Trick from the Editor’s Hat: Create character style sheets as you go.

Editing is a BIG job, and sometimes it can seem like it's taking forever. Trying to get a story to flow and hit all the emotional beats at the right points… Getting your head around the nuances of voice, show vs tell, and the dialogue flow… And we shouldn't forget the dreaded punctuation and grammar.

But sometimes, editing has nothing to do with voice, writing style, or what might be in the dictionary. Sometimes, it's the little details that define our characters or settings that need to be filtered through an entire manuscript (or multiple manuscripts).

When you are working with a long story, the little details can sometimes get lost among the screes of words in all the random notes and files that might be thrown all over the place. This is particularly problematic when working in a series where particular characters might be used in story after story.

To help keep the little details straight, create character style sheets as you go.

Scene & Sequel, but not that Scene & Sequel

Sometimes, certain words carry multiple meanings and those multiple meanings can be at complete odds with one another. And when those words are literary terms, writers everywhere are bound to get confused.

The words scene and sequel are two such words.

The common meaning of a scene is as we might see it in a film or on stage. A setting has been pieced together and the characters walk into view to do some action or talk about random things. As writers, we talk about scene transitions with great importance and many of us will break down our manuscripts into scenes. But this is not the scene I'm talking about today.

Nope… Today, we're talking about a scene as the portion of the story that propels the action forward, where characters attempt to achieve goals, and things happen. Scenes are moments of conflict rooted in a constant stream of time. (Note: flashback scenes are rooted in the past.)

The word sequel is just as confusing. Normally, when we talk about sequels, we're talking about the next story in a series. But nope, not today.

Today, sequel refers to those passages where characters reflect over what just happened and form the plan to move forward.

After every scene, you need a sequel.

Are you confused yet? Let's see if we can do something about that.

Passive Voice: Does it have a use?

It seems like every other day I come across something that is grumbling at me about passive voice. Sometimes, it's the ProWritingAid app, more often than not highlighting deliberate constructions carefully crafted for show. Other times, it's a beta reader attempting to confuse me with their commentary. And occasionally, it will be a discussion with writers about the differences between active and passive voice.

And every time I have a passive voice conversation, I end up scratching my head.

Why? Because some people are so against the use of passive voice that they go out of their way to make everything active. Yes, it is advisable to use active sentence constructions where possible, but sometimes, writing demands the use of passive voice to make it stronger.

I can hear all the naysayers now, ready to pounce. But do you really understand what passive voice is? You think you do, but it's time to shed a few myths and get down to the heart of the passive vs active voice argument.

Let's start with defining what passive voice is.

Past Present vs Past Simple: It’s all in the past, right?

I don't think anyone would be surprised to learn that I take part in a decent number of online forums for writers and editors. It's about connecting with other writers and editors, building my network. And I will admit that many of my interactions on social media feed the ideas for the posts on this blog.

Today's blog post is no different.

In a recent post in one of my forums, I came across a writer who had said that they had been taught that when using past perfect tense, it was best to transition to past simple quickly afterward.

I don't know about anyone else, but even now, I look at that and my head hurts. You don't want to know the thoughts that go through my mind with such statements. (I actually made a note in one of my manuscripts to maim and torture the grammar police.) But this is not the first time that I've encountered a writer who insisted on using such terminology. (Why they would even bother… Well, there's a reason I made a note to maim and torture the grammar police.)

Yes, these literary terms have specific meanings, and many English teachers will insist that you get them right. So, let's get to it and define what the different versions of past tense verbs are.

Here's hoping that we don't totally get confused along the way.

The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne: The idea is good, but the book is confusing.

A few months back, I was part of a discussion on Facebook about books that are specific to developmental editing. Being a developmental editor, I watched the thread like a hawk. I wanted to know what books are out there and what was high on the recommended lists. Many of the books discussed I already had, but there was one that came highly recommended by several on the thread.

The book in question: The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.

So, I ordered a copy of the book myself. It took approximately 6 weeks to arrive (shipping to New Zealand is always a long, drawn out wait), and when it got here, I sat down and started reading. And instantly regretted buying the paper version of the book.

