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Writing Mechanics: Scene Structure as a Mini Novel

December 2, 2015 in The Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing with 3 Comments

This month we wrap up our yearlong look at the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing. Editor Rachel Starr Thomson opens up our look at Fatal Flaw #12: Flawed Writing Mechanics. We’ll be looking at the bigger picture regarding our fiction, and Rachel begins with a look at scene structure.

Way back in month 2 of this series, we talked about the need to open scenes in the right place. The general rule is to open in media res—that is, while something is happening. On the other hand, it’s generally best to bow out while things are still happening: close the dinner conversation with the last line of dialog, not after everyone has fallen silent, gotten up from the table, washed the dishes, and gone to bed.

To put that succinctly: “Come late; leave early.”

We’ve also looked at various elements of a great scene: action, pacing, description, dialog, POV, the many ways to show and not just tell your story.

But as our yearlong series wraps up this month, we’re going to take a step back and look at scenes as a whole. We’ll be paying some attention to genre and how certain genres call for certain writing styles.

This week, I want to kick things off by discussing the all-important structure of a scene. Continue Reading…

Actions Speak Louder than Dialog Tags: Using Beats in Writing

November 4, 2015 in The Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing with 2 Comments

This month our editors are taking a hard look at pesky adverbs and “weasel words”—our Fatal Flaw #11. Even a story with a great plot and engaging characters can suffer reader ennui due to the overuse of these words. No matter how long your novel, every word should be chosen with care. Words have weight, and all those extraneous words can sink your story. Editor Rachel Starr Thomson kicks off our look at this flaw with a discussion of dialog tags and narrative beats.

Our focus this month is on words: specifically, adverbs, superfluous verbiage, tics, and “weasel words.” Overuse of such words constitutes our Fatal Flaw #11, a pox on many writers’ prose.

Before I jump into my own topic on this flaw, a few words about said.

Said, when used with a pronoun, creates what’s known as a dialog (or speaker) tag: it’s a phrase that tells us who’s speaking. He said, she said, they said, he called, she cried, he replied, and all the rest. Continue Reading…

Writing “Personal” Description through Your POV Character

October 7, 2015 in The Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing with 7 Comments

This month our editors are tackling Fatal Flaw #10 – Description Deficiencies. Too many manuscripts are lacking essential description–of characters, setting, time or day and year, how much time has passed from scene to scene. These make for weak scenes and weak novels. Today, editor Rachel Starr Thomson begins our examination of this very fatal flaw of fiction writing:

I love description. Yes, I know, lots of people quit reading in school because the books they were forced to choke down had “too much description.” And I like a fast-moving plot as much as the next girl. But even so, there is nothing I like better than to be immersed in another place or time through words.

More than any other element of fiction writing, description creates immersion. But too little description leaves readers either confused or unengaged—or both. And too much irrelevant description bogs down pacing and kills tension. So how’s a writer to know just how much is enough? And just what kind of description is best?

This month our editors will be examining this topic from various angles. I want to concentrate, in this post, on visual details and what they can reveal—not just about the physical characteristics of a person, place, or thing but about the story underlying them. Continue Reading…