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Tag Archives: manuscript
Must-Follow Manuscript Rules
by Anica Mrose Rissi
- Revise, revise, revise! I don’t want to read your first draft, ever. (Tip: Your novel isn’t ready to send to me until you can describe it in one sentence.)
2. Start with conflict and tension to raise questions, arouse curiosity and (like musical dissonance) create the need for resolution.
3. Start with the story you’re telling, not with the backstory. Throw the reader directly into a conflict and let her get to know your characters through their actions. (Yes, this is another way of saying, “Show, don’t tell.”)
4. Give the reader something to wonder about and a sense of where the story is going—of what’s at stake.
5. Avoid explaining too much too soon. And, don’t be obvious. Trust your readers. Trust your characters. Trust your writing. If you find that chunks of your story need to include long explanations, go back in and write those chunks better, until the story explains itself.
6. Make sure your story has both a plot arc and an emotional arc. Cross internal conflict with external conflict. Give your characters moral dilemmas, and force them to deal with the consequences of their choices.
7. Read your dialogue out loud. When revising, ask yourself, “What is the point of this dialogue?” (Just as you should be asking, “What is the point of this sentence? What is the point of this scene?”)
8. Use adjectives, adverbs and dialogue tags only sparingly. (See “trust your readers,” above.)
9. Make sure your details matter.
Filed under editing, Uncategorized, writing
Writing a Murder Mystery
You’ve decided to try your hand at writing a murder mystery, so where do you begin? Here is a place to start:
Figure out the basics. Sit down and think about the basic component of your murder mystery. Think of different scenarios: murder on a train, murder by stabbing, murder at a house, or even serial killings. Whatever inspires you, write it down. You’ve got to answer all these questions:
- Who are the detectives?
- Why were they murdered?
- Who will be murdered? How was the person’s life? Does anyone else gets murdered too?
- What will they be murdered with?
- Does anyone discover about the murderer? Is information about the case released by the police, or is it kept a secret? How the victim’s friends and family reacted to the news?
- Who are the suspects? Did they have a relationship with the victim, the murderer or another suspect? What are their life stories?
- Lastly, who was the murderer? What was his or her sentence after trial? How was their relationship with other existing character like? Do not make the murderer too obvious.
Filed under Uncategorized, writing
Revision Tips for Writers
- Revise big stuff first, make small edits later. This doesn’t mean you should not correct obvious typos and grammar errors as you notice them. However, you shouldn’t be actively tinkering with word choice until after you’ve nailed down the structure of your piece.
- Put the manuscript down and walk away. Writers need at least a little distance from their manuscripts before jumping into revision.
- Scan the whole manuscript without reading. Scanning can make big problems more obvious than a writer might not notice when reading closely.
- Read carefully. Take your time and read every word. Then, read it out loud. This will help you catch obvious errors and check for smoothness or the “flow.”
- Look for ways to be more concise with your language. Can you turn a 15-word sentence into an 8-word sentence? Can you turn an 8-sentence paragraph into a 5-sentence paragraph? Less almost always means more for the reader.
- Use active voice over passive voice. There may be occasions for using passive voice, but for the most part be active.
- Vary sentence structure. Even if it’s grammatically correct, using the same pattern over and over again will make your manuscript boring. Don’t feel like you have to be creative with every sentence; just check that you’re not falling into a monotonous pattern.
- Save each round of revisions as its own file. Saving these files provides a record of your changes and shows your development of the story.
- Have someone read the manuscript. The more eyes the better, because they’ll be more objective when reading. It is always best to ask someone other than a relative, who naturally will be biased.
- Print the manuscript for a final edit. There are things you’ll catch on paper that you won’t on the screen.
Filed under editing, publishing, Uncategorized, writing
Et al.
Origin of et al.
Latin et alii (masculine), et aliae (feminine), or et alia (neuter)
That is why et al. is used—simpler, right?
Filed under Uncategorized, writing
