 Want to put your reader on the absolute edge of their seat, trembling to read more? Let’s talk about building tension in your book.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)
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 Today I’m going to finish talking about how to edit your own book. In Part 1 of this double post, I covered critiques and rewriting. In this second part, I’ll finish with getting a second critique and reading your book aloud.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to be talking about how to edit your own book. Now, I am going to give you a step-by-step process, but before we get into that, I would like to go over what I will and will not be covering, along with a slight disclaimer.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to be talking about what makes a great ending for a book. The typical folk-wisdom for how to write a great ending is that great endings leave the reader satisfied but wanting more. And I would say that this is 100% correct, although I will add that great endings should also always involve an element of twist.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to finish talking about what makes great action scenes. In Part 1 of this double post, I covered stakes and variety. In this second part, I’ll finish with twists and consequences, and then provide a sample action scene using all four aspects.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to be talking about what makes great action scenes. (If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)
In any great action scene, your number-one duty as a writer is simply to keep your reader engaged—both in that particular scene and in anticipation for future action scenes. There are four elements that I want to discuss to do with achieving this. They are: stakes, variety, twists, and consequences.  Today I’m going to be discussing what makes a great character and how to write them. By “great character” in this context, I’m referring to a specific type of character: one that readers want to invest in, empathize with, spend more time with, and read more of.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to be discussing telling the truth in narrative writing. Now, when I’m referring here to “telling the truth,” I’m not talking about internal consistency within a book’s universe, and I’m not talking about giving a message or commentary within the book—although these are both very valid topics. What I’m going to be talking about today, however, is the thing that’s most often brought up in conversations about the ethics of writing, and that’s having your narrative itself tell the truth.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to finish discussing how to write great stakes in your book. (Click here to read part 1 of this double post.) Stakes are the answer to the reader’s question of “Yes, but why should I care?”
(If you’d like to view this post and the previous one in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.)  Today I’m going to be discussing how to write great stakes in your book. Stakes are the answer to the reader’s question of “Yes, but why should I care?” Stakes can be internal or external—and, for the most part, are both—and they should have a quite narrow focus; imminent, world-devastating effects; and finally, it should be possible for the protagonist to either win or lose.
(If you’d like to view this post in video format, click here. It’s part of our “Advice from an Editor” series on YouTube.) |
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