Ellen Mulholland––writer, dreamer
  • Home
  • Blog and More
  • Words by Ellen
  • Words about Ellen
  • 10 simple writing tips
  • Writers to read
  • BIRDS ON A WIRE
  • THIS GIRL CLIMBS TREES
  • Book Reviews
  • Author visits, book signings, more
  • Shop
  • Young Minds

edit, revise, rinse, repeat

1/25/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
This week, I tackle another completed manuscript and ready it for queries. STARS IN MY POCKET is my fourth YA novel. Two books are part of the Logos Publishing House bookshelf and a third awaits an agent's love. If ON THE ROAD TO MARTY MCFLY doesn't land an agent, I'm hoping STARS will.

For the past four weeks, I've been editing, revising, sharing, and repeating the process on both manuscripts. Although the task is tedious and sometimes frustrating, I know the attention will only improve and tighten the stories.

Since this is my current world, I thought I'd share my steps with you. I'd love to hear others' methods when it comes to fine-tuning a new manuscript.

Here's my story...


After I've written the final chapter, I will put my work away for at least a month. While it sits and finds itself, I busy myself with other writing projects and catch up on my reading.

Next, I read through the story on my computer (in its Scrivener form) and listen to the flow, watching for key plot points and erroneous tangents.

If the story flows, I begin re-reading the book for as many major characters as it has. If there are three main characters, I re-read it three times, focussing on that character, his back story, details, arcs to plot and other characters. Then I take a read-through for the collection of minor characters, bringing them more to life.

I keep this editing/revising process moving for weeks and sometimes months.

Each time I read through the book, I edit and revise sentence structures, word usage, and grammar.

When I'm close to the end, I read through for filter words (words that pull the reader out of the story). Scrivener is great for this.

My final revision mode is on Kindle. I compile my manuscript, send it to Word where I format it, and email it to my Kindle app.

I read it like a book, but I use the notes and highlight colors to catch errors that slipped past on my computer.

Sometimes, I find major plot issues. In that case, I might go through a major revision and repeat the editing/revision process all over.

Throughout this time, I am meeting with critique partners and sharing with beta readers. All feedback helps.

Today, ON THE ROAD TO MARTY MCFLY awaits my critique partners' read-throughs to help tighten the plot. Two agents liked the writing and voice, but both had trouble with the plot.

STARS IN MY POCKET is on my Kindle with notes. I've read 68%, and will next go back to Scrivener to repair seams and mend holes.

It may not be a perfect process, but it works for me. Soon--I can feel it!--I will get that agent call. Until then, all I can do is edit, revise, rinse, and repeat.

What are your practices for editing your manuscripts? Please share!
Write on!

0 Comments

villains & antagonists: readers want them

1/18/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureThe incomparable Professor Snape aka Alan Rickman. Rest in Peace, our dear friend.
While working with my creative writers recently, a student frowned and said, "I don't want to make a character people don't like."

​I wonder what Alan Rickman would have said to that? Most definitely the author, JK Rowling, filled him in on the multi-dimensional character.

Every character in your story is important. If not, get rid of them. No character--as no human--is perfect. We are flawed. We love; we hate; we care; we judge. Your job as a writer is to build three-dimensional imaginative people who readers believe.

As for creating unlikable characters, those can be the most fun.

Villains, antagonists, creeps--all of them--help your hero figure out what she needs and how she'll get there. However, the antagonist and villain are not synonymous.

The antagonist is your hero's biggest adversary. Adversaries can simply be annoying pains in the neck. They can help develop your protagonist, but they are not vital to the plot. This obstacle might also be a phenomenon like the weather (GRAPES OF WRATH) or an institution (CATCHER IN THE RYE, ANIMAL FARM).

Classic antagonists in children's lit include Tinkerbell and The Queen of Hearts. They help the protagonist grow and learn, but they do not tie in directly to the main plot.

The villain is essential to the plot and prevents your hero from reaching resolution. The villain is one whose dastardly ways impede your main character. (In HARRY POTTER, Snape might be seen as an antagonist, whereas Voldemort is clearly the villain.)

