Fiction – Page 5 – Catholic Writers Guild

Narrative Voice, Characterization and Reading To Improve Writing

March 11, 2013/7 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Fiction, Self-Publishing/by Ellen Gable Hrkach

Novelists should always be willing (and eager) to improve their craft. Writing fiction is difficult and complex because of the many complicated aspects (narrative voice, writing style, imagery, plot lines, characterization, setting etc).

Whether you’re a bestselling author or an aspiring novelist, one of the best ways to improve your writing is by reading well-written novels. Read books and dissect them. Ask yourself, What makes this particular novel great? What makes it not-so-great?

William Faulkner once said, “Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write.”

Currently, I read at least 100 books a year, mostly novels. I enjoy immersing myself in a compelling story with believable, relatable characters, rich imagery. These are the types of novels I aspire to write.

I read at night before bed and often first thing in the morning. I read manuscripts that are submitted to my publishing company. I enjoy a variety of contemporary novels and often read a classic or two here and there.

When I was a newbie, my editor recommended I read several books, then asked me to figure out what each book’s strength was. The first novel on the list was a book entitled “Picture Perfect,” by Jodi Picoult. (Spoiler alert) It’s a novel about spousal abuse. Picoult brilliantly creates an abusive – yet sympathetic – husband. So much so that when the abusive husband is begging his wife to return, I said out loud, “Oh, give the poor guy another chance.” I eventually came to my senses, but I realized that it was the author’s brilliant characterizations that made me want the abused wife to return to her abuser.

The following list is recommended for helping with character studies and narrative voice. It is, by no means, definitive. There are literally thousands of great novels with excellent characterizations.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (I own a hard copy but downloaded this on Kindle for .99). This has remained my favorite book of all time and I read it every few years. Mitchell only wrote one novel but it is the quintessential novel, especially if you’re writing romance. This book has the whole package: excellent, crisp writing, compelling story, intricate, believable and brilliant character studies. (More on the “Whole Package” novel in my next post.)

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult: The winner of numerous awards, this novel is filled with brilliant character studies and narrative voices. The movie version was okay, but the book is much better (although like most of Picoult’s books, the ending is unexpected).

The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Conner: Just pick any of the short stories in this thick book and you’ll learn from O’Connor, who was a master of crisp, edgy writing and excellent characterizations.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh: A classic. Brilliant characterizations.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather: (read my review here) Also a classic.

The Lottery (short story) by Shirley Jackson (available free online) Excellent character studies.

Jewel by Bret Lott: This novel’s strength is the main female protagonist’s believable, moving, well-developed character.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway: This is my personal favorite of Hemingway’s novels. In this atypical war romance, I think the author’s strength is in the characterizations of the two main characters. I saw the movie with Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones first, but the book captures their characters better than the movie. (Currently .99 on Kindle)

Do you have any favorite books or short stories that are strong in narrative voice and characterization? If so, please feel free to comment below.

Next month: The Whole Package and Reading Books that encompass great characters, unpredictable compelling stories AND rich, crisp writing.

Balance in Fiction Writing

February 26, 2013/17 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Marketing Your Work, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

Balance.

A few days ago, Ellen Gable Hrkach posted a great blog on common errors to avoid in writing fiction. One item she mentioned got me to thinking, namely too much dialogue.

What’s ‘too much’?

A lot of times that depends on the genre you’re writing. Clearly, screenplays and graphic novels rely almost exclusively on dialogue.

Novels, however, require a blend of narrative, description, introspection and dialogue. The ratio of one to the other changes with both prevailing ‘style’ and with genre. Novels written a century ago utilize long passages of description and flowery stretches of dialogue, whereas the trend today is for faster, tighter construction in all areas, especially dialogue.

How do you know if your manuscript has a good balance? Part of this comes down to voice, that elusive factor that makes your work yours. However, we’ve all had the experience of reading a book and finding ourselves skipping over passages, maybe even pages. If we skip too much, we’ll put the book down – and if that happens, we may never pick it up again.

Not good, if you’re the author.

Next time this happens, stop and analyze why you lost interest. Chances are there was too much of one element on the page. Too much description. Too much internal monologue, or perhaps too much narrative. Sometimes too much dialogue, but if that’s problematic, it’s more likely because the ‘voices’ of the characters are too similar. They need to be so distinctive that the reader knows who is speaking. Even so, if they go on for pages, the reader may tire. (For more on dialogue, click here.)

One helpful technique is to analyze your manuscript for the different elements and highlight the pages. Margie Lawson teaches a method for this in her Deep Editing classes. Choose different colors for narrative, description, emotion, dialogue, and internal thought, etc., then go to town with your highlighters (or crayons, or whatever your inner child wants to play with!). If one color dominates a page, revision might be in order. One of my critique partners occasionally says of my work, “This section has too much yellow.” Since we’ve both taken Lawson’s class, I immediately understand what the problem is. My work flows better if the page has a rainbow of colors. Another application of this technique is to apply your highlighters to one (or more) of your favorite published books.

