Self Editing: The Last Check List Before You Submit

The last draft before your submission to an editor or agent is that razor’s edge between “so excited I could puke” and “so freaked out I could puke”. Basically – it is accompanied by a whole lot of nausea. You want your very best work to be read, the finest example of your capabilities to catch their attention and hopefully get your entire manuscript read.

So what can you do to cover all your bases?

Put the manuscript away for at least five days before going through this final checklist. It’ll give you time to forget the little details – because you need as clean a slate as possible. Look at it with fresh eyes.

Give yourself time and be honest! Better to find the holes and gaps instead of having an editor point them out.

Nothing is perfect – there’s no such thing. But give your story it’s best possible chance by presenting the best possible manuscript.

Ask yourself:

•    Is the dialogue natural? (Read it aloud.) People don’t talk in paragraphs, they don’t use a person’s name repeatedly and they don’t use perfect grammar in conversation.
•    Are the facts straight? Double check things like time zones! Don’t pull the reader out of the story with something you could have confirmed with a two second Google search.
•    Does it open with a character waking up, flashing back or dreaming? Are they looking in a mirror and describing themselves? These are warning signs of a new writer. Don’t do it!
•    Info dumps are the quickest way to turn off an editor. Parse out information about your characters and plot as naturally as possible, through dialogue and through actions. Ask yourself – what is the most pertinent information a reader needs to know about these people and this situation in the first three chapters? Then only give that information – because unless it’s integral to this opening, I don’t need to know the hero’s relationship to his first grade teacher or the heroine’s eating habits.
•    True angst and conflict should evolve from the characterization. Don’t throw things into the mix just to up the drama. Contrivances will sabotage your story. Beginning a story with some drama or intrigue is a good way to hook readers into continuing – but a cheap trick (a false alarm, a situation that isn’t as dire as it seems) doesn’t build much trust with the reader! Give them an honest reason to continue.
•    Are your characters too perfect? Too angsty? Extreme characters don’t endear themselves to editors. Make sure you haven’t loaded your characters with too much perfection or too much drama on the front end.
•    Ask yourself this – is it more important to know the hero’s eye color or how he handles himself in an emotional situation? You are trying to build a connection between character(s) and reader – think about what details will help that along.
•    Why today? Why is the story starting in this place? What makes this day different and how are things going to change direction?  If you can’t answer that question, you might not be starting in the right place.

The last question is this – how does this chapter make YOU feel? There’s a quote that sits on my desktop as a reminder to myself about what is truly important.

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Robert Frost

If you don’t feel something, you can’t expect your readers to!

Tere Michaels is the author of eight novels, including the popular Faith, Love and Devotion series and her latest book, Heir Apparent (all titles available at http://www.loose-id.com). She frequently teaches writing workshops at various conferences around the United States. For contact information, check out www.teremichaels.com.

Thanks to Jennifer Crusie and Who Sundays on her Argh Ink blog, I’ve started watching Doctor Who (the new series with the ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctors). I watched the first episode, “Rose” and thought, “This is pretty good. The killing mannequins are a little hokey, but I like the characters and the show.” So then I watched the next episode and then the next, and in two weeks I’ve watched 4 seasons plus all the specials.

Someone could have warned me that Doctor Who was TV crack!

I can’t get enough. I love this show. The characters are fun, the writing is brilliant, and the situations always go from bad to worse. As I watch and wonder what clever way the doctor will get everyone out of this mess…bam!…the situation goes from worse to absolute disaster.

What? There’s no way they can get out of this! Someone’s going to die. Will it be a companion? Will it be the Doctor?

Talk about action packed fiction! Wow.

My family thinks I’m crazy watching this show…(well, perhaps it’s not the show so much as my obsessive viewing). What they don’t realize is that I’m not merely watching, I’m working. Doctor Who has actually improved my writing.

Last week, I’d been contemplating a black moment, the part of the story where all seems lost. It wasn’t working. It didn’t have the impact it should…probably because the moment was more gray than black. Watching the depth of trouble the Doctor and his gang get into, and the clever ways they get out of them helped me push further and think up a darker, better, more meaningful black moment. It worked. I’m very excited about what I came up with.

