writing | Write Now Editing

Repetition: Your Novel’s Nemesis

November 11, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

There’s something comforting about eating turkey and stuffing every Thanksgiving. Knowing what to expect brings a sense of peace to our often-hectic lives, but that’s not always the case.

Repetition and consistency will kill your novel.

A common problem for many new writers is repetition. It comes in several forms. Today we’ll look at three of the most common repetitive issues and strategies for fixing and avoiding them.

Chapter Openings. Each chapter should open in a way that fits the characters and content of that scene. Far too frequently, however, each chapter starts the same way. The most common issue I see is the info dump—each chapter starts with 1-2 (or four!) paragraphs of information. Here are the two big issues with that type of opening:

It’s often a description of action that took place between chapters. Instead of telling the reader what happened between chapters, back it up and show the reader what happened.
It’s unnecessary/irrelevant. Each chapter doesn’t need to start in the same place (for example, with the main character waking up). If the details aren’t necessary to character development or they don’t support the plot, they can probably be cut.

Dialogue. There are two main ways in which authors repeat in dialogue.

A. They repeat what the other person just said. Not only does the dialogue sound unnatural, but it doesn’t flow well either. Example:

“How are you, Bill?”
“I’m fine, Kathy. And how are you?”
“I’m fine too. Did you make it to the tractor pull last night?”
“I did make it to the tractor pull!”

A better option…
“How are you, Bill?”
“I’m fine, Kathy. You?”
“I’m fine. Did you make it to the tractor pull last night?”
“I did!”

B. Characters have the same conversations over and over again. Bill and Kathy talk about the tractor pull, then Bill goes and tells John the same thing, then Bill calls his dad and tells him about it. You only need to explain what happened once. Then say something like, “Bill explained everything to John before calling and telling his dad.” There’s no reason to repeat the conversation. Your reader will understand.

Review your dialogue. If characters fall into category #1, cut those unnecessary words to tighten the conversation. If they fall into category #2, only show the conversation once. Summarize it after that.

Situations. Bill and Kathy talk on the phone, then go to the school, then meet up for coffee. John and Sandy talk on the phone, then go to the park, then meet up for dinner. In this instance, all of the characters do the same things: talk, meet, eat.

Another variation on repeated situations is when one character always does the same thing. No matter who Bill is with, they end up at the hardware store. Regardless of who Kathy is meeting, they always go to the bookstore.

While it’s true that most of us live pretty uneventful lives (and we probably go to the same three places repeatedly), that doesn’t make for interesting fiction.

Go through your story scene by scene and make a list of what your characters do. Do you see any patterns? If so, change something. You might have to introduce a new character or a new plot point, but it will be worth it to prevent your readers from getting bored and tuning out.

There you have it—the three most commonly repeated issues that tank an author’s manuscript.

Don’t let it happen to you. Take some extra time to clean up these issues so you can present a stronger, cleaner story.

For more writing tips and author interviews, sign up for my newsletter—as a ‘thanks for joining’ you’ll get “Simple Tips for Finding the Right Editor for Your Project”! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or at my website!

To Write for Him: Writing with Disabilities by Patty Hall

October 12, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

“Becoming a disabled person wasn’t in the plan, but God used it to give me the desire of my heart, a writing career.”

I had a defined plan for my life. After putting my writing hopes on the back burner, I decided I would go to college, then settle into my career as a registered nurse. If the right guy came along, we would marry, and together, we would welcome our four children. We’d build our happy home in the small town I grew up in, all the while working on our individual careers. Once the kids were out on their own, we’d retire to the mountains where we’d get involved with our small-town community.

Becoming a disabled person wasn’t in the plan, but God used it to give me the desire of my heart, a writing career.

Of course, it didn’t happen overnight. For the first few years after the doctors declared me disabled, I was not just a little angry. I was fighting mad. Angry at the body that had betrayed me. Angry at the friends who suddenly talked to me differently. But most of all, I was angry at God for allowing someone to beat me up and leave my back permanently damaged. After all, I was doing what I thought was His will. I was saving people’s lives. So why did He allow this to happen to me?

The answer wasn’t easy to hear, but when I did, I recognized the truth in it. Why not? God never promised us our lives would be easy. In fact, the first chapter of James tells us we should rejoice in our trials and tribulations no matter how hard it is. When that truth settled into my soul, I let go of my anger, but I still had questions. If I wasn’t supposed to be a nurse, what was God’s purpose in my life? Surely, He didn’t want me sitting on the sidelines. What was I going to do now?

It wasn’t too long after this that my friend, Jodie gave me a prayer journal and suggested writing out my thoughts. By this time, I hadn’t written in almost two decades so for those first few weeks, I could barely manage half a page. It didn’t take long to come back to me, and soon I ‘prayed’ ten to twelve pages each day.

My writing didn’t stop there. I began to write about the people in my community—the elderly gentleman who sat on the bench outside of Walmart, handing out tracks to anyone who’d take them. Or the retired soldier sharing his testimony over a book about Pearl Harbor. My husband thought they were good enough for publication so I submitted to different publishers like Guideposts and Chicken Soup for the Soul, certain my scribblings would be rejected. But they weren’t, and I thrilled at seeing my name in print.

