writing

Beta Readers are like Gold

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I value my Beta Readers. Like gold, they shine bright and their feedback is invaluable. A keen reader of thrillers – who has devoured over 30 books this year so far – has just finished my book. He was tasked with general feedback, rather than detailed analysis. The golden nugget for me was his comment that he felt the story only got flowing with the submarine action. This got me thinking about the sequence of chapters and made me realise that I could bring the underwater action forward. After some heavy cut-and-paste, this action now begins at Chapter 3 and the story is better paced and more engaging. My reader made a few other passing comments which has led to further tweaks and a better novel. This one made me smile;

“I had a feeling that the story was going to end with a twist and it was a good one.”

Conclusion? Beta Readers are like gold!

Here is an easy guide for Beta Readers:

  1. Identify characters who are not engaging so I can strengthen or remove them.
  2. Identify anything that’s confusing (chapters, paragraphs, or dialog).
  3. Evaluate Plot and Pace: was the book a “good read” that kept you engaged and wanting more? If not, what parts lacked engagement?
  4. Finally, the ending: was it OK? Unexpected? Can you think of a better one?
  5. Would you tell your friends about this book after having read it?

Read–>Research–>Rewrite

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Edit 101: A great technique that I have found useful for reviewing my work (after the basic spelling, grammar and sentence lengths, etc.) is to read through a chapter–>research on areas lacking detail and then–>rewrite. Let’s take an example from the 2nd to last chapter in my new book:

I gaze at my surroundings, soaking in the ambience. Beyond the pool and a sixty-foot yacht, sparkling blue water laps the high walls of Dubrovnik’s Old Town, a bastion protecting us from prying eyes. Rows of olive and citrus trees flood the bank behind us, and the gardener waves when he spots me.

After a short google on “fruit trees in Dubrovnik” my rewrite looked like this:

I gaze at my surroundings, soaking in the ambience. A classic sixty-foot yacht lies tied alongside the pier and, beyond, sparkling blue water wraps the high walls of Dubrovnik’s Old Town, protecting us from prying eyes. Rows of olive, apple and citrus trees flood the bank behind us, and a gardener waves when he spots me. He’s gathering bitter oranges from laden branches with a grin as bright as the day.

Notes: a later reference to the yacht required more detail earlier, hence the rearranging and greater emphasis in the second version. The gardener needed a more solid platform, rather than a passing mention.

There you have a minor, but important revision tool

Looking After Yourself

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I recently had a request from an agent for my full manuscript. You can imagine the excitement in our household after four years of punching out, and editing, the 101,000 words. This momentous occasion was a cause for some celebration but, some four weeks later, was followed up with this email;

Thank you for sending the manuscript for [new book name here]. I’m sorry to say that, after further consideration, I have concluded that it is not quite the right fit for me. This of course reflects less on the quality of your submission and more on my own personal tastes. Thank you for considering me this time and if you do not find an agent for this book, please remember to try me again with any future projects.

How did I feel? Gutted and dismayed that my book fell short, and somewhat disappointed that I did not receive more helpful detail from the agent. That resulted in a long lull in my writing and my enthusiasm to write died. But, a few weeks later, I am more determined than ever to take my book “up a notch” for readers (see earlier post) and for my future agent. The difficulty is how to do this. My first step was to send the manuscript out to two readers who I trust to be honest and ask for their feedback. While I await their responses I am taking a brutally honest look at the plot and flow, especially in the early chapters. The Synopsis is also on the chopping block.

Reject those Rejection Thoughts!

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Jennieke Cohen (Dangerous Alliance) makes a worthy statement:

“It’s so simple to let rejections take their toll, but we have to keep dusting ourselves off. After all, if you keep your work to yourself, your chance of anyone liking it is nil, whereas submitting could lead to something great. I’ll take slim odds over none any day of the week. And if you are professional and send your materials to enough people, hopefully you’ll be lucky enough to find the person who loves your work as much as you do!”

In essence, reject those rejection thoughts and believe in your story and those beta readers who love it too. Don’t keep a great story to yourself. Keep up the worth challenge to impress a literary agent with the best manuscript that time and energy can polish until it shines bright enough to catch their eye (and their heart).

