It’s been a while since I’ve done an update, but I’ve been busy rewriting The Last Incarnation. I know, originally I intended to just do a revision. Things have changed. I spent a few weeks doing some research, reading tips from editors, agents and published authors. I read a few years worth of posts over the Absolute Write forums, which led me to read On Writing, by Stephen King. What this all amounts to is that I’ve learned more about writing and getting published in the past month than I have in the past ten years. Hence, the rewrite.

So what exactly am I doing? Well to begin, I had to wrap my head around the fact that my self-published books (ugh) were nothing more than first drafts. When I published them, I only wanted something convenient to pass on to family and friends. Self-publishing with print on demand technology is great for that, but it has a downside as well. There’s no quality control whatsoever, so basically anyone can get something published. This means real publishers look down on self-published works.

In any case, back to the idea of first drafts. It turns out I had a few ideas in mind that are pretty much typical of the amateur writer. I wrote stories as if I was directing a movie, which in itself isn’t a bad thing. There’s something to be said for directed attention, but a movie isn’t the best medium for a book. What this led to was my writing in 3rd person omniscient, a side-effect of that overview look from the movie perspective. This was fine for Tolkien, but apparently it’s hard to pull off well and isn’t much used in fantasy today. Another shrug for the pile. Something else that I did, and this is a big one, is I absolutely hated to delete something once I’d written it. I don’t mean small edits, either. It takes me an hour to write a page, because I pore over every word until the story is perfect. Most writers will tell you this isn’t the way to go. Getting the story out of your head and onto the paper is priority number one. After that, it’s endless revising. “Kill your little darlings,” the quote goes. Don’t ask me who, I’m terrible at quotes. Well now I’m killing left and right, deleting and rewriting until the overall story is perfect.

Some tips I learned that also led to the rewrite (in no particular order):

Some people completely bypass the prologue. There are times when a story has some precursor scene that’s important to the overall tale, but most information can just be worked into the story later on. If the prologue is chock full of info, just rename the thing chapter one and go from there.

Never tell the reader something before they care about it. It’s imperative that the story be clear, but that doesn’t mean beating the reader over the head blocks of narrative. It’s the questions that keep the reader turning each page. Wait until they’re asking before giving an answer.

Show don’t tell is not always the necessarily true. Remember, we’re not making movies here, this is a novel. Sometimes you can’t help but tell what’s going on. It’s one thing to leave details open to interpretation and totally another to let the story become unclear.

Anything that doesn’t add to the story detracts from it. If you’ve got names, places or flowery words that stumble the reader, congrats! You just pulled them out of the story. Each time the reader hits one of these stumbling blocks, immersion grows weaker and weaker.

Minor characters have no idea that they’re minor. Think about yourself. You’re life is a movie, and you are the star. Every character sees themselves as the hero and should be fleshed out as such. If you’re not willing to expand on something, don’t put it in the story. As an aside, true villains don’t set out to be villainous. They’re just misunderstood heroes.

Only use words that reveal character, support the theme or advance the plot. This can be the hardest part. It’s easy to go off an a tangent, when you’re admiring your own writing. That doesn’t necessarily mean the reader wants to go along for the ride. This is particularly important in the first page of the first chapter. Think about how a reader decides what to buy. They go into the store, most likely looking for a specific author they’ve already read, and take a look at all of the covers. If the cover looks nice, they might glance at the title. If they pick up the book to read the blurb on the back, kudos! Then it’s the first page. If they make it to the second, they’ll most likely buy the book. Publishers do not exist to serve authors; they serve the readers. And it’s in that same vein that they go through the slush pile.

NO ONE is above learning grammar. Suck it up, and learn the language. A great story will gain you lots of leniency, but there really is no excuse for poor grammar. It’s one thing to distinguish a style and another to just ignore the very defined rules. The Elements of Style is your friend. If you do insist on crapping on the language, at least be consistent all throughout the story.

In the end, it’s all about the story. Create interesting characters, put them in interesting places, and let the story unfold before you. Once you’ve got your first draft out of thought and onto paper, don’t be afraid to delete and rewrite.

I’m currently on chapter 8 out of 23 on my rewrite. I expect to be done in three weeks. No eta on the artwork, but Henning has already started. I have myself a great beta reader now (Hi Deb!), so things are going just fine. Once I have this manuscript complete, I’ll be sending it off to as many fantasy publishers as I can find. And while it’s in the mail, I’ll be rewriting book two. Yes, the first draft of book three is completed. If you’re interested in being a beta reader, send me an email.