A Quick Primer To Help Novice Writers Improve Their Craft

By Alfonso Colasuonno, http://theliterarygame.wordpress.com©2014This PowerPoint or any of the material within may not be sold or transmitted by any individual or party without the express written consent of the author.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF SUCCESSFUL WRITING (IN JUST EIGHTY SLIDES)

BEFORE YOU START WRITING•S

lides 3-16 offer helpful suggestions that will allow you to achieve quality and consistency as a writer.

Reading•“

I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.” – Samuel Johnson, British author

•Read as much fiction as you can. Read as much fiction in your genre as you can. Read as much fiction that deals with similar themes as you can.

•Reading more will allow you to become familiar with how other authors present situations, conflict, plotting, detail, description, dialogue, etc.

•When you read authors in your genre, pay attention to the technical aspects of their writing. How do they construct sentences? How do they deal with tense? How do they deal with perspective (3rd person? 1st person?)

Writing•W

rite as often as possible.

•Don’t make excuses to keep you from writing. You can’t improve as a writer without writing often.

•When the inspiration strikes, keep writing until you are worn out or the inspiration runs out.

•Remember – writers write. It sounds trite, but it’s true.

Live Life•W

riters MUST live life.

•Living life means opening yourself up to meeting as many different types of people as possible.

•Living life means exposing yourself to as many different situations as possible.

•Living life means always being open to try something new.

•If your world experience is limited, your writing will be limited.

Lifestyle•I

gnore the common stereotype that writers have to have miserable lives. This is a romantic notion. Many talented writers are great in spite of their vices, not because of them.

•Sleep well. Exhaustion doesn’t produce anything, much less good writing.

•Eat well. Don’t overeat. Overeating or maintaining a poor diet will reduce your sharpness and productivity.

•Relax. Write, take care of your responsibilities, but make sure you treat yourself well. You don’t want to burn yourself out. Burnout will hinder your ability.

•Do some form of enjoyable exercise on a regular basis. This will improve your sharpness.

•Drink a lot of water. Being healthy will make it a lot easier to focus.

•Burn with desire to write great fiction that people will enjoy. If you don’t want it badly enough, if it doesn’t permeate your entire mind on a consistent basis, improvement and success won’t happen, no matter what you do.

Vocabulary•B

uy a dictionary for high school or college students and read through it every day, noting words that are unfamiliar. Write those words and their definition down on a piece of paper or a text file on your computer.

•Make sure that when you are writing, you regularly use the synonym feature on your word processing software so that you can vary your word choice. This is especially important if you notice that you have used the same word in one paragraph.

Have These Books Handy•T

he Elements of Style by Strunk & White. This book will help you with the finer points of writing in proper English. If you are unsure about any grammatical points, turn to Strunk & White.

•Thesaurus

•Dictionary

Have a Pen and Paper With You At All Times

•You never know when you will have a great idea. Make sure you have a pen and paper with you at all times (or a smartphone or some device that can work in the same way) to jot your ideas down whenever and wherever they may come.

Avoid Distractions•I

f at all possible, turn off your phone while you are writing.

•Don’t be distracted by the Internet while writing. The Internet is a huge distraction for many people – writers included. Don’t let the one hour (or however long) daily writing block you set for yourself turn into five minutes of writing and 55 minutes of playing around on social media. Use filtering software if self-control is difficult.

•I find it best to go to a library or coffee shop to write. It’s easy to get distracted at home. Writing at libraries, coffee shops, or the location of your choice has the added benefit of being able to observe different types of people.

Write Where It’s At•I

f you are writing a scene set in a specific location (a park, a coffee shop, a bar) – write the scene at that place, if possible. This will help you get the details and ambience down.

•This practice will also assist you with understanding how people behave differently dependent on their location, and other contextual factors.

Observe and Engage•L

isten to how people speak (vocabulary, tone, etc.)

•Listen to what topics different types of people talk about.

•Observe people’s mannerisms.

•Observe the social norms at various locations. The norms at a bar are going to be different than the norms at a place of worship. If you aren’t familiar with the norms of various spaces, your story will seem unintentionally satirical, so get familiar if possible, or rely on contacts to inform you if visiting a location is impossible.

