Tag: #editing

Subplots That Don’t Suport The Main Arc

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

Don’t include novel subplots that don’t promote your main story arcs
Subplots are useful for many reasons. A good subplot:

* Breaks up the monotony of the central plotline with the primary character goals
* Gives you the possibility to introduce fascinating secondary characters who will be necessary to the action of your story going forward
* It supports and intensifies the reader’s understanding of the main character arcs

The third case is especially vital. If you pepper your tale with subplots that don’t propel the story towards its resolution in any way, this can slacken the pace. The diversion can make the narrative start to feel wandering and aimless.

An example of the type of subplot: In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov discovers, via a letter from the mother, that the sister Dounia plans to marry a man that she does not love for financial security. This marriage despite her man seeming close-fisted and moderate in his views of the wife’s duty. Raskolnikov’s mother recommends that Dounia will marry directly to ease her brother’s finances so to help him obtain work in the long term for her intended husband.

Raskolnikov loathes the idea of the match. Auch that the subplot of Dounia’s marriage proposal in Crime and Punishment builds the sense of despair that drives Raskolnikov to kill for money. Similarly, prioritise subplots that increase narrative suspense and tension and propel your story towards approaching developments in your main characters’ arcs.

Use Signposts in Your Writing

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

If you want somebody to read your text, you need to make sure that you’re presenting it as smooth as possible for them to do so. If someone feels lost while I’m reading your work—if the readers have no idea what the point is or where you’re going in the novel—they’re probably going to stop reading. Also, if I can’t skim your post to find the information I’m looking for, or to figure out if I do want to read the whole thing, Then they’re not likely to read the post.

How to fix this problem:
You should plan before you begin writing, what you’re going to write in the form of a brainstorm. You could write down all the points you’re going to make or the various subheadings you’re going to cover.
Then, as you’re writing, you should make sure there is a clear signpost to your text with including:
* an introduction telling your readers what you’re going to be speaking about
* subheadings for each position you make
* words that say to your reader what’s happening (e.g., ‘firstly’, ‘last’, etc.)
* a conclusion that wraps up what you’ve talked about and why it’s essential.

Delete Exclamation Marks!

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

I once read a blog post with an exclamation mark at the end of every sentence. I would have liked to read the whole post, but I couldn’t—the exclamation marks were distracting me from the content and making it a painful read.

How to fix it:
Proofread your work. Then ask yourself: Does this sentence need an exclamation mark? Am I going to lose anything if I replace this exclamation mark with a full stop? If the response to this question is ‘no’, then please, please get rid of that exclamation mark.

Learn Your Confusable Words

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

The grammar-controlled community makes so much noise about confusable words that I’m always surprised when I see them misused.

What do I suggest by confusable words, like the following:
It’s/its
except/accept
their/there/they’re
practice/practise (for the UK, American and Australian writers among us)
The list goes on.

How to fix it
Proofread! Know what your weak words are, maybe list them so you can be extra aware to check them.

The Use of i.e. and e.g. correctly

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

I.e. indicates that is, and, e.g. means for example.

How to fix it
Whenever you write it, reread the sentence in your head with the full version, that is where the shortened version (i.e.) is. If it doesn’t make sense, then change it.
Additional tip:
While not a universally used convention, I recommend punctuating like this:
e.g.,        i.e.,

Why? If you were writing for example in a sentence, how would you write it?
For example,        that is,

You would include commas, right? So why wouldn’t you contain commas in the shortened versions? Plus, you look like you know about grammar, and that’s always a positive.

The Use of ‘Few’ or ‘Less’

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

Getting less and fewer correct is not easy—unless you have a know-how up your sleeve to memorise which one is which.
Here’s how to fix the problem:
You may use two different procedures to get less and fewer correct. The first method is less precise, and the second is a tiny bit more tricky.
First strategy: If you can count it, just use fewer. If you can not figure it, then use ‘less’.

E.g., less desire; fewer hugs

less cash; fewer coins
Second strategy: Less and fewer describe names. If you are representing a singular noun (i.e., you can use ‘is’ after it), then use that a less amount. If you’re calling a plural noun (i.e., you can use ‘are’ after ‘it’), then use fewer. (This way is a bit more tricky but much more reliable.)
E.g., affection is; less affection;

hugs are; fewer hugs

money is; less money;

coins are;  fewer coins

Removal of Double Spaces

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

Double spaces may occur for a variety of reasons: Perhaps you’ve deleted a word but forgotten to remove the space before it, or maybe you’ve cut and pasted, and some spaces have been included where they shouldn’t be. Some readers may not notice, but to me, double spaces stick out.

Note: When I say ‘double spaces’, I mean between words, not between lines or anything like that. I mean when  you see   something like    this  .

So, how to fix the problem:
Get in the practice of searching for two spaces next to each other when you’ve finished your post.

Proofreading

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

Proofreading is at the centre of numerous—if not all—of these cases. If you want to make sure that your writing comes across as professional, then proofreading is such a necessary step.

Here’s how to fix the problem:
If you can’t support an editor to look at everything you write to guarantee that you find these sorts of simple errors, you still have several options.

You could:
* Develop your proofreading checklist that includes the words you know you get wrong often or the mistakes you make a lot.
* Get a proofreading buddy.
* Learn some proofreading tricks.
* Work with me to create your checklist. I can pinpoint the errors you make often and should watch out for, and then hop on a Skype call with you to go through them together and make sure you understand everything.

