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W is for WHAT? What does my editor mean? Some Common Writing and Editing Terms and Tips

6/8/2012

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Antagonist: The villain of the story or the person who blocks the protagonist.

Author Intrusion: The author is suddenly "telling the story" rather than the narrator.

Cliché: Hackneyed expressions which we've all heard. It beats me, why we can't let sleeping dogs lie are two examples of trite clichés. While some clichés carefully placed can give us a regional or historical flavor, most times it's best to avoid them—especially in narration.

Cut: Take out or remove the  line/words/paragraph/scene.

Dialogue tags, or speech tags: He said, she said or She said as twirling her hair, or  Action tag: She twirled her hair. Tags identify your speaker so your reader can follow  along. Don't overdo dialogue tags, but have enough to distinguish between your speakers.

Genre: The category in which a story  is placed. Your editor might point out something you've written which isn't appropriate or doesn't belong in the genre you've written.

Infodump: This can be backstory or technical explanations regarding your space ship's engine, but whatever it is, you've stopped the story's forward motion. 

Point of  View: An editor might say something changes point of view or breaks POV.  She is referring to the POV character. Most beginning writers can't write effectively in omniscient POV without head-hopping so sticking with one character at a time is best. Even if you are sticking with one character you can slip out of POV if you write: His eyes twinkled. If your hero is the POV character, he can't see his eyes unless looking at a mirror.

Protagonist: The hero/heroine of your story.

Purpose: An editor might question the purpose of a scene. Purpose is the reason for the scene, what you are trying to convey.

Slush: unsolicited manuscripts--the pile a publisher/editor/agent reads through.  

Some acronyms: WIP=Work in Progress, MC=Main character, MS=Manuscript, YA=Young
adult, MG=Middle Grade 

Telling: Usually accompanied with the words too much. The editor means you probably need to revise and get more into the character's head and the action. See other posts regarding showing vs. telling.

In no way is this intended to be a comprehensive list. In fact, if you have come across something that isn't included, let me know and we'll add it to the list.

Happy Writing!
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L is for Linear

5/31/2011

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Linear writing deals with plotting your novel. The sequence of events happens in order, most of the time, but that doesn't mean your book needs to appear linearly. If a book is too linear, it reads predictably and even when writing formulaic stories such as mysteries or romances, you can keep your reader guessing by inserting some unpredictable action or subplot.

By adding in other characters who emphasize the themes of your story, you can add depth. This serves a double purpose by also adding tension. If you're writing a romance, for example, you have the couple together then apart, then bring them together perhaps a couple of times before the happily ever after ending. If you add in a subplot with separate characters who also have a relationship you highlight the romance angle and delay the reader's satisfaction of finding out what happens next. The tease is most always going to keep your reader turning the page as long as it eventually pays off.

Sometimes during the early drafts a writer might not be able to see where all the clues and tension can be instilled for greatest effect, but can address this during revisions.

A good editor will be able to assess your story to give you feedback on where you can improve this angle of your writing.

Questions? Comments? Leave it here or email me at authorsassistant@hotmail.com.

Writing is a step by step process. Whatever step you're on, enjoy, learn and celebrate!
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    Tamara Eaton

     is an author and editor. Her former career as an English teacher assists her to help others through editing services. She's available for workshops. See her Editing Services Page for details. Be sure to get updates by clicking the RSS feed below for continuing writing tips.

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