Books: 27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them!

27 Fiction Writing Blunders
My Verdict: Own It

27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them! by James Scott Bell is a decent reminder for a leisurely afternoon.

When writing and revising a novel there are hundreds of details to consider and no timeline oriented checklist of when to make sure you haven't written a cliche (dialogue, characters, or plot). This book is a quick and easy read to remind you of the failings all writers can get trapped in when they get distracted.

Highlights of the book include:

Chapter 3: Marshmallow Dialogue
Chapter 5: Pure Evil Villains
Chapter 7: Low stakes
Chapter 10: Happy People In Happy Land
Chapter 11: Head Hopping
Chapter 14: No Push Through The Door
Chapter 19: Settling on First Ideas 

Most of the chapters deserve a thorough read, but these were especially well explained and often show up as problems in first drafts.

Six chapters specifically deal with the writers life and difficulties (after the titles I've written my log line for each in parentheses):

Chapter 1: Letting Fear Get A Foothold (I'm not good enough to be a writer)
Chapter 9: Neglected Brain (how to keep healthy and on track)
Chapter 15: Chip on the Shoulder (fine line between inflated ego and timid mouse)
Chapter 17: Letting Block Tackle You (three categories of writers block)
Chapter 18: Market Ignorance (write for an audience, but not for a market)
Chapter 25: Quitting (the only way to fail)

At the end of the book is a section on the high points of Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php).

Two pieces of great advice found in this book:

• "Act first, explain later" in order to cut out exposition. (first used halfway through chapter 2)
• "the key to keeping readers happy" is to "Bond reader to character, keep it there for a whole book, then pay off that connection at the end."(last lines to chapter 24).

Homework: identify in your novel why your reader bonds with your lead character and check to see if that scene needs to be revised for an "act first, explain later" scenario.


Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother

Lexicon: Critique Partner

Critique Partner: a fellow writer whom you trust to give constructive criticism of your novel and you return the favor for their work.

This could mean anything from meeting weekly for coffee and reading your latest chapter aloud, to sending your full novel to a friend half-way around the world for their comments. Some partners even brainstorm the plot, characters, setting, of a novel before they start writing chapters. This process enables you to get constructive criticism (they point out what’s good and what sucks) as well as encouragement to keep writing when you feel too busy to make it happen. This relationship only works between the right people and when both are interested in putting in the same amount of effort. It is most effective when your partner is in the same genre.

Instead of a relationship between two people it can be a small group (3-5), but the more members you include equals less time spent on each member.

What is their motivation?

Sure, your critique partner(s) want to help you, but they also want honest, polite, constructive criticism on their own manuscript. Each time you send more of your work and are nervous about what you will get back, remember that they feel the same way.

Make sure to nail down the details of your relationship before you start exchanging work. Details like: 

• have deadlines for turning in the manuscript and returning comments, 
• know what type of comments you want (like: don’t worry about grammar or dialogue, but make sure the setting fits), and 
• find ways to reward yourselves for reaching accomplishments (go out bowling when you both have five chapters completed).

Critique Partners are just one side to the editorial triangle (along with editors and beta readers). In the normal flow of events your critique partners will work with you as you write, a content and story editor will help you shape your narrative, then beta readers allow you to get a glimpse at how your audience will react. 

After that you’ll need a line editor, an agent, and a publisher, but try to focus on the important part first: write your novel.

Suggestion: Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a useful tool to remember in order to think outside the box. You can do it alone or with critique partners.

Pick any scene of your story that is slow paced, possibly cliché, and most likely the one readers will skim. Using your mind (or a piece of paper, or a whiteboard) remember how the scene goes without re-reading it. Try to question EVERYTHING that happens in the scene.

Things like:

• Motivation
• Setting (rooms and props)
• Dialogue
• Characters
• Plot
• Tension

Every time you pose an answer to the question think of at least three alternatives and don’t worry about it sounding silly or unlikely. At the end of your brainstorming session the right answer should be clear because you connect this dot of your story to the others without losing your reader.

For an example let’s open J.K. Rowling’s The Sorcerer’s Stone to Chapter 9 “The Midnight Duel” (p. 143 in my edition). Since this is the final draft of this chapter we have to deconstruct it to see what questions Rowling wanted to answer. In parenthesis are possible alternatives that could have come from brainstorming.

• How can we make Harry dread flying lessons? (a storm is coming, the girl he likes is in the same class, he has class with Malfoy, he hears the broom chooses the rider)
• How much does Harry hate Malfoy? (more than homework on weekends, more than Snape, more than being raised as a muggle, more than Dudley)
• How do the Gryffindor first years find out they will have flying lessons with the Slytherins? (Malfoy brags that he’ll show Harry a thing or two, McGonagall announces it at breakfast, Nearly Headless Nick wakes the boys in their bedroom and tells them to hurry or they’ll be late for their first lesson, they find a note pinned up in the Gryffindor common room)
• How will Harry convey his feelings about the news? (announces he won’t learn, throws his books on the ground, sarcastically states he wants to make a fool of himself in front of Malfoy, rips the paper off the wall)

It’s easy to see that Rowling connected the dots to the rest of the story by choosing to make Malfoy the villain in this chapter. Harry has already dealt with Malfoy before, but he is contemplating how he never thought he’d hate someone more than Dudley when he finds a note on the Gryffindor common room wall announcing flying lessons with the Slytherins. Sarcastically he states he wants to make a fool of himself on a broom in front of Malfoy. Tension, motivation, and good pacing because all of this is conveyed in the first two paragraphs of the chapter.

In brainstorming you don’t have to think in a straight line. Each question will make you question something else in the scene. Keep going with whatever question pops up and think it through until you’ve answered all possible questions.

This can be done with any aspect of your story, not just a scene.

• Try it with setting by imagining different characters walking through the set.
• If a character is the problem, imagine that character with each of the other characters in the book and feel out how they would react to different scenarios (helpful, rude, tired, rather split up the chore and do it alone).
• If a scene lacks motivation, break it down until each person has a clear desire to accomplish right now.

This differs from constructive day dreaming in one way: brainstorming is about figuring out if the choices you’ve made are the right ones - constructive day dreaming is about filling in the blank rooms and undefined details.

In short: By brainstorming you can find alternative thoughts that will help the pacing and tension throughout your story. When you consider these alternatives you’ll find inspiration.

Lexicon: Beta Reader

Beta Reader: readers who read your manuscript for fun (not profit) and give you a summary critique of your novel before it is published. What that summary is composed of completely depends on the relationship you set up with your beta reader.

This summary could be anywhere between one paragraph and five pages but does not generally include line editing. Beta readers can be friends or strangers. Just google beta readers and you’ll come up with a dozen different ways to connect with beta readers online.

What is their motivation?

Who wouldn’t want to read a novel for free?

You can have as many beta readers as you have time for, but make sure you have at least 3-5 of them so you can get varied opinions (and if you like the opinions of one of them make sure to keep in touch for your next book). If possible, at least one reader should already be very familiar with the genre you are writing in and pick one reader who has studied the writing craft.

Beta readers are just one side to the editorial triangle (along with editors and critique partners). In the normal flow of events your critique partners will work with you as you write, a content and story editor will help you shape your narrative, then beta readers allow you to get a glimpse at how your audience will react. 

After that you’ll need a line editor, an agent, and a publisher, but try to focus on the important part first: write your novel.