Keep in mind there is no ‘one size fits all’ in fiction. Thank God! Otherwise, reading would get boring! Check out a wide variety of books to see how other authors manipulate the elements that create story.

For instance, action novels such as Lee Child’s Reacher series use lots of dialogue, but it’s nearly all less than one line long. Child also uses relatively long stretches of description/narrative, and he tends to go with one or the other at any given point. His books are effective, powerful, and popular.

Debbie Macomber takes a more blended approach in her wildly successful women’s fiction and romance novels. You will find narrative, description, introspection and dialogue on nearly every page.

Many authors are exploring screenwriting classes, some for the challenge of breaking into a new field, but most for a better understanding of both story structure and use of dialogue. While this is an excellent strategy for honing of specific elements, written fiction is more effective and more engaging when the entire spectrum of tools are used to create the final product.

The subject of balance also touches on pacing, which is a topic deserving of its own post. Narrative, description, and interior monologue can slow the pace—although skillfully applied, they can ratchet up the tension until it is unbearable. Dialogue tends to speed things up.

As you can see, there isn’t a cut-and-dried answer to ‘how much is too much’. But a willingness to analyze and evaluate your writing will always make it stronger. Look at your work with an eye toward what you want to accomplish in a given scene. Learn to use all the tools in your toolbox. Buy books on the craft of writing. Review them once in a while. Take classes. Be open to feedback from trusted colleagues, and then decide how (or if) you will apply their advice.

Find the best balance for your story and your voice.

Have you struggled with this aspect of writing? Do you have tips to share? Please do!

Improving Your Fiction Manuscript: Common Errors To Avoid

February 11, 2013/13 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Fiction, Self-Publishing/by Ellen Gable Hrkach

A good novel begins with a great story, a compelling plot, interesting characters. But it doesn’t end there. A good novel also needs to be well written.

I’ve been editing other authors’ novels for two years and writing novels for ten years. What follows are the most common mistakes I see in fiction manuscripts and self-published novels. By finding and fixing these common errors, you can improve your manuscript before it gets to the editor.

1. Overuse of Adverbs
If you’re working on a manuscript right now, do a “find” or “search” for every word that ends with ly. Now remove half of them. Your manuscript is already better. Even without doing a search or find, read each sentence. Are there two adverbs in some sentences? Recent manuscripts I’ve read contain sentences with two or three adverbs.

2. Repetitive Wording
Just, so, very, some. It’s difficult for an author to see his/her own mistakes. Have someone else read through your manuscript to assist you with this. For me, I often can’t see that I often use the same word often in the same sentence (see what I mean?) Or…read your manuscript backwards. This helps to show you areas of repetitive wording and other common errors.

3. Show Don’t Tell
This is a big newbie mistake.

He was sad.
She was amazed.
The look on her face was happy.

Now go through your manuscript and pick out all the times an emotion is simply stated and not described. Instead of writing “He was sad,” try something like “his shoulders slumped” or “his eyes were etched in grief.” Instead of writing “She was amazed,” experiment with different descriptions. One of the most helpful resources I’ve found is The Emotion Thesaurus.

A seasoned reader can spot a badly written, amateur book a mile away and usually within the first two pages. And…it will be more interesting for your reader if you allow them to visualize what’s going on.

4. Too Much Interior Thought
When I presented the initial draft of my first novel to my editor, one of her biggest complaints was “too much interior thinking.” When a character’s italicized thoughts are on every page, twice a page, that’s too much. It’s almost as if the author is lazy and just wants to tell the reader exactly what the character is thinking. Interior thought is fine when used sparingly, but not several times a page. Describe how they’re feeling instead.

5. Comma Errors, Grammar Errors
A great book for helping fix comma errors is:Eats, Shoots and Leaves. As well, search on Amazon for good grammar books. There are many.

6. Exclamation Points!
First-time novelists tend to use too many exclamation points. Do a search and omit most of them (replacing them with descriptions of the tone or face).

7. Too Much Dialogue
My first novel, Emily’s Hope, is 60 percent dialogue and 40 percent narrative. As a beginner, I didn’t know any better. Quality novels tend to use dialogue to serve the narrative, not the other way around. Dialogue can also be a lazy way to show character development. Dialogue is important, but if it’s the mainstay of your book, write a screenplay instead.

8. Underestimating the Intelligence of the Reader (e.g. hitting the reader over the head)
Here’s an example: He was sad. He was depressed. It was hard for him because he seemed so sad. Okay, we get it. He’s sad. Once is enough…and even at that, it’s better to describe what he looks like and feels like.

