4 Reasons Why Fiction Writers Need Editors... by guest editor Ally E. Machate

Hello, writers! 

Hope you had a refreshing weekend hiking through the woods or spring cleaning out your closets and attics, whatever your passion ;)

Today with us we have editor Ally E. Machate, to to talk about why fiction writers need editors. You know, that little something many of us balk at and yet, when it comes time to start sending out queries and sample chapters, we start to wonder, "maybe I should..." 

As someone who has bit the bullet and become a better writer for it, check out Ally's four reasons why...


4 Reasons Why Fiction Writers Need Editors
by guest editor Ally E. Machate

You’ve slaved over your manuscript, and now it’s time to edit. You could do it yourself, but with rare exception this would be a mistake. Here are four reasons why fiction writers need editors:

• Your brain is working against you. It's impossible for the brain to be 100% objective about its own creations. Have you ever thought you said something, only to have your listener tell you the words coming out of your mouth were different? Likewise, when we read, our brains often fool us by filling in missing words and processing misspellings or incorrect punctuation, reading what it knows should be on the page rather than what's actually there.
  
  
• You know too much. Technical errors aside, there are other aspects of your manuscript that may not be as obvious to readers as they are to you. As the author, you know what you meant and how you want readers to feel about it. Your perspective is more informed than your audience's; that knowledge further hinders your objectivity.


• Your friends and family are lying. Though you’ll get better results if you choose test or “beta” readers representing your target audience, it’s human nature to be kind when doing a favor for someone; readers (especially loved ones) may not be 100% honest or they may emphasize what they liked, downplaying or omitting what they didn’t. They may also not be capable of fully articulating weaknesses. An experienced editor will be much more analytical, identifying problems and offering suggestions on how to fix them.
  
• Editing requires more than good grammar. Each kind of editing requires different, though sometimes overlapping, skill sets. Good grammar and a sharp eye for punctuation are strong advantages, but not equal to working with an editor, who should also aid with “big picture” issues. The reverse is likewise true. [Check out my article explaining different types of editors here.]

If you can’t hire someone, get at least one critical person not obligated to be nice to you to edit your book: no spouses, siblings, parents, or best friends. Fellow writers make excellent critiquers: one great partner can work, but I recommend critique groups because you get a wealth of feedback at once. Of course, other writers will be harder on you than the average reader—but that's the point! A reader may not be engaged by your characters or excited by the romantic tension, but won't know why. They just won't love the book. However, like a pro editor, a fellow writer will show you why something isn't working, and will have suggestions on how to give your characters authenticity or how to better cultivate tension. And if you’re submitting, remember: industry gatekeepers are tougher than average readers, too.

It may take a while for a crit group to make its way through your manuscript, but if you have the time (and don’t have the money), this is an excellent alternative to hiring a professional. And I encourage you to try a critique group even if you do intend to hire someone! You want to give your book its best chance at success in a world where millions of new books are published each year, and millions more are rejected. A good editor, whether a pro or a skilled writing partner, can make all the difference.

Ally E. Machate

Ally E. Machate is an editor, writer, and publishing consultant who loves using her insider knowledge of the publishing industry and fifteen years of experience to help others reach their publishing goals, whether it’s showing a writer how to improve a manuscript, get an agent, or self-publish, or ghostwriting a book to help an entrepreneur skyrocket her business platform to new levels. Grab Ally’s free white papers and learn more about her services at www.ambitiousenterprises.com and www.allymachate.com.

Guest author Kristina Riggle talks about her thought-provoking and heart-wrenching novel inspired by real-life events...

Good Morning, my fellow writers :)

Today we have with us Kristina Riggle, acclaimed author of Keepsake and the new thought-provoking and heart-wrenching novel inspired by real-life events, The Whole Golden World (Wm Morrow/ HarperCollins).

 

Kristina Riggle

Lia Mack: Kristina, thank you so much for joining us today at the BB Writers Retreat. 

Please start us off by telling a little about yourself...

Kristina Riggle: I write, I parent, I read, I volunteer, I run (slowly and not very far). I also have a dog which I never thought I'd say about myself, but it's amazing what your family can talk you into.