Villains we love to hate: the Devil, Moriarity, Captain Hook)

Let's complicate things. The villain might also be your protagonist. This character seeks a goal, but he's not the nicest of people. Think: THE GRINCH, THE GODFATHER, MACBETH, or the TV show DEXTER. In these cases, you can see that a villain/protagonist reads more like a villainous protagonist.

That said, not every story has a villain, but every story has an antagonist. It often depends on your genre.

Whether you are in the middle of your story or just getting started, consider who or what impedes your hero's journey. That is your obstacle. If it's a person or being, they are either your villain or antagonist. If that character is essential to the plot, they are most likely your villain. Think of the fun Rowling had with Voldemort. Readers despised him from the get go, but we also learned more of why he was so tormented.

Without Snape, our antagonist, Harry would never have survived. This we know now.

Create characters with flaws,
characters who annoy us, characters who do despicable things. It's your world. Whatever you do, put as much heart and time into developing these hated ones as you do your main character.

Side note: when I told my young writers to imagine a teacher or classmate who truly got on their nerves and turn them into a character in their stories, they each smiled and put pen to paper.

Remember, writing is fun. Have fun.

Write on!

0 Comments

digging into the roots of your first draft

1/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Winning NaNoWriMo is no small feat. Committing yourself to writing more than one thousand words each day (a 1.6k average is needed to 'win'), suggests you have what it takes.

But don't stop there. Words on a page do not a story make.

Now comes the fun part. Editing and revising and editing and revising and . . . Time to get to the root of your novel.

Your story is not complete until you've spent days, and weeks, and months combing through its pages, tweaking plot lines, and finessing word usage. The true nugget of your story is often buried deep within the middle of all those thousands of words.

Every writer has his own advice for how to tackle the revision stages. Google til your heart's content, and you can find half a dozen that make sense to you.

I follow Stephen King's: put your first draft away for a month  to six weeks before you revise.

Here are six ideas for how to handle revising your first draft.

1. Listen to the King. Put it away and work on anything else but that manuscript for at least a month. You'll return with fresh eyes to discover the hidden beauty (buried deep in chapter six) or the rubbish you wrote to begin the story.

2. Before you revise, write a letter to a friend explaining your book. (You don't need to send it.) Try to get it right in a 35-word pitch. Then dig in revising, go back and read that letter and write a new one. Repeat this process until you've uncovered the true pitch.

3. Revise your draft as many times as you have important characters. Each time you revise, do it with one character in mind. Use his perspective. This is a great way to uncover loose storylines, catch missing or erroneous details (birthdates, eye color, favorite foods, etc.).

4. Cut or combine useless characters. Idea 3 will help you uncover who adds to the plot and who detracts from it. As Mr. King says: "Kill your darlings." (This is also a good time to study all the names used in your story. Be sure they are not easily confusing--too many single syllable names; too many names starting with S, etc.)

5. Create a storyboard of key scenes. Plotters will have already done this. However, do it again. I record each scene on a post-it that I can move around a board. Not all scenes need cutting; some need moving.

6. Share your draft with a trusted partner. If you haven't joined a writing group or located a critque partner, now's a great time to do this. Other writers understand what is a first draft. They won't nit-pick at grammar or spelling. They will tell you what works and what doesn't.

Now, stop reading this blog and get to revising. More tips on revising and editing in the future!
Please share your ideas here.

Write on!

0 Comments

plot tips for all writers

1/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2016: your year to get things write!

No, that's not a typo.

Let's start January with a rehash of some great writing tips. We'll begin with PLOTS.

1. Know where you are headed. There are four tasks to accomplish in the first five pages of your story. If you do this, you will set yourself and your reader up for a journey sure to stay its course. 

2. Create tension. You can learn how to build drama by reading the greats. Shakespeare knew how to develop high drama; it begins with not giving the reader what she wants. Make the reader want it.

3. Get your characters into predicaments. Plots are rarely single-minded. Besides the central conflict, your main character needs to encounter other dilemmas that intensify the search to solve her main issue.

