My thanks to the man who posted this information on one of the writing boards I visit, and whose name I've long ago forgotten—and was probably one of those user id’s that made no sense, anyway.
This is a brief list of issues an editor of fiction writing must look for in order to be an effective editor. From my vantage point as a writer, I use this list as a self check on whether my outline is well designed. And I also use this as a guide as I go through second and third rewrites.
LACK OF SUFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTRAL CONFLICT:
This area is concerned with the amount and flow of information a reader is receiving regarding the central conflict of the novel. Does enough happen with/to the main characters regarding the central conflict to satisfy the reader? And related to this, is the "flow" of information about the central conflict broken too often with asides and irrelevancies--little side trips our creative minds like to take? If the answer is yes, the reader won't continue to read.
That by the way is one of the tests: did you put the book down and walk away...
VIEWPOINT:
Does your writing stick to the viewpoint of one character through each scene? Flipping from character to character within the same scene confuses a reader to the point of...you guessed it, putting the book down and walking away.
Using more than one "voice" within a book is also very tricky. One way to cue a reader as to which "voice" or character is speaking at any given time is to switch from first person narrative to third person when changing characters. There are other ways as well.
MECHANICAL PROBLEMS:
This area concerns itself with paragraphs and grammar.
Paragraphs: Where you split your prose into paragraphs is akin to a comic's sense of timing. Your writing can become dramatic spotlights when paragraphs are handled correctly. Note in your favorite author’s writing how and when their most exciting paragraphs begin and end. But be careful not to over use this technique.
And she cried.
And she sobbed.
And she made me…stop reading.
Grammar: Of course this is spelling and punctuation, something any good word processor will help you with (like MS Word--where red underlined words are misspelled and green underlined phrases are not punctuated correctly or they are incomplete sentences. Don't ignore your word processor's messages.)
Note the “help you with” comment above: homonyms are an exception. Deer and dear, bare and bear, they’re and their and there, are only three homonyms that word processor won't catch.
OTHER:
Over Use OF PASSIVE VOICE.
This is an area I'm trying to improve in. This is an area I am improving in.
And not fully explaining yourself. I've added to this list a bad habit of mine because my mind moves too quickly for me to keep up with. Have I said something that needs a lead in, an explanation? Have I left a step out in the sequence of my logic? Have I explained my points completely? Have I included enough detail to inform the reader well; and the adverse, am I over explaining? (Like maybe now.)
Cover blurbs must match the actual content of the book. Don’t think that you can sell more books just by appealing to a wider audience. If you’ve written a book about strawberries, don’t try selling it to plum lovers. It will just damage your credibility.
OH, AND BY THE WAY
Chapter 9 of UA is now up and running.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Chapter 8 is now available.
Read Unraveling Ada online. Just follow the "Blinks" to Unraveling Ada and then to the individual chapters. The prologue and first eight chapters are now available for you to read.
Just received another five star review at Amazon.com. Here are all three of the reviews so far.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mystery with a great female protagonist, December 14, 2009
By SMS (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)
Rachel Lyons is a welcome addition to the female detective genre. A retired librarian who is relatively new to the P.I. world, she splits her free time between quilting bees and target practice. The best part of reading this book is getting to know Rachel and her world - she's got a strong, distinct voice and she's a character that I think many mystery lovers will enjoy getting to know. No nonsense but funny, tough but vulnerable, she manages to remain completely relatable while leading the reader through a complex and exciting story. The supporting characters are varied and distinctive - each one of them seem to have their own unique stories to tell. And the quilting information is fascinating and detailed without being too overwhelming for those with no previous knowledge of the craft. Without giving too much away, the mystery itself is a fairly sophisticated exploration of family secrets and violence - it is much more than your average whodunit story. I hope this is the first of many Rachel Lyons novels.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars We Dance Round in a Ring and Suppose, While the Secret Sits in the Middle and Knows - Robert Frost, February 17, 2010
By Cherise Everhard (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Unraveling Ada: a Quilted Mystery novel (Paperback)
Retired Librarian, Rachel Lyons, has begun a new chapter in her life. With her retired Marine husband, Matt, they have started a Private Investigating business and recently relocated to California. When Rachel stumbles across a dead body it is assumed by most that he is just another victim of the recent forest fires that tore through the county. But Rachel isn't so sure.
Rachel is a hand quilter and has wanted to find a group of women to sew with. Because she hasn't made any real formal attempts at finding a quilting bee, and really hasn't expressed an interest publicly, she is a little concerned when she receives a phone call inviting her to join a quilting bee. After a little research on the internet about the bee that call themselves Quilted Secrets, Rachel decides to join the group. What she finds is a group of women, of various ages and interests, full of secrets and bonds that Rachel only gets a brief glimpse of before she is asked to look into the recent death of their quilting friend, Ada. She is handed Ada's last quilt and a genealogy of the Stowall family to begin her investigation.
Unraveling Ada is a complex and intriguing read that had me fighting myself so I wouldn't skip to the end and spoil the outcome. With every discovery Rachel makes it seems to add a dozen more questions to life of Ada and the lives of the Stowall family. Each discovery is met with either hostility or help from the other members of the Quilted Secrets, making the reader all the more interested into the why's of the story.