9. Avoid Descriptive Clichés or Sayings
“She felt like a million bucks”
“Smoother than a baby’s bottom”
Well, you can think of many. Create your own descriptive metaphors and similes instead of using well-known cliches.

10. Point of View
Many first-time novelists tend to use omniscient point of view (POV), that is, in any given scene, the author shows what’s going on in everyone’s mind, even within the same paragraph. This is difficult to do well, even for the experienced, bestselling novelist. And…it can be confusing for the reader. If you want your readers to bond with the characters, try using third person (intimate) POV. For more information, check out my guest post for Savvy Authors.

Eliminating these common errors will improve your manuscript before it even gets to the editor.

Are you working on a fiction manuscript? Do you have any favorite writing books you’d like to share? Please feel free to comment below.

Image purchased from iStock.

Digital, Print or Both?

January 14, 2013/2 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Fiction, Self-Publishing/by Ellen Gable Hrkach

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

New self-publishers often ask the question: should I go digital, print or both?

Ten years ago when I was in the beginning stages of self-publishing my first book, I never considered offering my book digitally on a wide scale. Although I occasionally sent PDFs to reviewers, the digital revolution had not yet taken off. As well, I was concerned about e-book piracy (which will be a topic of a future post).

Fast forward seven years. On a whim, I decided to convert and upload my first two books to Kindle (at the time, there were no conversion programs…it took weeks of trial and error to figure out how to do it). However, this “whim” soon became the best publishing and financial decision I ever made.

For more on how my e-books became successful, check out my previous blog post.

If I were doing it today, I would probably do both. However, digital publishing is ideal to start with since there are no major printing costs to spend up front and you can reach millions of people within hours.

I still use a printing company (more on “print-on-demand” companies in a future post) for hard copy books, but I sell many more e-copies than print. Because of this success, my company is now publishing other authors’ books.

Here are some pointers I’ve come up with for publishing e-books:

Use Professional E-Conversion Companies (or learn how to do it professionally yourself)
Once you’ve uploaded your book to Kindle, use the previewer to determine whether it’s formatted properly…I can’t tell you how many times I’ve downloaded a book (some by established authors) that was not formatted correctly, like missing words, letters or words on different lines, which makes it difficult to read.

Editor
E-books still need editors. Check out my previous post about editors.

Cover Designer
I can usually tell a self-published book a mile away by the look of the cover. Please employ a professional. The cover design should be a normal cover size (and please, not a horizontal rectangle!)
Check out my previous post about covers.

Book Blurb
Must be well-written and short enough to pique your prospective readers’ interest, but not give them too much information.

Kindle KDP or Kindle, Nook, Kobo etc.
You must decide whether to go exclusively with Kindle KDP or have your book be available on other e-reader sites. The advantages of having your book exclusively on Kindle is that you can do free promotions (successful free promotions almost always bring a surge in actual sales following the free promotion). Your book also gets to be part of the KDP Library that Amazon Prime members can borrow for free. But that doesn’t mean you don’t get paid. A few months ago, for every borrow, I actually received MORE money than I did for each sale (2.20).

To find out more about the KDP Program:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

If you’d prefer to have your book available for other e-readers, check out Smashwords as they are a distributor for the other e-readers. A warning, however: Smashwords does not offer the same sort of piracy protection that Kindle does. (E-book piracy will be a topic of an upcoming post…)

Digital or Print? I’d say do both…but start with digital!

Next month: Print on Demand or Off Set Printing?

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment below.

Query Letters – How to write a good one

November 27, 2012/25 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Marketing Your Work, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

You’ve just typed The End on your manuscript, your gloriously awesome book that’s going to rocket to the top of the New York Times best seller list! Editors are going to line up at your door, fighting to be the one privileged enough to publish your work. Thousands of people will stand in line for your signature at book signings, and you’d better clear your schedule for the television talk show circuit. Oh, and make sure your bank account is big enough to hold all the moolah that the USPS is going to deliver to your door. You are on your way, baby!

Except…no one is knocking. In fact, no one is even lurking in the shrubbery. And when it comes down to details, you’re not entirely sure how to get the attention of those New York editors, or even agents. You’ve been talking up your project to all your relatives, your friends, even your acquaintances. You’ve let a select few read your work (you deserve to be paid for it, after all!), and they rave about it! Why, it’s better than (fill in the blank with your favorite—and very rich—author)!

What to do???

This is what: set up a systematic, professional plan for querying.

It’s going to require hard work, persistence, and a thick skin to sell your work. If you do this part right, you’ll have a much better chance of actually getting published. And if your work rises above the fray, you may make it to that rarefied atmosphere of best seller-dom. If you do it wrong, you’ll get nowhere in traditional publishing.

