Category: Magical Words

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words October 1, 2011

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Siren of Writing

Voice sings through writing, the voice of the author, the voice of the novel, the voice of the character. Defining Voice, though, is like trying to explain Ella Fitzgerald’s voice, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, or Carlos Santana’s guitar. But at the same, editor, publishers, and readers search for the elusive siren. 

Kalayna Price delineates one aspect of voice in a Magical Words post “On Voice and Timing”, that being, as indicated in the title, timing. If you think about the greatest musicians, their ability to pull us into the music isn’t about their ability to precisely recreate the musical score like a clockwork machine, but their ability to change things. A trill here, a note held a second longer there, a staccato snap to end a phrase. It’s all in the timing.

A big thank you to Ms. Price. I believe I finally “get” voice now.

See if her explanation helps you (also scroll down for the comments): http://www.magicalwords.net/kalayna-price/on-voice-and-timing/

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words June 14, 2012

Erin Penn

Photo by paul morris on Unsplash, Cropped and color adjusted by Erin Penn

Gutting

After completing the first draft, you realize something is wrong with your manuscript. Not, oh yeah, there was this secondary character back in chapter five which disappeared. I mean seriously wrong wrong – pacing fail, POV change needed – gutting of 10%, or more like 50%, of your precious words. What you are going to have to do for the rewrite will be messy, nasty work. If only you were a better writer, these things wouldn’t happen.

Yeah, no.

Read about “Performing the Invasive Edit” by NY best-selling author AJ Hartley explaining how he had to fix one book – during the initial writing, over 50 K words in, long before the manuscript was ready to send to an editor. The comments to this Magical Word posts touches different types of invasive edits various people performed. From tone and pacing to adding new characters. Rearranging timelines to adding personal stakes plotlines.

Look it over here: http://www.magicalwords.net/really-i-mean-it/performing-the-invasive-edit/

WRITING EXERCISE: Think about your present work-in-progress (WIP). Is there a particular scene which has been bugging you? Why is it a problem? What could fix the problem? Rewrite the scene. If you don’t have a WIP, try this with a flash or short story #NotReadyForPrimeTime.

How about your WIP overall? Is there anything you’ve been arguing with yourself about fixing as too much work? Why is it bugging you? How should it be fixed?

If you got an outline, cut and save it to another file “Revised” and see what happens if you work the fix in.

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words August 18, 2015

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of gubgib at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Style Sheets

I’ve been hunting around for a blog with details about what is needed for style sheets to share with you, my fellow writers, and lo and behold the amazing Melissa McArthur addresses them in her Magical Words “Copy and Line Editing” post.

What is a style sheet? In the old publishing houses, the style sheet provides information about the standards and practices of the publisher. In the editing cycle, the style sheet is created by the author to provide the content (line, copy, and proofreading) editor guidance on spelling of places, capitalization, and the like. An expanded version may be referred to as a “series bible”, aiding in the tracking of characters, locations, and history.

Specific things for a style sheet:

  1. WORDS/GRAMMAR
    • English or American spelling and words? (color/colour; elevator/lift)
    • Spelling of names and nicknames. (Kassandra, Troy)
    • Specialized language – foreign phrases used by characters, contractions (can’t).
    • Created words – for locations, names, and objects.
    • Punctuation and capitalization practices.
  2. CHARACTER INFORMATION
    • Physical: Hair, skin, and eye color; weight and height (and if it changes, when).
    • Body movement: stances, walking style, sitting.
    • What people can see immediately: Preferred clothing, occupation, weapons of choice.
    • Dialogue impacts: Verbal tics, education, voice (cracks, deep, etc.).
    • For a Series Bible – who has met whom.
  3. LOCATION INFORMATION
    • Important locations (for a Series Bible, who has been where).
    • Room layouts (especially for fights).

Starting with a style sheet can slow things down when writing the first draft. But when you start sharing your baby with other people, giving the editors a starting point can bypass at least one round of questions.

Posts which fed into this:

Melissa McArthurs post (and the middle of a three-part series on the levels of editing): http://www.magicalwords.net/melissa-gilbert/copy-and-line-editing/

The Editor Blog, Fiction Editor Beth Hill, “Style Sheets – The Setup and the Benefits”:  http://theeditorsblog.net/2011/07/12/style-sheets-the-setup-and-the-benefits/

Additional Readings:

Lorna Faith. “How to Create a Series Bible for Your Fiction.”: https://www.lornafaith.com/how-to-create-a-series-bible-for-your-fiction/

 

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words June 14, 2013

Erin Penn

Acquired from tvtropes.org

Missing the Magic

It’s posts like “I’LL SHOW YOU NOT TELLING” by James R. Tuck which I miss most about Magical Words. Raw, unfiltered, spot-on writing advice – not sanded down and made pretty.

