I won the 5-page critique last week, but I can't seem to contact you through the e-mail. It keeps telling me I've entered a wrong code. Is there another way to contact the blog and claim my prize?
I guess if an editor's going to be quoted, she should credit her source! I picked up RUE (resist the urge to explain) as a short form from the book SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Rennie Browne and Dave King (HarperCollins Publishers, 1993). I highly recommend the book! Good writing, Victoria
I like that tip! I'm a reader and sometimes I find myself skipping over explanations because I've already figured out why someone did what they did or why something happened! Of course sometimes an explanation is needed, but I think a good author can explain without explaining :)
I remember hearing this advice in college. I was taking a writer's workshop as part of my teacher preparation and we had to read our work out loud. I started explaining what I meant and someone pointed out I should just write that. Duh.
I think it also means that if you have to explain something, you didn't do a good job of showing it.
I read this and had to think a minute, then snap - of course, it's all about showing not telling, and letting the action and dialogue take the story forward. I think of it as the need to suppress any "Scooby Doo tendencies," as in the villain conveniently runs through the sequence of events and ties up all those loose ends ("and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids!")...the writer's voice needs to be heard, too, but it's about getting the balance right. When doing a character's backstory, though, this can be hard. But I guess the challenge there is to use things like flashbacks so it's actions and dialogue doing the explaining, not just the author telling.
Kristin, Couldn't get to you that way. I'm going to have to look for another service besides Kontactor--hearing this complaint way too often.
Meanwhile, email me privately (and that goes for anyone who has not been able to claim their prize) at AOL - using my first name. Don't want to spell it out here because of spam and I already had to deal with my address being hacked this week--sheesh, what a pain.
Oh wow! I'm so excited about winning the crit! What lovely news to come back to after a week without internet access!
I've found that with the contact page too, it usually works after a few goes but never works the first time!
Fab advice. Last week I went back and cut all (I hope!) of the places I do this in my rewritten first chapter. This week I'm groaning over all the places I'm doing it in chapter two. Seems like I just moved the "telling" to another chapter!
Vicki talks more about this (and working with Victoria as her editor) on her blog. Really worth visiting for all us aspiring writers!
The contact page - I always copy my info because the secure code doesn't work the first time around. I leave the page and go back and the second time it works. Even if you keep typing the code - and it's right - it doesn't accept it.
Hacked address - ah that explains it. I didn't open the link.
Great advice! I recently learned about RUE as I am an offender. :( Now that I know about it and that I have a tendency to do this, I watch for it but it still sneaks in there now and again. Grr...
Good tip, and one my critique partners catch me on. I feel like I, the author, have to write down some details, but then I have to go back and squish the important parts into the plot instead of just telling it all.
14 comments:
And very hard to do!!
Great tip Vicki!
Marcie
Rogenna,
I won the 5-page critique last week, but I can't seem to contact you through the e-mail. It keeps telling me I've entered a wrong code. Is there another way to contact the blog and claim my prize?
Thanks,
Kristin Noel Fischer
I guess if an editor's going to be quoted, she should credit her source! I picked up RUE (resist the urge to explain) as a short form from the book SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Rennie Browne and Dave King (HarperCollins Publishers, 1993). I highly recommend the book!
Good writing,
Victoria
I like that tip! I'm a reader and sometimes I find myself skipping over explanations because I've already figured out why someone did what they did or why something happened! Of course sometimes an explanation is needed, but I think a good author can explain without explaining :)
I remember hearing this advice in college. I was taking a writer's workshop as part of my teacher preparation and we had to read our work out loud. I started explaining what I meant and someone pointed out I should just write that. Duh.
I think it also means that if you have to explain something, you didn't do a good job of showing it.
Synchronicity- I was reading Self-Editing for Fiction Writers this morning and saw the acronym RUE for first time this morning.
I read this and had to think a minute, then snap - of course, it's all about showing not telling, and letting the action and dialogue take the story forward. I think of it as the need to suppress any "Scooby Doo tendencies," as in the villain conveniently runs through the sequence of events and ties up all those loose ends ("and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids!")...the writer's voice needs to be heard, too, but it's about getting the balance right. When doing a character's backstory, though, this can be hard. But I guess the challenge there is to use things like flashbacks so it's actions and dialogue doing the explaining, not just the author telling.
Kristin, I'm going to try and contact you through blogger.
Kristin, Couldn't get to you that way. I'm going to have to look for another service besides Kontactor--hearing this complaint way too often.
Meanwhile, email me privately (and that goes for anyone who has not been able to claim their prize) at AOL - using my first name. Don't want to spell it out here because of spam and I already had to deal with my address being hacked this week--sheesh, what a pain.
Oh wow! I'm so excited about winning the crit! What lovely news to come back to after a week without internet access!
I've found that with the contact page too, it usually works after a few goes but never works the first time!
Fab advice. Last week I went back and cut all (I hope!) of the places I do this in my rewritten first chapter. This week I'm groaning over all the places I'm doing it in chapter two. Seems like I just moved the "telling" to another chapter!
Vicki talks more about this (and working with Victoria as her editor) on her blog. Really worth visiting for all us aspiring writers!
Autumn - congrats!
The contact page - I always copy my info because the secure code doesn't work the first time around. I leave the page and go back and the second time it works. Even if you keep typing the code - and it's right - it doesn't accept it.
Hacked address - ah that explains it. I didn't open the link.
Marcie
Great advice! I recently learned about RUE as I am an offender. :( Now that I know about it and that I have a tendency to do this, I watch for it but it still sneaks in there now and again. Grr...
Need to go dust off my copy of Self-Editing...
Great tip!! I hadn't heard of RUE but it is something I am guilty of - always need to edit out. Be better if I didn't do it in the first place.
Congrats Autumn.
Good tip, and one my critique partners catch me on. I feel like I, the author, have to write down some details, but then I have to go back and squish the important parts into the plot instead of just telling it all.
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