Gesundheit? Probably need all the help they can get! So, let’s go with it.
Xenophthalmia has finally graduated from merely saline drops to prescription eye drops. What is it? Dry eye.
Chirp Chirp
Throughout the A to Z Challenge, one under-riding current to all of the posts was the foregone conclusion you wrote a book which would not dry out your readers’ eyeballs with oppressive descriptions, underdeveloped characters and a plot line which forces readers to weather dry spells of 30 pages or more to get to an event worth reading. Raising one’s eyebrow for eight pages inhibits the ability to blink.
Do you know if you skipped something? Or did you find out in beta? Consider deconstruction. Do wear eye protection.
WIP
In order for your WIP not to RIP, look at what you did do. Even if you are a stream of consciousness writer, you can benefit from a bit of organization. Plotters will do portions (or all) of this in advance. It works in reverse, which gives you an additional pass to correct mistakes and oversights.
Where are we?
One thing which can seriously hamper a story line is inconsistencies in location. This applies to stories which occur in one location and across the globe. Characters must move visibly. Characters should also move in only three dimensions (for the sake of your reader’s understanding).
Not over there ==>
For instance, if Kate goes from home to the grocery and passes Avery’s house, it makes no sense for Avery to ask Kate to pick something up for him since she is closer. (D’oh!) Even if you are directionally-challenged or have never drawn a dungeon, you can draw a map of your book. (Try poster board. More room for notes.)
Are there FAB world landmarks in your book? Download pictures of them so you have an accurate basis for your descriptions. Even if you have been there, the photographs will (jog, correct) your memory.
When your scenes primarily take place in the kitchen, you need to know something about building codes. Truly. During conversations, your characters will
- stomp
- amble
- run
- stumble
- be carried
- wheel themselves
out of the room. Be sure there are enough walls.
If your characters can reach more than four other rooms from the main room, your house could be a candidate for Extreme Home Makeover. You also want to be sure the door to the butler’s closet does not migrate around the room. Does anyone remember the stray coffee table? Get to the drawing board.
Flash cards are a good way to remember what props you have. Consider it an inventory of items your characters can lean against, throw, smash, smuggle, hide secrets in, talk to or throw away.
Who are these people?
Characters make the story up as they go along. You really need to know who they are: emotionally, ethically, physically, temperamentally, maturity level, age, education, corporate background, criminal tendencies, marriages, childhood traumas. Sketching your characters should be very revealing. In advance, some of the plot will begin to form. In deconstruction, you may catch something you overlooked.
Physical
The brunette dish who is going to foil the bank robbery walks in, and the guy manning the security camera whistles and tells his partner he loves petite women. When the bad guys get there (and are not vertically-challenged), she cannot brandish a weapon towering over anyone who is not supine.
Even if you have stick-figure level talent, you can create pictures of your characters or download appropriate pictures (raid your yearbook, flip through old family albums, copy the police blotter) to give you a reminder of your character’s physical traits. It will keep you from having someone pull the hair of a person who had a flat top a chapter ago.
Curriculum Vitae
Your hero comes across a body in the bushes, checks for a pulse, begins CPR and screams into his Blue Tooth for 911. While he waits, he constructs a tourniquet from a stick and his wife beater, whips out his Cross pen and Swiss army knife and performs a tracheotomy. He is some hero. Why is he flipping burgers for a living and what possessed him to put a Cross pen and a Swiss army knife into his track suit pants?
If you never reveal he was dishonorably discharged as a surgeon because of a reckless night of drunken debauchery after a grueling ambush-resultant surgical session and subsequently lost his license to practice, your reader is going to wonder if a portion of the book is missing.
Emotional
Your protagonist’s BFF claps her on the back and says, “Let’s go get lemon ices!” Why is she suggesting sweets in response to your heroine admitting she has just broken up with the man to whom she has been married for 41 years? If your character forgoes the accepted emotional response of (commiseration, support, outrage), let your reader know BFF’s parents were the Roses.
Yes, your reader has a terrific imagination. Rather than leave out-of-character responses to the reader to choose between you and the character as to who is more disturbed, give some foundation or provide an explanation.