A query letter, whether submitted via email or hard copy, is a one-page business letter with a fairly standard format. It is brief, professional in tone, and your only chance to connect with some agents or editors. Let’s look at the elements of the letter, and some common pitfalls to avoid, as well:

Research your targeted agent/editor. Make sure s/he is interested in the type of project you are pitching. Don’t send your speculative fiction to an agent who represents cookbooks and memoirs. Make sure they are accepting new clients. Then, send an individually addressed letter to the specific person—and spell their name right. The advent of email queries has tempted too many authors to try the ‘Dear Sir or Madam’, multiple-recipient approach. Sound like spam to you? It does to the recipients, and most delete without reading. I can’t stress these items strongly enough. I follow several agents on Twitter, and the biggest reasons for not reading past the first paragraph of the query letter are included in this list.

Cutesy doesn’t work. Use white paper if submitting via hard copy, or no background wallpaper on your email submission. Use standard fonts and font sizes. Times New Roman 12 works well; beautiful flowing script fonts don’t. Remember, this is business—on your end and on theirs.

Pitch finished projects. Keep in mind agents get thousands of queries a month. An unfinished manuscript isn’t competitive.

Only include personal information as it relates to your project. Your family, hobbies, other career, etc., are not fodder for this letter. If your story has strong elements that include fighter pilots or dulcimer players, and you are a fighter pilot or a dulcimer player, then include that; otherwise, as fascinating as your background is, it’s irrelevant. Also, resist the urge to say that your mother (or best friend, or spouse, etc.) thinks yours is the best book ever. Let the agent or editor be the judge.

Do include any writing credits. I’ve had interesting responses with this. At a pitch session for book length fiction, I sat with one editor who literally wadded up my nonfiction writing credits and threw them away. Clearly, he was unimpressed. However, the next editor was quite taken with the same information and spent time exploring it. Those credits lifted my submission above the standard in her mind. Bottom line: it doesn’t hurt to include writing credits. At the very least, it demonstrates that another editor somewhere thinks your work is worth publishing, and that you have experience with the editorial process. Always list membership in writing organizations and contest wins or placements. Again, some agents/editors value this more than others. But if you don’t toot your own horn, they’ll never know.

Keep it professional and polite. A query letter is a great place for confidence, but not such a good place for an overinflated ego. If you have a critique group, run your query letter past them. Sometimes they can see an area you need to emphasize more, or can suggest better wording. As an aside, one of my critique partners discovered she was pitching the wrong aspect of her story. Once she corrected that, her queries began getting responses.

So the basic format is:

Dear Ms. Specific Name Spelled Correctly,

I am seeking representation for my completed, xxx-thousand computer word count (name of genre) manuscript, Best Book Since War and Peace, set in (time, place). (If the story has a theme that is unique, you may wish to include it here.)

The next two paragraphs are like the back cover blurb would be for the book. Generally, one paragraph for the main character, the second for the other lead. Go to the bookstore (or your private library) for examples. Your goal here is to give a solid sense of the plot, a taste of your voice, but not a synopsis with lots of details or the resolution of the story.

The fourth paragraph will list your writing credits.

Close with a polite ‘I hope to hear from you soon’ and make sure to include your contact information.

Keep a spreadsheet or record of your queries. Make notes; don’t be afraid to follow up after a reasonable time (usually listed on the website), but don’t stalk. The publishing community is a small one; take care to develop your reputation as one of consummate professionalism. Divas and stalkers have no place in the business.

Query. A lot. Set aside time, set a specific goal, and keep the queries flowing. Follow the submission guidelines on the websites; they differ. Evaluate your responses and adjust future queries accordingly. But keep at it. And continue to work on improving your craft. If you’ve significantly revised and improved a project, don’t be afraid to re-query. Agents and editors really are looking for great stuff to publish. Give your work its best chance to catch their eye.

There are lots of sites and books out there that are great resources. Check with your writing organization for reputable agents, and make sure agents you query are members of the Association of Author’s Representatives. *No legitimate agent will ever charge a fee for reading your work.

What have your experiences with querying been like? Any advice? Questions? I hope this post helps rocket your work to the status of ‘sold and published’ – and best seller-dom!

Gotcha! Hooks: What They Are and How to Create Page-Turning Fiction

October 23, 2012/10 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Self-Publishing, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

What’s a hook??? I admit to scratching my head over that term, and for a much-too-long time. I would hear it when people were discussing top-selling novels; I’d see it in articles about the craft of writing. It was a frequent comment from my critique partners. “Not much of hook there, Leslie.” (Insert visual of me scratching my head. Again.) They tried to explain it to me: Leave the reader hanging at the end of the chapter. An unanswered question. A cliffhanger.

