Jump to content

Writing Tip: Crafting A Story

Renee Stevens

Entry posted by Renee Stevens in Writing Tips

1,521 views

Crafting a Story... More Work than You Might Think!


by


Cia

 


There's a lot that goes into writing a story, more than what the average reader would think. After thinking up the story, and writing then it, there comes the many rounds of editing. This is the nuts and bolts process, when you strip something down to its basic components and put it all back together--hopefully without any extra pieces! For me, that involves several reads of the story. Then I ask for help from my team members. Then I go over it again, lol. This is my usual process:

 

1. Spellcheck.
2. Read straight through for phrase changes and any mistakes that catch my eye. I often do this aloud as it is the best way to make sure the story has a good 'flow'.
3. Spellcheck.
4. Read backward one paragraph at a time from the end to look for errors.
5. Spellcheck.
6. Send on to betas/editors for beta/edit.
7. Make changes and run them by team if necessary.
8. Spellcheck!

 

Now, this is just the process for a story I'm posting online for free. I've recently had a publisher accept a story for e-publishing and have been going through the editing process. First, the agent that accepted the story had suggestions for lengthening it and changing some scenes. I made those changes and sent it back. Then it went to an editor. We sent the story back and forth three times before it was to the point she approved it. Then ... it went to the editor-in-chief who suggested even further scene additions and changes. Then we moved back into pure line editing for typos and errors. That went through two rounds until the EiC approved all the changes and had no further spots for me to fix.

 

At that point, the story went through about fifteen rounds of editing!

 

I had no idea writing could be so involved when I first started. It is a great hobby, and a lot of fun, but if you want to do it right, there is also a lot of work involved. You have to really dig in and be prepared to put in the time and effort if you're going to be successful.

 

What are your editing habits? Do you write and edit in different formats? Do you prefer to self-edit or work with a team? What type of team do you use: betas and editors or strictly one or the other? Do you have a favorite editing manual or book that helped you refine your work the most?

 

Share your editing tips with the rest of the site here!

  • Like 6

11 Comments

Recommended Comments

  • Popular Comment
Andy78
  • Popular Comment

I pretty much edit the same way, Cia.  At least I do now.

 

When I first started writing here it was pretty much a quick run through spellcheck and then post :o  **what was I thinking!**

 

Reading the chapter/story backwards may sound an odd thing to do, but it's shocking the number of things you can find.  I sometimes found I had events happening with no build up at all, and even worse I sometimes found that a build up actually led to no event happening :o  The first few times you try it it is so disorientating, but it's a very useful tool to get into the habit of using.

 

I do a lot of self-editing (sometimes five or six times) before I even send it to a beta/editor.  To borrow from our own Louis, always send your team your best work and never your first drafts.  For a 5k short story, my recent anthology story went through a total of fifteen edits and rewrites.

 

I have an online subscription to Chicago Manual of Style, which I have found to be helpful in times of need.  However, there are a few editing manuals produced by both Oxford and Cambridge that are useful for UK members, as there are a few differences between US and UK styles.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
  • Site Administrator
  • Popular Comment
Cia
  • Site Administrator
  • Popular Comment

I could never write as amazingly as you do!

Sure you can! Have you looked at the first story I ever wrote? The Price of Honor is still up here in its unedited form, mostly as an object lesson. I had NO idea what I was doing. Dialogue punctuation all over the place, head hopping, POV switches, tense changes, plot arc holes... but the bones of the story are good. Before that, I didn't know I could tell a story--I had to try it first. Then I knew I wanted to learn how to tell a story well. So I began to study writing sources, researching grammar rules, etc. and I kept writing. Most people learn best by doing. GA is a wonderful site that is very supportive of new authors.

 

So if you have a story to tell, tell it! Just make sure you write the story to the best of your ability--and get one or more beta/editors, they're invaluable.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
  • Site Administrator
Graeme
  • Site Administrator

Because I don't have any plans to professionally publish, my process is a cut-down version of what Cia does. I little trick I use is to make sure the word processor I use has the language set to the appropriate one for the story. Usually that's Australian English, though I've written stories set in the USA in which case I use the American English dictionary that I've downloaded.

 

After writing the story, I usually sit on it for a day before going back and reviewing it. I tend to review while I'm writing -- or, technically, when I'm stuck on what to write next, I go back and review what I've written so far. It's amazing how much that of a different that day break can make in spotting flaws.

 

Once that's done, it goes to my first beta-reader. That's the one that I can rely on to always give a critical opinion of what's there -- picking up a few typos along the way, but also pointing out the things they think do or don't work. After making appropriate adjustments, it then goes to my other beta-readers for comment, usually with some explicit questions in the email. It's only after that does the the story go to my editor.

 

When I get the time, I like to print off what I've written to review, because the different presentation allows me to see more than reviewing it on the screen. I don't always so that, but I like to if I can.

 

That's it for me. Fairly simple.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
  • Popular Comment
Cole Matthews
  • Popular Comment

I also use time as a trick for finding errors and inconsistent flow or character traits.  Letting it sit and working on something else for a few days freshens the eye. My writing goes through a rough draft stage, revision stage, then Randy reads a printed copy and I go through and make changes again.  

