David Weller Author Blogspot

Chapter Two required far less rewriting than the first. The main aim was to enhance what I already had. Here is a summary of what I did to improve it. I reinstated a paragraph of text I’d cut out. I changed a reference to something into a full scene. I added further detail to make one scene more interesting. I changed the odd word here and there. Chapter Three remains much the same as I originally wrote it.  The main changes to the first draft include the omission of some unnecessary text. I brought the MC into one scene at an earlier stage. I tidied up some of the dialogue tags. I changed the odd word here and there.

This book is part of a trilogy and leaves some questions unanswered. In Chapter Two I made reference to an annual event. The inhabitants of my world know this occurs because they see the end result. However, they don’t know how it happens. When my editor saw this she saw it as a missed opportunity for a really compelling scene. She suggested that my MC and her significant others could sneak out of the house to find out. I could just dismiss the comment, knowing that this would be revealed in a sequel. When I looked at my notes, I decided it would not be detrimental for the reader to learn this now. . It would be inappropriate for this secret to become common knowledge to the inhabitants of my world. Fortunately for me, something happened to the MC’s best friend at the beginning of the chapter which provides a pretext for the MC to ignore the curfew. She hasn’t left the house with the intention of discovering the secret but she stumbles across it. However, because of the r...

Sometimes it becomes necessary to cut a sentence, a paragraph or even a whole chapter. I used to agonise over getting rid of material which I thought wasn’t working. Then I had a Baldric Moment and came up with a cunning plan. I created a word document to hold all those little gems I’d spent hours crafting and polishing. When I was editing Chapter Two, I thought one piece of text was a bit OTT and cut it out. When my editor read this particular passage she wrote on my MS, ‘Doesn’t she care about her best friend?’ This is one of those times when I’m glad I save instead of delete. After a quick cut and paste job the passage now resembles something my editor would approve of.

Here is a summary of what I did to improve Chapter One: Experimented with different starting points until I found one I liked. Wrote a brand new first scene to add more tension and drama. Deleted the whole of the second scene because it did nothing to advance the plot. Added extra detail to the character descriptions and actions to give a better sense of who they are. Added further incidents to the final scene to give it more oomph. I am quite pleased with the results. Well, at least for now.

A novel's first five pages can make or break it. If those don't grab the reader, it doesn't matter how good the rest is. I wanted to create a sense of mystery with my opening scene which would raise questions in the reader's mind. It certainly did that but lacked tension and drama. I'd read somewhere that experimenting with different starting points can help. The revised opening now plunges the MC into a situation packed with tension and drama, yet still retains the sense of mystery I wanted to achieve.

'Show don't tell' is probably the first piece of advice that new writers come across. Using dialogue can show rather than tell. It also builds tension and drama, reveals character in what is, or isn't, said and creates white space on the page. However, here's a word of caution. Don't put exposition in dialogue (having the characters tell each other things they should logically know.) This is referred to as exposition disguised as dialogue and is considered telling. If you commit this sin, as I did, your editor WILL NOT draw a little smiley face on your MS.