Lia Mack: Can you tell us a little about your book? 

Kristina Riggle: It's about two families and a town torn apart by a teacher-student affair, told from the points of view of Morgan (the teen-ager), Dinah (her mother) and Rain, (the teacher's wife).

Lia Mack: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this particular story?  

Kristina Riggle: Making all the characters understood. It's told from three points of view, and they are so different from one another. I had to make the reader feel for each of these characters, even the ones whose perspectives seem totally skewed, from the outside looking in.

Lia Mack: What are you working on now? 

Kristina Riggle: Researching, preparing and drafting a new book that no one has seen a single word of yet, so I won't say any more.

Lia Mack: Can you describe a bit how your venture into writing looked like? 

Kristina Riggle: I started out as a newspaper reporter, which at the time seemed like a more viable way to earn a paycheck. I quit when I had my first child and I was burned out on newspapering, and started to come back to creative writing in earnest. (I'd never really stopped, though.)

Lia Mack: What does your typical writing day look like? 

Kristina Riggle: Drop off the kids, run or other workout, and then writing plus business-type tasks (like this interview, for example). It would be easy to fill up a whole day with administrative type chores, and home chores, but I do my utmost to guard that writing time and give it priority. Right now I still haven't put away my (non-melty) groceries. I got home from the store three hours ago.

Lia Mack: What are your thoughts on authors needing to build a platform? 

Kristina Riggle: It's a different world for fiction and non-fiction. For novelists, I'd say not to get distracted by thoughts of platform until you've written the thing and spit-shined it. It's too easy to get distracted by marketing and publicity. Once you know your novel shines... It's a tough one. What's a novelist's platform supposed to be, anyway? An expert in writing novels? There are lots of those already. An expert in your subject? Maybe, if your subject lends itself to a non-fiction hook. But otherwise? I don't know. This isn't really an answer, but it's all I've got.

Lia Mack: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were? 

Kristina Riggle: Take the long view. Any one rejection is only one rejection.

Lia Mack:  Perfect advice.  And thank you so much for being our guest author today.

If you'd like to learn more about Kristina Riggle and her books, please visit her online at: www.kristinariggle.net, Twitter: @krisriggle, Facebook: Facebook.com/RiggleNovels

How to Structure your Story: an "8 Point Story Arc" writing exercise...

Recently a writer friend lent me a worn copy of Writing a Novel (and getting it published) by Nigel Watts. The book is practically falling apart, but for good reason: Watts takes you through every stage of the craft of writing and guides you along the path to writing your novel.  Seriously, everything you need to know about writing a novel is in this book.

I particularly found the “Eight-Point Story Arc” guideline quite useful, so I thought I'd do a writing exercise based on Nigel Watts' 8-point story arc list.

Print this out and exercise your writing muscles!


How to Structure your Story: 
An "8 Point Story Arc" writing exercise...

1. Stasis

This is an “every day life” starting point, the perfect place to introduce your scene, character, time, place... Stage it.

2. Trigger

Then, all of a sudden, something happens to your character that is totally beyond their control.

3. The quest

Your character now has to set off on a "quest" to (fix/find/figure out) _______.

4. Surprise

Multiple things take place along this quest that create the middle of your story. These can be unexpected yet plausible obstacles, complications, pleasant events, conflict, etc... that happen to/by your character.

5. Critical choice

Your character is now faced with a critical decision. The result of this decision will reveal just who your character(s) really is(are). NOTE: this choice needs to be something your characters chose to do, not something that just happens to them. THINK: growth from the trigger/quest/mess.

6. Climax

The ultimate point of the story arc. Although the story isn't over yet, here we feel resolution. We feel the quest is complete and the mess from the trigger has been handled. 

7. Reversal

This is where you show that your character has really, truly changed due to all the above. Show your character's life playing out in an inevitable and probable way.

8. Resolution

A final return to a stasis. Of course a NEW stasis due to all the above. This is where you and your readers feel new story could sprout from as your character (and maybe even the setting) has totally changed to something new. Everything is back to normal, albeit a new normal. It's another "every day life" starting point.


