Backstory

My review posted at Amazon and Goodreads: "The first two chapters drag with introspective backstory that would be better shown in interactions with the characters. However, at the end of chapter two, the accident is described vividly from the perspective of the second victim and the story starts moving along with lots of nice twists."

Well, I won't post a review at Amazon or Goodreads unless I finish a book and give four or five stars. I had decided to put this book down at the end of the second chapter if it didn't get any better - then it did. The accident description is vivid, as experienced in the moment - excellent writing. For writers, that would be a good portion to read. Also, a good exercise would be to revamp the first two chapters using pointers from Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, Chapter 23: Low Tension part II: Burdensome Backstory.

When my first novel had gone through a good critique group chapter by chapter (the better part of a year), one member who had missed much of the story did a beta read. She returned it with a copy of Maass' workbook, saying it was good enough to publish but could be even better. I printed out the novel, literally cut every piece of backstory out, and assessed each one. If the reader never needed to have that info, it got tossed. Otherwise, I decided how soon they needed that info and taped that piece onto the manuscript in that section. Then I took the snipped and taped paper manuscript and revised the novel accordingly - and the story moved much better. As authors, we need to know all about our characters, but the reader only needs to know the parts that pertain to the story.

The same goes for research. With historical fiction or other writing requiring voluminous research, there's a temptation to include all that knowledge. While it all helped inform your writing, don't bog down the story with so much detail that you lose the reader. Decide what they need to know and find unobtrusive ways to slide it into the story.

Warning for the New Year

Donald Maass is a legit agent I've met in person and author of Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, which I highly recommend. He posted this warning on Facebook and I want to get it to as many newbie authors as possible.

Donald Maass

January 29 at 7:13 PM ·

Writer friends, we'd like to alert you to an outfit called TechBooks Media in Wyoming, which has been using the name of a highly respected agent at my company to solicit writers for expensive "marketing" services and offering a contract of "representation" by a Literary Agent. If you should receive such a solicitation, be aware that it is not from Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency based in New York. Our agents are members of AAR, Inc., and do not solicit or charge up-front fees. Queries for representation by us are welcome and free of charge.

AAR is the Association of Authors' Representatives. This is a professional organization of agents holding themselves to a standard of conduct and a canon of ethics. Note: their website is a .org, which indicates it's not a commercial site, not trying to make money from you. The AAR website is the first place I'd go to check out the credentials of anyone calling themselves an agent. (There's no licensing process - anyone can say they're an agent.) Take a look at the AAR website to know what you should expect before signing any contracts.

I found the website for TechBooks Media (slam it all together and add .com - I don't care to add a link to them). While I did not find Jennifer Jackson's name being abused, I did note the outrageous cost of services. For example, Kirkus Indie Reviews purchased directly from Kirkus go for $425 or $575 - if you don't catch a sale price. These shysters charge $1299 and $1699 to submit those reviews for you. And I'm pretty sure their info on the reviews was copied directly from the Kirkus site.

PLEASE, tell all your friends who are thinking about finding an agent that agents do not charge - they get paid a percentage of what you earn when they've sold the book. And any organization that charges you a bunch of money up front is highly suspect.

Resources to Improve Your Writing

Writer’s Market, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Writer Magazine, and Writer’s Digest Books.

Internet Today, the internet is my primary resource. My personal preference is Yahoo’s search engine, but I use Google Maps for maps and when I have access to Chrome, and I use Google Earth to view places. Wikipedia has an extensive list of search engines divided into useful categories to get more targeted results.

I use Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary and thesaurus when I’m searching for a word. For access to style guides, I use Purdue Online Writing Lab, but they have free basic writing instruction there, too. I haven’t used it yet, but The International Writing Program offers massive open online writing courses (MOOCs) for free – and this is supported by the University of Iowa, which is known for its writing programs, so I would expect the courses to be excellent.

You should go to Writer’s Digest Books and pick out ones that are relevant to your skill level and interests, so I’m not going to list all of mine. For fiction writing, my favorite is Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. My favorite non-WD book on writing fiction is Stephen King’s On Writing. It’s a memoir and a textbook for writers. I underlined key comments and marked them with sticky notes so they’re easy to find.

Finally, for grant or other technical writing or editing, the Allyn and Bacon Series in Technical Communication is well-designed. Whatever kind of writing you do, keep developing your skill.

www.sherimcguinn.com Amazon Author Page

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