While You Wait

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Waiting is a difficult game and not many of us are built to handle it well. “Waiting for what?” you might ask. It could be waiting for your next plot idea, next book concept, or waiting for a literary agent to get back to you after a full manuscript request. So, to ease the pain, here are a few suggestions:

  1. Relax. Take time to review you plot outline. Go back over your character arcs too. Like a good meal, add some spice and “kick it up a notch” where you feel best to do so.
  2. Start another book. That is, look forward. Never look back too far and keep on being creative because that’s where the juices flow best. Begin to outline some ideas for your next novel. Will it be the same genre or a new venture – perhaps a YA or even a children’s book?
  3. Take stock of major events; events in your own life or current events. Read the news and sniff out another story. You might find an article that brings a great perspective. Has something unusual happened that might bring freshness to you story? Ah, the inspiration for a book surrounds us all. In 3 WISE MEN, I was ruminating and came up with a great new chapter to slot into a rather pedestrian section. It worked so well that I reprinted the book. Finally,
  4. Get out of your head and take a walk around your world. Listen to conversations, sit at a coffee shop and observe. Volunteer and learn.

Avoid Clichés; Scare Your Readers

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The Power of Words to Resurrect Your Story

The legacy of our earliest ancestors left them with two options when confronted with fear – to stay and fight or to run as fast as they could. Those who were good at predicting the outcomes survived and passed this genetic trait down to us.

Faced with this situation – real or imaginary – the brain mobilizes the body’s resources. It sends a rush of adrenaline and other hormones coursing through the body. Our pupils dilate to see better. Our heart pounds and our breath quickens to rush blood and oxygen to our muscles. We might turn pale as blood is directed away from the skin to power the muscles and fuel the brain. We might tremble or shake as our muscles tense, primed to take action. You might even get goosebumps, as tiny muscles flex in the skin, causing hairs to stand up. All triggered by the brain’s prime directive: survival.

When we realize that the danger isn’t real, we are left with a dopamine rush – the “feel good” hormone released in the process. While I adore a good scare, not everyone enjoys the thrills of a haunted house, a wild roller coaster ride, or a spooky story. Neuroscientists believe that may be because our brains have different sensitivities to the dopamine rush.

At an anniversary screening of Halloween many years ago,  one of our young interns, now a successful manager and producer, sat beside me. She squirmed throughout, grabbing my arm and practically crawling into my seat in the scariest scenes. “Jamie Lee Curtis is alive and well and sitting two rows ahead of us,” I hissed. It didn’t matter. For her, the dopamine rush was too intense.

Strong storytelling engages us, draws us in, pulls us into the world, and straps us into the shoes of the character. We feel what they feel. Instead of merely observing, we are participating. We are in the moment. Caught up in the spell you’ve woven with your words.

Delicious dopamine cannot be activated with the overly familiar. Our brains have come to ignore phrases that once made storytelling awesome, but have been overused:

          Upset the applecart.

Clichés fail to activate our brains. Switching them up with something inventive yet understandable grabs our attention. It delivers more emotional impact and will resonate with your reader.

          Shaken like a snow globe.

To keep that dopamine flowing, the words and the elements of your story must be fresh and distinctive.

Read the full article from scriptmag.com

Drafting Reveals a New Story

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Alaa Al-Barkawi says, “Growing up Iraqi Muslim American post 9/11 and during the US occupation of Iraq, I was constantly flooded with images of my people as the villains, and it affected my work as a writer…Through many trials, plot changes, and mental breakdowns…not only did I have a newer, shinier draft—but a new story I didn’t know existed in this book!”

Alaa’s comment resonated with me. I had the same experience and wanted to share this too. During extensive editing on my new novel, and from Beta Reader feedback, I discovered that there was another story within the pages; one more powerful and convincing, and one that propelled the plot. My novel moved from pure thriller to crime and grew in meaning and impact (for me, at least). Read more about Alaa’s writing journey here.

Regaining the Excitement

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A writer (Jed Herne) mentioned that, at just over halfway through their novel, they found that the excitement had faded. That got me thinking about my new thriller. I thought the main plot was strong, but the ending not so. The trap for writers – and this is a personal view – is that getting the main action to a climax is a straightforward process, but finishing with an equally powerful flourish can be a challenge. In my case, one of my Beta Readers pointed out the weaknesses in my final chapters. I used this feedback to put a much better twist to the ending and, in a recent edit, added another chapter to link back to an earlier one and round out the finish. I smiled and I hope readers will too :-).

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