How often in editing do we revise the sentences, the grammar and the flow of our story? This is important, but perhaps we overlook the obvious.
How often do we read our work to find those segments that are truly beautiful and worthy? How often do we simply toss away those that are not? In the process of revision we can overlook the most crucial portion that makes us better writers. That part is the beauty and worth of our words and sentences.
Hand in hand with that concept, we must become better readers. I will immerse myself in their work and set goals for reading that match or exceed my word count or editing goals.
In 2013, I vow to seek the beauty and worth. I vow to remove the mundane and, as always, I vow to excel at my writer's craft.
Showing posts with label revision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revision. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Value of Taking the Side Path...
Over and over a writer hears that taking a side path, a branch off from the planned route can add, add, add to our work, even as the writer worries about the time it takes to travel them. Yes, I've been down three side paths since last I posted.
1. I took some serious time to do 'writing craft' research on 'plot climax' from as many sources as I had on hand and available through the internet. As a result, I came to understand that my climax was actually a couple chapters prior to where I thought it was. Okay, you're scratching your head going, 'how the f****** hell can Meg not know where the blasted plot climax is after all that time!?!" Turns out, I have one climax that births another that follows immediately after that one. The first is a physical plot climax followed by a final massive mental/emotional climax puzzle to figure out. I'd erroneously figured that the mental section was the massive plot climax...
Decided after research that I had to make the physical climax even more satisfying for the reader and make it the top of my upside down plot chart. Then the mental section is an odd twist that extends that height, or might even be considered to slip down and then get pushed over the top again before resolving the book.
That might seem minor, but it put a whole new spin on how much I had to put into the physical plot climax scene...
Then 2. I've been listening to a "Great Sentence" MFA lecture series from a retired Univ of IA professor. It's a complicated, but fascinating class on sentence structures from cumulative sentences, suspensive sentences, etc. From that reading, I ripped apart Carrie Vaughn's short story from Dark and Stormy Knights to critique when and where she used them in her work to heighten tension, build suspense, etc and also a Meg Rosoff book for the same detail. Both use cumulative sentences in different but fascinating ways.
Both research side roads have paid off in huge dividends when I look at the overall effectiveness of my WiP.
3. An assignment on 'order', not flashback, but conscious reveal of back-story in book real time woven into the work has made three beautiful counterpoints of jeweled nuggets that simply make the emotion zing off the pages. Thank you, BK Loren and the Univ of IA writer's festival!
1. I took some serious time to do 'writing craft' research on 'plot climax' from as many sources as I had on hand and available through the internet. As a result, I came to understand that my climax was actually a couple chapters prior to where I thought it was. Okay, you're scratching your head going, 'how the f****** hell can Meg not know where the blasted plot climax is after all that time!?!" Turns out, I have one climax that births another that follows immediately after that one. The first is a physical plot climax followed by a final massive mental/emotional climax puzzle to figure out. I'd erroneously figured that the mental section was the massive plot climax...
Decided after research that I had to make the physical climax even more satisfying for the reader and make it the top of my upside down plot chart. Then the mental section is an odd twist that extends that height, or might even be considered to slip down and then get pushed over the top again before resolving the book.
That might seem minor, but it put a whole new spin on how much I had to put into the physical plot climax scene...
Then 2. I've been listening to a "Great Sentence" MFA lecture series from a retired Univ of IA professor. It's a complicated, but fascinating class on sentence structures from cumulative sentences, suspensive sentences, etc. From that reading, I ripped apart Carrie Vaughn's short story from Dark and Stormy Knights to critique when and where she used them in her work to heighten tension, build suspense, etc and also a Meg Rosoff book for the same detail. Both use cumulative sentences in different but fascinating ways.
Both research side roads have paid off in huge dividends when I look at the overall effectiveness of my WiP.