Don't get me wrong: the technique presented in the book is gold. The book itself…

The editor NEEDED an editor. It takes forever to get to the crux of the methodology, and when you finally get to the end, there is no discussion on what to do with the full Story Grid, or how to even generate those pretty graphs that Coyne often talks about. At one point, the book became a political statement against Trump, which actually left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sorry, folks, but a book about editing books is NOT the place to discuss your political views, whatever they are.

Political discussions aside, what really got to me was the word count taken to discuss certain concepts. Waffle! He spent forever circling the drain.

Let's just say that I WILL NOT be adding this book to my list of recommended books for writers. BUT… As a developmental editor myself, I could see the beauty in the method he presented. He tracks the upbeats and the downbeats, and marks the points of transitions within his detailed spreadsheets—spreadsheets that take days if not weeks to compile. Pretty graphs seem to magically come out of it (the magic of which was not explained, unless that was something that I missed entirely, which wouldn't surprise me). But the idea of understanding the rise and fall of tension is something that is incredibly important. It's for this reason alone that I think many writers keep pointing other writers to this book.

However, much of the details in the book could be compressed into a more concise format and rewritten so it's understandable by all writers.

So, that's what I'm going to do. It's a tall ask for a single post, and I'll likely fail, but if I don't try, then the knowledge that I've gleaned from this book will likely be lost in the filing cabinet that is my brain.

To US English or to UK English? Is that really the question?

Frequently, I find myself in the middle of a conversation talking about whether something should be written in US English or UK English. Sometimes, it's related to how something is punctuated (and yes, there is a difference between the two for some punctuation rules). Sometimes, it's in regards to whether a story would work better written in one versus the other—normally focused on whether a story set in the UK should be in UK English. And sometimes, it's connected to the frustrations that those around me have with Americans who don't understand that UK English is different to US English.

Within these conversations, I find myself becoming a bit of a broken record, asking the same questions over and over again. And it all comes down to one idea…

Who is your target audience?

So, let's break this down and really look at why understanding who your target audience is will determine which variant of English you use.

Is it literary, commercial, or upmarket? Publishing industry terms explained.

The publishing industry is filled with terms that seem to mean one thing to the industry but something entirely different to everyone else. For the writer who is just entering into the publishing scene, this barrage of new terminology can leave us confused, staring at the word forever trying to discern its meaning.

Three of those words for me were literary, commercial, and upmarket. There really isn't a simple definition for these three terms as they apply to the nature of the narrative used within a story. Here's hoping that today's post can clarify it for at least some writers.

Shapeshifter: A Literary Term Defined

There are times when the terminology seems to confuse the hell out of me. Sometimes, it’s because the odd term is completely new to my ears. At other times, it’s a term or phrase that has an obscure reference that I spend forever trying to work how such an odd term could mean that. And there are those terms that have a common meaning within pop culture that seem to be at war with the literary meaning.

The term shapeshifter is one of those terms that falls into the last category.

While pop culture would have us believe that the term shapeshifter refers to someone whose physical appearances change, the term actually refers to their behavior.

How to Write Realistic and Professional Scenes About Shooting (Guest Blog)

How to Write Realistic and Professional Scenes About Shooting

by Jay Chambers

Let’s face it, most writers are not gun experts. And gathering reliable data about how gun fights actually happen is difficult, because there are a lot of tall tales out there and combat data collection is spotty, but there are a few things that we know.

The behavior of gun-savvy people is easy to observe and replicate in your writing. Here’s what you need to know to write realistic shooting scenes that make you look like a professional who does their homework.

Plotter vs Pantser: Is one really better than the other?

I have found myself in a few conversations lately about the merits of being a plotter or a pantser, with interesting insights on the two different concepts. In reality, the conversations always comes down to how we are all different and how there is no one way to get the initial draft on paper. We all do what we have to do to make the writing happen, but it is interesting how many of us have multiple tactics up our sleeves. Sometimes, we're forced to change gear and try something else.

So, which really is better? Well... It would seem that the answer is nowhere near as simple as the question.