Well, that was all fine and dandy, except I didn’t get the concept. Until our critique group got down to business and I began to evaluate other people’s unfinished work. Over time, I began to recognize when the end of a chapter or scene felt flat. I began to see how they worked through the process. And then when I saw what my fellow writers did to spice up the work, it finally began to make sense. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place for me when I read James Scott Bell’s Elements of Fiction Writing – Conflict & Suspense.

The basic idea is to end a chapter with the character facing peril of some sort, whether an internal conflict or an external plot development. The higher the stakes for the character, the better. In fact, Bell suggests the character must face death in some form – physical, psychological or professional. Of course your story isn’t filled with melodramatic, overblown situations, but each character must have something crucial at stake in each scene. By setting it up so someone is forced to face failure at some level, and then leaving the conflict unresolved, you create a hook.

Hooks come from disaster (Bell’s death) looming, occurring, or simply being implied. The hook can be expressed through dialogue, as a plot twist, as emotion, or via action. The hook can be an actual question, although I’d caution you to use that technique sparingly. I read a book once that ended every chapter with a question, and it felt like old-fashioned middle grade fiction. It didn’t work so well in an adult novel. Whatever method you chose to create a hook, take care to do it in a way that doesn’t leave the reader feeling manipulated. That usually has the opposite effect from what you intend!

One of the most common errors is the form that many of us learned in school: To write each chapter with a beginning, a middle, and an end. This works for nonfiction, but if you want a fiction reader to say “I couldn’t put it down!”, try ending the chapter a paragraph or two early. You’ll be surprised at how well this simple technique works. Then use that bit as the beginning of the next scene.

Go to your personal library of favorite books, or to the library or bookstore. Page through your favorite authors’ work and read the last paragraph of each chapter. You’ll get a solid sense of what creates a hook in short order.

It’s always a question that leaves the reader wanting—no, needing to know what happens next??? Whatever you do, don’t answer the question until the end of the book! Well, you can answer bits of it as you go along, but don’t answer the main question of the book until the end.

Hopefully, the result will be an ocean full of readers happily chasing the hook you’ve dangled – and saying, “That book was so good, I couldn’t put it down!”

How do you define a hook? What’s your approach to creating one? Share your favorite technique!

Tag! You’re It! Writing Dialogue in Fiction

September 25, 2012/7 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Humour, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

“Hi, Beth,” waved Justin.

“Why, Justin, I haven’t seen you since our high school prom six years ago, the one where our mutual friend, Erik, got suspended for spiking the punch,” gushed Beth.

“Ho, ho,” chortled Justin. “Those were the days! He went on to become a successful, if whacky and innovative executive with an online social network. What have you been doing since then?” he queried.

“As you know, my family life was difficult and I had many obstacles to overcome, but I triumphed by speeding through college in record time, completing my undergraduate, double major degree in only two years, and am graduating from medical school next week,” Beth elaborated.

Are you bored yet? Grinding your teeth and wanting to throw this story across the room? I am; it was painful writing it!

Good dialogue can carry a story; conversely, badly written dialogue can sink one faster than the Titanic’s spectacular and ignominious end. Many resources are available, from Renni Browne and Dave King’s Self Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition to Write Great Fiction: Dialogue by Gloria Kempton, and more. If a good book on the craft of writing dialogue doesn’t reside on your shelf, I strongly suggest you consider acquiring one.

Let’s examine this fragment to see why it’s so grating. There are four issues here: dialogue tags, stilted language, indistinct voice, and information dump.

Dialogue tags are the words we use to indicate that a character is speaking. When I wrote the first draft of my first novel, I spent hours dreamily staring into space while trying to conjure the cleverest dialogue tags ever. My characters retorted, snorted, coughed, shivered and quivered their lines. After reading the above example, you can see how awful it was!

In reality, you only need a few simple guidelines.

1. Use the word ‘said’ whenever necessary. It’s an almost invisible word to the reader, whereas all the chortles, queries, etc. do nothing but draw attention to the author—not the story. The author should be entirely invisible, and your goal is to keep the reader engrossed in the story, not yanked out by strange word choices.

2. Keep in mind that physical actions are not involved in uttering speech. Rather than succumb to the temptation of using the action as a tag, use it in a separate sentence as a ‘beat’ that reveals body language and moves the story forward. For example: Justin pulled up short when he recognized the woman approaching him. A spurt of pleasure shot through him, and he waved. “Hi, Beth!” (Note how this example could go any number of directions. Maybe he wanted to avoid her, but couldn’t; maybe his response is anger over an unresolved conflict. Whatever the case, the greeting becomes much more complex and compelling.)

3. If only two persons are involved in a stream of dialogue, omit tags entirely. This works especially well when the characters’ voices are so different that it is obvious who is speaking by their speech patterns. But don’t be afraid to add an occasional beat to keep it clear for the reader.

Which leads us to stilted language and indistinct voice.