3. An assignment on 'order', not flashback, but conscious reveal of back-story in book real time woven into the work has made three beautiful counterpoints of jeweled nuggets that simply make the emotion zing off the pages. Thank you, BK Loren and the Univ of IA writer's festival!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Pace/Tension Issues in Action Sequences
I'm setting up a crit page exchange with a local author and put together this short guideline on pace/tension issues to consider. Sort of a road map of items that I've learned. If it's helpful, let me know.
So in this action sequence, I’ve hit a lot of pacing problems, which just as well could be called tension problems. It’s not unusual in first drafts, but important to keep in mind.
1. Pace/tension requires complete control of what action happens where.
2. Motivations direct your action sequence. Make sure actions match your character's motivation in the scene and that the actions fall in logical sequence.
3. Chose the best, most descriptive, active verbs you can find to use and then place them where they will count in the sentence. Cut weak ones.
4. Never (all rules are made to be broken) use reported or telling in your writing but it’s a cardinal sin in action sequences. If you must, make it a conscious writer’s decision and keep it short.
5. Shifting POVs in action makes the reader work to decide what lens they are looking through and drags the reader out of the action unconsciously---slowing down the pace/tension. If you must, make it an easy shift for your reader wiht limited number of those shifts.
6. Tighten, tighten, tighten. Keep it simple. If 36 syllables can be accomplished in 14—go for it!
7. Generally shift to shorter and shorter sentences and paragraphs as you build the tension and increase the pace. Seek out actual white space in the print in action sequences and avoid areas of dark print in action. It mentally drags the reader down. These are like non-verbal body language that the mind picks up and interprets beneath the surface of thought.
And 8. In my reading experience, only the best (my favorite author, #1NYTimes Jim Butcher) can take these amazing philosophical side steps into the mind and make it work during action scenes. He uses it to tease us away with a wicked sense of humor and murderous planned reader abuse and, addicted, we love it, even as we beg him to get back to the action. (I think this applies to love/sex scenes too. He’s postponing the climax and we…yeah, you get the idea. LOL) At one point in a book, he pulls back from the tight hard action to give me like six ways that people experience hospitals or pain or types of fear and it works! I love his segues like that, but for the rest of us—we’d better keep to the straightforward action…
So in this action sequence, I’ve hit a lot of pacing problems, which just as well could be called tension problems. It’s not unusual in first drafts, but important to keep in mind.
1. Pace/tension requires complete control of what action happens where.
2. Motivations direct your action sequence. Make sure actions match your character's motivation in the scene and that the actions fall in logical sequence.
3. Chose the best, most descriptive, active verbs you can find to use and then place them where they will count in the sentence. Cut weak ones.
4. Never (all rules are made to be broken) use reported or telling in your writing but it’s a cardinal sin in action sequences. If you must, make it a conscious writer’s decision and keep it short.
5. Shifting POVs in action makes the reader work to decide what lens they are looking through and drags the reader out of the action unconsciously---slowing down the pace/tension. If you must, make it an easy shift for your reader wiht limited number of those shifts.
6. Tighten, tighten, tighten. Keep it simple. If 36 syllables can be accomplished in 14—go for it!
7. Generally shift to shorter and shorter sentences and paragraphs as you build the tension and increase the pace. Seek out actual white space in the print in action sequences and avoid areas of dark print in action. It mentally drags the reader down. These are like non-verbal body language that the mind picks up and interprets beneath the surface of thought.
And 8. In my reading experience, only the best (my favorite author, #1NYTimes Jim Butcher) can take these amazing philosophical side steps into the mind and make it work during action scenes. He uses it to tease us away with a wicked sense of humor and murderous planned reader abuse and, addicted, we love it, even as we beg him to get back to the action. (I think this applies to love/sex scenes too. He’s postponing the climax and we…yeah, you get the idea. LOL) At one point in a book, he pulls back from the tight hard action to give me like six ways that people experience hospitals or pain or types of fear and it works! I love his segues like that, but for the rest of us—we’d better keep to the straightforward action…
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Love of Revision
There is an entire different part of my brain that cranks into gear with revision. This time around I'm firing my revision with visual and audio cues to keep me focused. It adds to the fun. (Egads, did I just call revision fun? Seriously I love it, as long as I keep a fresh work in the hopper as well.)
