This top post of 2016 was first published on June 9th. Image from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen/Illustrator: Charles E. Brock (Macmillan & Co, 1895) I picked the wrong protagonist. It took 20 versions and 100 pages of my historical novel-in-progress for me to admit fellow work-shoppers were right. I value feedback from writers I respect, but I do take care to avoid group-think. In this case, colleagues simply called to my attention what my manuscript was already screaming: “You have to rewrite me from a different point of view!” The problem was that I had chosen to write a story revolving around a girl who was only three years old at the start of the tale. I thought she would turn thirteen within a couple of chapters. She didn’t. I had one other point-of-view character to play with, but he was already playing the role of antagonist. Many great adult novels have child protagonists— To Kill A Mockingbird , A Tree Grows in Brooklyn , and The Secret Life of Bees to ...

Available on Kindle from 1 st May 2014 Following the input of my editors , I went back over my book with the fine-tooth comb of their comments. I found that I’d begun with a fairly simple premise, but had complicated it in the main by not allowing my protagonist to know what was going on. I’d made her work far too hard, and I’d let her get it very, very wrong. Thus her convoluted discoveries of even the simplest information took dozens of pages, sent her on multiple wild-goose-chases, and bred walk-on characters. My first step was to let Maddie in on the family secrets that she’d originally spent most of the book uncovering. There were already a lot of puzzles and mysteries to solve relating to her current predicament; stating some of the backstory mysteries upfront would not spoil much of the rest of the story. Secondly I decided to bring some of the final revelations right in to the beginning, by promoting a relatively minor character to co-protagonist and giving her alternati...

If you lose your momentum on a book project, is it possible to get it back? Most times, I would say yes. Let’s say you’re writing along and things are going great. Then you hit a block. You don’t know where to go from there. You’re stuck. Here are some ideas. Run through the plot so far. If you’ve been keeping a Book Bible, refer to that. What has been the sequence? As you do that, envision the characters. (Get up and walk around, if that helps.) Now envision what your character would do next. Or perhaps envision what would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to your character at this point. Then either sit down and write it or make notes on the different scenarios you come up with. Or if this kind of walking, talking and visualizing is not your thing, then get out paper or sit at your computer and type ideas. Doesn’t matter how wild or crazy, you’re not judging them at this time. Right now, you just type ideas as they come into your head. You can go back and filter them la...

Dear Editors- “I think one of the hardest things to do is self-editing. Invariably, no matter how hard you try, there is always something you overlook or miss. What is your advice on how to get the most out of self-editing? What are the most important things a writer should look for when they edit?” Christine Verstraete, author, Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery *** This is the third post in a four-part series. To read the previous posts, either scroll down (they are posted in succession below) or click on Second and First . Today’s Lesson: 1. Get rid of weak, qualifying words and phrases. You’ve already searched and destroyed those dreaded words ending in “ly,” but other words can weaken your prose. They don’t appear as adverbs or adjectives, but they function the same. Seek out and eliminate these words: Almost, less, seldom, even, always, maybe, soon, more, perhaps, then, very, far, never, today, well, sometimes, just, perhaps Next, search for and rewrite or eli...

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Shitty First Drafts . Today I continue this series, which will include one or two more posts. The information I shared last time and will share for the rest of the series is taken from a workshop that I give at writers' conferences focusing on editing. The second draft of a novel is when a writer should look at plot, structure, characters, and story elements. Is the book saying what you want it to say? Have you surprised the reader, or is the plot predictable? Is the ending a satisfactory conclusion to the story, or is it contrived? Have you taken the reader up to mountain peaks and down to valleys, or is the writing flat? The essence of story is drama, and drama naturally flows out of action and reaction. Is that happening in your story? Is your cast of characters appropriate? Are they interesting? Do they all add something to the story? Are they balanced throughout, or have you given secondary characters too much time? Some writers, like Eileen...