sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Guest Article: Great Fiction

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Do you want to write great fiction? I know I do. Lauara Backes has some great advice on how to make this happen.

GREAT FICTION COMES FROM WRITING LIGHTLY

by Laura Backes, Publisher, Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Great fiction appears effortless to the reader. The characters and setting are so real, the story so believable, that the reader is completely unaware of the author behind the words. The smoothness of the text belies the hours of hard work and practice that went into its creation. The authors who achieve invisibility have learned the art of writing lightly; of subtly inserting so much information into the story without adding any new words that the book can’t help but spring to life. Here are some tips to help you write lightly too: Work hard on your opening paragraphs.

Regardless of the age you’re writing for, your first one or two paragraphs set the tone for the entire book. They introduce the main character, point of view, setting, mood, and sometimes the story conflict. The story starts in these first paragraphs– not two or three pages down the road. Grab your reader instantly rather than boring him or her with unimportant background information.

Make your dialogue work for you. Good written dialogue contains the essence of speech, not conversation as it happens in real life. Dispense with the clutter and make your dialogue count. Dialogue should give a sense of the personality of the speaker (through word choices and speech patterns), move the story along (have your characters talk about what’s happening in the book, or what they’re going to do next), and contribute to the visual imagery of the story. The latter can be achieved with “stage directions”; gestures or movements by the speakers, physical reactions of the listeners, or other action that’s happening during the conversation. Break up long stretches of dialogue with action or attach stage directions to the dialogue itself (“I can’t leave now,” she whispered as she parted the curtains and peered down the dark street). Remember, how someone speaks and what they’re doing as they talk all give clues to their emotional state, thus adding layers of meaning to the spoken words.

Choose verbs wisely. Well-chosen verbs can also add meaning to a sentence. How someone moves can show what they’re thinking or feeling. Just as importantly, specific verbs allow you to communicate a scene exactly to the reader. If the wind is blowing outside, your reader won’t know if it’s a good day to fly a kite or if a storm is approaching. However, if that wind explodes through the valley, there’s no room for doubt. Know your setting. Even if your setting doesn’t play a main role in the story, it’s a good idea to have details set in your own mind. What does your main character’s room look like? How big a house does she live in? Does she walk to school or ride the bus? These details will find their way into your story, and add life to the book.

Only tell the reader what he or she has to know. This is important for any age of fiction, but it’s most often abused in picture book manuscripts. Your story takes place during a certain time frame–an extraordinary period in your character’s life. Use only those characters necessary to tell this story; introduce events, conflicts, situations that apply directly to this time frame. If a traumatic childhood incident affects your 15-year-old character’s relationship with her father, then it’s necessary. If her losing the spelling bee in fourth grade means nothing to her now, leave it out.

Write as you talk. You can admire and study other authors, but don’t try to imitate them. The best way to achieve your unique writing style is to write as you talk. Don’t search for words you’d never use in ordinary conversation. Author Stephen King said, “Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word.”

Don’t worry about getting too complex with your writing either. Long, complicated sentences filled with dashes and semicolons, or descriptive paragraphs full of flowery prose won’t appeal to your audience. The trick, when composing your first draft, is not to think too much. Norma Fox Mazer, author of over 20 books, said she wears a hat with the brim pulled low over her eyes when writing a first draft. That way she can see her keyboard but not the computer screen, preventing her from getting “housewifey” and wanting to clean up the text. During the revision process you can choose your words more carefully, but if you find yourself stretching for a phrase or description, ask your-self if you’d ever use that in real life. If you were telling this story out loud, how would you tell it and what words would you choose? In the end, it all boils down to writing simply, directly, and making every word count. It doesn’t always come naturally, but if you practice the above techniques your writing will also achieve a light touch.

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For more information about writing children’s books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children’s Book Insider’s home on the web at http://write4kids.com

Copyright 2001, Children’s Book Insider, LLC

Guest Article: EDITING SECRETS, by Laura Backes

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Today’s article is about something which is key to every well-written manuscript – editing. But in spite of its importance, many writers avoid the task of editing, sometimes through lack of understanding of what’s needed. Laura Backes’ advice on the topic is excellent.

EDITING SECRETS

by Laura Backes, Publisher, Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Once you’ve plotted out your book, developed the characters and written the last word of text, the real work begins. As busy editors are bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of submissions a year, it’s more important than ever that authors apply their own editing skills to their manuscripts before putting them in the mail. Checking your basic grammar and spelling are of course important, but authors need to go beyond surface editing if their work has a chance of catching an editor’s eye.