I hope you find this story arc guideline just as useful as I have. Even if you've finished your manuscript, go back in and plot out your story. Does it follow and flow? Maybe this will help you solidify and fix something that's been nagging you, something that was just not quite working...yet.

Go for it. And let me know how your writing is coming along.

:)

2 Writing Contests to Enter Soon... Hurry! :)

Hey, y'all :)

I was just browsing around the internet, looking for something to do, when I came upon two writing contests that end/open soon. So naturally I wanted to share the info/links with you, my fellow writers ;)

If you have a completed manuscript in hand, check these out and give them a try!

~ Lia

Rising Star Contest

Opens May 1st - WomensFictionWriters.org


This is a brand new writers association just for women's fiction. And they have a contest that opens in May!

"This contest is designed exclusively for the unpublished women’s fiction writer. It offers the chance for priceless feedback from three published authors, plus the opportunity to break out of the slush pile and land on the desk of five final round judges, all acquiring agents of women’s fiction."

Review Board Entry

Closes April 11th - WritersRelief.com

This contest, from the looks of it, is a chance to get into their submission service that helps with query letters, writing your synopsis and everything that goes into getting your work in front of literary agents.

Writer’s Relief is seeking submissions of poetry, short prose, and books for our Full Service. Please select your genre below to submit your strongest work for consideration.

Author Ellis Shuman on what a typewriter Bar Mitzvah gift and devoted creative time can do for your writing...

Hello again, writers!

Today we have with us debut suspense novelist Ellis Shuman, author of Valley of Thracians, a face paced mystery about a missing Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria.

Ellis is currently working hard at work editing his next book, also a suspense novel, so I'm very glad he took the time out of his busy writing schedule to come meet with us today.

Please help me give a warm welcome Ellis Shuman, today at the BB Writers Retreat!

Lia Mack: Ellis, please start us off by telling a little about yourself:

Ellis Shuman: I was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and moved to Israel as a teenager with my family. After finishing high school in Jerusalem, I served for three years in the Israeli army. Along with my wife, I was a founding member of a kibbutz in Israel's southern desert. My years on kibbutz, working in agriculture and milking cows, served as background for my short story collection, The Virtual Kibbutz.
My wife and I now live in a community in the hills west of Jerusalem. For many years I worked in the hotel industry and my last position in this field was Food and Beverage Comptroller at the Jerusalem Hilton, back in the years when there was a Hilton hotel in Jerusalem. I have worked for the past decade in the online gaming industry, and a few years ago, my position was relocated on a two-year assignment to Sofia, Bulgaria. That experience served as background for my suspense novel set in Bulgaria, Valley of Thracians.

Lia Mack: Ultimate question...Why do you write?

Ellis Shuman: I grew up with an ever-present urge to tell a story. I inherited my writing abilities from my father, who was a journalist. During my summer vacations as a child, I wrote, edited, and marketed a neighborhood newspaper and went door to door selling copies of the page that told everyone what their neighbors were doing that summer. I have wanted to write a novel all my life, and have many unfinished manuscripts probably gathering dust in some archived online digital folder. Even though I work full time, writing is my hobby. I enjoy writing fiction, but also nonfiction, including book reviews, travel reports, and other stories that I have a need to tell.

Lia Mack: Can you describe a bit how your venture into writing looked like?

Ellis Shuman: I began writing stories as a boy and was extremely grateful to receive a typewriter as a present for my Bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen. That typewriter would serve me for many, many years, and in fact, I wrote a manuscript for my first, and eventually unpublished, novel on that machine. I think I still have it in the attic for sentimental reasons. I remember deliberating whether to buy an electric typewriter when they first came out, but in the end elected to go with my first computer. A word processing program was like heaven for me. No more retyping entire pages or whiting out mistakes with Tipp-Ex. I had advanced into the modern age of writing. Even so, when I began writing the stories that became The Virtual Kibbutz, I wrote out some of them by hand in a café because I didn't own a laptop at the time. When I came home in the evenings I would then type up my stories into the computer, giving me a chance to review that morning's creativity. Now I type up everything on a laptop, barely ever visiting the desktop computer we have in our home.

