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Editing Secrets
by Laura Backes, Publisher, Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter
for Children's Writers
Once you’ve plotted out your book, developed the characters and
written the last word of text, the real work begins. As busy editors
are bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of submissions a year,
it’s more important than ever that authors apply their own editing
skills to their manuscripts before putting them in the mail.
Checking your basic grammar and spelling are of course important,
but authors need to go beyond surface editing if their work has a
chance of catching an
editor’s eye.
Trim, tighten, hack away.
First, second and even third drafts of manuscripts are almost always
laden with extra words and scenes. Take a break from your book and
then read it through with a fresh eye. Write down your theme in one
sentence (what the book is about, such as working through shyness on
the first day of school or showing how Thomas Edison’s childhood
experiences influenced his adult life). The plot (or progression of
facts and events in nonfiction) is your vehicle for conveying the
theme to the reader. Ask yourself if each character and scene
advance the plot toward communicating this theme. And decide at the
beginning that you will give up your precious words and
finely-crafted scenes for the betterment of the book. Pithy dialogue
may be fun to read, but if it pushes your story off track, it’s just
a literary dead end. Take the publishers’ suggested word limits
seriously: no, you don’t really need 3000 words to tell your picture
book story about Freddy the Frog’s adventures in the Big Pond.
The elements of speech.
Well-crafted dialogue can be a writer’s most important tool.
Dialogue is not just there to break up the paragraphs or show that
your characters know how to talk; ideally, it adds to character
development, moves the plot along and replaces sections of
narrative. Each character should sound like himself, with speech
patterns and phrasing that are unique. This is especially true with
talking animal books. I see many of these manuscripts where, if I
took away the words that identify the speakers, each character would
sound exactly the same. Don’t have dialogue repeat the narrative and
vice versa; "Did you hear that? Someone’s at the door!" does not
have to be preceded by "They heard a sound at the door".
Show don’t tell.
How many times have you heard this? It’s still true. Comb through
your manuscript for sentences that tell the reader how a character
felt (Sara was sad) and replace with sensory descriptions (Hot tears
sprang to Sara’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks.) Avoid telling the
reader what to think about the story (Jason foolishly decided to
trust Mike one more time.)
Instead, present your character’s actions and decisions to the
reader, and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions
(incidentally, this is how you "teach" without preaching).
Wipe out passive writing.
Search for verbs preceded by "would" (would go, would sleep, would
eat) replace with the past tense (went, slept, ate). Also look for
actions that seem to happen out of thin air. "The door was opened"
is passive, because the sentence lacks a "doer". Remember, the
reader needs to visualize what’s happening in the story. "The wind
blew the door open" is better, because the action can be attributed
to something, and it puts the most important element (strong wind)
at the beginning of
the sentence. Simply rearranging the words ("The door blew open from
the wind") puts emphasis on a door that won’t stay closed, making
that the subject of the sentence.
Be precise.
One of the best ways to make your writing come alive for the reader
is to use exact nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. One
well-chosen word is always better than three vague ones. Adjectives
like big, little, cold, hot, beautiful, scary and silly; adverbs
such as quickly, slowly, loudly, and softly; and general verbs like
walk, went, stayed and ate don’t draw a vivid picture for your
reader. Of course, sometimes these words are appropriate, but try as
a rule choosing words that describe specifically what you want to
communicate. Words that sound and look interesting are also a plus.
Tremendous, tiny, frigid, scorching, plodded, sauntered and gulped
are more fun to read, and they each lend an emotional overtone to
the sentence (if your character gulps his food, you don’t have to
tell the reader he’s in a hurry).
And finally, make sure there’s a logical cause and effect
relationship between the scenes of your book. Each event should
build upon the ones that came before. The plot should spring
intrinsically from your characters; nonfiction should unfold because
of the nature of your subject and your slant on the material. It’s
when everything comes seamlessly together that you have a winning
book. Make it look easy, but don’t skimp on all the hard work it
takes to get there.
About the Author
Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the
Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about
writing children's books, including free articles, market tips,
insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home
on the web at http://write4kids.com
© Copyright 2001, Children's Book Insider, LLC
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