Three books every writer should own: Book 3

Now you’ve got that first draft or maybe the 2nd or 3rd and it needs a good edit. Money is tight, the critique group is taking too long, or you just want to present the very best you can do before you hire that editor or present it to your critique group or both. I recommend the next book.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, 2nd edition, by Renni Browne and Dave King.

So, you are trying to convey how angry your character is without saying something stupid like, his temper became so hot he burst into flames, unless he is a magician or a phoenix he wouldn’t be able to do this anyway. But you really want to let the reader know how angry he is so after his heated exchange you say a word to describe his temper instead of the word ‘said.’ No, do not do that. Use description to describe his temper and well chosen words s/he will voice. The explanation for this is well presented by Browne and King in their book.

Another easy mistake we make is telling about why the character is doing what they are doing instead of letting the reader experience the characters motivations and their habits or work ethic (select example and insert) along with the character. This is called Show don’t Tell, Browne and King have included a chapter on it. I think a lot of writers do this especially in their first draft, so learning how to recognize Show don’t Tell will spare you a lot of frustration.

To tag or not to tag; no I’m not talking about the game you played when you were a kid. This means that you tell the reader who is speaking. Or the before mentioned s/he said. There seems to be a lot of opinion out there about this subject. I have heard numerous do this and don’t do that and each varies considerably. In Self-Editing for the Fiction Writers, Browne and King give clear examples of this every problem so you will never be confused again. I’m for that, how about you?

All in all there are twelve chapters on essential aspects to your story:
1. Show and Tell
2. Characterization and Exposition
3. Point of View
4. Proportion
5. Dialogue Mechanics
6. See How it Sounds
7. Interior Monologue
8. Easy Beats
9. Breaking up is Easy to do
10. Once is usually enough
11. Sophistication
12. Voice

Do you have a favorite book on writing that you refer to time and again? Please share it with us and thanks for stopping by.
Nancy

Three books every writer should own: Book 2

Having trouble with your characters personality, motivation, alter ego, or just plain stuck in a rut about which character is the hero and which is the mentor? Check out this next title:

45 Master Characters, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.

This is just a laugh out loud book with both the villain and hero, female and male personality type and motivation listed. Why is it laugh out loud? Because you will say, this is just like so and so. Then after a good laugh you will have the resources available to sit down and craft the intricate character you’ve always imagined but couldn’t quite figure out how to describe and motivate on the page. But Schmidt doesn’t stop there; in this book you will find the profiles for all your miner characters too. No, not done yet, Schmidt will also explain their journey and how to plot that.

Now you may think if I have the first book why do I need the second book. Because while the first book will masterfully explain the journey your characters will take, and a lot about the characters, this book will give you a more in depth look into the reason your characters do what they do. It’s in the personality. We want three dimensional characters for the villain, the hero and those characters that are essential to their progress. Here you can learn how to intertwine various aspects of multiple personality types to get the unique character you want.

Do you have a favorite character book?

Three books every writer should own: Book 1

As I think about my author’s journey there are many books that I have read about the craft of writing. But there are three that stand out.

The Writer’s Journey, 2nd Edition by Christopher Vogler.

I believe this book to be essential regardless of the type of writing that you do because it explains the process so well. Vogler uses movies that most of us have seen as examples, an immediate visual reference. (Star Wars, Titanic, The Lion King, Pulp Fiction and more.) Within its pages you will discover how to map the journey, utilizing myth, story and psychology. You will learn how to diagnose the story to solve problems and how to proceed in your developing story idea.

In the next chapter you will read about archetypes, from the Hero and Villain to the Mentor and Trickster and more and their roles in the journey of your story. Specifically, seven character types.

Next, Vogler details the stages of the journey, a more detailed explanation and finally looking back on the journey. He gives examples of models that you can use to craft the story, delayed crisis is one and character arch is included plus more. In addition, he will give you specific exercises that you can do to really learn how these techniques work to analyze books and movies and to apply to your writing. All in all a book you will refer to time and again as you write.

The 3rd edition, The Writers Journey, Mythic Structure is now available at amazon.com