So, those are my tips for making your writing more professional by reducing simple errors. Let me know in the comments if you have been making any of these. Or, if you have noticed other mistakes that you think are unprofessional and have an easy fix, please let me know about those, so I can add those too!

Clichéd Scenes

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment

1. Morning cliché
Clichés come in all sizes. There are as many clichéd scenes as phrases and words. For instance, how many times have you seen a book begin with the protagonist being “rudely awakened” from a “sound sleep” by an alarm? Have you written an opening like this? Where to start, you opt for the morning. Speaking of slipping into a cliché, I’ve been there and done that. We all have. Do not ever do it like that.
Joining that cliché is having the “bleary-eyed” character drag themselves from their bed, squinting against the intruding sunlight. Compounding that is showing the reader everything the character sees in that room. What happens next? They’ll pass or stand opposite a full-length mirror, and we’ll get the full rundown of the look and condition of the protagonist.
Are you cringing? I’ve made the same sort of clichéd scenes. Decide to leave that kind of morning-routine cliché to the writers who’ll begin to enter the writing like yourself. Do not start things in the morning or getting a cup of coffee/tea, but open in some action.

2. Answering the phone cliché scene
Another dangerous cliché scene is how people answer the telephone. This does happens even in the movies or on a stage. Be cognizant of yourself the next time your telephone rings. It’s such a common occurrence that we do not even think about it at all. But one thing you do not do is look up, surprised. You merely rise and answer it.
If your character gets a phone call and says, “Hello there?”
“Hi, Tom?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jane.”
“Hi, Jane. What’s up?”
Enough already.

3. The confusion of detail in a scene; the info dump
There may be a lot of information the reader needs to understand the following action. Listing all the information in one paragraph is awful. I do know about this as I have done it in my first chapter.

4. Coincidences
I do love coincidences. I’m fascinated by them, the happy ones and not the unhappy type. In fiction, if there is more than one in a novel that is too many, and even that one has to get managed well. The good coincidences and not realistic. They happen in real life, but in fiction, it is too convenient. Upsetting and unfortunate coincidences occur in life a lot, I know about that. Unhappiness is more realistic in fiction.

Editing

~ Philip Shepherd ~ Leave a comment
  • Do Not Edit Immediately Countless writers love to edit or line edit their work when they finish and feel as if they have accomplished something, before going on to the next chapter or scene. Yet, there is likely that you will be too fatigued from writing to devote your focus and concentration to every single aspect that needs checking. A useful way to edit would be to step aside from your work and take a rest or approach it several days later. An advantage of this technique is that you avoid the trap of falling in love with your writing at that time. Give it time to rest for a while before you look at it again.
  • Do a Summary Go over your text so you can spot a lot of the most obvious errors, such as glaring typos and misspelt words, also to make sure your words function in general. Pay attention to the pace, and make sure there isn’t any significant factual errors or logical inconsistencies. That is your chance to remedy some of the broader issues with your writing, given that there are any before you can move on to a more detailed editing or line edits.
  • Print Out Your Work One of the difficult things about editing is being impersonal when it comes to your writing. But there is a way you can bypass this issue and put some distance between yourself and your work. Always print out on paper and then go over it. That is plausibly the best way of reproducing reading someone else’s work, therefore being as objective as possible. You may prefer to write using a pen and paper, ( I do like a fountain pen and paper) or a laptop, but always print out the work.
  • Read it Out Loud (or Get Siri to Read it) When you are reading anything, the words should flow together, as if you were hearing to someone speak, so be the one doing the speaking or have it read to you by Siri or Alexa? Read your work out loud and see how it sounds. Having it read out loud will assist you in detecting sentences that sound a touch off so that you can identify them for editing or deletion. Also, try to write the way people speak, this is showing your inner voice and the way that you talk. It will present the readers with a sense that there is someone human behind the narration or dialogue they are reading and not a robot.
  • Do Not Add Filtering Words I’m are not talking about the filler words that add nothing to the story. If you find using constructions such as “repeating the same thing over”, then delete them, or just keep one. More words don’t suggest better writing; this is why you should try to be economical and use the right amount of words to express your ideas and thoughts. That is why I hate word count requirements. I found in a short story competition requiring 1000 words and I only had 700 at the end of my story. So, I added some filler sentences that didn’t add anything and were considered noise by the judges.
  • Powerful Verbs are More Acceptable than Adverbs If you use weak verbs or adverbs, you do risk appearing unconvincing and doubtful, as if you are not 100% confident with the words you are presenting. A way to fix this would be to replace those weak verbs or adverbs with stronger ones so that there is no quandary about what you’re saying. For example, you may use a phrase like “make it better”, whereas a more practical solution would be to use verbs like “increase”, “enhance”, “strengthen”. The replacement or the elimination of weak adverbs and adjectives.
  • Do Not Attempt to Save as Much as You Can Every writer finds it painful to abandon any of their work. But, you should think of it as striving to carve out a statue from a single piece of marble. The good material is already there; you have to cut the bits that are unnecessary. Nothing will save you as much time as dropping a paragraph or chapter that doesn’t add anything, instead of spending hours dtrying to save it. Discard it to find out if the story runs just as well without it.