(post contributed by Brooke Hargett)
Since I'm in the middle of editing my book, I've been focusing on things that will help me, to that end. I've found a lot of really helpful information on The Editor's Blog and I thought I would share!
One question we've had come up in our writing group is when to use or omit italics for our character's thoughts. I found all the answers in this post: Inner Dialogue- Writing Character Thoughts
One thing I learned from reading her post about how to structure a Synopsis is that no matter what point of view your book is in, the synopsis should be written in third person present tense.
In Stir Reader Curiosity she addresses the importance of giving the reader something they aren't expecting. Here are some ways she suggests to do this:
Encourage readers to anticipate what could happen, but give them an event or character response they couldn’t have expected, yet one so very appropriate for the story—this means you get to not only lead them, but mislead them
Create anticipation by writing a character action that requires another character’s reaction
Give characters multiple problems and setbacks—pile on the problems
Encourage readers to think—keep them involved
Raise the stakes
Give characters a reason to move faster—set a clock ticking
Introduce a new character, one who shakes up the status quo
Remove a character to take away another character’s support system
Change any major story element—don’t allow either characters or readers to grow comfortable.
I've also been reviewing a lot of the posts from Query Shark to try to flush out my query. The query shark is brutal and honest, but its very helpful if you're not the one on the hook. :) Its free to send in your query, and if you get picked and "chewed up" you have the chance to revise and try again. It is very helpful to look through these! GOOD LUCK!
Hope these tips were helpful! See ya next time!
Brooke
