Tag Archives: Writing Tips

#WritingWednesday with Angela Petch: Structural Edits.

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I am delighted to welcome my final (for now) #WritingWednesday guest, Angela Petch, as she talks about structural edits. Over to you, Angela …

You’ve typed The End after several months of creating your story. But “it ain’t over”. Now comes the structural editing.

“A novel is a game for two players. The book may get written in solitude but it kicks into life only when a reader’s imagination collaborates with that of the writer…” (Lindsay Clarke from The UEA’s “The Creative Writing Coursebook”).

Here are a few ideas I’ve used over the years.

  • If you have Beta readers who look through your work, be careful that they’re not friends who will only be kind. Ask them to be honest (but not brutal). Negativity bruises. Pay for a professional editor if you can afford it. It is worth it in the end.
  • If are lucky enough to be with a publisher, then start something new while you wait for your editor’s responses, because:
  • You need to distance yourself from your work to turn yourself into a reader. Schedule at last two weeks to put away your manuscript and come back to it as if you are not the author. That way, you have more perspective and it will be easier to take on board revisions and comments.
  • Divide an A4 sheet in two, vertically. Type your chapter summaries on the left and leave the right hand blank to insert your editor’s comments. This is far easier than trawling through your manuscript when you need to refer.
  • Ideally you will have created a timeline beforehand. (Use an old diary). I’m not a spreadsheet person, so I use a strip of paper and pin it to my noticeboard). Plus, a family tree, especially if you write historical novels in dual time. And have your character sketches handy, so you don’t muddle character descriptions and traits. I pin photos of places and characters up and look at them frequently. (They speak to me sometimes).
  • Always make a copy of your manuscript with the editor’s comments and work on that copy. Use the comments box (under review on your bar) and insert reminders to yourself as you work. (They can be deleted eventually).
  • I have listened to Julie Cohen’s excellent talk on using coloured post-its (listen here). It is a brilliant way to see the imbalances in your story: where you need to break a long sequence and bring in another so that your reader does not lose their way; where one character’s story might be too dominant etc. Remember that you know everything that happens and everyone it happens to in your story (hopefully 😉), but it has to be absolutely clear to your reader too. Once you allow your book to be published, it does not only belong to you.
  • Finally, take breaks. I use a timer so that I don’t hunch over my laptop for hours. And do stretching exercises for your neck and shoulders. Be kind to yourself and set rewards. (But not always chocolate. A walk is perfect for untangling thoughts and ideas).

About the author:

Published by Bookouture, Angela Petch is an award winning writer of fiction – and the occasional poem.

Every summer she moves to Tuscany for six months where she and her husband own a renovated watermill which they let out. When not exploring their unspoilt corner of the Apennines, she disappears to her writing desk at the top of a converted stable. In her Italian handbag or hiking rucksack she always makes sure to store notebook and pen to jot down ideas.

The winter months are spent in Sussex where most of her family live. When Angela’s not helping out with grandchildren, she catches up with writer friends.

Angela’s gripping, WWII, Tuscan novels are published by Bookouture. While her novel, Mavis and Dot, was self-published and tells of the frolics and foibles of two best-friends who live by the seaside. Angela also writes short stories published in Prima and People’s Friend.

Discover more about Angela Petch and her writing here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Amazon | Apricot Plots

#WritingWednesday with Vicki Beeby: Point of View.

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Today’s #WritingWednesday tips come from historical fiction author Vicki Beeby as she talks about point of view. Thanks so much for stopping by Vicki, over to you …

Point of View

As someone who does only the most rudimentary planning before starting a novel, my first drafts are a big old mess and need several rounds of edits before they’re ready to send out. Once I’ve edited for consistency and character arcs, one of the aspects I examine more closely when on the polishing phase is viewpoint. In each scene I check that the writing is consistent with the character whose point of view (POV) the action is seen through. Below are the main things I look out for.

Think about the character whose eyes we’re seeing a scene through when writing a description. For example, one person might describe a car as old, sporty looking and white, another would say it was a Mark III Ford Capris 3.0S and someone else might say it looked like the car from the TV series The Professionals. They’re all descriptions of the same car, but different characters will perceive it differently. If they don’t know much about cars, they would probably use the first description; a car enthusiast the second. A younger person probably wouldn’t think of The Professionals, so the age of your character could also be a big factor in the associations they make when describing something. How you describe something depends upon your POV character’s perception, not your own.

Think about whose point of view you are in before describing emotion or sensation. The POV character will know probably how they are feeling, so you could just state if they are sad, cold, etc. However, you need to find another way to get emotion and physical feelings across for any character being observed by the POV character. Take this example: Jack walked into the pub and saw Kate standing by the bar. Kate was angry.We’re in Jack’s POV here, so how does he know Kate was angry? Rather than saying she was angry, I should have described what makes Jack come to that conclusion. She could be scowling, kicking the legs of her bar stool or perhaps he can hear what she’s saying that gives it away.