For the first time since the attack, I felt I was on the right path.

Door began to open, and soon, I was hard at work on my first novel. It hasn’t been easy—for the last fifteen years, I haven’t been able to sit for any length of time due to a fire-like pain in my lower back and hips. Most days, I’ve stood at my kitchen counter where I’ve written twenty-two books along with hundreds of devotionals and blog posts. In the days before my spinal fusion, I wrote my second book flat on my back. There have been times when the pain was too much that I begged God to take me home, but He didn’t, choosing instead to draw me closer to Him and growing my faith as He had with the Apostle Paul and his ‘thorn of the flesh.’

Earlier this year, God gave me a miracle. A change in my medication silenced the pain I’d had and for the first time in my adult life, I was pain-free. It’s been ten months now, and I can’t stop praising the Lord for this wonderful gift. God continues to use my weakness to strengthen my faith and gave me the deepest hope of my heart—to write for Him.

After her friend’s death in childbirth, Grace Sullivan converts her family home into a haven for immigrant families preparing for the birth of a child. But when the city threatens to close her down, her only hope is to ask for help from an unlikely source—her former friend, Patrick O’Leary.

Get your copy here!

Multi-published author Patty Smith Hall lives near the North Georgia Mountains with her husband, Danny, her two daughters, her son-in-law and her grandboy. When she’s not writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or working in her garden.

Website: https://pattysmithhall.wpcomstaging.com
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Omniscient or Third Person POV?

May 11, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

The omniscient POV (point-of-view) is making a comeback! The thing is, I don’t think it’s intentional. And most of the time, it’s not very good. When it comes to genre fiction, especially character-driven fiction, third person is a better option because it strengthens the reader-character connection.

I edit a lot of character-driven fiction (romance and women’s fiction specifically), so I see a lot of authors who think they’re writing third person POV, but they’re actually writing a bad version of the omniscient POV (or a bad version of third person, however you want to crack that nut). There are three main indicators that you’re writing in bad omniscient/third person. First, let’s take a look at the differences, then we’ll look at the problem.

Omniscient Point-of-View

Sometimes called the “narrator,” this is an all-seeing POV, knowing the inner workings of all the characters and able to tell what’s happening in different places at the same time. This POV lets the reader see everything but from a distance.

Most of the classical literature you read in high school and college was written in omniscient, but today’s audiences want deeper connections with the main characters. You can’t get that with omniscient because it’s a shallow, superficial look at everything. For most of today’s genre fiction, the preferred POV is third.

Third Person Point-of-View

This POV lets the author show the story from the viewpoint of one or more characters. Third-person gets into the head of each scene’s POV character, showing everything as they experience it. The reader doesn’t get to see anyone else’s thoughts or emotions until there’s a scene break and the book switches to a different character’s POV.

Because third person POV gets into the head of the scene’s POV character—showing what that person sees, hears, thinks, fears, etc.—the reader can connect with the characters because she experiences the story at the same time and in the same way as the POV character.

Bad Omniscient/Bad Third Person POV

These are the three most common mistakes I see with third-person POV. Some authors try to recover by calling it omniscient, but that still doesn’t work. Let’s pretend like we’re editing a romance novel. The genre standard (and expectation) is third person POV with two POV characters: the hero and the heroine. Here’s what usually happens:

Head hopping. Instead of staying in the hero or heroines POV, the author show’s everyone’s reactions in one scene. We see how the friend, neighbors, and parents think and feel about the situation. That’s called head hopping—instead of staying in one character’s POV, you hop into the head of every character.
Same voice. Regardless of which character dominates the scene, all of the descriptions sound the same. When the barista, poet, mechanic, and insurance adjuster all marvel at the mountain’s majesty and use similar phrases and words to describe life and their setting, then the narrator’s voice has taken over and is imposing her own thoughts onto the characters.

On their own, #1 and #2 could be omniscient, but not when you add #3.

Focusing on specific characters. When 90% of the book focuses on the hero’s and heroine’s current story with only 10% of it hopping into the heads of other minor characters, then the book isn’t really in omniscient. It’s third-person with some errors.

Most authors I speak with or work with are actually trying for third person, but when they hop heads or create vivid descriptions that they don’t want to cut, they often think that maybe they’re writing in omniscient instead. They aren’t. They’re simply writing third person with some POV issues. Instead of trying to hide third-person POV mistakes behind a veil of bad omniscient POV, you’re better off fixing the mistakes and writing your story in strong third person (unless, of course, you really want to write in omniscient—then make sure you’re not slipping into third person).

Not sure which POV to use? Most genre fiction (romance, mystery, suspense, etc.) uses either third-person or first-person point-of-view. My recommendation: leave omniscient for literary or general fiction.

For more writing tips and author interviews, sign up for me newsletter—as a ‘thanks for joining’ you’ll get “Simple Tips for Finding the Right Editor for Your Project”! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or at my website!