So the next time the family interrupts me with a “You’re watching this again?” I can reply, “Shh. I’m working.”

Are you a Doctor Who fan? Who is your favorite Doctor? If you’re a writer, what TV shows or movies helped improve your writing? Please leave a comment, but no spoilers. Today I’ll be watching David Tennant’s last episode, The End of Time, Part Two.

~ K.M Fawcett

Today, I want to talk more about character arc.

A character needs to grow and change. He starts with one viewpoint at the beginning, but the events in the story serve to change that character’s viewpoint by the end. Michael Hauge says, “The character arc is the transformation from living in fear to living courageously. A character will arc when he moves from his identity to his essence.”

Identity = emotional armor (facade) worn to protect himself from some wound.

Essence = who the character is when the emotional armor is stripped. True self.

At the beginning of the story, a character will have an emotional need that he may or may not be aware of. The emotional need will probably manifest itself as a physical goal (the outer goal). But the physical goal is primarily a symbol representing the emotional need (the true inner goal).

For example, the hero’s outer goal might be to win the big promotion at work. But what does the hero truly desire? What is his emotional need? Perhaps the promotion will give him the approval he’s been seeking. Or perhaps a sense of accomplishment.

Why does this character have this emotional need?

An emotional need grows from an emotional wound. This wound creates the character’s beliefs. The character will make choices and decisions in his life based on these beliefs.

If our example character desires approval, it could be because his girlfriend’s parents dislike/disapprove of him. Or perhaps he desires a sense of accomplishment because he has failed too many times in the past.

The character’s wound will create a fear. In order to never experience that fear again, the character creates an emotional armor, his facade (his identity). If our example character fears disapproval, he may become a doormat, letting people walk all over him or take advantage of him at work. If he fears failure, he may cheat or lie in order to get the promotion

Though the outer motivation is the same–winning the promotion–each unique wound and fear gives rise to different inner motivations resulting in different story conflicts.

The essence is who the person really is or really wants to be. By the end of the story the character discovers their true essence. In a romance (which I write), the hero will chose to live in his or her essence, giving the reader their happy ending.

To sum it all up…

From a character’s wound grows a fear, which gives way to his identity (emotional armor). The only way he can obtain his emotional need is to step out of his identity and into his essence (true self).

“The character arc is the transformation from living in fear to living courageously.” – Michael Hauge

For more information, check out Michael Hauge’s website.

~KM Fawcett

Then I started to attend conferences and saying I was overwhelmed, well that’s putting it mildly. A few years passed, and I found workshops no longer exhausted and overwhelmed me. Instead, I actually began taking away information that I could apply to my own writing projects. I thought, hey, my book is good, but it can be so much better, so I used what I learned. I entered contests and received some great feedback. I pitched to editors and although they rejected my projects, I often received nice, detailed letters encouraging me to revise and resubmit.

On some of the revision letters I was told to take my writing to the next level—the story flows, now add some personality and give the book flavor. Now, some writer’s sell their very first book, or even their second. Some go on to win awards and become NYTimes bestsellers right off the bat. I’m not one of those writers. Everything I’ve ever wanted I’ve had to work hard for. Ahhh, but that’s another blog for another day : )

Anyway,  I wondered about what the editors had said, what it meant to take my writing to the next level, so I talked to as many published writers as I could and they all told me the same thing. Relax and trust in your skills, it will happen. But I was still frustrated. It doesn’t help that I’m the kind of person who hates to wait. What did they mean, relax? I kept thinking, when will it happen? Where is this voice I’m supposed to have and why is it so hard to find?  Not until I pushed the thought from my mind–when I said enough of this frustration and trying to find something I don’t know how to find, did I truly relax. And what do you know…

I had my ‘aha’ moment a few weeks later when I was reading a chapter I’d written out loud to myself. I liked what I was hearing and somehow it seemed different than my other books. My dialogue was more conversational–my characters witty and real. I caught myself laughing at these people I’d written–what they were doing, and why.