•Engage people as much as possible, especially types of people with which you do not have regular acquaintance (So long as it is in a safe situation. Use your discretion.)

•Take notes when anything that is, or could be, relevant to your ideas occurs in these situations.

Research•O

ne of the biggest mistakes novice writers make is to write about situations or types of people of which they are unfamiliar. This is where the common expression, “write what you know,” comes into play.

•Make sure that if you are discussing an idea, a type of person, a setting, or a situation of which you are unfamiliar, that you do some research, or ask an appropriate individual for help. This will help you in constructing the unfamiliar effectively.

•A lack of adequate research makes your story seem far-fetched and amateurish.

Original Ideas•D

on’t write until you have an original, interesting idea. If you’re not interested in your idea, your readers will not be interested either.

•If you think your idea has merit, run it by friends, and see what they think. They can help you shape it in such a way that it may become markedly better. See what they think, but recognize that you are the final judge.

•Talking ideas out with people also, quite often, leads to new inspiration.

•Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. This is EXTREMELY rare. This is often an excuse writers turn to that holds them back from acting on their ideas, or getting them out there.

Writer’s Block•D

on’t worry when writer’s block happens. It doesn’t mean you will never have another idea.

•There are ways you can trigger ideas to form during a prolonged case of writer’s block:

•1. Read more. Read a variety of types of fiction. Ideas will form.

•2. Relax. Sometimes writer’s block happens when writers act with haste in trying to get work done and churn out ideas. You aren’t a machine. Slow down, take some time off, and watch how ideas form in your head when you stop trying to force things.

•3. Talk to other writers. Find out what they’re working on. Hearing other people’s ideas stimulates your own to form.

An Exercise•M

any find that their writing improves when they try to write something outside of their direct interests or experiences.

•“Write outside your own experience...I find that this works the fictive imagination harder.” – Barack Obama, President of the United States

DURING THE WRITING PROCESS•A

pply the suggestions from slides 18-71 before you begin writing.

•Regularly analyze these slides while writing to ensure that you are not making any significant errors.

•U

sing the suggestions presented in these slides will help you save time in the editing process by markedly improving your first draft.

Outline Your Story•B

efore you start writing, make sure that you have a detailed outline of your narrative.

•Sketch out as much detail as you can possibly imagine before you begin writing. Ask yourself what is the basic plot of your story? How are the major plot points in the story arranged? Before you start, you need to determine how to get from point A to point B to point C to your conclusion. If you don’t know what your conclusion is before you start writing, you’re probably going to write a half-finished or poorly written story. Save yourself a lot of false starts and time, and create a basic sketch of what will happen before you start. This will lead to a much tighter story.

What If?•W

hen you are plotting out your story, at every plot twist, brainstorm other potential possibilities, and determine which plot turn makes the most sense. The end goal should be that you have the most conflict, the most believable conflict, and the most interesting conflict.

•Example: Your story starts with a fortysomething housewife in an argument with her elderly mother. What’s next? Does the housewife cave in and do what her mother wishes? Does the fight escalate? Does the housewife cut off contact with her mother? Does she get her husband to do the dirty work and tell off her mother?

Is It Obvious?•W

hen writing, think about what you imagine the reader would expect to happen next, then write in a curveball to keep your story fresh and interesting.

•Readers aren’t interested in reading stories that do not have surprises and twists.

Move the Story Forward•M

ake sure that everything in your story is relevant. If something doesn’t move the story along, get rid of it or modify it.

Embellish the Situation•I

f you are writing fiction based somewhat on your own experiences, make sure the situation is interesting. You may very well need to change details or embellish the situation.

•Y

our job as a writer is not to be a historian, it’s to tell a story that captures people’s attention.

Status Quo•M

ost stories are about the demise of the status quo.

•Your protagonist lived their life, poorly or well, and then something happened that turned things around. That’s why you’re writing this story. Well, now what? Your story will reveal your character’s mettle when faced with this disruption from the expected.

Growth•N

early all stories are about a protagonist’s growth.

•Most protagonists grow in some demonstrable way as a result of the conflicts in the story.

