FIVE FICTION MISTAKES THAT SPELL REJECTION

[Michael H]

Folks I have an article by Moira Allen that details five mistakes that lead to fiction being rejected by editors / agents and publishers.

• Bad Beginnings
  
• Wordiness
  
• Undeveloped Characters
  
• Poor Plots
  
• No Point
  

 

This is not just a simple list but each is detailed as to what they mean and best of all Moira tells us what to do about them.

Included in this article are the seven deadly sins of writing.

They are:

Preachiness.

Cliches.

Outlandish names. (Crystal D'Kanter comes to mind).

Lack of knowledge.

Autobiographical stories.

Cute Titles.

 

Anyone wanting this may email me through my website and I'll send it as an attachment.

I won't post it here because it's a 3000+ piece which is way too long for this forum.

 

I would appreciate it if our mod could / would make this offer in the editor's forum. I don't want to get into a cross posting war.

 

Michael

[Ieshwar]

Sorry but what's the link for your web?

 

Thanks!

 

Take care,

Ieshwar

[Michael H]

Sorry but what's the link for your web?

 

Thanks!

 

Take care,

Ieshwar

 

Sorry, I keep forgetting to add that darn thing!

 

Visit My Website

[Libby Drew]

This is not just a simple list but each is detailed as to what they mean and best of all Moira tells us what to do about them.

Included in this article are the seven deadly sins of writing.

They are:

Preachiness.

Cliches.

Outlandish names. (Crystal D'Kanter comes to mind).

Lack of knowledge.

Autobiographical stories.

Cute Titles.

 

Anyone wanting this may email me through my website and I'll send it as an attachment.

I won't post it here because it's a 3000+ piece which is way too long for this forum.

 

I would appreciate it if our mod could / would make this offer in the editor's forum. I don't want to get into a cross posting war.

 

Michael

 

I've heard the same. What's amusing, I think, is that so much genre fiction (romance, in particular) thrives on many of these. Not preachiness perhaps, but cliches certainly.

 

I've found much of being a writer these days is doing what works for you. It's all about developing your style and remembering that the rules don't always apply.

[Michael H]

Libby, I know what you mean about rules. Finding one's own style takes time. I took my degree in journalism. That form is rather fixed and doesn't often lend itself to soaring prose. Oh yes, a journalist can dazzle readers with words and usages that are impressive and even humorous but nothing compares to fiction and its liberating form. Fiction provides a writer the elbow room to ignite the reader's imagination. That for me is the most fun. I had a reader in Scotland email me and say that after reading my first book Bought and Paid For, she found herself at odd times wondering how Jan Phillips (the main character) was doing. Was he happy and where life would lead him. I never forgot that, for that lady my character was alive in her mind. Young writers, be they straight or gay, have a wonderful tool in the internet where so much information and guidance is there for the asking. A far cry from my early days!

 

Michael

Visit My Website

Edited March 27, 2008 by Michael Halfhill

[kitten]

Included in this article are the seven deadly sins of writing.

They are:

Preachiness.

Cliches.

Outlandish names. (Crystal D'Kanter comes to mind).

Lack of knowledge.

Autobiographical stories.

Cute Titles.

 

Michael

 

Is it explained what precisely is meant by 'Autobiographical stories'?

Surely all really good, believable stories have to be based on personal experiences?

If you've never felt a particular emotion (love, grief) how can you write convincingly about it or how can you communicate it to the reader in a fresh way, in your own personal way? When describing something you haven't experienced, all you have available are cliches.

 

There is, of course, a difference between writing based on experience and a detailed description of an actual experience. However, sometimes a good story can contain snippets of the latter. When that worksl it is because the writer does it well enough that the reader can't detect those snippets.

 

Kit

[Michael H]

Is it explained what precisely is meant by 'Autobiographical stories'?

Surely all really good, believable stories have to be based on personal experiences?

If you've never felt a particular emotion (love, grief) how can you write convincingly about it or how can you communicate it to the reader in a fresh way, in your own personal way? When describing something you haven't experienced, all you have available are cliches.

