The
MagicalWords.net panels ended with a second “live action slush pile readings”.
This time, A.J. Hartley narrated for Misty Massey, Faith Hunter, and David B.
Coe. Originally they had planned to accept anonymous readings for both sessions
(Saturday and Sunday), but there were so many submissions on Saturday, they
closed submissions and continued reading those on Sunday. Without sharing
content from the story submissions, I’ll make a sort of “laundry list” of
advice from the pros as they discussed each piece.
- Battle
scenes – short, sharp sentences that *cut*
- Long
sentences are for reflection, quiet moments
- During a
battle or high action scene, a character won’t be thinking of last names,
titles, or explanations. They’ll be thinking “how will I survive” and what
will help with that immediate goal. (again, immediacy in action)
- Cannot
emphasize enough how important good grammar and vocabulary is to creating
and continuing that good impression on the reader. Don’t screw up on your
first sentence!
- Noir/crime
feel – different from police procedural – must write with an awareness of
today’s market – long description before anything has happened isn’t
popular today
- You have
to start at the right place – the key moment/action - *then* provide the
detail
- Know the
animals you include – would a moose be in the mountains? Yes, actually,
but if it throws the reader/editor, maybe a better choice?
- Be wary
of repetition – less is more
- It’s not
a "sparse room”, the room is sparsely furnished
- The wrong
descriptors will pull your reader out of the story, such as “the weak
flames cast deep shadows” – the reader starts thinking about how that
works, or doesn’t, instead of moving ahead with the story
- A
shop/store shouldn’t be scary to enter – you’re supposed to want to go in
and buy things – unless it isn’t what it seems / character knows something
about it – this is a setting/scene issue
- Find your
POV character and stick with them
- First
person present tense is risky in today’s market, even though it worked for
Suzanne Collins with Hunger Games
- In first
person, leave self-description off first page – set the conflict first
- Female
characters get described more than male characters
- Your
choice of language (words, not English, French, Spanish, Elvish) can draw
the reader in closer, or distance them
- Even with
close 3rd person, you want the reader to be in your character’s
head
- Don’t
trivialize a serious moment with a throwaway like “ick”
- Use your
character’s own knowledge to find their voice: “The car cost more than she
made in a year” says several things, more than “the Jaguar F-type
convertible”
- Don’t
change mood so quickly that you leave the reader behind
And that was the
end of ConCarolinas for this year. Time to walk around and say goodbyes, make
plans to catch up online – and next year. I’m already signed up. How about you?
Music
|
Rachel Portman, Chocolat soundtrack
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Time
writing
|
|
June
word count
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Writing report:
ReplyDeleteNovel editing, caught back up to Ch28, inserting a new POV scene and changing one scene's POV, over the last several days. Haven't had chance to get to internet to update much. I will have to come back and catch up with the Con Carolinas reports, too, as they look quite interesing!
Tiime: ~30 min tonight, perhaps similar last few nights.