I added my personality, made my characters endearing, quirky and appealing, and it was then, not until I was well into my fourth book, that my writing voice took form. I found that by giving my characters the opportunity to become real people reader’s want to relate to, my writing voice flowed freely.

It’s funny, I’ve heard that when you read your book, the emotions you feel are the emotions the reader will feel, but somehow I didn’t get it until it happened to me. Right there in the quiet of my own little office on a day I will never forget, I found the voice that had probably been there all alone. I just didn’t know how to coax it to come on out and play : )

Best,

Cathy Tully

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

This by far the most common question I’m asked by readers and other writers.  I’m going to share my little secret. Some of my plot ideas come from news headlines. Here’s my trick:  I don’t click through to the article. Instead, I let my imagination fill in all the details.

Obviously, not all headlines are created equal. Take the following:

First of all, we skim right through celebrity news.

• “Surprise Proposals Shock Bachelorette”
• “Octomom Dons Tacky Wedding Gown”
• “Jennifer Hudson’s White-Hot Ensemble”

 Sorry, even I can’t do anything with these. Moving on to politics:

• Senate Narrowly Passes First Budget in Four Years
• Health Insurers Warn that Premiums could Spike

 Yawn. I got nothing.

 Next up:

• “Crude Joke Costs Two People their Jobs”
• “Fighter Apparently Tried to Fake Own Death”
• “Shootout in Texas may be Linked to Colo. Deaths”
• “Manhunt Begins in Coney Island Shootings”
• “Congolese Warlord Arrives at War Crimes Court Jail”

Jackpot! This is what I’m talking about. Reading any one of these headlines gets my imagination rolling. My brain is already making connections and naming characters.

In fact, there are many occasions when I have a plot hole and I need an event and I go perusing headlines to find just the right one.  Using headlines and actual events to spur my fiction gives my story lines realism. The only caveat: sometimes real events are truly stranger than fiction and critics will call your “real” event “unbelievable.”

I’m now wondering how I’m ever going to finish it, let alone make it a good story. My plot seems thin. The characters are irritating the snot out of me. I start to think about killing them all off so I can be done with this horrible mess I’ve created.

But at this point, it’s too late to start over. I’m locked into a case of literary claustrophobia. I’m not going to finish. I’ll miss my deadline. My career is over.

I suck.

Yes, this is the Crap Point.  Everything on my pages feels like total crap. Enter my writing friends to remind me that I felt this was about every other book at almost the exact same point (around 30,000 words).  They give me all kinds of sweet advice, like go to the gym, have a shower, take a day off and clear your head.

But what I really need to do is suck it up, stop whining, and get writing.  Because writing is the only thing that’s going to get me out of this mess.  Even if the first draft does suck as badly as I fear, the book will be revised numerous times.  I must trust in my ability, my love of the craft, and my team of agent and editors who will point out any of the sucky parts that make it through my initial editing process.

So that is what I am doing today.  I am sucking it up and applying butt to chair. I am keeping the faith.

Elisabeth Staab started hunting zombies back in 1842… Oops, wrong bio… Elisabeth Staab still lives with her nose in a book and at least one foot in an imaginary world. She believes that all kinds of safe and sane love should be celebrated but she adores the fantasy-filled realm of paranormal romance the best. She lives in Northern Virginia with her family and one big scaredy cat, where she loves to spend time with good friends, good music, good beverages, and good books (when she isn’t making characters fall in love, that is).

Take it away Elisabeth…

So… I wanna thank Rayna for inviting me to guest today. Of all the questions and trivia topics I’ve been asked, she managed to hone in on a slightly more obscure tidbit. Why did I call my series the Chronicles of Yavn?

Okay, well… Hi, my name is Elisabeth, and I write vampire romance.

I get asked “Why vampires?” an awful lot. The genre, pardon the expression, is done to death. Right? And when I started writing my debut novel, King of Darkness, the fanged-heroes mushroom cloud had already exploded. Twilight was on the big screen. Cat and Bones were all the rage and True Blood was in the works. J.R. Ward had just let us know that someday Blay and Qhuinn would someday get their happy ever after. A billion other fantastic series that had preceded mine were still going strong. The agents I pitched to told me mine wouldn’t sell unless I changed the species.