“Show, don’t tell.” has been stated so often the phrase no longer has meaning.

Until Mr. Tuck picks up the advice, shakes it in his teeth, tears off a bite, and spits out the rest. Looking at the mutilated NSFW mess the pretty phrase now is in, suddenly the words are more real than ever before:

“I know how we writers are. We feel like the reader needs to know all the back story to really understand what we are trying to write….the ins and outs of the plot, the history and texture of the worlds and characters we have created so lovingly.

It’s bullshit. … Don’t you dare TELL me that crap.”

Want to see Mr. Tuck’s “I’ll show you not telling”, go here: http://www.magicalwords.net/james-tuck-2/ill-show-you-not-telling-something-i-read-somewheres/

Writing Exercise: Driven by Wants

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of Theeradech Sanin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

People don’t move out of their comfort zone unless they have a Want. Neither do characters. Maybe it’s just to get away from the pain, but in those cases, usually the character doesn’t move further than the next room – away from the pain. Close door, forget the trouble, like they are a baby who hasn’t master the permanency of object. 

To get a character to move and keep moving, they need to have a deep Want. In romances, it could be finding and then being with that special person. In Urban Fantasy, they may Want to save the world – more likely, they Want to save their favorite pizza joint who delivers, saving the world as a by-product.

If a story has stalled out, if the characters are just looking and talking and not doing much, maybe a huge glass of Want needs to be added.

Edmund Schubert went into this in the magical word post “The Importance of Wanting in Fiction”, and a huge light bulb went off in my head. Next time my story stalls out, instead of just blowing something up (which a lot of writers recommend), I’m going to see what my characters want. What is driving them. More details can be found here (and be sure to read the comments): (11/3/2023 – They have finally taken down the magicalwords.net.)

Want is also agency, or, more accurately, the ability to pursue and make choices to get what one wants. Want is very important to a character.

WRITING EXERCISE: For your current work-in-progress (WIP), write down what all the characters want by the end of the story. For a scene giving you trouble, write down what each character wants (1) in the next 10 years – their driving life plan; (2) by the end of the book – about a week out; (3) right now – by the end of the scene. Is the scene Want going to met (ending the scene) or change (also ending the scene, but now the character has a different driving Want)?

WRITING EXERCISE 2: Let’s play mad-libs for a moment. Think of a “noun”. Now a “person”. Okay, this is a person and their Want. Write a flash on it.

***

(my example added 11/15/2019) “Three” and “Editor”. 

An Editor Counts to Three

One, two … One, two … No matter how many times Janey counted, she couldn’t make it three manuscripts. She had put out a discount call on her website and Facebook. Three manuscripts would pay for her week’s bills, even if the final one was discounted by 20%. Only two would mean something would have to give.

Food most likely. She wasn’t sure about giving up dinner for a week again. Last time she started getting dizzy about Wednesday.

Maybe she should email blast her publisher friends to see if they have things, but most of them pay when the product gets published, not on delivery of an edit. Small presses suck for income; people who work for small presses are in an even bigger bind.

Nothing doing, except by the doing. Janey winged off the blast hoping against hope and sat down to complete the edits on the second manuscript. She had already sent the first one back hoping a third would come in while she worked on the first. When she started the second, she had done her “flash sale” to no effect.

Style sheet, cover sheet, and annotated manuscript number two appended to an email. Clicking sent, Janey moved to close Outlook when a ping sounded. In the lower left corner of her screen a little blurb of an incoming email flashed, “Greenman@EarthColony.US – manuscript available – Dear Janey Curtpatrick, I saw your flash sale. I have a four-book epic fantasy in need of …”

She quickly clicked on the black box before it went away and it opened to the full message. “…editing, but before I make such a large investment, I would like to meet in person and get a feel. I notice your website says you operate out of Riverside. By lucky coincidence, I flew in from the West for a conference this week. I’m available tonight at the Hilton, could you drop by? I’m sorry for any inconvenience and will pay for dinner. Would seven work? – Sincerally, Mr. John Greenman.”

A four-book epic fantasy!?! That is some serious cash. 

While she usually bumped into new clients at cons, Janey didn’t see much danger in meeting a new client at a hotel. Especially if he would feed her. Lunch had been skipped getting the last edit out. Hopefully he would be on a expense account, and she could pick up enough food to get a couple days worth of doggie bags. Even if things don’t work out for the fantasy series, and she hoped it did, she could still end up with enough food for this week.

She typed out a quick reply before rushing to get ready. (words 450, first published 11/15/2019)