* Trim, tighten, hack away. First, second and even third drafts of manuscripts are almost always laden with extra words and scenes. Take a break from your book and then read it through with a fresh eye. Write down your theme in one sentence (what the book is about, such as working through shyness on the first day of school or showing how Thomas Edison’s childhood experiences influenced his adult life). The plot (or progression of facts and events in nonfiction) is your vehicle for conveying the theme to the reader. Ask yourself if each character and scene advance the plot toward communicating this theme. And decide at the beginning that you will give up your precious words and finely-crafted scenes for the betterment of the book. Pithy dialogue may be fun to read, but if it pushes your story off track, it’s just a literary dead end. Take the publishers’ suggested word limits seriously: no, you don’t really need 3000 words to tell your picture book story about Freddy the Frog’s adventures in the Big Pond.

* The elements of speech. Well-crafted dialogue can be a writer’s most important tool. Dialogue is not just there to break up the paragraphs or show that your characters know how to talk; ideally, it adds to character development, moves the plot along and replaces sections of narrative. Each character should sound like himself, with speech patterns and phrasing that are unique. This is especially true with talking animal books. I see many of these manuscripts where, if I took away the words that identify the speakers, each character would sound exactly the same. Don’t have dialogue repeat the narrative and vice versa; “Did you hear that? Someone’s at the door!” does not have to be preceded by “They heard a sound at the door”.

* Show don’t tell. How many times have you heard this? It’s still true. Comb through your manuscript for sentences that tell the reader how a character felt (Sara was sad) and replace with sensory descriptions (Hot tears sprang to Sara’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks.) Avoid telling the reader what to think about the story (Jason foolishly decided to trust Mike one more time.) Instead, present your character’s actions and decisions to the reader, and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions (incidentally, this is how you “teach” without preaching).

* Wipe out passive writing. Search for verbs preceded by “would” (would go, would sleep, would eat) replace with the past tense (went, slept, ate). Also look for actions that seem to happen out of thin air. “The door was opened” is passive, because the sentence lacks a “doer”. Remember, the reader needs to visualize what’s happening in the story. “The wind blew the door open” is better, because the action can be attributed to something, and it puts the most important element (strong wind) at the beginning of the sentence. Simply rearranging the words (“The door blew open from the wind”) puts emphasis on a door that won’t stay closed, making that the subject of the sentence.

* Be precise. One of the best ways to make your writing come alive for the reader is to use exact nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. One well-chosen word is always better than three vague ones. Adjectives like big, little, cold, hot, beautiful, scary and silly; adverbs such as quickly, slowly, loudly, and softly; and general verbs like walk, went, stayed and ate don’t draw a vivid picture for your reader. Of course, sometimes these words are appropriate, but try as a rule choosing words that describe specifically what you want to communicate. Words that sound and look interesting are also a plus. Tremendous, tiny, frigid, scorching, plodded, sauntered and gulped are more fun to read, and they each lend an emotional overtone to the sentence (if your character gulps his food, you don’t have to tell the reader he’s in a hurry).

And finally, make sure there’s a logical cause and effect relationship between the scenes of your book. Each event should build upon the ones that came before. The plot should spring intrinsically from your characters; nonfiction should unfold because of the nature of your subject and your slant on the material. It’s when everything comes seamlessly together that you have a winning book. Make it look easy, but don’t skimp on all the hard work it takes to get there.

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For more information about writing children’s books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children’s Book Insider’s home on the web at http://write4kids.com

Copyright 2001, Children’s Book Insider, LLC

Guest Article: Writing What You Want to Write

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Writing What You Want To Write: Personal Innovation

By Scott Lindsay

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. – Dale Carnegie

Some of the special skills discussed in writing may have you feeling as if there is really no room for expressing your own personality in your writing. However, there is always a misunderstood need for personal innovation in storytelling. There will always be intriguing stories that defy conventional wisdom.

Children’s author Pamela Jane struggled with the advice she was receiving from others in the field of children’s literature. The suggestion was that Pamela should write about the subjects she knew. She was advised to avoid stories about dolls, fantasy and seasonal titles.

As it turns out, Pamela had just written a story about a doll she had owned as a child and the imagination she used to convey a fantasy Christmas story.

Pamela angrily accepted the advise of her writing friends and set the story aside. However, another friend encouraged her to at least explore the possibility of publishing the story.

“I decided to send it to an obscure regional publisher who might not have heard that seasonal doll fantasies were passé,” says Pamela. However, before the work could be reviewed Pamela was encouraged to send it to a major publishing house.

Pamela did not follow the normal pattern for children’s literature and she did not follow the accepted pattern for cover letters.

The query simply read, “It’s a Christmas fantasy about a little girl and a ballet doll.” Pamela assumed it would to be an automatic refusal so she didn’t attempt to put her best foot forward.

The editor that looked at her sparse cover letter responded with four words that defied the odds, “Please send your story.”

That story, “Noelle of the Nutcracker”, became the first of more than twenty children’s books for Pamela Jane. While she has had more conventional books, her first was one that helped Pamela see that sometimes writing does not need to follow a prescribed formula to connect with a reader.

