š NEW: Iāve created a FREE guide inspired by some of my most popular Substack articles. The Writerās Launch Kitāis packed with actionable checklists and insights to help you polish your manuscript, refine your query, and navigate the submission process with confidence.
Ha! I feel so called out-I am so guilty of info dumping in the first few pages. For exactly the reasons you state. But the advice on the crisis of decision making is really helpful and I think will help shift my story. I appreciate your straightforward advice!
sounds like the old adage I was taught - there should never be an 'and then' between notecards, only a 'therefore'. As in, whatever happens in the previous scene causes the next. You shouldn't go from one scene to the next without a reason.
100% agree with all your points Renee. But this is why when I read books that lacks these things, especially something as basic as the hero having a goal for the scene, I am flummoxed as to how they got published, let alone the awards and praise. I'm currently reading the Immortal King Rao and people seem to fall over themselves about the beautiful writing, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer. But the scenes are long and boring with no goal, conflict, tension or anything. There's useless scenes of a protagonist being bottle-fed milk and wandering around an abandoned island while sharing background facts about how her father invented technologies and was ousted from the board of his tech company. It just seems so poorly designed. Instead of background info dumps, the author could have written actual scenes. But she didn't. And yet all the adoration. It's stuff like this that completely stumps me in understanding story and writing.
I absolutely agree with you on this. I wish we could meet with the editor and ask what is it about this book they found so captivating. Sometimes the subjectivity reaches a whole new level. It would also be great if we could find someone who loved the book and get their input on it. I haven't/won't read it, so I can't provide my thoughts.
I think timing and mindset have a lot to do with how you perceive a book. There are a few I need to go back and read now that I'm older to see if I have a different take.
I remember a few years ago -- there was a popular male author and he wrote thick books. I cannot remember his name...He wrote a few books. One book was called the Historian or History something and it took place back in prairie days. My mom loved the book. I saw everybody with the book. I couldn't read it. I remember telling my mother it took me 20 minutes just to read about him and his remaining kids trudging through the forrest to put his deceased infant on top of his wife's grave... or something along those lines. I gave up in the first few chapters. Meanwhile it's a best-seller and people loved it. Maybe if I read it now it would be different...
I wish I had the answer. Sometimes when I read something as an agent and think "this is absolutley not for me, it'll probably be a best-seller"...
Thank you for the checklist, Renee! I am going to print it out and put it next to me as I work on PAPILIO. I was šÆ guilty of too many details without purpose that made my writing very clunky. Iāve worked hard to fix it but itāll be better to have more of a system in place to edit versus relying on my biased mind. Thank you again!
This is great. Helpful for any story, short or long. I liked this tidbit "a point where the character faces a tough decision between two bad options"
I'm a fan of your work Renee. Will follow along.
Thank you, Istiaq. I'm glad it spoke to you.
Great tips! This is perfect timing as I'm about to begin editing my WIP. Thanks!
Good luck, hope it helps.
"Each scene is a building block" Yes. One can never take the reader's interest for granted.
Thatās for sure!
Ha! I feel so called out-I am so guilty of info dumping in the first few pages. For exactly the reasons you state. But the advice on the crisis of decision making is really helpful and I think will help shift my story. I appreciate your straightforward advice!
Youāre very welcome, Kim. Iām glad the article gave you a different perspetive.
sounds like the old adage I was taught - there should never be an 'and then' between notecards, only a 'therefore'. As in, whatever happens in the previous scene causes the next. You shouldn't go from one scene to the next without a reason.
That's a good one, Vincent.
I love the checklist!!!
Glad it helped, Tini.
100% agree with all your points Renee. But this is why when I read books that lacks these things, especially something as basic as the hero having a goal for the scene, I am flummoxed as to how they got published, let alone the awards and praise. I'm currently reading the Immortal King Rao and people seem to fall over themselves about the beautiful writing, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer. But the scenes are long and boring with no goal, conflict, tension or anything. There's useless scenes of a protagonist being bottle-fed milk and wandering around an abandoned island while sharing background facts about how her father invented technologies and was ousted from the board of his tech company. It just seems so poorly designed. Instead of background info dumps, the author could have written actual scenes. But she didn't. And yet all the adoration. It's stuff like this that completely stumps me in understanding story and writing.
Noor,
I absolutely agree with you on this. I wish we could meet with the editor and ask what is it about this book they found so captivating. Sometimes the subjectivity reaches a whole new level. It would also be great if we could find someone who loved the book and get their input on it. I haven't/won't read it, so I can't provide my thoughts.
I think timing and mindset have a lot to do with how you perceive a book. There are a few I need to go back and read now that I'm older to see if I have a different take.
I remember a few years ago -- there was a popular male author and he wrote thick books. I cannot remember his name...He wrote a few books. One book was called the Historian or History something and it took place back in prairie days. My mom loved the book. I saw everybody with the book. I couldn't read it. I remember telling my mother it took me 20 minutes just to read about him and his remaining kids trudging through the forrest to put his deceased infant on top of his wife's grave... or something along those lines. I gave up in the first few chapters. Meanwhile it's a best-seller and people loved it. Maybe if I read it now it would be different...
I wish I had the answer. Sometimes when I read something as an agent and think "this is absolutley not for me, it'll probably be a best-seller"...
This. I feel so seen, thank you!
Great stuff, as usual!
Thank you for the checklist, Renee! I am going to print it out and put it next to me as I work on PAPILIO. I was šÆ guilty of too many details without purpose that made my writing very clunky. Iāve worked hard to fix it but itāll be better to have more of a system in place to edit versus relying on my biased mind. Thank you again!
Colin, it hits the main points, so it should help.
Very useful, thank you!!