TECH: Book Notes: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Mon, 9 May 1994 18:35:01 JST

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Browne, Renni and King, Dave
ISBN 0-06-270061-8
HarperCollins, NY
1993, $11.00

A short outline of points of the book I noted (but read the book - it's worth it!)

1. Show and Tell

• Prefer showing scenes to narrative summaries telling us about things. The scene is setting, character, dialogue, action. Every main event should be a scene!
• Balance - narrative summaries are a kind of rest, a good place for off-stage and minor action.
• Don't tell us about emotions - show them. Wherever possible, cut explanations. Then if it is needed, figure out a way to show it.
• Resist the urge to explain (R.U.E.)

2. Characterization and Exposition

• Don't stop the story to give us a summary of character - let these emerge from action, reaction, and dialogue. I.e., avoid thumbnail character sketches.
• Beware flashbacks, analysis, history - do you really need it?
• Watch for the dialogue or interior monologue that is only there to feed information to the reader - cut it!
• Give your readers the benefit of the doubt - let them interpret the character. Assume your reader is intelligent.
• Let the way the character looks at things or does things introduce us to the character.
• Rule of thumb: give your reader only as much background info, history, or characterization as they need at this point.
• Don't let your characterization and exposition show...

3. Point of View

• 1st, 3rd, omniscient - consider how intimate your reader and viewpoint should be. Then use the one that does the job.
• Establish POV fast.
• Whenever POV changes, check how fast you establish it.
• Make sure - are you using your characters' voices?

4. Dialogue Mechanics

• R.U.E. - make the dialogue show the emotion, don't tell us about it.
• Kill -ly adverbs.
• Prefer "said".
• Start a paragraph with dialogue, then attribute at the first natural break.
• Use beats (little actions).
• Dash for interruption; ellipsis (...) for trailing off.
• Make it natural.

5. See How It Sounds

• Use contractions, fragments, commas instead of periods, short words, and misdirection (let your characters misunderstand, answer the wrong question, talk at cross-purposes, hedge, lie, etc...)
• read it aloud.
• Try reading only one character all together, then another, etc.
• Are the "voices" distinct?
• Use word choice, cadence, grammar - not spelling.

6. Interior Monologue

• very powerful tool of text - make sure it's unobtrusive.
• trim unneeded - explanations and descriptions.
• change "He wondered ..." to "Why did he ...?"

7. Easy Beats

• Beats are the "little actions" between dialogue lines - stage business.
• good - show action, vary rhythm of dialogue.
• bad - overused (as I tend to do) they are distracting.
• balance - trust your reader.
• use fresh beats that characterize and help rhythm. Be especially careful of repeating the same strong characterizing beat again and again.

8. Breaking Up Is Easy To Do

• Prefer short paragraphs, but balance long and short.
• Watch long scenes - break them up!
• Watch for speeches - bust them into pieces.

9. Once Is Usually Enough

• avoid repetition. don't repeat. and, of course, saying something twice may not be a good idea, even if the words are different.
• note that repetition can be words, effects, information, characterization, characters, whole scenes... 1 + 1 = 1/2! Repeated effects lose effect, instead of increasing it.

10. Proportion

• Watch for excess descriptive detail, pet interests out of hand.
• Be careful when cutting - you may destroy proportion and balance.
• Time (words spent) on character, scene, plot element, etc. roughly indicates importance to the reader - don't disappoint them!
• Try marking the interesting parts, then consider the leftovers - are they needed? Do they add? Should they be shorter? Longer?
• Cut or rework...
• Use jump/cut - don't walk someone along every step, just jump the scenes.
• Avoid overblown details, overdone flashbacks, and excess tangents.
• But - the little subplots or descriptions not strictly advancing plot - are they all effective? if you don't have any, do you need some?

11. Sophistication

• avoid "pulling on her coat, she xxxx." and "As she cried, she xxxx." both bury an action in dependent clause.
• avoid cliches and cliched characters. at least, try warping it for effect. e.g. They vanished into thick air.
• every time you find a verb-adverb, try to find the right verb instead.
• comma string sentences, reproducing the urgency of action, pushing the reader ahead.
• Watch "quotes" ,_italics_, and exclamation points!!!
• avoid overly poetic figures of speech in the midst of action.
• sex and profanity have tended to flourish - try light use.

12. Voice

• relax - if it comes, it comes on its own.
• a mechanical aid - read your work, and note each line that "sings" to you. then read just those lines - that's your voice at present!
• now read it all again - and note the winces, the tinny lines.
• read just those, and consider applying:

• flat? is it buried in lines of the same structure?
• abstract or vague? rewrite it for specific
• obvious? see if you aren't explaining - and cut it!
• forced or other problem - read it aloud and fix it.