I have gotten some wonderful comments on my series of articles aimed at helping the writer at any level in their career. I thank you, one and all.
To continue, again, in the revision process, this time I am offering some helpful tips on looking at your plot. Now that you have completed the first draft (or even the second or third), it is still wise to review plot elements at least one more time before submitting your work somewhere.
Often we writers think we have gotten our point, our characters, our conflicts, etc. written well enough that a reader can follow along and enjoy the story. But have you really made all of that clear?
My suggestion is that if you do not think you can be a good judge of looking back at your story and the elements, find a reliable person to read it and give them this list of review items. See what that person comes up with.
As always, I have added the article on EDITING: Plot to the Writing Tips on this blog and to the Writing Tools on my website.
I am sorry about not posting anything new lately, but I have been away on vacation…risking life and limb bicyling downhill in Virginia and doing some kayaking. Anyway, I am more or less back now.
To continue the revision process, I wanted to bring up some things to consider when looking at the characters in your fictional work. I have an article which runs through a quick checklist of what to look for in thinking about your characters. The key thing is to make sure they (including the villain) appear believable.
As always, I have added the article on EDITING: Characters to the Writing Tips on this blog and to the Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Editing, process, review, Writing Tips
Continuing along in the editing process in your writing, I thought we should do a quick review of the proper usage of nouns and pronouns.
My biggest problem is remembering how to punctuate possessive nouns correctly. Do you add ’s or just an apostrophe? For example: Is it boy’s? Or is it boys’? Actually the first (boy’s) is singular possessive. The second (boys’) is plural possessive. There are other tricky things to remember, like when do you capitalize proper nouns?
To learn more about these writing elements, I have added my artilce, EDITING: Nouns and Pronouns, to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, Editing, process, Punctuation, Writing Tips
I am finally beginning my discussions on various Editing elements in your writing. Some of the punctuation elements I have the most trouble with are when and how to use dashes (em- or en-dashes) and ellipsis points. I am forever and again breaking up pieces of dialogue or narrative with dashes or using ellipsis points to show faltering speech. But it is important to do these things correctly.
Do you know the difference between an “em dash” and an “en dash”? Do you understand whether to use an “em dash” or “ellipsis points”?
What about the many different usages of numbers and numerals? Do you know when to spell out a number or when to use the numeral?
To learn more about these writing elements, I have added my article, EDITING: Dashes, Ellipsis Points, Numbers, to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, Editing, process, Punctuation, review, Writing Tips
The story you’ve been working on is almost finished at this point. But are you sure you understand what a Story Climax is supposed to be? Do you understand what a Story Resolution means?
This part of the story can be approimately 25% of the work, so it is very important. At this point, the reader is getting ready to experience the peak of the story’s suspense, drama, rising action and tension. The reader is waiting for everything to come together involving the characters. This is an emotional high point for the characters as well as the reader. Do not let any of them down!
To learn more about story climax and resolution, I have added my article, Climax and Story Resolution, to the Writing Tips on this blog and to my Writing Tools on my website.
Tags: Definitions, process, Writing Tips