•Your protagonist does not have to grow. However, in that case there must be a specific reason for the lack of growth that is artfully demonstrated in your work. This is generally unappealing to readers unless done skillfully. This is not common in genre fiction.

Conflict•C

onflict is the name of the game in fiction. Only characters in difficult situations are interesting to readers. Not all characters need to have problematic lives, but most of them should have issues to work through in the course of the story.

•Conflicts are not just between people, they can be spiritual, against environments, against the self, etc.

•Conflict can be between two parties with benevolent intentions, two parties with malevolent intentions, or the traditional good and evil story. Conflict can be about a decision. Conflict can be about internal emotions.

•This isn’t necessary, but if there is a deadline to when the conflict must be resolved, that can add urgency to the plot. This works best in genre fiction.

Empowerment•W

hen characters are in conflict, make sure that both sides have a legitimate possibility of emerging the victor. If one character has no chance, not even a slim one, of overcoming his adversary, your idea is less likely to be able to be skillfully executed.

•It is recommended that the character that you want your reader to sympathize with (protagonist) should be faced with opposition that on the surface is more powerful than them. This will leave the reader wondering how they will overcome this threat.

High Stakes•“

And when the stakes are high, I’m careless with the dice, and now it seems like I’m pushing my luck all the time.” – Caithlin De Marrais, singer, Rainer Maria

•Your protagonist should be at risk of losing something important because of the conflict/s in your story. Readers won’t be engaged if the stakes are relatively minor, or if there is nothing at stake.

Progression•M

ake sure that the type of obstacles your protagonist faces keeps increasing in severity (and number) throughout your story. This will keep readers intrigued.

Theme•T

heme is the dominant idea that a story tries to convey.

•Some common themes in fiction include:

•The creation of something new

•Love (romantic or friendly)

•Daily routine

•The end of something

Insight•Y

our story should reveal something about human nature. What are you trying to express through your work? What is the overall theme?

•Examples: People are people regardless of our differences; Life should be lived well; When you have a problem, you must face it.

•Avoid being didactic. A writer’s job is not the same as a preacher’s, a politician’s, a philosopher’s, or an academic’s. A writer’s job is to tell a story, not to impart a moral.

•“I think you must remember that a writer is a simple-minded person to begin with and go on that basis. He's not a great mind, he's not a great thinker, he's not a great philosopher, he's a story teller.”-- Erskine Caldwell, American author

Emotional Atmosphere•B

efore you start writing (or revising), think about the dominant emotion that you would like to convey to your readers. Keep it in mind, and try to channel it in your attitude. Appropriate music can help. This will allow you to better capture the feel of your story.

•Even though your work may have a dominant emotional atmosphere (or tone), remember that all stories should include a wide variety of emotional stirrings in the reader, as twists and turns occur.

Sentence Structure•S

hort sentences convey action, simplicity, haste, dominance, violence, and chaos.

•Long sentences convey complexity, indecision, hesitancy, intellect, and thoughtfulness.

•Choose the type of sentence structure that works best for your story.

•You can alternate, as needed, if you wish.

Expletives•I

f using foul language in your work, make sure that it is appropriate for the story or for the character who expresses himself in that manner.

•Don’t use foul language in a story just to attract attention. Make sure that there is a specific reason to do so before using expletives.

•Overuse of foul language can make you seem like a lazy writer, especially if there is not a specific purpose for its use.

Point of View•M

ost writers will choose one POV and stick with it.

•You can play around with POV if you are writing from different characters’ mindsets or have another purpose for doing this.

•1st Person – Great for beginners. Write from one character’s perspective who tells the story. This is recommended for stories with one strong central character. Remember that in a 1st person story, the writer can only write about what the narrator experiences.

•3rd Person Limited – A narrator tells the story, but has insight only into the mind of one character.

•3rd Person Omniscient – A narrator tells the story, and has insight into the perspectives of all characters.

•Objective – A narrator tells the story with no insight into the thought process of any of the characters. This resembles a journalist reporting on a situation. You just present the facts, as can be perceived.

•2nd Person – Written as if it is happening to the reader. “You walk away.” Not used by most writers.

•Unreliable Narrator – Can be used in any POV. The narrator doesn’t necessarily have to tell the truth.

