Guest Post: Successful Editing Summed Up in a Single Principle

Successful Editing Summed Up in a Single Principle— Err on the Side of Outrageous Posted: 01 Dec 2016 07:00 AM PST by Edie Melson Writers tend to fall into two distinct groups, those who prefer to write and those who prefer to rewrite—also known as editing. I fall into the latter group. I can’t help it. I just love the process of editing. It doesn’t really matter if I’m editing someone else, or my own manuscript. To me, it’s a fulfilling task of taking something good and making it into something great. But the path of getting from good to great can be a difficult one, unless you follow this single principle. I stumbled upon it early in my writing journey and it’s served me well, no matter what type of editing situation I’m in. So what is it that makes for successful editing?  Err on the side of outrageous I can see the puzzled looks from here. But bear with me as I explain. Saying things the way they’ve always been said is, at best, boring and at worst, a cliché. So when you’re going back over what’s been written, look for something new…something different…something OUTRAGEOUS! Places to Plug-in the Outrageous Verbs—first, get rid of the passive verbs that dot the landscape of a first draft. Search for was and were, and be and been. Now go for action. And don’t just stick with boring action, search for something that zings the senses of your readers. For instance, instead of this sentence: He moved across the busy street to reach his beloved’s side. Try something like this: He darted across the street, zigging and zagging toward the one who held his reason for living. Comparisons—we do want our comparisons to make sense to our readers, but within those parameters, be brave and dare to walk on the path of outrageous. For instance, instead of this sentence: Her heart pounded like a bass drum as she watched for her love dart through the traffic of the busy street. Try something like this: He darted across the street, and the staccato beat of her heart beat punctuated each of steps that brought him closer to her embrace. Senses—in fiction, as well as creative nonfiction, all scenes should include the five senses. Look for ways to include the senses that also capture the setting or the character’s emotions. Do you want to give us the essence of a hot summer’s evening in the south? Instead of the cool breeze that kisses cheeks and ruffles hair, what if it carried the smoky taste of the grill from the house next door. Perhaps it clogs your throat with the chemical taste of a mosquito truck that just finished its rounds. Perhaps the delicate lace under a brides fingers promised an enclosing mesh of steel, instead of the soft promise of two lives knitted together? These are the things to look for as you take a manuscript from good to great. Clichés—this is a way of saying something that has become so common place it’s almost invisible. The first few drafts of any manuscript often contain clichés because they’re a good way for the writer to capture the essence of what she wants to convey. Again, good, not great. But the editing phase is the time to tweak those ho-hum sayings and make them great. Sometimes it’s nothing more than turning them on their head. Your reader thinks you’re headed in one direction and at the last moment you dodge and it’s something original. For example, instead of this cliché: She was decked out head to toe. Try something like this: She was decked out toes to nose. The opportunities for outrageous are plentiful at this stage in the writing process. It’s the act of looking for opportunities to surprise and delight your readers that makes them appear. What about you? Have you been surprised by an author’s choice of phrase or word? Have you found a new way to say something common-place? Now isn’t the time to be shy. Share your thoughts in the comments section below. And don’t forget to join the conversation! Blessings, Edie Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book

My Journey to a Book Contract - Part 5 Show Don't Tell

by Elva Cobb Martin

Show/don't tell is a biggie for us writers to master, and I keep working at it, believe me. Randy Ingermanson has helped me a lot. Here is an excerpt from his blog archive at https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com

How to Show/Not tell 

by Randy Ingermanson

 1) Action: Anything your characters do, shown in real time. 

• Jake swung the bat into the kidnapper's head.

 2) Dialogue: Anything your characters say, shown in quote marks.

      "Take that, you scurvy dog!" Jake shouted.

3) Interior Monologue: Anything your chracters think, whether a verbatim record of the thought or a mere statement of it. Verbatim thoughts are often shown in italics, whereas indirect thoughts never are.

    And if you ever touch my daughter again, you're dead.

    What were these idiots thinking, to mess with the daughter of a Navy Seal?

4) Interior Emotion: Anything your characters feel. This is best done by showing direct physiological reactions which can be interpreted as emotions.

      Another rush of adrenaline boiled up in Jake's stomach.

5) Description: Anything your characters can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch.

     Two gunshots range in quick succession. The bare light bulb in the basement exploded in a curst of darkness. Cold air rushed over Jake like a river. He smelled gunpowder so strong he could taste it. The small red dot of a laser aiming device raced across the floor toward his feet.

What has helped you show/not tell? Please leave a comment and share this blog on your social media by clicking on the icons below.

Elva Cobb Martin

Write Small - Five Ways to Make a Reader Care - Guest post

 Hope you enjoy this guest post by Mia Botha today! --Elva Cobb Martin

Guest Post by Mia Botha:

I have found my new all-time, favorite writing advice:

'The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.' ~Richard Price

I love this quote. You may have come across it before, but I saw it on Pinterest last week and I have been staring at it since. Think of the best stories - you always remember the small details.

Often, when I teach, I listen to students talking of the great stories they want to write. They want to write about wars where hundreds of lives are lost, marriages that end in divorce, the loss of a child or a horrible parent. All big issues. All great topics.

But when do I, as the reader, start caring?

• I care when I meet the soldier, scared out of his wits, hiding in the trench, trying to light a soggy cigarette, wishing he could see his girlfriend just one more time. 
• I care when he throws away the cigarette and kisses her photo before climbing out of the trench to face the enemy.
• I care when I learn that the little girl who died liked drawing purple unicorns and that she drew a new one every day she spent in hospital. I cry when her mother takes them down. I cry because there are 42 pictures and I cry because there will never be 43.

How do I write small?

1.      Create a character: How do I get to the kid’s burnt socks? I create a mother or a soldier who walks down the road and comes across them. Think of Saving Private Ryan; Private Ryan was only one soldier, but because they singled him out, he made us aware that all soldiers have families, mothers, and fathers. They are not nameless, faceless, camo-wearing, gun toting soldiers anymore. They are all someone’s son.

2.      Give that character a concrete goal: If it is a war story, then yes, the character wants to survive. But try to give them a simpler goal in the midst of the survival. Maybe, to fulfil his mother’s dying wish or in the case of The Book Thief, all Liesel wanted was a book to read. Even though a war is raging, everyday life continues.   

3.      Write with the senses: Burnt socks? You can smell them right now, right? Gunshots? You can hear the bang, bang, bang. Purple unicorns? You can see them. You can see the round shapes left by the Prestik on the glass doors of the ICU as the mother pulls down her little girl’s pictures for the last time.

4.      Find your theme: War and Death of a loved one might be too generic. Consider them ideas and they are good places to start. Work hard to make your theme specific. The farther along you get in your story the more you will be able to identify the theme. This will help you pick out the details you want to highlight.

5.      Symbolism: Once you have made your way through a draft identify scenes where you can repeat symbols. Burnt socks? Maybe give me the moment when the little boy got them. They were blue and yellow and had Batman on them. Just like his big brothers.  

Write small about the big things. Make your reader care.

Happy writing.   

If you want to learn how to write a book send an email to  news@writerswrite.co.za for more information.

  by Mia Botha

Mia Botha facilitates for Writers Write. She is also a novelist, a ghost writer, and the winner of the Mills&Boon Voice of Africa Competition. When she isn’t writing, she is the mother of two children and the wife of a very lucky man. Follow Mia on Pinterest  and Facebook and  Tumblr  and  Twitter.