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How New
Writers Can Jump That First Hurdle It wasn't until I began working with an editor who handled one of Bantam's YA series that I figured out why I kept getting rejection letter after rejection letter. After nine long months, the editor read my sample chapters for the series and sent them back covered from top to bottom with pencil marks. I was initially horrified but forced myself to read the seemingly endless comments. That was the turning point. I was an okay writer, according to her, but I was making typical novice mistakes. She showed me each and every one. The editor did offer me a contract after I made the changes, but she is a rarity. Most editors today will not take the time to enlighten new writers (no matter how gifted). There are certain elementary nuts and bolts of commercial fiction. Let's assume you know about grammar, spelling and the proper submission format. For the moment, let's forget the loftier goals of literary excellence and captivating creativity. Let's get you past that first (huge) hump of the mountainous slush pile. Zoom in on the first chapter. That's where it all begins...or ends in most cases. If the editor is not engaged immediately, you've lost the battle. Read your first three paragraphs. Is anything happening? Is there enough there to intrigue and compel a reader to continue? Be honest with yourself. If you can't, get your favorite book(s) and read the opening paragraphs. Now compare; why do theirs grab you and yours seem so clumsy and dull? Break it down sentence by sentence. Many writers try to pack as much background information into the first chapter as possible. Instead, jump into the middle of the action. Weave the background information in as the story unfolds. We don't need to know everything right up front. Many of us also fall prey to the "English garden" syndrome. I call it this, because I once read a novel where the author took an entire four pages to describe the protagonist's English garden. It wasn't crucial to the plot or the character's development. It was beautifully worded, but dense, tedious and long. Weed out long, descriptive passages, unless they move the story forward. If you're writing a romance, for instance, do we really need seven pages describing the heroine's office or house or wardrobe? Which leads me to the practice of telegraphing every... single... move. It's easy to do, because you want your reader to know what's going on. But we don't need a step-by-step commentary of how she opened the door, and then shut it behind her, and then walked down the hall, and then went down the steps.... You get the picture. It drags, and it bores the reader. Simply say, "She left her apartment," or move on to the important action, "Minutes later, she was driving down the expressway." My next point is focus. Consider a red thread that is woven through a cloth; you pull on the thread and it tightens the entire fabric. The red thread is the focus of your book, whether you're talking mystery, horror or romance or whatever. It's too darned easy to digress; suddenly, you're spending way too much time with minor characters, or you've suddenly meandered into another plot. Don't allow it! Grab that red thread and hold on. If you keep your story centered and strong, you'll circumvent writer pitfalls: a soggy middle, a rambling, disjointed plot and writer's block. Point of view is another problem for writers. I'd recommend not introducing too many POVs, because this is tricky. You have to delineate character shift smoothly and clearly, which becomes a handful when you have multiple characters. POVs should be shifted between chapters or paragraphs or at least between scenes. Two or more POVs per scene can be confusing and jarring. Another pitfall is repeating oneself ad nauseam. Or, you keep saying the same thing in different ways. You hammer a point to death...or you.... Get it? Say it once if possible. Illustrate if necessary, but keep it brief. All of these rules may seem mundane and pedestrian. But, surprisingly, once you learn some structural basics, the rest seems to follow more easily. My last suggestion relates to marketing. Publishers rarely buy long manuscripts from newcomers. Anything over one-hundred thousand words, and you're veering toward trouble. Yes, bestsellers are often six-hundred pages long, but they're written by established authors or the rare new literary star. Besides, if your book sells well, you can always write a sequel. Copyright © Robynn Clairday This article first appeared in Heliocentric Network. Reprinted with permission. Robynn Clairday is the author of many books, the latest
of which is Among Robynn's other
books are "Scent of a Woman" (Anxiety Publications) She recently signed a contract with Art Linkletter's
production company for a reality TV show. She is a columnist for PIF
Magazine and poetry editor at Moondance.org.
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