This is similar to the above point about emotion, but taking it a step further. How intuitive is your character? You can give the reader the clues about how a non-POV character feels, but does the POV character interpret them correctly? Again, that will depend on the character. Taking the example of Jack and Kate again, maybe Jack sees Kate slam her money down on the bar so hard it makes the drinks rattle. However, he’s so obtuse he doesn’t work out that she’s angry. Maybe he just thinks she’s a bit clumsy, even though the reader will have worked out Kate is fuming. How accurately a character interprets a situation depends upon their personality.

Don’t forget that imagery is also filtered through the POV character. For example the hero of my current WIP is a musician, so I’ve used musical imagery at times when writing from his viewpoint. It’s fine to describe him watching the heroine’s fingers tapping out arpeggios on the table top, whereas someone who wasn’t musical wouldn’t think that way. If a particular metaphor or simile isn’t right for the character thinking it, it has to go, however much you might like it.

I can’t write about point of view without mentioning head-hopping. If you’re not familiar with the term, it means skipping from one point of view to another in the same scene. While this isn’t necessarily wrong, you should always have a reason for doing so. When editing do check you haven’t unintentionally slipped into another viewpoint. The example with Jack and Kate in point 2 is an example of unintentional head-hopping. Always ask yourself whose eyes you are watching the scene through and check the point of view doesn’t suddenly switch unless you mean it to.

Thank you for the great tips, Vicki. xx

Don’t miss Vicki’s new release, Christmas with the Ops Room Girls:

When there’s so much to be afraid of, can May help bring festive cheer to the Ops Room?

After failing to help evacuee siblings whom she witnesses being separated, May wishes she’d had the confidence to speak up. When Jess suggests a pantomime to boost morale on the station, May is desperate to help – but is held back by her own insecurities.

With her low self-esteem also affecting her relationship with Squadron Leader Peter Travis, May is fed up with being her own worst enemy and decides to take charge of her destiny. But the past she ran from plus a crisis with one of the evacuees throw May into the midst of a drama that will test all of her newfound confidence.

May, Jess and Evie must work together once again to help each other through the challenges of war and of their own hearts.

This heartwarming WAAF saga is perfect for fans of Daisy Styles, Kate Thompson and Rosie Clarke.

Book Links: Amazon | Apple | Kobo

Discover more about Vicki and the Ops Room Girls series here.

About the author:

Vicki Beeby writes historical fiction about the friendships and loves of service women brought together by the Second World War.

Her first job was as a civil engineer on a sewage treatment project, so things could only improve from there. Since then, she has worked as a maths teacher and education consultant before turning freelance to give herself more time to write.

In her free time, when she can drag herself away from reading, she enjoys walking and travelling to far-off places by train. She lives in Shropshire in a house that doesn’t contain nearly enough bookshelves.

Discover more about Vicki Beeby (who also writes as Tora Williams) and her work here: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Apricot Plots

#WritingWednesday with Morton S. Gray: Five top tips.

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Following the release of her latest novel, Christmas at the Little Beach Café  Morton S. Gray shares her five top writing tips.

Congratulations on the fab new release Morton, I can’t wait to read it. And thank you for stopping by in your busy week. All that remains for me to say is, over to you…

Having recently finished my fifth novel, here are my five writing recommendations:

Allow time for musing – I find that if I allow my mind to wander, especially if I’ve just been thinking about the book I am writing, or want to write, then other things occur to me seemingly by magic. I even find that if I’m listening to music relevant lyrics seem to jump out of the songs and I can use these as writing prompts.

Always try to have something in your book that amuses you even if it isn’t a humorous book, so that when you have edited the manuscript so many times you are absolutely sick of it, you can still find something to smile about.

Carry a means of writing down ideas with you at all times, be that a notebook and pen, dictaphone or a phone app. You never know when inspiration might strike and it is all too easy to think you will remember the thought and then kick yourself later for not writing it down.

Feed your mind – sorry, I don’t mean chocolate – I mean learn new things whenever you can. You never know when you can use something in a book. My forays in early 2020 were into weaving and soap making!

Save pictures that inspire you. For example, many of my characters have been based on photographs from clothing catalogues and magazines. My mother commented the other day when I ripped a page out of a flyer we were recycling – ‘Do you want to buy that jumper as a Christmas present?’ The answer was – ‘No, this guy would make a great hero.’

About Morton S. Gray:

Award winning author of five romance novels, Morton S. Gray lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.

Books by Morton S. Gray (click the titles to discover more, or to purchase):

Newly released, Christmas at the Little Beach Café is already gaining great reviews. Here’s the blurb:

Run away to the little beach café this Christmas …

Five years ago at Christmas, solicitor Justin Sadler made the decision to leave his comfortable existence behind and move to the coast. Since then, he’s tried his best to ignore the festive season and, as he sits in the little beach café and reflects on that fateful night when his life was turned upside down, he expects his fifth Christmas alone to be no different to any of the others since he made his escape.

But when he encounters a mystery woman on the beach, he soon realises he may have found a fellow runaway and kindred spirit. Could Justin finally be ready to move on and let Christmas into his life again?

Morton’s debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won the Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition. This story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s new headteacher, Harry Dixon. The book is available as a paperback and e-book.