Well, phooey.

But I loved vampires. To my core. Vampires brought me back to loving romance after a violent attack in a public library while checking out a stack of Harlequins had me thinking I’d never touch another romance novel for as long as I lived.

I could give you a bazillion other reasons (hush you, “bazillion” is too a real number): the fangs, the hot alpha males and that forbidden interspecies vampire-human love that dare not speak its name, their awesome preternatural strength and the fact that they bond not just emotionally but on a physical level by blood. Some say gross, I say neat-o. After all, it creates a fantastic element of complication for us writers.

I wrote my first novel, King of Darkness, because I kept trying to scratch that certain itch for more. As a reader, I knew I couldn’t be the only one with that itch. One night while rocking my newborn, I had a not-so-lucid dream about a guy standing in a smoky warehouse party, looking for someone he needed to find like he needed to breathe. I had to know his story, and I had to write it down. So, I just did and the Chronicles of Yavn were born.

So about the series name, Chronicles of Yavn? In my vampires’ world, Yavn is an old family name. The king in King of Darkness is Thaddeus Yavn Morgan, Thad for short. Yavn also happens to be an acronym for Yet Another Vampire Novel.

Because… Yeah. Nobody had to tell me the market was flooded when I started this journey. The Yavn name was my way of poking fun, acknowledging that it could be an uphill climb remembering not to take anything too seriously. It’s also sort of my guiding compass: Vampires will probably always be my favorite paranormal creature. I’m not out to carbon copy what’s out there, nor am I out to make vampires into something brand new. I tried to choose a few classic commonalities and give them some new twists that would make my world a familiar but fresh story: a new voice, a new a made-up town outside Washington DC, superpowers in a modern setting , some old-school tropes made new, and my own brand of dark humor. I like to think it worked out okay.

I think that’s kind of the key with vampires. Or weres, or fairies, or firefighters, or any other “creature” that’s been “done.” At the end of the day writing is a business, but it helps when you have passion. And if you love a thing, then love it enough to find the special world within a world that allows you to make it your own. And for God’s sake, have fun.

About the Chronicles of Yavn:

King of Darkness (Chronicles of Yavn #1):

ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA…
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human–although, drifting among the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons’ blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the king of vampires this party girl’s life turns dark and dangerous.

BUT TIME’S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF VAMPIRES…
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate has gotten it seriously wrong…

Amazon | B&N | BAM | Indiebound | Discover a New Love e-Book Club

About Prince of Power (Chronicles of Yavn #2):

This Fight Is Personal…

Wizards and vampires have been mortal enemies since the beginning. Now Anton, son of the Wizard Master, has one last chance to steal the unique powers of the vampire king’s beautiful sister, Tyra…and then kill her. But when he meets Tyra face-to-face, everything changes…

Tyra will stop at nothing to defeat the wizards, until Anton saves her life and she suddenly sees an opportunity she never could have imagined…

As the sparks ignite between them, together they could bring an end to the war that’s decimating their people, but only if they can find a way to trust each other…

Amazon | B&N | Target | Walmart | Indiebound | Discover a New Love e-Book Club

About Hunter by Night (Chronicles of Yavn #3):

A supernatural war is about to ignite a scorching hot romance.

Lee protects his vampire race, and hates humans as much as the wizard enemies he kills. Just as he’s assessing new recruits to join the vampire king’s army, all hell breaks loose. The estate’s security system fails, wizards are heading their way, and human-hating Lee is stuck protecting Alexia, the queen’s human best friend. But as dangerous obstacles force Alexia and Lee closer, an undeniable attraction is revealed, and the two must find a way to compromise.

Amazon Pre-order | B&N Coming soon | Add to Goodreads TBR

Who knew : ) She went on to say that it was the kind of construction she looked for but rarely received, so I thought I’d share the steps I take to write a synopsis with you.

