rather than later

As you review your first draft and decide on making changes, don't think about word count as much as thinking about what scenes are critical to moving your story and your character forward. If it doesn't, it's fat and can be trimmed. If you've got a tight story that draws the reader in and rolls all the way to the end then leave it alone.

Want a good example of what I mean? Read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It is a very thick book and a long read, but each scene trickles in a little more and a little more until you get to the end and BAM. That's what you want to do. Don't bore your reader, but don't cut so deep that they look up suddenly scratching their head, saying "Something's missing here."

Trim the fat but don't cut the muscle.

Until next time...

Writing Tip #35 - Three Dimensional Characters

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I'm working on editing a few books and I just wanted to share some thoughts for aspiring writers. Take a look at your characters and make sure you make them three dimensional for your readers. Readers do not like flat characters. They want to know what makes your character tick. Sprinkle in some background, NOT too much at once, but as your character becomes involved in more situations throughout your plot, reveal things you want your reader to know. Are they afraid of spiders, a germophobe, wish they'd never moved to where they live now. Little things make a difference.

You can also accomplish a well rounded character through your dialogue. You can show emotions that make your character real and build their personality for your reader. When your character gets angry, what does he/she do? Stamp their feet, turn purple in the face, scream?? Or do they silently brood until they explode. Do they have a laugh like a donkey when they are extremely happy? You get the picture.

Another thing to remember is to make sure your character has purpose for their actions and that they are in sync with what is going on around them. Really stop and think about your characters motivation. What do they want? How are they going to get it? What obstacles will they face on their journey?

Don't make your reader suffer through a character with no pizazz and personality. Round them out and make them come alive. Breathe breath into them and help them jump off the page, grab your reader's hand and yank them right into the pages!

Other writers? How do you make your characters less flat? Please share.

Writing Tip #34 - More on Showing vs. Telling

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 11:32:00 +0000

As I've gone through the editing process with Jewels of Hera, I can assure you that a GOOD editor is more valuable than any precious gem. Worth more than twice their weight in gold! Always be willing to improve your craft and a great editor can help you do that. They will enhance your voice!

I digress. My topic in this entry is about Showing vs. Telling, another one of my weaknesses and a very easy trap to fall into when writing a lengthy novel. It is SO SO boring to a reader. I'm just going to deal with one word here that has turned into a crutch word for me, and for those of you with more experience in the craft, this may be old news, but for me it's been a true learning experience.

The word is...Felt! This word sucks you right into the "telling" trap. Allow me to share a few "out takes" from my recent editing experience.

My Sentence: She didn’t know if she felt relief or terror.

My Editor's Comment: Describe what she is feeling - don't tell us

My Revision: Relief flooded her. The door latch held firm, but eventually she'd have to face him. There was no other way out of the room. Sweat trickled down her back and dampened her palms. Her heart raced. She had no other options.

My Sentence: I got dizzy and felt sick

My Editor's Comment: "Felt is telling. Revise"

My Revision: My world spun out of control. The car rolled over and over, rattling my brain against my skull, and churning my stomach. I fought the nausea but lost.

I think you get the idea. No more "felt" show us!

Until next time...

Writing Tip #33 - Recognizing Passive Voice and Tense Issues

Wed, 25 May 2011 00:17:00 +0000

In working with my fantastic editor for Jewels of Hera she gave me another cool tip I'd like to share. I've always had trouble recognizing passive voice and this tip made it very easy for me. For passive voice, Laura recommends looking for the word was + a verb ending in "ing". If you find that you've got passive voice.

For tense issues check out the following:

It's all about when the action happend.

He will buy it. (future)

He bought it. (present)

He'd bought it. (past)

Hope these quick little tips help you as you work through your own edits.

Until next time...

Writing Tip #32 - Pre-editing your manuscript

Tue, 10 May 2011 10:48:00 +0000

I just began working with my editor on my newest novel with kNight Romance Publishing. Jewels of Hera has begun the editing journey and I wanted to share with you the pre-edit email I received from my editor. I wish I'd had an email like this years ago so I hope it helps you.

Here's your manuscript. I need you to go through and search out the following words:

began to

started to

making

causing

then

and then

when

which

was

were

to be

had

went

put

Please reword the sentences where these words are found. They're considered weak words and our goal is to make your prose stronger. Now, if you run across these in dialog, no worries. Keep the flow natural. We speak these words everyday. But the rest gotta go.

Also, search out the conjunctives: for, and, nor, but, or, yet. Check to see if these words connect two complete sentences. If so, put a comma before the conjunctive. If not, leave it out.

Make sure all If-Then sentences have a comma. If the sentence starts with 'if', it has a comma where the 'then' would have been placed. Ex: If I'd known, then I would've done it. If I'd known, I would've done it.

Go through and correct:

Towards - should be toward

Forwards - should be forward

Backwards - should be backward

Please reword all sentences with semicolons by either breaking into two sentences, adding a conjunction, or rewording.

Please revise sentences with colons. Ex: Instead of He had one thing on his mind: sex. Change it to He had one thing on his mind. Sex. OR He had one thing on his mind—sex.

So there it is folks. As I go through my manuscript, you begin going through yours BEFORE you send it to that agent or publisher. This is not all the editing you will need, but it is a REALLY good start. My thanks to Lauren, my editor. I'm looking forward to working with you!

Until next time...

