How to Edit (part 2): What to do with Details

I wrote an article about this before and I would like to, in a way, update the info there a bit. The reason is, I discovered more things during my own editing process (ongoing) and I would like to share my insights with you.

This is all about those details you put into your story in the beginning because you thought they were necessary. Most often I have found that these include the following:

Details in Conversation: A Discussion

So, I'm editing like crazy these days and one thing I started to do was to add more conversation and less "Interesting Tidbits".

Here are some Writerly Jargon and I'd like to add "Interesting Tidbits" as one.

Interesting Tidbits: Those details that the Author thinks is interesting and/or creative. Those details are only there because the Author wanted to show the reader some interesting detail about the story even though that detail does not make another appearance in the story. Those details are there because the Author is boasting how creative they are.

Admit it. I do that, you do that, we all do that, we are creative writers who love to show the world how creative we can be.

Now, to get back to the topic, I have started to replace details with conversation to MAKE THEM IMPORTANT.

To give an example,

How to Edit: What Details to Cut, What Details to Keep

In some stage in your editing process, you will find that you've got your story down and you know exactly how the beginning, middle, climax, and end are supposed to play out, you've got your world set up and your characters straight. The relationships between characters are so clear you can tell them to anyone.

Now you need to get rid of those details that hold the story back.

But how do you distinguish that from the details that you actually need?

Here's how.

What Fiction Writing REALLY Is: Discussion

Fiction writing, no matter what sub-genre, is mostly writing about places you've never been or will never EVER go to.

Which is good because you can really go crazy with description, you are free to do (within the boundaries of your story of course) whatever you want. You can invite your readers into a world never thought possible or into your own world with a slight twist.

But, writing about places you've never been or will never EVER go to is also bad. Let me tell you why.

Showing or Telling: Don't bore the reader, entertain them

I have said that description is magic.

I have said that here.

But don't be too descriptive within the same paragraph where a character has said something otherwise it just gets so lengthy and you don't feel like reading it.

Such as,

Character Crisis: Same-gender characters talking together

(This post is based on personal experience. Take away from it whatever you can.)

OMG! The same-gender characters have to talk to each other! How the heck am I going to distinguish one from the other?

I have trouble with that in my novel. My MC is a guy, his best friend is an old guy, his neighborhood enemy is a guy, he has an older brother, he has lots of guy friends and they all have a drink together in the village they live in!

Sheesh!

I have to distinguish them without having to say,

"How are you?" asked Belome (my MC).

"I'm fine," answered Velodis (his best friend).

"Me, too!" said Iyar (his drinking friend).

"It's a good day today," remarked Belome looking up at the sky.

"Sure is," said Iyar.

"Great day," nodded Velodis.


SOUNDS LIKE a children's book.

How do I make it not sound like a children's book?

How much should I worry about grammar?

Writers' workshops have at least one of them. But sometimes it can get ugly and we can be outnumbered.

Just realized there's some grammar errors in this meme :P
Wonder if it's on purpose...hmm

*shudder*

But then, do we grammar Nazi or grammar not-zi?

I hear many views about grammar in writing.

Such as,

Grammar is important.

It's okay for it to be messed up because that's the way the character speaks.

As long as it isn't so heavy that it takes the reader away from the writing then a little here and there is okay.

Word Spellcheck system doesn't always correct everything. So then it must be sort of okay.


Well then, how much should we worry about grammar?

Story Outline Template

I used this for NaNoWriMo but you can definitely use it for any fiction story.
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Title(s): Name of Title for story. If you have several ideas, write them all down. If you're unsatisfied with what you have come up with, just keep it there for now or just don't write anything.

Main Character Name and Character Description/Profile: Such as Age, Color of Hair, Height, Fashion, Hairstyle, Personality, What their face looks like (e.g., old for his/her age, freckles, blue eyes, gray eyes, short nose, unibrow...etc.), Occupation, Species (if it's important to make a point about this, otherwise you can let yourself assume most of your characters are human so you don't need to keep mentioning it)

Secondary Character(s) Name and Description/Profile: If you don't know the details yet, just list up some names you want to use and keep it as that.

Chapter 1: Basically write what is going to happen in this chapter. Doesn't have to be complete sentences. This is just for you to look at and reference to.

Chapter 2: Do the same for this chapter. Let me give you an example from a Camp NaNoWriMo I did in 2013.
EXAMPLE:

Chapter 2
Calico goes into the city.  Gets lost.  Finds a place to keep dry as it has started raining though there is no cloud in the sky and the stars are shining.  He is there for quite a while when he feels a scruffy hand on his arm.  It is Jonnie the Janitor.  Jonnie takes Calico to his house.  Calico meets three other kids who have been taken under Jonnie’s wing.  Calico talks to them.  The eldest suggests they go out to find the shards.  Calico agrees.  Jonnie suggests they visit the gypsy woman because she might know something with her power. (copyrighted 2013 N. J. Folettia).

See? Just nice and simple. Like a memo to yourself.

Chapter 3 and so on: Do the same thing for all the chapters.

Continue on with this until you come to a sort of ending. Just write in short sentences and don't even bother with the details, you'll deal with those when you actually write.

What Literary Agents say NOT to do in a story: I am guilty

THIS WEBSITE

“The [adjective] [adjective] sun rose in the [adjective] [adjective] sky, shedding its [adjective] light across the [adjective] [adjective] [adjective] land.”
– Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

LOL. This is so true! I think I might do it sometimes because I just want to show off my creative writing skills...eeps! GUILTY.

“Characters that are moving around doing little things, but essentially nothing. Washing dishes & thinking, staring out the window & thinking, tying shoes, thinking.”
– Dan Lazar, Writers House

I keep laughing at these cuz it is so true and I really need to go back into my story to make sure nothing is tedious but I would like to say

How to: Colors of Things and Feeling the Five Senses

Moved from the original post on my other blog, World Problems and Randomness.
Which explains the bluntness and the sarcasm and the frankness.
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Colors of Things:
Eye color, hair color, the color of clothes, accessories, and anything else your character owns

Okay that's it! I'm gonna talk about this.

"His grey eyes made contact with my blue ones"

This is a sentence from someone's writing piece (I am not stealing because it is something someone partially posted on Whisper) but I have seen lots of people do this (I'm not calling you idiots. I do it, too. And I stop myself but sometimes...well *looks sheepish*).

Imagine a moment when someone is looking into your eyes. Do you think "His brown eyes made contact with my brown ones?" NO! We do not normally think about the color of our eyes. The color of the eyes of your character has little value. The color of your character's ANYTHING frankly has little value.

UNLESS...