Lia Mack: Can you tell us a little about your book?

Ellis Shuman: After living for two years in Bulgaria, I wanted to be able to share that experience through my writing. I enjoy reading suspense novels, so I made the decision to write a suspense novel set in Bulgaria. As far as I can see, there are not too many novels, of any genre, available in English that tell about life in Bulgaria. Along with the element of suspense, I became determined to include a sense of Bulgaria in the book. Many readers have stated that Valley of Thracians is part mystery, part travelogue. That's because I write about Bulgaria's history, culture, food, tourist sites, and most importantly, about Bulgaria's people. Readers will be enthralled not only by a fast-paced suspense story, but also by an introduction to a country about which they previously knew very little.

Lia Mack: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this particular story?

Ellis Shuman: While living in Bulgaria, my wife and I traveled extensively around the country. I guess everything we were doing for two years was research for my novel. I didn't take notes along the way, but I revisited many of the museums, villages, cities, and themes of Bulgarian history in a virtual manner after my return to Israel. Thinking back, there are some places in Bulgaria I would have loved to revisit while I was writing the book because research on the ground is always more effective.

Lia Mack: What are you working on now?

Ellis Shuman: I wrote one collection of short stories about Israel, and one suspense novel set in Bulgaria. These are the two countries that I think about the most, so I set for myself a challenge - to write a novel that will highlight both Israel and Bulgaria. Living in Bulgaria I felt very comfortable identifying myself as an Israeli, and discovered there is a lot of respect in Bulgaria for Israel and for Israeli leaders. There is also quite a bit of cooperation between the two countries, and this gave me an idea for what I could feature in my next novel.

Lia Mack: What does your typical writing day look like?

Ellis Shuman: I am always writing, but at my day job my writing is devoted solely to marketing copy. I commute to the office, a drive that leaves me quite tired, and uncreative, at home in the evening hours. In order to gain time for my creative writing, I decided to leave home one hour earlier in the morning. Before I sit down at my office desk, I sit down for a nice cup of coffee in a café not far away. I take out my laptop and manage to get a lot onto paper, or rather into the computer, despite the noise and racket of the cappuccino machine and the customers at the other tables.

Lia Mack: Can you share a photo of what your writing space looks like?

Ellis Shuman: Here is my very unseemly table in the café, off to the side and near the electricity socket that powers up my laptop. I am one of the first people to buy coffee in the mornings, so I have my choice of tables. I don't need anything else around to stimulate me because my mind is working at high speed as I type.

Lia Mack: What are your thoughts on authors needing to build a platform?

Ellis Shuman: It doesn't matter if a writer is traditionally published or self-published, because in both cases, most, if not all, of the marketing falls upon the author. I think it is essential for an author to establish him/herself on a social platform, but one shouldn't go overboard doing it. I maintain a very active blog, where I write about Israel, Bulgaria, book reviews, travel, and about the writing process. The readership of my blog grew immensely when I became active on Twitter, where I associate with other published and aspiring writers. Someone said that an author has to spend 90% of his or her time marketing. Building a platform is crucial to this endeavor.

Lia Mack: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were?

Ellis Shuman: I would tell myself "Keep on writing, you'll eventually find your voice." Writing is an art that takes practice to perfect. I don't say that I am the accomplished author that I want to be at this stage of my life, but I keep on practicing, knowing that one day I will get there. Each article I write is better than the one before, and each book I write will be better than the one previously published. I look forward to what I will achieve in my new book, and I anxiously await the day that I will be able to share it with my readers.

Lia Mack: Thank you so much for being our guest author today at the BB Writers Retreat. Where can BB readers go online to find you and your work?

Ellis Shuman: I blog once or twice a week at Ellis Shuman Writes.

Readers can find my books at Amazon:

The Virtual Kibbutz
http://www.amazon.com/The-Virtual-Kibbutz-ebook/dp/B00ASK6VA0

Valley of Thracians
http://www.amazon.com/Valley-of-Thracians-ebook/dp/B00B68J114

And finally, readers are invited to follow me on Twitter: @ellisshuman


:)