I've been working with www.darcypattison.com/revision/shrunken-manuscript. The concept is easy, visual, and for those who love the tactile paper approach it works well. In the real world, I scrapped the paper edition and moved straight to highlighting attributes I want to check, ie action, info dumps, dialog, clues etc and then switched my 12 pt NYTs font to 20%. Immediate color coded evidence of your sins! Info dumps glare out at you. Description that runs long blasts out. Dialog from talking heads (rather than using descriptive action within dialog sings out of key! Then that miracle view key again to blow up to full page to make your corrections on a copy you can actually read.
The other pleasure revision trigger was audible. I'm a great reader with no fear of crowds, okay I'm a phenomenal reader--years of storytelling and a BA in drama with an emphasis on oral interpretation sort of hardwired it into me. People enjoy my acting voices,they can clearly understand my words, and I can give them goosebumps or make them cry on cue. Reading my mss should have been a perfect fit, but when I tried it, I stopped short.
I couldn't stand the sound quality of Microsoft Sound Recorder. Then in a stroke of sheer Meg-non-tech-geek format I deleted the program to speed up my laptop. When I decided to try again I had to pick the brains of a young man at Best Buy. Solution: Free down load at www.AudacityDownload.org. Point of order, DO NOT ENTER audacity.com--the first thing that pops up is a notice that they ARE not the audio download site. Yikes, what fun huh? And they haven't figured out how to stick an ad on there for some income? Crazy people.
Anyway, the sound quality is more than acceptable. It has more buttons and cool stuff then I will ever figure out, but it's great. Keep it short. One page. Then listen,make corrections, and smooth out the rough spots.
So zap up your own revision work by using tactile and auditory sensors in your writer's brain and see what new twists and solutions you can discover as a result.
Of course for the ultimate caffeine fix and taste sense add chocolate.
I've been working with www.darcypattison.com/revision/shrunken-manuscript. The concept is easy, visual, and for those who love the tactile paper approach it works well. In the real world, I scrapped the paper edition and moved straight to highlighting attributes I want to check, ie action, info dumps, dialog, clues etc and then switched my 12 pt NYTs font to 20%. Immediate color coded evidence of your sins! Info dumps glare out at you. Description that runs long blasts out. Dialog from talking heads (rather than using descriptive action within dialog sings out of key! Then that miracle view key again to blow up to full page to make your corrections on a copy you can actually read.
The other pleasure revision trigger was audible. I'm a great reader with no fear of crowds, okay I'm a phenomenal reader--years of storytelling and a BA in drama with an emphasis on oral interpretation sort of hardwired it into me. People enjoy my acting voices,they can clearly understand my words, and I can give them goosebumps or make them cry on cue. Reading my mss should have been a perfect fit, but when I tried it, I stopped short.
I couldn't stand the sound quality of Microsoft Sound Recorder. Then in a stroke of sheer Meg-non-tech-geek format I deleted the program to speed up my laptop. When I decided to try again I had to pick the brains of a young man at Best Buy. Solution: Free down load at www.AudacityDownload.org. Point of order, DO NOT ENTER audacity.com--the first thing that pops up is a notice that they ARE not the audio download site. Yikes, what fun huh? And they haven't figured out how to stick an ad on there for some income? Crazy people.
Anyway, the sound quality is more than acceptable. It has more buttons and cool stuff then I will ever figure out, but it's great. Keep it short. One page. Then listen,make corrections, and smooth out the rough spots.
So zap up your own revision work by using tactile and auditory sensors in your writer's brain and see what new twists and solutions you can discover as a result.
Of course for the ultimate caffeine fix and taste sense add chocolate.
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