•Remember that the narrator can be the main character, another character, or unknown.

Tense•M

ost creative writing is written in the past tense.

•Example: I walked to the park to meet my girlfriend. I hoped that she wouldn’t be late. She was waiting for me by the swings.

•Some writing can done in present tense. Be wary of this, as most times it makes for awkward prose.

•Example: I’m walking down the block. I see that bastard Joe. I can’t wait to see that bastard in the ring.

Setting•H

ave the setting/s of your story planned out before you start writing.

•When does this story take place? In the present day? The future? The past? In the summer or the winter?

•Where does this story take place? In what country? A city? A suburb? A small town? A rural area? In a rich neighborhood? In a poor neighborhood?

Know Your Characters•Y

ou want to know all about your characters before you start writing. If you don’t know who your characters are, they will seem flat.

•Think about the following information for ALL major characters: Name; gender; race/ethnicity; sexual orientation; religion; class; job; career history; education; age; location; marital status; family; children; social life; appearance; political affiliation; hobbies; what do they do on a daily basis?; are they aggressive or passive?; stressed out or relaxed?; proactive or reactive?; what’s the worst thing that could happen to them?; what’s the best thing that could happen to them?; fears; flaws; prejudices; secrets; vivid memories; ailments; mannerisms; speech patterns; how do they view: life?; love?; work?; the opposite sex?; dying?; and sex?

You Are All The Characters•A

s you are writing, try to get inside the mind of each character. Imagine what you would do and say in each situation if you were them.

•This practice will help make your story more believable, and provide for a more realistic plot and dialogue.

Writing Unique Characters•S

how little details like personal expressions, specialized knowledge or skills, idiosyncrasies, habits, quirks, and imperfections.

•If you don’t do this, your characters will all seem the same, and this will not be appealing to readers.

Stereotypes and Clichés•A

void stereotypes and clichés whenever possible.

•Examples: A greedy businessman. An alcoholic writer. The idiot makes good.

•There’s nothing inherently wrong with using clichés and stereotypes in your work, so long as you give them a spin. If you just recreate a stereotype, readers will find your work boring and offensive, instead of original and provocative.

Contradictions•“

I believe I’m a walking contradiction.” – Billie Joe Armstrong, singer, Green Day

•Interesting characters are immersed in contradictions.

•Example: Dr. Howell – the scientist who has no common sense when it comes to interaction with the opposite sex.

Writing is Beyond Good and Evil•“

There are no angels, there are devils in many ways.” – Exene Cervenka and John Doe, musicians, X

•Your characters, both the “good ones” and the “bad ones,” must be complex. They must have their light and dark sides.

•Just like no individual, not even the best person in the world, is entirely benevolent; no one, not even the worst person in the world, is entirely malevolent. Your characters must reflect this to be believable.

•Think of it like this – every character is motivated to do what they think is best, regardless of whether their actions are generally perceived as good or evil. Think about your character’s motivation for their actions. This will make your characters multi-dimensional, and consequently, more interesting.

•“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin, writer

Past Influences Present•E

very character has a past. This past influences their present. Imagine your character’s backstory before you start writing.

•Example: Bridget was a cheerleader in high school. How would this characteristic influence her if she were in a car accident that left facial scarring? Now imagine how this same incident would influence Janet, the shy, unpopular girl in high school. It would obviously be different.

Getting In The Character’s Mind and Voice

•It can be helpful to compare your character to an appropriate frame of reference to better help you write the character and get their voice, thoughts, and actions down. (Note: This doesn’t mean the character should be a stereotype.)

•Examples:

•Derek – The jock

•Barry – Reminds me of my friend Joey

External/Internal Motivation•E

very character has a motivation for their actions.

•Different characters usually have different motivations.

•Sometimes the motivation that people express (external) differs from their real motivation (internal).

•It helps to summarize the driving motivations (external and internal) of your major characters.

•Example: Molly – wants to become a astronaut to better the human race (external) / wants to show up her abusive stepfather (internal).

How Do Characters View Themselves?

•People often act based on their perception of themselves.

•Example: Mike, though he’s balding at 25, and weighs 300 pounds, believes that he’s God’s gift to women. He flirts with every attractive woman he meets, and almost always has a woman for the night.