The best way to avoid stilted language is to read your dialogue out loud. If it feels or sounds awkward, change it. Each character should have distinctive speech patterns, too; make sure the words and delivery you choose remains authentic to the individual character. As you read the dialogue out loud, it should be obvious which character is speaking at any given time. Let’s make Justin a Texas cowboy and Beth a California Valley girl (yes, I know I’m dating myself, but it’s an easy ‘dialect’ to show for our purposes).

Now we have: A spurt of pleasure shot through Justin when he recognized the woman approaching him on the sidewalk. He whipped off his ten-gallon hat and waved. “Howdy, Beth! I ain’t seen you for a coon’s age.”

Beth, preoccupied with her Smartphone, lifted her gaze. A smile wreathed her face and she squealed. “Ohmygosh! Justin! It’s been, like, too-too long! Since high school?” As you can see, these two wildly different styles will never overlap in dialogue. Not all characters will be such polar opposites, but if you give each character a distinctive voice, whether through style (i.e., women tend to use longer sentences, while men tend more toward brief statements) or specific verbal traits, it will strengthen both their characterization and their dialogue.

A word about foreign words and idioms: a little goes a long way. If your character is fluent in French and sprinkles French phrases into her speech, limit those to one every few pages. If a character’s speech is very back-woodsy and old fashioned, pick one word to highlight that pattern and write the rest in ‘regular’ English. For a southern drawl or an Irish brogue, use that as a descriptor outside of the dialogue and use word choice and placement to reinforce the pattern. Trust your reader to catch on. They will.

Last: information dumps. This is where characters bring in information that the author wants the reader to know but doesn’t have an organic way to get it across. Hence, awkward dialogue that no one in real life would use, such as: He went on to become a successful, if whacky and innovative executive with an online social network.

When you find those in your writing, ask yourself if the information is truly important. If so, is it crucial at this point in the story? If yes, then find a more relaxed way to get it into the story, either as internal dialogue (Beth’s mind went back to the last time she’d seen Justin. The high school prom. The one where Erik had been suspended for spiking the punch. “Justin! It’s been years!”), or in more natural sounding dialogue (“Justin! It’s been years!” Beth’s face heated at the memory of their high school prom. “I’m still embarrassed at how I acted after—“ She broke off her sentence, and Justin, grinning, finished it for her. “After Erik spiked the punch.”

Dialogue can make your story sing, and those who can do it well often do well on other aspects of the craft. As a plus, the more of your story you can tell via dialogue, the better the structure will be, so it’s worth the effort to improve your skills in this area.

What are your tricks or tenets about writing dialogue? This has been a quick and dirty, and by no means comprehensive look at writing dialogue. Please share your experience!

Ms. Manners Goes to Conference! Conference Etiquette for a Better Experience

August 28, 2012/3 Comments/in Blogging, Catholic Writers Conference Live, Catholic Writers Conference Online, Catholic Writing and Publishing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Inspirational, Journalism, Marketing Your Work, Self-Publishing, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

Headed for Catholic Writers Conference? Are you excited? You should be! What an opportunity to rub shoulders with industry professionals, to put faces and personalities to folks you’ve met online, to renew friendships, and to network. This is a once in a lifetime experience; make the most of it. There will never be another gathering of exactly the same people at this point in their faith and writing journeys. Truly you are in Arlington, Texas, because God has called you to be there!

Each of you has a specific reason for attending, a goal you hope to accomplish. If this is your first conference experience, the coming days are likely to be a roller coaster of euphoria juxtaposed with self doubt. Be assured that you are not the only one grappling with these feelings. I hope this knowledge translates into a greater sense of ease in a new and sometimes intimidating environment. Here are some words of advice (of wisdom, too, hopefully!) for both newbies and veterans, for authors, for agents, and for editors, geared toward making this conference the best it can be for everyone:

1) Everyone’s goals are the same, ultimately. Editors want to find the next diamond of a manuscript to publish. Agents want to discover the next author whose career they can guide to new heights. Authors want to find a publisher and/or agent to promote their awesome work. And in this particular setting, all of these people want to serve God with their talents and gifts in the way that pleases Him the most.

When viewed through that prism, competition loses the edge of greed and rejection loses its sting. We’re all on the same side, and God’s looking out for the good of each person’s life and career. This doesn’t mean you should fail to promote your product, just that there is no need for fear. Which brings us to the next point.