Check Your Work
Even with really good deconstruction (or prep work) your book can still not be complete. As you read your book, make your notes only from what is in your book. Check the action against the skeletal information on your notes.
- Does this reaction match what you have established or is it revealed in the next few pages?
- Did you forget to explain your character grew up with the nickname Fozzy, which is why he is sensitive about his curly locks?
- What caused the arrested state of development of your eccentric executive who initiated a video-game interval to replace tea time?
However…
Merely copying your notes and sketches into the book is not going to be entertaining for the reader. You are telling and not showing. Work setting and scenery into the book gently.
Conversely, making tangential allusions to significant character-altering events without leaving enough breadcrumbs for your reader to get from Mongolia to Tahiti will make your manuscript appear flaky and incomprehensible.
Drop it!
If you find your characters or setting are heavier than your story line, cut them. Yes, edit out events which are merely tangents. If the character or setting’s past is relevant, establish it earlier rather than making a right in Albuquerque. If your event is relevant to another book, move it. Tangents and hooks are different species.
Yes, edit out excessively long descriptions which are merely background, history or asides. Other than being boring, it can come across as condescending. Your reader may feel as though you think they are too uninformed to know the location or unable to understand without all of your excruciating minutiae.
Remember, your readers are not going to have your note cards to understand the book. They only have what you put in the manuscript.
Wrap it up!
- Map your world and setting.
- Sketch and know your characters.
- Accurately convey setting within the normal course of action.
- Explain out-of-character responses or change them.
- Establish exceptions early rather than using asides.
- Edit out what is not necessary.
How can deconstruction help you prepare for sequels? Would you prefer the history at the beginning or as a tangential aside in the last half of the story? Where is the line between suspense and withholding information?
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Laurie
/ April 27, 2013“Yes, edit out excessively long descriptions which are merely background, history or asides. “- I’ve read some books that could have benefited greatly from this. I wanted to hunt the author down and beat them into submission until they agreed that it was overkill to describe every nook, crevice and cranny with each flaw notied.
Carl D'Agostino
/ April 28, 2013I agree
Carl D’Agostino recently posted..“Moonstruck” by Carl D’Agostino
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013I knew others would agree.
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013While I am certain there will be many agree with this, I think it is merely a side effect of passion for the subject. Where authors miss the boat is in thinking the reader will share all of the same passion with them. This is one arena where I would support a rating system for books other than the star system in place now.
Gail Thornton
/ April 27, 2013I am writing my second memoir. I am bookmarking this post. I am weaving an unusual setting into the book, as the character and dialog progresses. So far, my first beta reader (she is getting it in sections) has approved of the way I am doing it. Most important for me is to get the character development on target, which began with the very beginning of the book. When multiple characters are interacting, I want it to be true and believable. Your tips and discussion has helped immensely. I’ll be buying the note cards tomorrow.
Thank you Red! <3
Gail Thornton recently posted..Mantra’s Book of Shadows, Dark Poetry by Red Dwyer
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013You are welcome. I love the storyboard approach. While I use notebooks for a great many things, for me the note cards on room inventory are priceless. It is a way for the scenery to help define the character. We put ourselves into our environment. I use it to my advantage. Glad you liked this one, Gail. xxx
Carl D'Agostino
/ April 28, 2013“oppressive descriptions” Yes, seems many writers fill almost a third of the wordage in the novel with this frivolous bulk. ADJ and ADV and setting description should be sparse , well placed, well pointed and dynamic and should not put characters and action secondary due to overuse. If the reader’s mind is not creating the pictures you are probably an inadequate writer in the first place. An alternative way to express mere descriptions is the use of creative metaphors and similes which personally keep me reading something I might toss into the trash after half way through the first chapter. I often note these on blank end page while reading. I don’t have such problems as my “novels” are a picture and a sentence that entertain much more than real books in many cases that I’ve read. On the other hand I respect every novelist as their talent to whatever degree is far beyond mine in such endeavor which I dare not even attempt.