Her second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, The book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. This book is available as an e-book, paperback and audiobook.

Christmas at Borteen Bay was Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman, who runs the Rose Court Guesthouse with her mother, and local policeman Ethan Gibson, as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches.

Bestselling Sunny Days on the Beach, is her fourth novel for Choc Lit. Again set in Borteen, this book is the story of what happens when craft shop owner, Mandy Vanes takes in an abandoned teenager, Nick Crossten and the repercussions when Graham Frankley, a gin distiller, arrives in town to say he has received a letter telling him he is Nick’s father.

You can find out more about Morton and her work here: website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Apricot Plots

#WritingWednesday with Jane Cable: Self-Editing.

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A PERSONAL APPROACH TO SELF-EDITING.

I am the ultimate dirty first drafter. I have learnt to bash out the bones of a novel in around three months, starting with just a few pages of the outline agreed with my publisher, but with the strong proviso that details may change.

What I end up with is invariably a bit of a mess, so rather than feel slightly sick at the prospect of fixing it all at once, I go through the manuscript again and again, focussing on one aspect of the editing at a time.

Consistency
Very often the story – or at least the character arcs – have changed a great deal as I’ve been writing so this edit is to update the beginning and middle for what I’ve learnt by the end. It’s mainly dealing with my characters’ motivations and conflicts so vital to the logical progression of the story.

Structure
I don’t worry too much about structure as I write. That said, I like to make sure that the key points, the dips and crescendos, are in roughly the right place. There are many frameworks to choose from, but my preference is for Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat. It was originally devised for screenplay but keeps a novel tight as well.

Necessity
I go through every scene, then every paragraph in every scene, to make sure it’s absolutely essential to the story; either moving the plot forwards or giving the reader vital information about a character. If it does neither, however much I may like it, it goes.

Emotion
Each major character has their own edit for this, when I go through the whole story from their point of view, thinking deeply about how they feel as events unfold. It’s perhaps the most intense phase for me, and not something I can do all day, but it pays huge dividends when you get it right.

Balance
If you think about it, most books are made up of action, description and dialogue, so with this edit I highlight each one in a different colour. That pretty soon tells me if the balance of the book is wrong and where I need to put it right.

Timeline
This involves going through the whole manuscript and putting a date and time on each scene, using just the clues in the text. It’s surprising how many errors it can throw up and is a useful reference point going forwards.

Jane Cable writes romance with a twist and a look over the shoulder at the past. She published her first novel, the multi-award winning The Cheesemaker’s House, independently and is now signed by Sapere Books.

Discover more about Jane and her work, here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Apricot Plots | Sister Scribes .

#WritingWednesday with Angela Barton: Plot Holes.

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What is a Plot Hole?

When we’re editing our manuscripts, it’s so easy to focus on the little details that we want to improve, that we miss our story’s biggest weaknesses. The main oversight in editing is the dreaded plot hole.

A plot hole is an inconsistency or gap in the narrative of our story. It contradicts the flow of logic established in our story. Some examples:

  1. The personality of a character suddenly changes.
  2. A secondary character has an obstacle in their life, but it’s never concluded in your story.
  3. Your readers rarely forgive illogical events. For eg. A character travels to Spain from America and is drinking in a coffee bar later the same morning.
  4. One of your characters has forgotten an important fact that they knew earlier in the storyline.

How To Find and Correct a Plot Hole in Your Manuscript.

Readers’ suspension of disbelief may ensure that some of your story’s smaller plot holes are missed or ignored. But there’s a limit to how much they will accept. Here are some tips for finding your plot hole:

  1. Be objective when editing. The easiest way to do this is to step away from your manuscript and leave it for a few days, or longer. Review it later with fresh eyes.
  2. Refuse to be influenced by your own opinions and emotions. Edit from the perspective of your characters.
  3. Writing a continuity list can be helpful. I’ve made my own form which lists the chapter numbers along with a sentence or two about the storyline in that chapter and which characters are present. I also make a note of the month/year the scene takes place which also helps with continuity. (see photograph)
  4. Take time to question the logic of your plot. Does the previous storyline lead to that moment or has a journey or question gone unanswered? Have your characters made choices or said things that don’treflect their personality?
  5. Keep a checklist of your subplots and make sure all of them are complete. Close all open ends.
  6. Keep notes on your revised edits. They may open up a future plot hole that needs managing.
  7. I recommend a professional edit as a safety net to plot holes. If this is too pricey, ask a writer friend to have a read through.

About Angela Barton:

Angela was born in London and grew up in Nottingham. She is married with three grown up children and adorable six-year-old twin granddaughters. She is passionate about writing both contemporary and historical fiction and loves time spent researching for her novels. In 2018 Angela signed publishing contracts for three of her completed novels.

In addition to writing, Angela also relaxes by making landscapes using free motion sewing on a machine. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a reader for their New Writers’ Scheme. Angela is also a member of Nottingham Writers’ Studio, the Society of Authors and Ellipses and Ampersands’ fiction critique group.

Discover more about Angela Barton and her novels here: Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Amazon | Angela is also a member of Apricot Plots.