 

There is, of course, a difference between writing based on experience and a detailed description of an actual experience. However, sometimes a good story can contain snippets of the latter. When that worksl it is because the writer does it well enough that the reader can't detect those snippets.

 

Kit

 

 

Kit here is what the article says on that topic. If you want the whole article I can send it to you.

Autobiographical stories.

[AFriendlyFace]

Folks I have an article by Moira Allen that details five mistakes that lead to fiction being rejected by editors / agents and publishers.

• Bad Beginnings
  
• Wordiness
  
• Undeveloped Characters
  
• Poor Plots
  
• No Point
  

 

This is not just a simple list but each is detailed as to what they mean and best of all Moira tells us what to do about them.

Included in this article are the seven deadly sins of writing.

They are:

Preachiness.

Cliches.

Outlandish names. (Crystal D'Kanter comes to mind).

Lack of knowledge.

Autobiographical stories.

Cute Titles.

An interesting and useful list! Fortunately I don't seem to naturally fall afoul of the five major mistakes. I'm a tad more susceptible to the seven deadly sins though.

[kitten]

Kit here is what the article says on that topic. If you want the whole article I can send it to you.

Autobiographical stories.

[Michael H]

Then I think I must disagree with that quote...

 

Think of some great writers (of course the definition of great writers may be debatable!). Then consider how their life experiences influenced not only the subject matter of their work but also how they chose to write about it. Dickens, one of my personal favourites, is a good example of this, but there are others, such as Emily Bronte, Mark Twain, (look them up, e.g. in wiki if you want to know details).

 

To follow the advice quoted above would mean a writer would trying to prove he is skilled by writing convincingly about things that are outside his own experience. If he succeed then he would indeed be skilled. However, he would almost certainly not be a great author, because a great author draws the reader in and engages him in the world of his story.

 

The great author does not set out to demonstrate his skill but tries to communicate on a deep level with the reader and hopefully thereby to give the reader new insights. Great authors take the essences of their own experiences and distil them into a form they can share with the reader so that the reader can hopefully gain the same insights as the author. Therefore I do not believe that a great author is one who avoids his own experiences and deliberately writes about things he has not experienced.

 

Kit

 

Kit, I'm not going to defend this article. It was compiled by professionals who are very hard nosed about what they feel their experience tells them. Personally, I feel the article's explanation is poorly said.

 

In your argument, you use the term "great author" but this article is about getting published, not how to become a great author.

 

That said, your point is well taken, but consider this. If everyone wrote only in his/her sphere of experience then all the murder mysteries would have to be written by murders. War would be the sole province of warriors. My books have murder, sex trafficking, body modification, and a host of other themes along with of all things, crossing a desert on a camel! I haven't experienced any of these. Would you say I shouldn't write about them? Am I to censor my writing to fit my experience? If every writer did that some of us would be writing pamphlets instead of novels.

 

Michael

Visit My Website

[corvus]

Folks I have an article by Moira Allen that details five mistakes that lead to fiction being rejected by editors / agents and publishers.

• Bad Beginnings
  
• Wordiness
  
• Undeveloped Characters
  
• Poor Plots
  
• No Point
  

 

This is not just a simple list but each is detailed as to what they mean and best of all Moira tells us what to do about them.

Included in this article are the seven deadly sins of writing.

They are:

Preachiness.

Cliches.

Outlandish names. (Crystal D'Kanter comes to mind).

Lack of knowledge.

Autobiographical stories.

Cute Titles.

 

Anyone wanting this may email me through my website and I'll send it as an attachment.

I won't post it here because it's a 3000+ piece which is way too long for this forum.

 

I would appreciate it if our mod could / would make this offer in the editor's forum. I don't want to get into a cross posting war.

 

Michael

 

I haven't read the article, but I agree with the bulleted points. If only writing were as easy as following these 12 guidelines! On the other hand, these points are generic and have bright lines defined by individual tastes. I imagine the article would provide some useful elaboration.