Who Are You Inviting?

I'm not sure if other writers feel this way, but for me, when it comes to writing, I need to have a solid idea of who my characters are before I start.  I may not have every tiny detail worked out, but I have a good idea of their general personality traits, their flaws, their strengths.

I liken this to hosting a dinner party.  Long before I plan the menu or select the vino, I think about who to invite.  Which guests will mix well with the others?  What common bonds might they share?  I may think to myself that I surely have to invite Tyler - he's always good for jokes and injecting humour into an evening. And of course, I have to invite Jim - he always has wild stories to tell.  Julie just got back from a trip to Brazil and I can't wait to hear about the trip.  Donna will probably bring her guitar and after dinner drinks may turn into a sing-along.  And I know that if I invite both Liz and Andrew, there will likely be a heated debate about politics or current events since they are polar opposites.  

You get the idea.  

Once I know who I'm dealing with, the plot slowly starts to come together.  If I know Andrew is a bit of a hothead, then it will be easy for me to thrust him into situations and know just how he will react.  And when it comes to dialogue and Tyler - piece of cake because I know he will crack wise at any opportunity.

There are all sorts of charts and lists that one can create (or find online) to help you with character development, but I don't use any of those.  I'm fairly loose about backgrounds - what I do for one I may not do for another.  But generally, for most of my main characters, I'll figure out:

• political leanings - and do they usually vote?
• zodiac sign
• education (major), or did they drop out of high school?
• religion - whatever it may be - do they practice it actively?
• where they fit in the family tree (middle child, youngest, etc.)
• relationship with parents (and were they divorced?)
• ethnic/cultural background
• attitude towards some "hot button" issues, like marijuana, immigration, gay marriage, etc.
• talents/hobbies that have nothing to do with the plot or with their jobs (do they play an instrument or are they on a sports team?)

The list could go on and on (do they prefer Coke over Pepsi, Apple or Windows, are they afraid of heights, do they have/do they like pets, do they have any allergies, etc.) but the above points usually give me an idea of who my character is.  And that's a great start!

BETA READERS! BETA READERS! SIS, BOOM, YAY! By guest author Gloria Ferris

           After my front-line editor has scrutinized my manuscript and we’ve wrestled to the ground every punctuation and grammar error, and repaired every lapse in plot flow we can find, I print copies for my beta readers. They are my last line of defence, my last chance for perfection, before the submission letter. I know perfection is impossible, but I still strive for it.

                The really important thing about beta readers is that they love to find errors. And I love it when they do. I am profusely and genuinely grateful when they pass me their well-thought-out comments. I do the happy dance when they find anything amiss, whether it’s in timing, grammar, or punctuation. When one of them triumphantly informs me that a character stood up twice on the same page without sitting down in between, I could cry with joy. I mean, how would a mistake like that look to a publisher? Amateur time, right?

                Often, a beta reader will come back to me with a question like, “Why did Lyris get hit in the eye with a snowball in Chapter 2, but there’s no mention in the rest of the book of the eye turning black?” See, this is a good question. Not a deal-breaker maybe, but easy enough for me to go back and hit Lyris in the stomach where it won’t show, or drop in a mention of her black eye in a subsequent scene. Beta readers help ensure every little sub-plot is tied up in a pretty bow. Paying customers may not notice the bow, but they might be thrown off by the omission of a black eye.

                I have one reader with a highly-developed sense of justice. She thinks every character should get their just desserts. They should pay for every transgression. Um, no. Nobody gets away with murder in my books, but plenty of minor offences go unpunished. Knowing her as I do, I overlook the social order critiques and celebrate her gift for locating double words, missing words, missing punctuation — in short, she takes my manuscript closer to perfection.

                If more than one beta reader makes the same, or similar, comment, I pay attention. At this late stage of the writing process, I’m not keen on making any major changes to plot line or character development. But, if something is bugging several beta readers, then it will bug a lot of paying customers. Thankfully, though, this doesn’t often happen.

                I would never send out a manuscript without first filtering it through my beta readers. When I give them the printout — much better for finding discrepancies than electronic reading — I ask them to get back to me within three weeks. To encourage them to be honest with their opinions and make it easier to list their findings, I also hand them a pre-printed form. Not one of them has failed me yet.

                Where do you find beta readers? They are everywhere, and mine include relatives and friends. A few are also writers. I acknowledge them by name and thank them in my books.

                I know writers who don’t use beta readers at all, and some who only ask other writers to read their manuscripts. Whatever works, there’s no wrong way to do it. But, my little posse of beta-readers works well for me! 

 

A former technical writer, Gloria’s first mystery, CHEAT THE HANGMAN, won the 2012 Bony Blithe Award for best light mystery. She is working on another mystery novel and occasionally writes a short story or novella just for the heck of it.

www.gloriaferris.com

www.gloriaferrismysteries.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/gloriaferris

Follow Gloria on Twitter @GloriaFerris

My Maiden Voyage with Beta Readers

I've never before used Beta Readers.  In fact, until a couple of months ago, I didn't even know for sure what a Beta Reader was or was supposed to do.