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue

April 13, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Every character in every book has a backstory—we just don’t need to see it. There are times, however, when it’s necessary to include backstory in your manuscript to either fill in plot holes or show character development. One of the best ways to do that is by using dialogue to show backstory, but only if you do it the right way.

Here’s a look at the wrong way to show backstory using dialogue:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.

“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.

“Do you remember my twenty-first birthday party last week? It rained all day and we had to move the activities inside? The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway?”

“Of course.”

“Well, my bedroom is at the top of the stairs. Anyone could have gone up there without us noticing.”

Here’s the problem with that section:

Ben’s mom already knows the details of the party, her son’s age, and the layout of the house. There’s no reason for him to give her that information. Doing so makes it look like this conversation is a set-up to give information to the readers (which it is). There are two ways to solve this problem.

Cut the Details:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.

“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.

“Do you remember how crowded the house was at my party? Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”

Use the Dumb Puppet:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.

“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.

“Do you remember how crowded the house was at my party? Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”

“How could you not notice someone in your bedroom?” Brian asked.

“The party was supposed to be outside, but it rained all day,” his mom said.

“We had to move the activities inside. The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway. Ben’s bedroom is upstairs. Anyone could have gone up without us noticing.”

Do you see the difference?

If the details of the party aren’t important, cut them (example one) and keep the story moving. If they are important, include a character who doesn’t know what’s going on (in this case, Brian is the Dumb Puppet) so the other characters can explain it without sounding awkward.

Writing Longhand by Patty Hall

March 16, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

I write all my books longhand.

I can imagine what you look like about now. First, your eyes widen in shock that someone in this technological age is still using the antiquated art of longhand. Then once the surprise wears off, you’re left wondering why anyone would waste their time, doing such a thing.

When I first started writing, computers were still relatively new. The only way to get on the internet was dial-up, there wasn’t anything like scrivener or Goggle docs, and we saved everything on a piece of plastic called a floppy disc. I didn’t even know how to work one, nor did I care until the night Princess Diana died and I wanted to read the London newspapers.

Still, I wrote my first book on my newly acquired laptop. And rewrote it. And wrote it again. Seeing my work on the screen was a problem for me. Once it was there, I wanted it to be perfect, so I’d switch a sentence around. Or I’d try different taglines. Or I’d change my character’s emotion. My first book took me six years to finish. You read that right—SIX!

I finally threw the floppy disc into a drawer and started another manuscript. This time, I wanted to be smarter. I needed to figure out a way to silence my internal editor and get the story down in a reasonable amount of time. First, I tried an AlphaSmart (for those of you unfamiliar with this, it’s basically a word processor.) I figured if it didn’t have a screen, I wouldn’t expect perfection.

Wrong. Though I did get the work down quicker, I still had a big problem. I’m a sucky typist. A writer who can’t type. When I had typing class (you know, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I was too busy flirting with the cute boy next to me to actually practice. After all, I wasn’t going into any field that would require me to type.

Yeah, God is still laughing about that one.

Then I read an article on the positives of writing longhand. First, it slows down your thoughts which for someone like me who has 22 tabs open, most of the time that’s a good thing. Secondly, it helps curb that nasty internal editor. Plus there are those people who find writing longhand helps them to study or memorize a piece.

So, I tried it and found I surpassed my previous daily word counts. Writing longhand helped me get the first draft down, and that pesky internal editor that had hounded me for years was silenced. With the introduction of the iPad Pro and Apple pencil, I can now write longhand, then translate my writing into text that goes into my word file. By the time it’s to this phase, I’m ready to edit my work or as I tell my family, ‘pretty it up.’

Another thing (and this is important) if I write my story longhand, I find that when I edit, it makes the process go a whole lot faster. For me at least, writing puts it to memory which makes my second and third edits a breeze. Results don’t lie—since changing over to longhand, I’ve written four novels, ten to fifteen novellas and dozens of magazine articles and devotionals.

So, if you’re having trouble getting words down, give writing longhand a try. Personally, I use Vera Bradley notebooks (you can get 550 words per page) and EnerGel pens in navy blue, but a notebook and pen from the dollar store work just as well.

Trust me, it works!

Multi-published author Patty Smith Hall lives near the North Georgia Mountains with her husband, Danny, her two daughters, her son-in-law, and her grandboy. When she’s not writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or reading on her back porch.

Dr. Joshua McClain is heading west but first stops in Hillsdale, Michigan, to break the marriage contract his late mother arranged between him and Katie Clark. Years ago, Katie left him behind in Charleston after the tragic death of her mother. But after a train crash, he comes face-to-face with Dr. Kathleen Clark, his childhood friend all grown up. When Josh shows up in town, claiming they’re betrothed, Katie refuses to consider an arranged marriage. She’ll marry for love or not at all. Besides, he’s headed for Kansas Territory; her practice is here in Hillsdale. Then why are they both finding it hard to break their betrothal and say goodbye?

Repetition: Your Novel’s Nemesis

To Write for Him: Writing with Disabilities by Patty Hall

Omniscient or Third Person POV?

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue

Writing Longhand by Patty Hall

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