>>> Item number 29673 from WRITERS LOG9405B --- (130 records) ---- <<< Date: Mon, 9 May 1994 18:35:01 JST Reply-To: WRITERS Sender: WRITERS From: Mike Barker Subject: TECH: Book Notes: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers Self-Editing for Fiction Writers Browne, Renni and King, Dave ISBN 0-06-270061-8 HarperCollins, NY 1993, $11.00 A short outline of points of the book I noted (but read the book - it's worth it!) 1. Show and Tell Prefer showing scenes to narrative summaries telling us about things. The scene is setting, character, dialogue, action. Every main event should be a scene! Balance - narrative summaries are a kind of rest, a good place for off-stage and minor action. Don't tell us about emotions - show them. Wherever possible, cut explanations. Then if it is needed, figure out a way to show it. Resist the urge to explain (R.U.E.) 2. Characterization and Exposition Don't stop the story to give us a summary of character - let these emerge from action, reaction, and dialogue. I.e., avoid thumbnail character sketches. Beware flashbacks, analysis, history - do you really need it? Watch for the dialogue or interior monologue that is only there to feed information to the reader - cut it! Give your readers the benefit of the doubt - let them interpret the character. Assume your reader is intelligent. Let the way the character looks at things or does things introduce us to the character. Rule of thumb: give your reader only as much background info, history, or characterization as they need at this point. Don't let your characterization and exposition show... 3. Point of View 1st, 3rd, omniscient - consider how intimate your reader and viewpoint should be. Then use the one that does the job. Establish POV fast. Whenever POV changes, check how fast you establish it. Make sure - are you using your characters' voices? 4. Dialogue Mechanics R.U.E. - make the dialogue show the emotion, don't tell us about it. Kill -ly adverbs. Prefer "said". Start a paragraph with dialogue, then attribute at the first natural break. Use beats (little actions). Dash for interruption; ellipsis (...) for trailing off. Make it natural. 5. See How It Sounds Use contractions, fragments, commas instead of periods, short words, and misdirection (let your characters misunderstand, answer the wrong question, talk at cross-purposes, hedge, lie, etc...) read it aloud. Try reading only one character all together, then another, etc. Are the "voices" distinct? Use word choice, cadence, grammar - not spelling. 6. Interior Monologue very powerful tool of text - make sure it's unobtrusive. trim unneeded - explanations and descriptions. change "He wondered ..." to "Why did he ...?" 7. Easy Beats Beats are the "little actions" between dialogue lines - stage business. good - show action, vary rhythm of dialogue. bad - overused (as I tend to do) they are distracting. balance - trust your reader. use fresh beats that characterize and help rhythm. Be especially careful of repeating the same strong characterizing beat again and again. 8. Breaking Up Is Easy To Do Prefer short paragraphs, but balance long and short. Watch long scenes - break them up! Watch for speeches - bust them into pieces. 9. Once Is Usually Enough avoid repetition. don't repeat. and, of course, saying something twice may not be a good idea, even if the words are different. note that repetition can be words, effects, information, characterization, characters, whole scenes... 1 + 1 = 1/2! Repeated effects lose effect, instead of increasing it. 10. Proportion Watch for excess descriptive detail, pet interests out of hand. Be careful when cutting - you may destroy proportion and balance. Time (words spent) on character, scene, plot element, etc. roughly indicates importance to the reader - don't disappoint them! Try marking the interesting parts, then consider the leftovers - are they needed? Do they add? Should they be shorter? Longer? Cut or rework... Use jump/cut - don't walk someone along every step, just jump the scenes. Avoid overblown details, overdone flashbacks, and excess tangents. But - the little subplots or descriptions not strictly advancing plot - are they all effective? if you don't have any, do you need some? 11. Sophistication avoid "pulling on her coat, she xxxx." and "As she cried, she xxxx." both bury an action in dependent clause. avoid cliches and cliched characters. at least, try warping it for effect. e.g. They vanished into thick air. every time you find a verb-adverb, try to find the right verb instead. comma string sentences, reproducing the urgency of action, pushing the reader ahead. Watch "quotes" ,_italics_, and exclamation points!!! avoid overly poetic figures of speech in the midst of action. sex and profanity have tended to flourish - try light use. 12. Voice relax - if it comes, it comes on its own. a mechanical aid - read your work, and note each line that "sings" to you. then read just those lines - that's your voice at present! now read it all again - and note the winces, the tinny lines. read just those, and consider applying: flat? is it buried in lines of the same structure? abstract or vague? rewrite it for specific obvious? see if you aren't explaining - and cut it! forced or other problem - read it aloud and fix it.