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013That makes you on the more educated end of the spectrum, Carl. I was having this discussion a few days ago. There are fewer authors willing to forgo the minutiae when it is easier to stuff the book with dreaminess meant to make the reader work at the experience rather than challenging the mind with cleverness and wit. One thing which helps me is to look for books in the 3-4 star range. I find if it is too cerebral for most, I am far more likely to enjoy it.
While you may not be a novelist, you are an artist. You routinely forgo the verbosity in favor of punchline. It stands to reason you would look for that in your literature as well. Glad to see you today, Carl.
Valentine Logar
/ April 28, 2013Laurie said it best, that is wanting to hunt down the author and beat them into submission. There are books and authors who fail abysmally when it comes to details, how much is too much.
Deconstruction is a wonderful exercise, would that more authors took it up. I suspect though many would cry at the process, mine mine they would say.
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013Those who truly want a better book do wonderfully in deconstruction. Those who take the steps on the front half find there are plenty of opportunities to tweak (especially subtract for room for more plot). I like deconstructing smaller pieces as well. It helps me keep flash far below the minimum. xxx
Prenin
/ April 28, 2013It’s a delicate balancing act it is true! 🙂
I find myself filling note pads with names, places and ideas, mostly because I have a lousy memory.
When it comes to editing the next story I’ll have to reread it a couple of times to get back to where I was when I originally wrote it.
No wonder they call it a labour of love – it’s like trying to raise kids!!! 🙂
Love and hugs!
Prenin.
Prenin recently posted..Saturday – Doug plays games.
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013How often do we refer to our books as our babies? It is a labor of love, and when it is done well, they become pillars of which to be proud… not just ugly children only we like.
Bearman
/ April 28, 2013Just trying to still pronounce that word
Bearman recently posted..Tyrion Lannister Game of Thrones
Red of M3
/ April 28, 2013Everything from the eye doc is hard to pronounce. Silly Greeks. Why put an “eff” in the middle of e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g? Hmm. No, not going there.
tess kann
/ April 28, 2013As excellent as this themed alphabet challenge has been, I believe I’ve enjoyed this one most. Keeping information straight is work but less so if the groundwork is laid first. I’ve a million things to learn but am able to cut, reject, snip and cut again without sobbing a flood.
Excellent post and thank you, Red.
tess kann recently posted..Sunday Snippets Blog Hop
Red of M3
/ May 1, 2013To be honest, being able to let things go is one of the hardest things for the majority of authors. There are a million ways to help yourself along the way. xxx
Binky
/ April 28, 2013Writers had better know their own characters and universe. It is rather annoying when they don’t. Ideally you should probably have the least amount of description and exposition in your story that you can get away with. But on your own sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’ve cut out too much or not.
Binky recently posted..Super Rich Coffee
Red of M3
/ May 1, 2013Which is the number one reazon to have beta readers.
John Phillips
/ April 28, 2013I am definitely learning some very interesting things here Red. I believe that I’ll bookmark this and give it some more thought.
John Phillips recently posted..Song Of The Day – Donovan Woods – “Put On Cologne”
Red of M3
/ May 1, 2013Good to see you, John. I hope so. Seems everyone is wanting to see this one as an ebook with all the information they know I cut to make the world limit.
MJ Logan
/ April 29, 2013It’s not everyday that someone sends me scrambling for Mr. Webster, but you managed today.
Hard as I try, I always worry about nearly everything in this post except location. I use maps of real places, although I sometimes change place names.
Funny that I had an idea to write a story that took place entirely in the kitchen. Inspiration came from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope, where characters came and went from a single room. I had thought of five exits/entrances they could come in from, or leave to, from the kitchen. The pantry, the back door, the hallway, the basement, the dining room. This was all possible in the house I grew up in.
All I needed was a good plot, and never came up with one.
MJ Logan recently posted..Y is for Ye Ole Fishing Hole
Red of M3
/ May 1, 2013I can think of quite a few. Then again, I can write full novels which only span the course of a day. I think it would not be too far off to leave them in one room.
As organized as you are (can be) I would imagine you have some of this already in your arsenal.