 

It's only then I send to an editor and or beta reader. I make their suggested changes and before posting I make one final close read. It's surprising how much work it is but you can watch it grow better, clearer before your very eyes! 

 

Of course, I'm still learning as I go and the awesome support here at GA teaches me something new every time. If you write, you need their help. Accept it!

 

:)

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Mann Ramblings

I prefer to write out a detailed outline to give me a direction before sitting down to type. I need that structure to keep me from drifting into a corner plot-wise. I re-work and re-work a chapter as I go and make changes over and over. I backtrack often and put things in place that were missing before. I couldn't tell you how many times before I send it off to my editor. I self-edit as much as I can, but I've discovered I'm much better at editing someone else's work! :o (Forgive me, MJ!)

 

So my beta/editor is invaluable to keep me on track and point out potential pratfalls. MJ is there to say, "No, no, no." and sometimes "Yes, yes, yes." All with the appropriate smilies attached. The benefit of extra eyes to polish your work can not be understated.

 

At some point I'd like to publish, but you can never learn enough. Even with all my successes, I still feel like an amateur at times. You can always get better and learn something new. That's the best part of the craft.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Aaron Alan Addams

I'm working on my first serious story. I write a chapter on my iPad. Siri does his best to edit as I go along. Sometimes we argue about a word or phrase but I usually win. I then have Siri read the chapter aloud one paragraph at a time in his sexy British accent. I follow along making corrections. My brain corrects errors when I read so I miss them. When it's read back to me, I can hear the errors very clearly. Not sure what to do when I finish the story but... I've got six or seven chapters to write before I need to figure it out. I like the idea of beta readers but I think I will wait until my story is more complete. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Percy

When I'm done with the story, I go through a series of re-reads with a single focus for each pass.  I don’t try to fix everything in one go.  I do these on hardcopy because it’s easiest for me to make notes on what needs to be fixed along the way.

 

Pass 1: Content.  Does the story make sense? Are the emotional arcs logical?  How did they end up with passengers in the backseat of that car I described as a sports coupe? Better fix that.  What else needs to be smoothed out?

 

Pass 2: Fact Check.  I circle every fact that I want to confirm.  These are usually small things that don’t impact the story itself but I want to get right.  Would that shuttle flight from D.C. land at JFK or LaGuardia?

 

Pass 3: Style.  This is my “read out loud” pass. I tick off any phrasing that sounds awkward and then go back through and see if I can come up with something better.  These are hardest for me to fix and sometimes I have to let them go and chalk it up to the fact that I’m not yet the writer I want to be.  But, I do noodle around with the parts I don’t like and sometimes I surprise myself and come up with something better. 

 

Pass 4: Grammar and punctuation.  I run it through an application called Grammarly first just to see what it has to say and then I print it out and mark it up with whatever I catch on my own. 

 

Pass 5:  Formatting and skimming for overall visual presentation.  This can get messed up on the upload sometimes, but I try to get it formatted reasonably well.

 

That’s it.  I’m done.  Post.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
  • Site Administrator
Graeme
  • Site Administrator

I'm working on my first serious story. I write a chapter on my iPad. Siri does his best to edit as I go along. Sometimes we argue about a word or phrase but I usually win. I then have Siri read the chapter aloud one paragraph at a time in his sexy British accent. I follow along making corrections. My brain corrects errors when I read so I miss them. When it's read back to me, I can hear the errors very clearly. Not sure what to do when I finish the story but... I've got six or seven chapters to write before I need to figure it out. I like the idea of beta readers but I think I will wait until my story is more complete. 

 

Best of luck! I have a beta-reader who uses software to read the story. He picks up several errors that way.

 

Pass 1: Content.  Does the story make sense? Are the emotional arcs logical?  How did they end up with passengers in the backseat of that car I described as a sports coupe? Better fix that.  What else needs to be smoothed out?

My favourite error of this type is when I was beta-reading for someone and I had to point out to the author that in the processing of getting ready for sex, the main character had taken off three shoes....

 

Pass 2: Fact Check.  I circle every fact that I want to confirm.  These are usually small things that don’t impact the story itself but I want to get right.  Would that shuttle flight from D.C. land at JFK or LaGuardia?

I had the same problem recently. I had characters arriving into Melbourne on a flight, and then I had to fly into Melbourne myself about a week later. That's when I realised I had the gate number wrong and, worse, the coffee shop that they bought coffee from was closed.... I fixed the gate number and decided that in my alternate universe, the coffee shop owner was more amenable to story requirements :D

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Trebs

While not an author, I have beta'd for some, and one thing that comes to mind is timing.  One author had a woman saying she was six weeks pregnant, and then having the baby 11 months later.  They also had baseball Spring Training starting in April.  So, a little tweaking of the story before things went too far, and a more plausible timeline was created.

 

One other tip and this is something the author came up with - when writing, have an excel document open in the background to create a "Character bible".  When you create a character, or write a description, add them to the bible, with such details as name, relationship to primary characters and brief description.  That way 6 chapters later, you won't accidentally start calling a character's mom Susan, when her name was originally Sarah.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
NJDaddy

Has this organization put together a list of publishers (independent or not) or agents who welcome gay novels>

 

Thanks

 

NJDaddy

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Our Privacy Policy can be found here: Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..