2) Be confident. You have something no one else does: your voice, and your work. These are gifts that God has given you, gifts that you have honed with hard work and prayer. No one can duplicate your contribution. Take heart in that fact, and know that your work will find its home. Maybe through this conference; maybe not – which leads to…

3) Don’t take rejection personally. Sometimes it just isn’t a good fit for the publisher or agent. Imagine a library with thousands of books. You have three days to find the best two. You will have to create a system to sort and discard the ones that aren’t suitable for your purpose. Do you see that many wonderful, deserving books will be overlooked? This does not reflect on the worthiness of each one, the same way it does not reflect on your particular project. And in today’s climate, many options are available. So…

4) Be open. There are many possibilities that we may not recognize in our limited, human view. Be open to new ideas, new directions, new options. You may discover a brand new path, or even a calling! You may discover it through…

5) Networking. This is the whole purpose of a conference. Meet people! Ask them what they write, who they want to represent, what they want to publish. Have a brief answer for these questions, too, so you can give a nutshell sense of your project when it comes up. (I write ___, and my current project is about ___.)

This is a remarkably small community, and the contacts you make in the next few days will serve you for your entire career. Do not discount the importance of these interactions. They are crucial for your success. But remember…

6) Be nice. This should go without saying, especially in this setting, but we are human and sometimes we need to be reminded. Keep your comments positive; you never know who might overhear or repeat something you said in a frustrated or disappointed moment. Again, this is a remarkably small community even though it may not seem that way.

Also, restrict your interactions to appropriate venues. Don’t try to pitch to an agent or publisher in the restroom, or shove your manuscript under the door of the stall. I have witnessed the first and have heard of the second, so these are not as far-fetched as they seem. Be considerate of folks. If the target of your interest has a headache or gets a pained look on their face when you approach, be brief. Introduce yourself and say you’d like to send them a query if that is acceptable; believe me, they will remember and appreciate your kindness. And that goes a long way. Which leads to the last point…

7) Be yourself. This may call for leaving your comfort zone, though. If you tend to be shy (many writers are!) push yourself to be more sociable. It’s not hard; smile and ask people around you about themselves. You’ll be glad you did. If you are an extrovert, recognize your tendency to overshadow the more timid among us and let them shine, too.

I hope each one of you has a wonderful experience at the Catholic Writers Conference! And… Oops! I forgot the most important words of advice! HAVE FUN!

Art and Faith, as They Intersect in Writing

July 26, 2012/5 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Inspirational, Marketing Your Work, Religious Liberty, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

We recently observed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fortnight of Freedom, and this might be a good time to look at writing as an expression of our journey and expression of faith.

Regular readers of this blog are most likely members of Catholic Writers Guild – which means we are Catholic, and we love to write. For many of us, these two passions intersect in what we write, as in blogs, articles, or books about being Catholic in today’s world. In nonfiction, this is straightforward. The audience and purpose of such works provide a framework for sharing both the writer’s journey and/or expression of a specific aspect of faith.

Fiction, my personal love, can be a bit trickier. How does an author express their faith within the conventions of their chosen genre? We’ve all read books where it’s done poorly, usually resulting in a preachy tone as grating as fingernails on chalkboard. I’m reminded of Barbara Nicolosi’s comment from the 2012 Catholic Writers Conference Online: My theory is that the secular world is not anti-Catholic as much as it is anti-bad art.

When viewed through that lens, our priority as writers or artists is to learn and hone our craft. It doesn’t matter how important our message is if it is badly executed. Read books on the craft of writing. Take classes. Ask for feedback – and listen to it. The most successful writers recognize that they need to continually strive to improve.

We also have a responsibility to learn and understand our religion. I’m preaching to the choir here, but there is always something deeper, more sublime, more elemental to discover about the challenges (and rewards) of being Catholic. We have to be well-catechized in order to articulate what we need or want to convey in written format.

The great news is, that in fiction, who you are will come out in your writing, even if you don’t spell out your beliefs in the imaginary world inhabited by your characters. Think of St. Francis of Assisi. Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words. Well, we can’t write without words, but we can write great fiction without being overbearing about our faith. Readers will accept just about anything in a character, as long as the character is authentic, has depth and complexity, and is true to his or her motivations, flaws and all.

We’ve all read stories where the characters act in ways that make us cringe or gasp or squirm, but we keep reading because the author has done such a good job. We are eager to accompany the character on his or her journey. That’s our calling. To write so well that readers are willing to follow a character they don’t necessarily agree with because they want to better understand them.

I suspect most of CWG’s members pray before they write (or draw or make music or however we choose to create) and that’s where we all need to begin. Pray. Discern. Perhaps education or beauty is more important than exhortation. Keep in mind that your readers will not be in the same place you are on their spiritual journey – and we are all on a spiritual journey, whether we realize it or not. On a personal level, God has touched me through works of fiction in which I least expected to hear His voice. Never underestimate what He can (and will) do through us, whether or not we are aware.

Take courage, pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and use the gift of talent with which God has graced you. Create art that illuminates a vision of God. None of us can see God, but we can express our experience, and the light we reflect may aid a fellow traveler in life.

Now. Words matter. Go forth, write and create, and bear fruit in a world that hungers for it.