Why Do They Do That Thing They Do?

•Make sure that you SHOW your characters’ feelings, thoughts, and the motives for their actions, rather than simply TELL how they feel, think, or explain their motivations.

•SHOWING important details is interesting to the reader. TELLING is not.

Facades•S

ometimes things aren’t as they seem, and the same holds true with characters.

•Some characters may present a false image to society, specific individuals, or themselves.

•It is not necessary to have a character operating under a facade in a story, but if appropriate, this device may certainly be used.

Your Protagonist MUST Be Active•T

he protagonist of your story must be active.

•Your protagonist cannot allow others to make decisions for her.

•The only exception to this rule is if your story is specifically about someone who allows life to blow her along every which way. If that’s not what your story is about, your protagonist should be active.

More About Your Characters•P

rior to starting your work, plot out the major events that happen in the arcs of your main characters.

•Example: Mike: Applies to be a firefighter – Takes test – Put on waitlist – Takes a job as an electrician’s assistant – Hears that he did not make the cut – Meets electrician’s daughter – Asks her on a date – Electrician fires him – Runs off with electrician’s daughter.

•Think about the following:

•What is the character’s function in the story? (villain, best friend, protagonist, etc.)

•What is the character’s occupation? (student, electrician, programmer)

•What is the character’s objective?

•What is the character’s external motivation?

•What is the character’s internal motivation?

•What is the character’s biggest weakness?

Don’t Be Afraid•M

any writers fail because they are unwilling to expose themselves on the page. Be honest. Show your characters vulnerabilities and faults. People may assume that you share their weaknesses. You may or may not. Lose your self-consciousness. Writers must be brave if they want to write well.

Universality•A

good writer will be able to make readers empathize with her characters.

•This happens through following the conventions of effective writing (craft) and through making your characters have some redeeming qualities, despite their flaws.

Hook the Reader•T

he first chapter, first paragraph, and first sentence of your story are critical. You must be able to reel readers in with a strong beginning.

•Make sure that you have a very interesting scene set up to begin your work.

•Make sure that your writing is tight at all times, but especially in the beginning of your story.

•Begin with immediate tension.

Be a Tease•Y

ou want to tease your readers. This will ensure that they continue reading.

•Don’t reveal your hand immediately. Only reveal information on a need to know basis. This will keep your readers intrigued.

Foreshadowing•I

t may be helpful to allude to something that will happen later in your story.

•Please note, the example below is a little obvious. You want to be more subtle in your use of foreshadowing.

•Example: My friend Mikey joked all the time about the girls he scored. He told me that he never bothered with condoms. Why bother, he would tell me, laughing wildly, it doesn’t feel as good. Even as reckless as he is, the women always knocked on his door. I couldn’t understand it.

•Mikey came to me in tears. He told me that he should have never went home with that junkie. He told me he tested positive for Hep. I had never seen him cry, but he broke down in front of me, asking me to pray that he didn’t catch HIV too.

Causality•H

old your characters responsible for their actions. When they make poor choices, they must suffer the consequences (immediately or eventually). The converse is true (in most situations).

•“We’re not punished for our sins, but by them.” – Elbert Hubbard, American artist

Crisis•T

here are three common types of crises that form the critical turning point of most stories.

•Recognition – The character becomes aware of something s/he didn’t know.

•Decision – The character takes a decisive action.

•Resolution – The character realizes what must be done or finally decides to do it.

Climax•T

he climax is the critical point of resolution in a work of fiction.

•The escalation of conflict that you have been building through in your story reaches its crescendo here.

•The climax is often the result of a choice your protagonist has made in reaction to everything that has built up over the course of the story.

•After the climax, loose ends are wrapped up in a resolution, leading to the conclusion.

Conclusion•T

here are different ways writers choose to conclude their stories. Below are the most common approaches. Choose whichever is most appropriate for your story:

•Open Ended– Readers determine what happened because the writer intentionally leaves it open to interpretation.

•Traditional– Clear cut ending, with no ambiguity.

•Back to the Beginning – Revisits the same/similar image or situation as at the beginning of the story.

•Thoughts – The character reflects.