4. End it all in style. You might solve your MC's problem twenty pages before the story actually ends. There are many loose ends to wrap up. Don't leave your readers wondering what happened to--

Now that you have a structure to creating a fabulous story, what are you waiting for? Get writing!

Please share your thoughts on plot with us in the comments below.
Write on!

0 Comments

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2022
    April 2022
    January 2021
    December 2020
    December 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    July 2018
    November 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Antagonists
    Apps
    Authors
    Blogs
    Book Suggestions
    California
    Characters
    Childhood Memories
    Common Core
    Community
    Crime Novels
    Death
    Editing
    Endings
    Exposition
    Figurative Language
    Flash Fiction
    Friendship
    Genres
    Grammar
    Great Books
    Headlines
    Historical Romance
    Ideas
    Inspiration
    Magic
    Magical Realism
    Martin Luther King
    Music
    Mystery Novels
    NaNoWriMo
    Nature
    Organization
    Paris
    Peace
    Plot
    Protagonists
    Query
    Rain
    Reserach
    Resources
    Revising
    Seasons
    Secret Project
    Senses
    Sensory Writing
    Social Media
    Solstice
    Summer Reading Lists
    Survey
    Theme
    Time Saving Ideas
    Time-saving Ideas
    Twitter
    Twitter Chats
    Villains
    Weather
    Women
    Wonder
    Words
    World Events
    Writer's Block
    Writing
    Writing Challenge
    Writing Tips
    Writing Tools
    WWII
    YA
    Young Writers

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from francisco.j.gonzalez, jinxmcc, pedrosimoes7, vanhookc, mikecogh, Brett Jordan, Leonard John Matthews, NICSOLUCION, Jason Grote, FaceMePLS, Chris Parker2012, quinet, raffaespo, torbakhopper, shannonpatrick17, haru__q, Javier A Bedrina, ChrisL_AK, Brett Jordan, MIKI Yoshihito (´・ω・), liebeslakritze, aldenjewell, koalazymonkey, La Citta Vita, Barrett.Discovery, Javier A Bedrina, Leedman, 陈霆, Ting Chen, Wing, Creative Tools, ..Russ.., Sten Dueland, JD Hancock, The Marmot, Rose PT, Brett Jordan, Kim Bost, lublud, liebeslakritze, UNE Photos, Vassilis Online, Zahlm, Jahvoronok, kurafire, rodtuk, Shan Jeniah, manoftaste.de, Last Hero, torbakhopper, steveczajka, Fountain_Head, thewritingreader, Highways Agency, pawpaw67, Nicholas_T, Gwydion M. Williams, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, Canned Muffins, volkspider, peddhapati, DaveBleasdale, Keith Allison, TP studio, Drew Selby, stoneysteiner, WeGotKidz, mrsdkrebs, Kelly Short6, mkhmarketing, moria, WWYD?, Rega Photography, Brett Jordan, Creative Tools, numberstumper, symphony of love, Hub☺, chris kuga, PaoloPV, mikecogh, thewritingreader, Amanclos, Leo Hidalgo (@yompyz), JD Hancock, themonnie, Gwydion M. Williams, jennnster, Sistak, dno1967b, Gwydion M. Williams, Lohan Gunaweera, tsmall, Gustavo da Cunha Pimenta, Hometown Beauty, Charles Henry, Manchester Library, sheggy, Brett Jordan, chaskerr4, Javier A Bedrina, D&S McSpadden, DougitDesign.com / Doug Aghassi, State Library of South Australia, Max Goldberg, bjornmeansbear, juliejordanscott, rcmd_tagcoor_10_3, thedailyenglishshow, mpclemens, Daily Dose Of Champions, edenpictures, MoneyBlogNewz
  • Home
  • Blog and More
  • Words by Ellen
  • Words about Ellen
  • 10 simple writing tips
  • Writers to read
  • BIRDS ON A WIRE
  • THIS GIRL CLIMBS TREES
  • Book Reviews
  • Author visits, book signings, more
  • Shop
  • Young Minds