Short explanation: Beta Readers are folks (often fellow writers, but not exclusively) who read your manuscript and give you feedback.  The feedback can take on just about any shape - from formatting to dialogue to plot to structure to punctuation, and everything in between.

A little while ago, I (nervously) sent the manuscript of Frisky Business to six people.  They all got back to me fairly quickly (which in itself was a very good sign.)  

Wow!  What a cool process this beta reading thing is!  The overall reactions were positive, very positive, and obviously that made me do a happy dance!  Yay!  


But, despite the loads of good karma these six people gave me, they also offered criticism - constructive, well-intended criticism.  

I'm so very glad they did!!!

As I read through their comments, I found myself nodding in agreement.  I thought to myself: "Yes... Good point!   ...My gawd, he's right!   ...Wow, her suggestion is terrific!" and so on.  

I can honestly say that there wasn't one point raised by a single one of them that I disagreed with.  So, revisions are being made, and Frisky Business will be a better book because of going through this process!

It's a good feeling to try something new and to have it work out so well, so satisfyingly.  That's probably because I was smart enough to choose good Beta Readers.

Avoid Rejection Letters… An Editor's Check List by Dee Lloyd

AVOID REJECTION LETTERS… AN EDITOR’S CHECK LIST

By DEE LLOYD

During my six years as Acquisitions Editor for the now-defunct LTDBooks I must have read several thousand submissions. Many of the manuscripts I reluctantly had to reject had much to offer. If the authors had looked carefully at the following aspects of their writing, my response might have been more positive.

Here are some of my pet peeves. I address many of them in my October course PUTTING THE SUSPENSE IN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE at Savvy Authors www.savvyauthors.com .

THE CHECK LIST:

1.    Spelling and grammar. There is no more obvious fault to an editor than poor grammar and spelling. No matter how intriguing your opening scene is, faulty sentence structure and spelling errors will influence the editor’s decision. Even if you are confident about your writing skills, it is wise to have a knowledgeable person do a careful read through. Don’t rely solely on spell check. It will accept “There”, “their” and “they’re” because they are all properly spelled. Their meanings are totally different and their improper use is jarring.

2.    Compelling opening. Too much background information slows the beginning of your story. This is my most frequent reason to reject a novel. Save the backstory for the moment that you need it. The reader loses interest in long introductory paragraphs where the setting is lovingly set out and the characters' backgrounds are given in detail.

3.    Believable characters. Know your characters in depth. Show me who the character is by how she behaves in a real, compelling situation. Don't tell me she has been hurt in the past. Show me how she overreacts now. Explain later, much later. (Perhaps at a point when she has to explain her actions to someone.)

4.    Natural dialogue. Read your dialogue aloud. Make sure that each character has his or her own voice. The professor doesn't use the same language or have the same rhythm to her speech as the man who is repairing her roof. (If he does have the same kind of vocabulary, there had better be an explanation for that.)

5.    Essential characters only. I always remember Timothy Findley saying in an article for students of creative writing, "Be prepared to kill your darlings." Of course he was talking not only about editing out characters but about cutting delightful, poetic descriptions that might not be appropriate to the story you are telling.

6.    Point of view. Beware of having a character describe herself in a scene that is written from her point of view.

      

      "How could he sit there cheerfully filling his face when he had just destroyed her world? Marcie blinked back the tears that were threatening to fill her sea-green eyes. Her waist-length, chestnut hair swayed as she stalked up to his table. She would fix his little wagon!"

She obviously cannot see her own hair or eyes. In this example, the reader is jerked out of Marcie’s mind for the description, then back into it. Don’t lose the reader/character connection.

7.    Length of sentences. Don’t write too many long sentences. I have no objection to long sentences; however, in this day of dedicated ereaders and smaller screens, I have found that they can lose their effectiveness. When I started to read on my first electronic hand-held device several years ago, I noticed that shorter sentences had more punch. Be careful though that you don't fall into the trap of beginning each short sentence with the subject. Sentence fragments must be used even more judiciously because the shorter page makes everything more obvious.

8.    Similarity in character names. I got myself into a bind by being too cute about the names of a couple of gorgeous twins in CHANGE OF PLANS. Calling them Bret and Bart was funny, I thought, for a couple of secondary characters. However, when I had some requests for a story for Bret, and wrote GHOST OF A CHANCE, I was stuck with the names. And it wasn't easy to prevent confusion. Then Bart got his story in UNQUIET SPIRITS! Be careful.

9.    Word count. This is more important in a print book than in an ebook. In an ebook, the prescribed length of the manuscript is the length of the story. However, be aware that many publishers release ebook and print simultaneously.Before submitting to any publishing house read the guidelines carefully and follow them. Each publisher posts guidelines on its website.

10. Pace. Your text must be tight and move along. No reader will tolerate an author wallowing in description or in long unnecessary philosophic dissertation. Nothing puts a reader (or this editor) off faster than a sermon or a political statement passed off as a novel.

These are the most common areas for rejection. I deal with them in depth in my Romantic Suspense course (October 7 – 27).

My best advice is to read what the publishing house you are targeting has already released. Each house has a style and a tone which is hard to describe. Make sure your story fits that style.

Good luck with your writing career!

Dee Lloyd www.deelloyd.com

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