•Dialogue – Characters have a conversation.

•Symbolism – Details that allude to something important are presented. (Example: In a story about redemption of any kind, a man stares out of his car window and sees a cross being erected at a church.)

Deus Ex Machina•T

ranslates as “The God in the Machine”

•This is a plot device used by ancient Greek dramatists and modern amateurs.

•Deus Ex Machina is when something that is completely unrelated to the story resolves the conflict.

•Example: A story about a professional boxer’s psychological struggle following a concussion. The story goes into how this conflicts with his family, his career, his ability to generate income. Everything is falling apart for him. He is about to commit suicide, when all of a sudden, for no reason, a friend of his who he hasn’t seen in fifteen years rings his doorbell and insists on giving him a million dollars. This doesn’t make sense in the context of the story. This isn’t believable. This is lazy writing.

Writing Dialogue•M

ake sure that your characters speak in a way that is believable, given who they are.

•Make sure that your characters dialogue always serves a purpose and is interesting.

•Make sure that you include what is going on during a conversation.

•Bad Example: “I want to go to bed.” John said. “All right” replied Laura.

•Good example: “I want to go to bed.” John winked. He placed a hand on Laura’s thigh. “All right.” She replied firmly, pushing his hand away.

•Try to avoid using the word “said” too often when writing dialogue.

•There’s no need to include said, replied, stated, etc. after every piece of dialogue. You can express who said what through action, or if it is obvious, especially in long conversations, without any notation or description.

•Don’t only pay attention to what your characters say. What’s the subtext in their conversations? Do they use proper grammar? How extensive is their vocabulary? Do they have an accent? Speak in slang? Use a lot of jargon? Do they speak in long, complex sentences or do they speak in short, simple sentences?

Isn’t Conversation Enough?•S

imply put, no.

•Dialogue should reveal something about the character’s attitudes, perceptions, traits, and values.

•Dialogue should often be about, explicitly or implicitly, the conflicts in your story.

Subtext•S

ubtext = Things implied. Things beyond the surface that motivate characters’ actions and speech.

•Example: Mark looked at Lily. “I heard that beer goes down easy.” His mouth salivated.

Sex•Y

our characters do what they do because of sex. Every action your character does is because they think it will increase their opportunity to have a more satisfying sex life.

•Why does your character try to get that promotion? Why does your character stand up for herself in the face of an abusive party? It’s all because of sex.

• This is part of your subtext.

Description•M

ake sure that you describe the characters in your manuscript, their actions, and the world in which they inhabit. If you do not provide adequate description, your story will feel like it is taking place in a bubble. It will not feel realistic.

•Avoid overdescription. The main point of description is to aid the reader in suspending their disbelief. Description should not be more important than the story itself.

Five Senses•I

f you struggle with writing description, try to think in terms of the five senses.

•Make sure to include, when appropriate, what characters see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.

Show Don’t Tell•T

rust your audience’s intelligence. If something is obvious, you don’t need to write it.

•Instead of summarizing, like in the following example, “John walked to Stacey’s house,” show it, like in the following example, “John held Stacey’s hand tentatively, as they walked along the quiet tree-lined streets of her neighborhood.”

•Never hit your readers over the head. Be subtle. Think of it like dating. Readers are intrigued by mystery and allusion.

Show Emotions•D

on’t write: John felt unhappy – show it.

•Example: John walked down the street, head down, hands in his pockets, moving as slowly as a reanimated corpse from a cheesy B-film.

Symbolism•G

ood writers often use symbolism to represent larger ideas.

•Example: A character quits his job as an office worker to become a truck driver. If done skillfully, this could show, without ever stating it, the freedom of the open road, in contrast with the slavery of the cubicle.

Irony•I

rony is a device often used in literature.

•Ironic situations are fascinating because they unfold in ways contrary to readers’ expectations.

•Irony is not a mandatory aspect of strong fiction, but it is recommended when appropriate, particularly for literary fiction.

Background Information•G

ive background information in small doses. Scatter it throughout your story.

•Only give background information that’s necessary for a reader to comprehend the current situation.

•If a detail is irrelevant to the story, cut it out, no matter how interesting it may be.