When I began writing I was a pantser who  believed that plotting  inhibited my creative process. That’s probably why it took me a year and a half to write my first book, which I never sold.

As time passed, I began to realize that if I wanted to write more books faster, I needed to plan more and if I planned more, writing the synopsis at the end of a project might just be easier.  I’ve played with a few variations of my process over the years but here’s what I’ve found works best for me:

1- Before I start to write a book, I write a character analysis for my hero and heroine because the more I know about who they are, where they’ve been, and what they want, the easier it is to move onto the next step–

2-  I write down my hero/heroine’s goals/motivations & conflicts. Keep in mind, it’s very effective if your hero/heroine’s goals oppose each other (ex: he wants a stay at home wife and she wants a career).

3-Once I’ve established their goals/motivations & conflicts, I write a  chapter by chapter outline. Sometimes this is a bare bones outline, sometimes it’s in depth.  Now I can begin to write the book.

Once the book is finished, I pull out the chapter by chapter outline I did months ago. I pinpoint the most important plot points in the finished book, (only those events and motivations that moved the story forward in a major way), and incorporate them into the outline. Don’t forget to reveal the character’s emotions and motivations. (Leave out secondary characters, you’re only using bare bones here.)

Once I’ve tweaked the outline, I begin to write the synopsis (in present tense) by picking up all the important elements from the outline. I introduce the hero/heroine each in their own paragraph. As they’re introduced, I identify their goals, motivation and conflict in as few words as possible, 1-3 pages maximum.

Wow, talk about pressure.  But take heart. Writing a good synopsis is tons of work but you’re also creating a valuable marketing tool. A good synopsis may even help you discover your blurb or pitch, and in the end, you’ve honed your writing skills too.

Best,

Cathy Tully

What if your past comes back to haunt you?

 Chelsea James, captain of the Biggin Hill First Aid Squad, has had ten years to mend a broken heart and forget about the man who’d left her hurt and bewildered. Ten years to get her life on track. But fate has other plans.

Fire Inspector Jake Campbell, back in town after a decade, investigates a string of arsons, only to discover they are connected to the same arsons he’d been accused of long ago. Now his past has come back to haunt him, and Chelsea is part of that past.

Together, Chelsea and Jake must join forces to defeat their mutual enemy. Only then can they hope to rekindle the flames of passion. But before they can do that, Chelsea must learn to trust again. Their lives could depend on it.

 Excerpt 5 Incendiary

Jake opened the man’s striped pajama shirt and landmarked for CPR. He searched his memory banks and out of the depths came his training. It had been two years.

Chelsea tore a bag-valve-mask and an airway out of the green oxygen kit. She inserted the airway into Joe’s mouth and placed the mask on his face. The other mask lay discarded still around his neck. “Count out loud.”

“Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.”

When he reached thirty, Chelsea squeezed air into the patient. Brad returned with the automated external defibrillator. “Medics aren’t clear from the last call yet.” He dropped to his knees to unpack the unit.

“Damn.”

Sweat poured off Jake as he watched the exchange and compressed the man’s chest. “Three, four, five.”

“Tell them to get Mercy Seven,” Chelsea demanded.

“Seven, eight, nine.”

Brad relayed the request to dispatch and began setting up the AED. “Let me put these pads on.”

Jake sat back on his heels as the other man applied the pads. Sarah sat on the steps and cried. He wished he could comfort her and leave the rescue to the EMT’s. He could run into burning buildings, but death and dying people unnerved him.

Brad turned on the AED. “Don’t touch the patient.”

A voice from the machine said, “Analyzing patient now. Do not touch the patient.”

Jake could hear his own breathing as he hoped for Joe to start breathing. He didn’t like the gray hue of the patient.

“Shock advised. Charging. Do not touch the patient,” an electronic voice said.

Jake moved further away. Chelsea pulled off the bag-valve-mask.

“Clear.”

Brad pushed the blinking green button on the AED. Joe’s body jumped a little, but not like in medical dramas.

Jake moved to continue compressions.

Chelsea’s red face worried Jake. She bit her lip. He’d never seen her this upset.