How do you approach your craft in a way that changes our world? How does faith inform your art? Do you think of those concepts as you toil over the keyboard, searching for just the right word to express the idea in your mind’s eye? What gives you joy as you create?

Critique – Tips on how to do it well

May 22, 2012/6 Comments/in Catholic Writing and Publishing, CWG member benefits, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Self-Publishing, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks/by Leslie Lynch

Critique – a word that often scatters writers like a firecracker tossed into a flock of sparrows! But it doesn’t have to be that way. Since critique groups are forming in the Catholic Writers Guild forums, this is a good time to talk about critique, namely, how to be a good critique partner.

Many writers shun critique groups – “I don’t want to write my book by committee” they say, or “My voice will become muddled, maybe even lost”, and worst, “Someone will steal my ideas”. But my experience, both in art and in writing, is that those fears are largely unfounded.

A good critique group will understand and strengthen your voice, your story. They will support, encourage, and challenge you to produce the best writing of which you are capable. No downsides here! So how do you make your critique group a strong one, even one of the best?

Let’s start at the beginning. Critique is not criticism. That’s so important it bears repeating: Critique is not criticism. Critique is an honest, considered response to writing, and always includes a suggestion for improvement, with the caveat that the author may choose to accept or reject the suggestion. It’s still their work, not yours. A good critiquer doesn’t hesitate to applaud writing that inspires or touches, either. We all need to hear the good stuff!

Honesty, never brutal and always delivered with respect, is crucial. These attributes must be integral to your group, or there is no point. Ego (pride) needs to be parked at the door, and humility exercised in both giving and receiving critique.

Keep in mind that no one knows everything about the craft of writing. In my group, one person has a superb sense of story structure, another of grammar, another of characterization and motivation, and another of beautiful sentences and word choices. Take all of those qualities, list the opposite weakness, shuffle, and dole out weaknesses to those same members – and there you have it. Our group. The person whose strength is story structure is abysmal at spelling and grammar; the one who has characterization nailed has a hard time with structure. And so on. Capitalize on each others’ strengths, admit your weaknesses, and be open to comments.

Now that we have an idea of some desirable qualities of a critique group, what next? Establish ground rules. The first one should always be: Try the group out, give it a fair chance, and then if it’s not a good fit, feel free to leave, without hard feelings. If it’s not working, gracefully bow out and seek a different situation.

Next, agree upon a schedule for meeting and for number of words submitted. Ask each member what type of critique they want, i.e., the forest (for instance, structure) or the trees (perhaps copy edits), then tailor your remarks to their needs. Our group has four members; we meet in person once a week; we aim for about ten pages per person; and since we meet on Tuesday, we expect words to be emailed to the group by Sunday evening so we have adequate time to look at the work. Occasionally someone has no words to submit, and that’s okay, although if two weeks go by, the other members begin to nudge and encourage productivity. Support and accountability all rolled into one package!

This, of course, requires that we commit to both writing the set number of pages or words and to critiquing roughly thirty pages per week for each other. Commitment to the group and the process is key for success. Obviously, an online critique group will be a bit different, but ground rules and commitment still apply. Remember that purely electronic communication is lamentably prone to misunderstandings, so overexplain your comments until a pattern of trust has been established.

In my group, we all write very different sub-genres of fiction, but that is not an obstacle. If we stick to the basics, we’ve discovered we can offer plenty to each other even if we don’t read young adult, for instance, or write in first person. You may choose to critique only with authors in your own specific genre, and that’s fine. But if you choose to critique with authors of other types of writing, you owe your partners the willingness to step outside your comfort zone so that you can understand the conventions of their choice.

A word about bad critique groups. There are as many reasons for failed critique relationships as there are combinations of personalities. Hallmarks to watch out for are the rare member who feels that s/he knows it all, or runs roughshod over the feeling of others. Jealousy is sometimes a factor, as is insecurity. There’s a difference between honesty and harshness. Good critique will generate great conversations, so if critique shuts down communication between members, it needs to be addressed.

Sometimes it’s hard to hear valid critique, and sometimes it’s hard to sort out valid critique from mean-hearted critique. The best advice I’ve ever heard? Learn to say “Hmm. Interesting point. I will think about that.” Then, when emotion has settled, review and perhaps seek another opinion before deciding how to proceed.

Overall, critique partnerships can catapult the level of your writing up a level or two in a very short time. You’ll learn a lot from critiquing your partners’ work, too, which will translate to better writing on your part. Partners can help troubleshoot and brainstorm. And as Catholic writers, we have a unique opportunity to practice the virtues of patience, compassion, humility, kindness, and love within the setting of critique. Honesty, respect, and commitment will help shed light on the errors we are too blind to see in our own work – and that is a very good thing.

What questions or concerns do you have about forming or joining a critique group? Do you have experience or advice to share? What do you hope to gain from the Catholic Writers Guild critique groups?