I am not a quilter so I thought I may get bored or lost whenever that entered into the story, instead I found the opposite happened. The author does a fantastic job of informing the reader and at the same time keeping them entertained. It's not a ton of quilting jargon thrown at the laymen, just enough to entice, enlighten and enhance the mystery. Quilting was a big part of Ada's life and her last legacy before dying; it's an essential element to the story. The lives of the women, the Stowall family, the tragedies of the past and present, are all tied together in this wonderfully written tale. I really loved it.
I still have a few more questions after closing this book, but hope the next book will come with some answers for me. The characters in this story leave an impression and I look forward to unraveling the next mystery with them.
Cherise Everhard, February 2010
5.0 out of 5 stars Curiosity has its own reason for existing -- Albert Einstein, April 2, 2010
By J Baldwin - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)
Whether or not you are a quilter, you will find lots to like about this debut novel by Barbara Sullivan. She uses her own love of quilting -- and she is a master at that art -- as a vehicle to draw you into the mystery of Unraveling Ada. Barbara is a great crime writer and knows how to build suspense and enrich the story with good details. She has a wide range of interests and touches on many different topics which keep her readers turning the pages while wondering how the story ends. Barbara was inspired to write this book by materials left to her by her mother and intends to continue exploring Ada's story in future books. Keep tuned; Barbara Sullivan is sure to develop a devoted readership.
Just received another five star review at Amazon.com. Here are all three of the reviews so far.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mystery with a great female protagonist, December 14, 2009
By SMS (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)
Rachel Lyons is a welcome addition to the female detective genre. A retired librarian who is relatively new to the P.I. world, she splits her free time between quilting bees and target practice. The best part of reading this book is getting to know Rachel and her world - she's got a strong, distinct voice and she's a character that I think many mystery lovers will enjoy getting to know. No nonsense but funny, tough but vulnerable, she manages to remain completely relatable while leading the reader through a complex and exciting story. The supporting characters are varied and distinctive - each one of them seem to have their own unique stories to tell. And the quilting information is fascinating and detailed without being too overwhelming for those with no previous knowledge of the craft. Without giving too much away, the mystery itself is a fairly sophisticated exploration of family secrets and violence - it is much more than your average whodunit story. I hope this is the first of many Rachel Lyons novels.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars We Dance Round in a Ring and Suppose, While the Secret Sits in the Middle and Knows - Robert Frost, February 17, 2010
By Cherise Everhard (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Unraveling Ada: a Quilted Mystery novel (Paperback)
Retired Librarian, Rachel Lyons, has begun a new chapter in her life. With her retired Marine husband, Matt, they have started a Private Investigating business and recently relocated to California. When Rachel stumbles across a dead body it is assumed by most that he is just another victim of the recent forest fires that tore through the county. But Rachel isn't so sure.
Rachel is a hand quilter and has wanted to find a group of women to sew with. Because she hasn't made any real formal attempts at finding a quilting bee, and really hasn't expressed an interest publicly, she is a little concerned when she receives a phone call inviting her to join a quilting bee. After a little research on the internet about the bee that call themselves Quilted Secrets, Rachel decides to join the group. What she finds is a group of women, of various ages and interests, full of secrets and bonds that Rachel only gets a brief glimpse of before she is asked to look into the recent death of their quilting friend, Ada. She is handed Ada's last quilt and a genealogy of the Stowall family to begin her investigation.
Unraveling Ada is a complex and intriguing read that had me fighting myself so I wouldn't skip to the end and spoil the outcome. With every discovery Rachel makes it seems to add a dozen more questions to life of Ada and the lives of the Stowall family. Each discovery is met with either hostility or help from the other members of the Quilted Secrets, making the reader all the more interested into the why's of the story.
I am not a quilter so I thought I may get bored or lost whenever that entered into the story, instead I found the opposite happened. The author does a fantastic job of informing the reader and at the same time keeping them entertained. It's not a ton of quilting jargon thrown at the laymen, just enough to entice, enlighten and enhance the mystery. Quilting was a big part of Ada's life and her last legacy before dying; it's an essential element to the story. The lives of the women, the Stowall family, the tragedies of the past and present, are all tied together in this wonderfully written tale. I really loved it.
I still have a few more questions after closing this book, but hope the next book will come with some answers for me. The characters in this story leave an impression and I look forward to unraveling the next mystery with them.
Cherise Everhard, February 2010
5.0 out of 5 stars Curiosity has its own reason for existing -- Albert Einstein, April 2, 2010
By J Baldwin - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Unraveling Ada (Kindle Edition)
Whether or not you are a quilter, you will find lots to like about this debut novel by Barbara Sullivan. She uses her own love of quilting -- and she is a master at that art -- as a vehicle to draw you into the mystery of Unraveling Ada. Barbara is a great crime writer and knows how to build suspense and enrich the story with good details. She has a wide range of interests and touches on many different topics which keep her readers turning the pages while wondering how the story ends. Barbara was inspired to write this book by materials left to her by her mother and intends to continue exploring Ada's story in future books. Keep tuned; Barbara Sullivan is sure to develop a devoted readership.
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