How to Write a Novel: Five Rules of Writing
I’m closing in on the end of my new fiction book and as always during this stage, I’ve begun to think about the editing process in earnest. When I first started out I would edit each piece of work as I went along. This is a time-consuming and frustrating. My creative side was pushing to move ahead while the editor in me wanted to fix every single paragraph until it was just right. By the time that happened, my muse had gone to sleep, convinced that I’ve never get to the next paragraph. And trust me, waking her up again was always a bitch.
Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing
1. Never open a book with weather. I have not done so, which means that this is by far the better.
2. Avoid prologues. Okay, so I knew my success rate couldn’t last. I just never thought I would be voted off the island this rapidly. My fiction novel download opens with a prologue. Leonard went on to say that “They can be annoying.”Of course I can understand that he is almost out from the wedge for this reason only cult. Finally, I decided to leave it is I would like to include some background information to satisfy the reader before the story of the main features. I did manage to resist the temptation while writing the sequel, A SCREAM OF ANGELS.
3. Do not use the verb is not “that” engage in a dialogue. I fully agree with this statement, and do my best to avoid temptation, or else. I think this is one of the most common mistakes new writers fall into and it can certainly pull the reader right out of the text. I recently spent an entire coaching session with a writer client dealing with just this issue. I still fall victim to it myself occasionally, but it will be one of the major mistakes I’ll be scouring the current work in progress for once I get into the editing stage.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” . . . Frankly, I suck at this. I’m getting better, but this one has plagued me for years and it is something I have to keep reminding myself about on a regular basis.
5. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.” I think I’m guilty of both, especially the first one. I’ve been more cognizant of “suddenly” in my more recent work, but I know my top thriller novels was plagued with it. “Everything has become a mess” too platitudinous anyone can use, the type of terror, even if we.