Embracing Ugly Drafts

Has this ever happened to you?

You have an idea for a story, a book, an article, a blog post, and in your head it sounds perfect. All your ideas come to you with lightning speed. You’ve really hit on something!

Not wanting to let the idea get cold, you rush to your computer, open up a Word document and start to tap out the brilliant sentences that have been filling your brain. You write and write, only to discover that what came out on the page is awful — truly horrible — something a third grader would be ashamed of.

You ask yourself, what happened to those beautifully formed ideas and sentences and cogent, sharp arguments? Why is the writing so bad? You are sufficiently discouraged to give up writing altogether and leave writing to “the experts.” Who are you anyhow to write?

So what happened between the brilliant idea in your head and the clunky prose laying like road kill on your page? Two words: FIRST DRAFT.

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April 4, 2011 at 1:47 pm | Fiction Advice, The Writing Life, Writing Advice | No comment

The 5 Rules of Writing Effective Flashbacks

In my work critiquing manuscripts, one of the biggest mistakes I see first-time authors make is in the use of flashbacks. Either they’re misplaced, go on too long, or they serve more as a diversion than as a device to advance the storytelling. But used wisely, flashbacks can add richness, emotional resonance, and depth to your novel. Here’s how: (more…)

January 21, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Fiction Advice | No comment

Don’t Get Caught Making These POV Violations

We’ve all been there. You’re driving along in your car while listening to music and mentally going over your grocery list on your way to the supermarket. Next thing you know, a siren overpowers the sound of the radio and you find yourself being pulled over. You were speeding, and you weren’t even aware of it. It’s as easy for a writer to make a critical POV mistake as it is for a driver to drift over the speed limit, and these POV errors can compel an editor or agent to reject what may be an otherwise beautifully crafted story. Here is a list of the Top 10 POV-related mistakes to avoid: (more…)

June 21, 2010 at 2:15 pm | Fiction Advice | No comment