There are no guarantees in writing, however if you have something that you really believe in follow through with it even if the experts insist you might have it wrong. Accept their advice and then do what you feel you have to do. You might just have a success hiding away on a shelf somewhere.

By: Scott Lindsay –

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of FaithWriters (www.faithwriters.com) and many other web projects. FaithWriters has grown to become one of the largest online destinations for Christian writers. Please visit the website at: www.faithwriters.com

Three New Articles Online

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Some time ago, I decided it was time I wrote an article explaining to published authors how the review process works. I sat down one evening with some tips floating around my head, and just a couple of hours later discovered I had written not one, but three articles outlining the review process, from submitting a book, to it being read by potential purchasers, and on to using the review to promote the book.

Anyway, I’m delighted to announce that that these three articles are now available online at one of the foremost websites for writers, Writing World. I am delighted to have my articles included on this site, as it’s been an excellent resource for me over several years. It is packed full of excellent advice on all aspects of writing. I was doubly excited when I discoverd that my artciles are currently featured on the home page of thsi wonderful site.

The three articles, written from my dual perspective as reviewer and as an author who has been reviewed, are:
The Review Process: How a Book Gets Reviewed
So You Got a Review — Now What? And
Who Reads Book Reviews Anyway?

I’m hoping these three will be useful in demystifying the review process for other authors. And, if you’re not at the stage of looking for reviews, perhaps you’ll find some of the other articles at Writing World of use.

Enjoy!

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For quite some time I’ve been planning to write an article about the review process. So many authors have questions or misconceptions about how to get reviewed, how reviewers work and what they should use reviews for, that i thought it would be worth an article.

Anyway last night I sat down to write an article on the subject – and ended up writing till almost midnight, by which time I’d written not one, but three articles. The first explores how books get reviewed (from being sent out by a publisher through to the review being published), the second looks at who reviews are read by, and why they are read at all and the third discusses how an author can use a review – to promote their book and as a form of feedback on their writing.

I was surprised that I had so much to say on the topic – though I shouldn’t have been surprised, as it’s a subject close to my heart and I’m never short of something to say on ANY topic. I’ll submit the three as a series to a writers’ ezine, and hopefully they’ll prove helpful.

Of course the subject of reviews is a bit subjective. I attended the Re:views conference in Adelaide a couple of years ago where the subject of who reviews were for was a hot topic of discussion, which I’m not sure was resolved. Personally, my reviews are aimed at the general reading public – they’re not long or in depth enough for academic purposes, and they are readily accessible to anyone who can use a search engine, without the need to buy a special review publication. Most of my hits come from search engines, though I do get a lot of repeat visitors, and I seem to have a high proportion of hits from education servers, suggesting that teachers and/or teacher/librarians and, of course, students, are among my visitors.

Anyway, I hope my reviews are useful to the majority of visitors. The fact I get over 300 visitors a day suggests that aussiereviews IS a useful resource.

Back at my desk today is about marking assignments for my tutoring job, so I’d best get on with it.

https://sallymurphy.com.au/2007/07/537/

Newsletters

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I had an article in this morning’s Pass It On Newsletter. If you are an Aussie writing for children, or even thinking about writing for children, this newsletter is a must have. It is a weekly offering in the form of n interactive networking newsletter. Interactive because the content is submitted by fellow subscribers, and compiled by the wonderful Jackie Hosking. There is news, articles, hand tips, useful web links, book reviews, author profiles and much more in each week’s issue.

Anyway, I had an article n this morning’s issue entitled Eight No or Low Cost Ways to Promote Yourself. Self-promotion is important for published and unpublished writers, but can sometimes be quite daunting. Putting my experiences into an article will hopefully help otters and also served as a reminder to myself of the things I should be doing.

I also had an email from Di Bates, accepting an article for Buzzwords Magazine. Again, if you are writing for children, this is a must-have ezine. Buzzwords is a bi-monthly electronic magazine filled with news, interviews, articles and more, compiled by Di, who is a well known and respected author, and newly the editor of Little Ears, a children’s magazine which is shaping up to be a wonderful publication.

The article for Buzzwords (which will be published in November) is about Aussiereviews, my review website, and about how and why I set it up and maintain it. Di said the nicest things in her acceptance email, which have given me a nice warm glow. All praise is nice, but praise from a respected peer is always special.

I write articles to promote myself and my books, but I also do enjoy helping and/or inspiring others. Best of all, when I write such an article I remind myself of lots of things which I already knew but which might be stored away in the deep dark recesses of my fuzzy brain. Bringing them to the fore renews my awareness of them and refreshes my enthusiasm.

Check out Buzzwords and PIO,if you haven’t already, and, if you know something about anything, consider sharing your knowlegde through an article. You might help others as well as yourself.

sallymurphy.com.au