AFTER YOU ARE DONE WRITING•T

ake a look at slides 73-78 after you have completed your story.

•Editing is critical. Most respected literary figures are terrible writers, but excellent rewriters. It’s hard to capture genius in a 1st draft. Genius takes work, and that work is the tedious process of editing that separates decent writers from excellent writers.

•Reread the previous slides and measure your work against the standards expressed there. Modify where you fell short through the editing process.

Editing•E

diting is not fun, but it is MANDATORY.

•Editing is not someone else’s responsibility, it’s your responsibility - especially as a promising writer trying to build a name.

•I recommend six rounds of edits for your creative work (unless you notice specific errors. If so, fix those first.): 1. An analysis to make sure that your POV is the same at all times (unless you change the POV for a specific artistic purpose that adds to your story.) 2. An analysis to see if you can add any more information at any point in your story. 3. An analysis to see if you are being repetitive. 4. An analysis to ensure that your characters behave and speak in character throughout the story, unless there is a reason for them to do otherwise. 5. An analysis to ensure you are using the correct tense. 6. A general edit, read out loud, to catch awkward prose and other mistakes.

Cut the Crap•C

ut out any subplots, description, dialogue, or thoughts that are irrelevant to the story.

•You may think a sentence, a chapter, or a passage is brilliant, but if it is irrelevant, you need to either make it relevant, or remove it.

Read Your Writing Out Loud•H

ow does your writing sound when read out loud?

•Does the dialogue sound realistic?

•Does the description sound awkward?

•Are you using the same words too often?

•Reading your work out loud will help you become more aware of these issues.

Spelling/Grammar Check•R

un a spelling and grammar check on your word processing software when you have finished writing your draft.

•Don’t let your program auto-correct everything. Examine each potential error to see if the program is correct or incorrect in suggesting a change.

Everyone Needs an Editor•O

nce you edit your work on your own to the best of your ability, politely ask a few (ideally two or three) confidantes to examine it before you move forward with submissions. As long as your editors are well-read and intelligent, they should be able to note many ways that your story can improve that will never be apparent to you.

•Make sure to tell your editors that you welcome criticism. You’re not looking for empty compliments, but for meaningful critique.

•Listen to your editors’ suggestions, but if they don’t sound right to you, debate their recommendations with them, and find out why they believe their suggestions would lead to a stronger work. Go with your gut. You are the arbiter. If they have valid points, consider their suggestions, and then go back and edit your work.

•If you do not have anyone willing to edit your work that you trust, The Literary Game provides editing services.

Improvement is Ongoing•“

I’m sixty years old now and the critics say my stuff is getting better than ever.” – Charles Bukowski, poet/prose writer

•It’s simple - the more you write, the more improvement you will see in your work.

•Trust that your work will improve, and put the effort in as a demonstration of your belief.

Addendum: What Next? •M

ake sure to check http://theliterarygame.wordpress.com to find free links to websites that will help you build a buzz, find literary agents, publishers, online publications, open mics, and creative writing programs.

•Remember, write well, and edit extensively. This is first and foremost.

•If money is a concern, recognize that genre fiction (young adult, mystery, romance, sci-fi, etc.) tends to pay better and is easier to break into than literary fiction.

•Hustle. Introduce yourself to people as a writer. They may be able to help you, or at the very least, be interested in your work.

•Don’t self-publish with a vanity press, unless you have a way to get your work out there (through relentless hustling, frequenting open mics, being published in many online journals, having some degree of status already established as a writer or from other avenues, etc.)

•Build a reputation through being published in respected online literary journals (use Duotrope.com to find them) and then find a publisher/agent.

•Consider writing outside of fiction: blog; work as a freelance writer; consider journalism; technical writing; speechwriting; or copywriting. Demonstrate your abilities in ways that may be able to easily generate income, and perhaps help propel your creative work.

Thank You!•I

sincerely want to thank you for taking the time to read through and apply these slides. Your trust in my message means a great deal to me.

•I am grateful for your belief in the vision of The Literary Game, and its goal of transforming the literary landscape.

•I wish you the best of luck in turning your literary dreams into reality.

•Warmly,

Alfonso Colasuonno

Founder, The Literary Game