Hi again! I’ve been an inconsistent blogger over the last year, but quite honestly, I've needed every ounce of time I could muster to focus on revisions and re-writes for my current manuscript. It’s coming along! Thought I’d jump in here today to tell you about a great book I recently read called: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers  by Renni Browne and Dave King.

The process of strengthening my own writing is never-ending (even with a couple of books under my belt) and it’s amazing to me how many “aha” moments this awesome book gave me when it came to my work. Seriously, I think it is the most useful book about writing and editing fiction that I have ever read. Yes, ever. I’m planning to re-read parts of it every year until, well forever.

If you are someone who is currently editing fiction and want some insights into what the pros are looking for, I highly recommend picking this book up. In fact, I recommend buying it so that you always have it as a reference. I went through and underlined many powerful passages that have affected how I write and revise, and then I typed them all out so I'd have them in one place.  

I’ll do you a favour by posting some of my them below. If you like what you read, go buy the book!

Some cool quotes from Self-Editing for Fiction Writers:

 “You don’t want to give your readers information. You want to give them experiences.” – Page 16

“…resist the urge to explain.” - Page 16

“When you present your readers with already-arrived-at conclusions about your characters, you leave your readers with nothing to do, and passive readers are at best unengaged and at worst bored.” – Page 30

 “When your characters start talking solely for the sake of informing your readers, the exposition gets in the way of believable characterization.” – Page 32

 “It’s almost always more effective to stick with a single viewpoint character and let the other characters’ emotions come out through their dialogue and action.” – Page 57

 “The time spent on a relatively minor point can throw the scene out of proportion  . . . proportion problems probably arise from the same lack of confidence that leads beginning writers to describe emotions they’ve already shown.” – Page 68

“When you fill in all the details and leave nothing to your readers’ imaginations, you’re patronizing them.” – Page 68

“If the character you spend time on turns out to be insignificant or if you never follow up on the plot element you set up in such detail, readers are going to feel cheated.” – Page 73

“A warning: paying attention to your story doesn’t mean ruthlessly cutting everything that doesn’t immediately advance your plot . . . atmosphere is an important element, even if its impact on the plot is often subtle.” – Page 73

“There is always room for philosophical asides that reveal the narrator’s character; subplots that may resonate with the main plot, forays into odd corners of background that make the fictional world more three-dimensional.” – Page 74

“What interests you [about the writing] is very often what’s going to be of most interest to your readers.” – Page 75

“Ly adverbs almost always catch the writer in an act of explaining dialogue—smuggling emotions into speaker attributions that belong in the dialogue itself.” – Page 87

“Don’t use speaker attributions as a way of slipping in explanations of your dialogue (“he growled,” “she snapped”) . . . your best bet is to use the verb said almost without exception.” –Page 88

 “The simplest way to make your dialogue less formal is to use more contractions.” – Page 101

“Good dialogue isn’t an exact transcription of the way people talk but is more an artifice, a literary device that mimics real speech. This means that even the best dialogue is by nature slightly formal.” – Page 106

“Reading a passage aloud can help you find the rhythm of your dialogue.” – Page 107

 “One of the great gifts of literature is that it allows for the expression of unexpressed thoughts: interior monologue.” – Page 117

“Never, ever use quotes with your interior monologue.” – Page 122

“It’s not a good idea to cast all of your interior monologue in italics.” – Page 127

 “At times, it’s necessary for a narrator to distinguish between what he or she is thinking in the narrative present and what he or she thought at the time of the story.” – Page 130

 “When you describe every bit of action down to the last detail, you give your readers a clear picture of what’s going on but also limit their imagination . . . describing your action too precisely can be as condescending as describing your characters’ emotions. Far better to give your readers some hints and then allow them to fill in the blanks for themselves.” – Page 147

“If you’ve just had two high-tension scenes in a row, let your readers relax a bit in the next one with some quiet conversation interspersed with pauses.” – Page 149

“The simple, purely mechanical change of paragraphing more frequently can make your writing much more engaging.” – Page 162

“When you want to create a more relaxed mood, or give your readers a chance to breath (or reflect), or simple lull them into complacency before you spring something on them, try paragraphing less frequently than usual.” – Page 165

“In formal dialogue, characters often string together four or five complete, well-formed sentences. In real life, few of us get that far without interruption. So break your dialogue up, write in more give-and-take between your characters.” –Page 167

“Brief scenes or even brief chapters can add to your story’s tension, and longer chapters can give it a more leisurely feel.” – Page 171

“When you try to accomplish the same effect twice, the weaker attempt is likely to undermine the power of the stronger one.” – Page 178

 “If you use these constructions often, you weaken your writing:

          “Pulling off her gloves, she turned to face him.” (ing construction)

          “As she pulled off her gloves, she turned to face him.” (as construction)

         – Page 193

“When you use two words, a weak verb and an adverb, to do the work of one strong verb, you dilute your writing and rob it of its potential power.” – Page 198

“A simple departure from conventional comma usage can also lend a modern, sophisticated touch to your fiction—especially your dialogue. All you have to do is string together short sentences with commas instead of separating them with periods.” – Page 199

“There are the stylistic devices that make a writer look insecure, the most notable offenders being exclamation points and italics… they should be reserved for moments when a character is physically shouting or experiencing the mental equivalent.” – Page 200

“There’s another stylistic device whose overuse will brand you as an amateur: flowery, poetic figures of speech, much beloved by beginning writers and used very sparingly by the pros. (i.e. “His eyes were a dark, dark blue, stolen jewels in a setting of bone).” - Page 202

 “When it comes to handling sex scenes . . . the subtler stylistic approach will nearly always be the more professional looking choice . . . if you leave the physical details to your readers’ imaginations, they are likely to be far more engaged than if you spell it all out.” – Page 204

“What is true of sexual detail is also true of profanity . . . . profanity has been so overused in past years that nowadays it’s more a sign of a small vocabulary.”
– Page 206

 “A strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writers want—and something no editor or teacher can impact . . . voice is, however, something you can bring out of yourself. The trick is to not concentrate on it.” – Page 218