Writing Tip #31 - Are you a "Was-er"?

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:03:00 +0000

I know I've wrtten about this before but I've been hanging out on this really cool site called Authonomy.com - a site to post your writing sponosored by Harper Collins - a really cool site by the way...Any way I digress. I've been hanging out on this site and reading some of the writing that is posted there and I noticed something. If I had a dime for every "was" that I've seen in those manuscripts I'd be a very rich girl. I could retire and write all day long. Now I must confess I am a recovering "Was-er" There should be a 12 step process for us. But alas the only thing that will fix "was-ing" is hard work. Using was throws your mansucript into passive voice and drags your story down. Go through your manuscript and count all your was-es. And get rid of as many as you can. For example Johnny was crying - change to -Johnny cried. See how much better that sounds? How much more active rather than passive?

I promise if you do this your editor will thank you. I know mine did. (winking at Frank)

Until next time -

Oh by the way - if you want to keep up on tips like this please join my site and become a member. I send out a monthly newsletter with tips like this and all the latest news about my books!

Happy Writing

Kelly

Writing Tip #30 - Giving Characters Richness

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:57:00 +0000

I was reading a friend's new novel this week, and I thought of a few things that I would like to share. The writer had a really good story, a good hook, and a plot that would hold up well, but the problem was the characters were flat. They needed to be richer. Now when I say that I don't mean they needed to be wealthier. They needed more depth of personality. Let me try to give you an example. One character, let's call him Bob, had a phobia of funeral homes. Since Bob's wife died on their honeymoon he had not been able to set foot in a funeral home. The writer had Bob's mother call and ask him to go to a funeral of a friend because she couldn't get there. In my humble opinion Bob agreed too soon in order to please his mother. There was no argument, he just said yes. Even after he agreed there was no real regret or anxiety. Oh, there was a little bit, but not enough to really make the character stand out in a reader's mind. Now my friend is a good writer, but I think what happened here is my friend let a good plot override the importance of giving the characters in a story more depth.

What can you do when your characters show up a little dreary? Give them a quirk. Have them be afraid of something ridiculous, have a speech impediment, a twitch, a wart on their face that they are self conscious about...Something that will make them interesting. But don't stop there. Through dialogue, bring them to life. Give them an accent. Maybe they have a drawl or a nasal tone to their voice. Give them a personality. Let the reader like and dislike things about them. For my friend I suggested the use of Showing Vs. Telling to bring Bob to life. If he has a true phobia of funeral homes he will begin to sweat, get an upset stomach, cry, or possibly even throw up at the mere thought of a funeral home. He would have argued with his mother until she became angry with him over his silly obsession. After all dead people can't hurt you, right? Show the reader through your character's reactions how they feel about things. If it fits your character's personality have them use humor to express how they are feeling. The point is make them pop off the page using all those tools you have available to you in your imagination.

Building a personality sketch can help. Review one of my earlier tips for a great personality questionnaire that you can use to bring those little things in your character to life. There is nothing worse for a reader than a flat character. Breathe some life into yours.

Until next time...

Writing Tip #29 - Writing in 1st Person

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:54:00 +0000

Recently I decided to change the point of view of a story I was working on. I moved it from third person point of view to first person point of view and I have been very happy with the results. Along this enlightening journey I learned a few things that are important to writing in first person that I thought I would share.

Writing in first person can be a little tricky. The most important thing to remember is you are already in the narrator's head. You are seeing the story through their eyes and their eyes only. This can be liberating and limiting to a writer all at the same time. First person gives you an intimate view from the mind of the story teller. It aquaints your reader with your main character in a way that is unique and special. But, it also limits what you are able to do in the way of setting your scenes and being descriptive. The most important thing to remember: YOU ARE SEEING THIS STORY ONLY THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUR POINT OF VIEW CHARACTER.

Here are some points to consider:

When you want the reader to know what your character looks like, you can't say "I'm five foot two, with blue eyes and blond hair" A character wouldn't describe themselves like that. You can cheat and have the character assess themselves in a mirror, but you may want to be a bit more creative. For example, "I looked down at my dusty black jeans. My feet extended so far out from my pant leg that they touched the table before the rest of my body. I bent to pick up a quarter from beside my shoe. I struggled to grasp it with my sausage like fingers."
Avoid using terms such as "I thought to myself" Drop the "to myself". You are already in that person's head, so of course they are thinking only to themselves.
Remember your character's personality as you write in first person. You will need to portray the character's reactions to events as they happen
Avoid expressions like "A smile on my face" A character can't see their own face. Say, "I smiled" Blushing is another one you want to be careful with. A character can't see their own face blushing but they can feel it. "My face grew warm" is a better option.
Show your reader that your character is thinking without announcing that your character is thinking. Avoid phrases like, "I thought back to when I was a little child." You are in that characters head. Just remember it.
Make sure your voice reflects not only the voice of your character but the personality as well. Not only with what he says, but how he says it.
It is okay to change perception in a first person story. This is not changing the POV. The POV is first person. You can jump into another person's head. Just be sure you announce to your reader that you are doing so. Only do it at a chapter break and use a title at the beginning of the chapter to tell the reader whose head you are in. Also be very careful with this, as you are now in another person's head and their personality and view of the world will be very different from the character you just left.

These are but a few tips to get you started. We will delve more into this as time goes on.

Happy Writing. Until next time...