“One, two, three, four,” Jake counted.

“It’ll time it until it’s been two minutes. Keep going until the machine says otherwise.”

He went to thirty and she put two breaths in with the mask. The machine cut in as he finished his fifth cycle.   “Analyzing heart rhythm. Do not touch the patient.”

Jake expected to have nightmares about that voice. All three shifted away from Joe who remained still and gray.

There’s a new kind of book making the rounds these days. It’s called a serial. Serials are books that are delivered by episodes (usually 2-3 chapters per episode.) Therefore, the reader purchases the book, gets all available episodes at the time of purchase, and then receives the remaining episodes in intervals. Often every two weeks.

Amazon has several serials going at the moment. They are for the Kindle/Kindle Fire or free Kindle apps, cost only $1.99 (this includes ALL episodes), and future episodes get delivered automatically as soon as they are released. Readers get an email notifying them that they have a new episode, and all they have to do is re-open the book on their Kindle/app, and they’ll be right where they left off, with the new episode appended and waiting to be read.

But why would you want these instead of just buying a whole book? Three reasons:

1)      They are fun!

It’s a totally different way to read—sort of like watching your favorite television show and then having to wait until the next episode airs—and serials “promise” to leave you hanging at the end of each episode. That means, you’re going to WANT to turn that page, only you can’t.  J But then you get to let the anticipation build of what might happen next. This is what I enjoy. As the day approaches for a new episode, I can hardly wait to see that email come across so I can hurry to read the next episode!

As noted, it’s a totally different way to read, and though at first it may seem like something you wouldn’t want to try, I encourage you to spend the two bucks and give it a shot. To me it’s fun getting to the brink of something good and then knowing I have to wait! Frustrating, but fun. And the more you are frustrated, the more you know the author is doing a great job! (Side note…it’s fun, but no, I would not want to read every book this way! But I do like to mix it up once in a while.)

2)      They are cheap!

For only $1.99 for a whole book, it’s a steal! But when the serial is fully released, the price will go up, so get them early!

3)      They are short enough to read during your lunch hour, while waiting to pick up the kids, while cooking dinner, etc.

So many of us are short on time, and don’t pick up a book because we know we’re going to get sucked into the author’s world and not poke our heads out for several hours. While fun, this is often just not feasible in our everyday lives. Serials force you to put the book down and get back to your life.

So there you have it. What is a serial, why you WANT them to leave you hanging, and now…how to win a Kindle Fire…

Three Kindle serial authors have teamed up to bring readers a great and easy opportunity. Go to our websites and answer a simple question about our serials, and you’ll be entered to win a 7” Kindle Fire HD. Answer one question, be entered one time. Go to all three websites and answer all three questions, be entered to win three times. It’s that easy! And all answers can be found in episode one of each serial.

Please see any of our website contest pages for full contest details.

Ex on the Beach, by Kim Law – Andie Shayne is getting ready to host the wedding of the summer at her resort on Turtle Island. As the guests arrive she’s taken aback to learn that her ex–who left her at the altar–is the best man. What he did was unforgiveable, and now he’s back with an agenda for her affection.

Kim’s contest page.

Falling for Frederick, by Cheryl Bolen – Laden with mystery and suspense, Falling for Frederick is a fast-paced romance that takes place in contemporary England. Aided by the lord of the manor, a lovely doctoral student seeks a priceless medieval artifact – just a step ahead of those who’ve already murdered to get it.

Cheryl’s contest page.

A Hero Lies Within, by Patrice Wilton – Old secrets linger and two reunited lovers are faced with more deception and mistrust. Can their love survive a second time around? Jake Harrington left her once when her life was falling apart, and now he’s back, and so are all the emotions she fought hard to expel. Can she forget his bitter betrayal, and will he forgive hers when to save her career she must betray his trust?

Patrice’s contest page.

Contest closes at Midnight EST on March 31^st, so get your entries in today!!!

Now tell us…do you think you could enjoy reading in the serial format? Or maybe you’ve already tried a serial. If so, tell us what you thought!