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Use Outlines to Revise Fiction Organization of a nonfiction piece of writing is paramount. Ideas and/or should build upon each other is an inevitable progression that leads to understanding. For fiction, the outline is the plot structure, events unfolding in an inevitable progression that lead to entertainment. When you use a narrative structure for creative [...]
I’m working on a novel and have just gotten a couple rounds of feedback from friends. Here’s what I noticed. They didn’t give me the answer I wanted! Be Open. I wanted them to say that this version was perfect, ready to send out. What they said was: Are you sure this should be chapter [...]
Have Your Pity Party: But Then Get to Work When you get the letter from an editor about a revision, what do you do? Frankly, I get mad. How dare that misguided editor
Whole mss critique or chapter at a time critique? I went to Idaho this weekend for a Novel Revision Retreat. Whole mss critique. One thing I like about the Novel Revision Retreat is that it is set up to get feedback on an entire novel. Many critique groups run on the idea that a person [...]
Feedback on Story or Best Way to Tell Story? I’ve always considered the first draft of a novel as a time to get the story down on paper. The second draft is a time to consider the best way to tell that story. So, when I’m looking at feedback from a reader, a critique of [...]
Yep. You gotta get feedback on your novel and you gotta act on it. On everything? Yep. But what if. . . Yes! Oh! No? Uh-oh! Huh? Okay. Here are five reactions I’ve had to recent feedback: Yes! Oh! No? Uh-oh! Huh? Yes! It’s great when
Submit, Then Revise At our spring conference, Jen Rofe, literary agent at Andrea Brown Literary spoke about sending out manuscripts. The one thing that surprised me was her attitude toward submission and revision. Rofe said she usually sends out a mss to about five editors. Then, depending on the feedback, she’ll often ask the writer [...]
Learn to Listen to Critiquers Listening to critiques is hard! I have to remind myself that writing is communication, with a writer and a reader. When I get feedback, what I’m really doing is checking to see if I communicated what I wanted to. Well, no. I didn’t. I have two choices: Ignore the feedback. [...]
I’ve written before about Different Styles of Critiques and When to Ask for a Critique. Today focuses on the different types of critique groups. Different Critique Groups Meet Different Needs I’m heading off today to my local critique groups and I realized I have several different types of critique groups, each one filling a different [...]
At what point do you let others read a draft? First Drafts are $#@# It’s an open secret that first drafts are awful and the best thing about a first draft is that it is finished. So, do you prefer that outside readers read this draft or wait for a more polished draft? Do you [...]
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