Why Editors Can
Sharpen Your Story Gems
By Jami Gray, Editor for Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions
Whether you’re Indie or Traditional or Hybrid, as a writer,
your editor can not only give you an unbiased opinion on your work, but they
will keep your story and its many components straight.
Your character sprouts an extra arm, leg, or other appendage?
Dr. Editor will amputate.
Your character is left standing at the side of the road
while the rest of your cast merrily trots along? Your editing driver will send
a taxi back for a pick up.
A character decides to not only change their hair color, but
their height (without taking off their shoes)? Your editing beauty consultants
will dash into action, adjusting color and adding (or removing) heels as
necessary.
Editors chew their way through the basics—spelling, sentence
structure, verb usage—all vital parts of your story, but what about the more
subtle parts? The true skill of an
editor will shine when they begin to battle descriptions, active versus passive
verbs, points of views, character motivation and behaviors, plausible plotlines,
world crafting, and believability.
I’m a sucker for examples, so let’s head into the
treacherous world of show-don't-tell. You all know this pit of despairing
darkness, because as writers we don’t want to tell our readers about our characters and world, we want to show them. This requires stronger, more
active verbs, closer points of view, and vivid descriptions, which will trap
your readers in your story.
We’ll use a passage that won’t land me on a hit list, as the
author and I share mental headroom. This
is from my first book, SHADOW’S EDGE from 2011.
The original passage read:
Raine moved like
lightening to catch the little black remote before it hit the ground. Eden gave
a frustrated shriek and went after Ryder's face with her long nails, scoring
three long scratches before her could stop her.
Ryder cursed, yanking the doctor's arms behind
her back, forcing her to face forward.
Raine didn't spare Eden a glance, but moved in to the cell. She could
feel Cheveyo coming up behind her. Using her magic, Raine called up a small
illuminating ball of light to chase back the darkness from the cell.
Huddled in the corner
was a naked Gavin. Fresh cuts, seeping burns, and trickles of blood mixed with
sweat-drenched, tangled hair made macabre abstracts over the shaking arms,
wrapped around drawn up legs.
This small passage is an action scene, which demands strong
verbs, vivid descriptions, and showing the reader what’s happening, not telling
them.
Take the very first line: Saying she moved like lightening
is telling, not showing.
How is a writer to conquer this beast? They shall craft
stronger verb usage.
Picking the right verb makes a world of difference. No
writer wants their reader to get bored and move on. The key to recognizing and
beating the crap out of passive voice is not to add -ing to every verb or tack
on “was”, because that means you’ve begun to travel down the passive trail and
meander into boring territory. Spice it up. Kick it around, make sure your
sentences do something. Each chapter, each sentence must move your story
forward.
Your goal as a storyteller is to keep your reader up late through
the night to finish "...just one more page" regardless of the fact
that at the crack of dawn they have a meeting their entire career hinges upon.
Watch what happens when you show your readers with stronger
verb use:
Raine sprang forward
and caught the little black remote before it hit the ground. Eden shrieked and
raked Ryder’s face with her long nails, scoring three long gashes before he
could stop her.
He cursed and yanked
her arms behind her back, forcing her to face forward. Without sparing her a
glance, Raine dashed into the cell with Cheveyo right behind her. She summoned
a small ball of light to chase back the darkness from the cell.
Gavin was huddled in
the corner, naked. Fresh cuts, seeping burns, and trickles of blood, mixed with
sweat-drenched, tangled hair threw macabre abstracts over his shaking arms,
which were wrapped around his drawn-up legs.
Are you on the edge of your seat yet? Want to turn the page
and see what happens next? This is the beauty of showing versus telling. It's
worth every drop of blood you sweat as you transfer those voices in your head
to paper.
Editors will be the first to nudge you off the cliff of show-don’t-tell
when you can't get your feet to move. They mind the details of your story so
you won’t be inundated with emails, which politely point out the errors of your
story. To be a successful writer, you need to continue to grow your craft and
your skill set. Editors are here to help you hone your Pen of Magic so you
don’t get caught in the subtle trap of “same story, different....” You get the
picture.
In need of an editor
for your written gem? How about two? Wicked Dragon Writer Solutions offers two
editing beasts for one smoking price.
For 10% off your editing adventure, book by 4/30/15 with code WDWSOPEN at
www.wickeddragonsolutions.com.
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