By Irene Hannon
After 45+ books, I’ve
learned that the difference between great and almost-great books can often be
summed up in two words—the basics. Getting those right can give you a winning
edge. So here are 12 genre-neutral tips (because good writing is good writing)
that can help put the final polish on your writing.
1. Start in the right place, i.e. right in the
middle of the action. Create a high-impact opening that immediately lets
readers know something big is at stake. Begin with a bang—sometimes literally
in suspense, but figuratively in any book. The opening must also leave readers
with a question that makes them want to read on to find the answer.
2. Pay attention to chapter and scene endings.
Again, leave the reader with a question or make the reader curious about what’s
coming next. Give him or her a reason to keep reading.
3. Never take the reader out of story. If you must
weave in technical information or backstory, find a way to do it in the context
the scene. Don’t stop the action for a data dump from a disembodied narrative
voice.
4. Don’t head hop within a scene. This is
disruptive to story flow. It’s better to let the readers, along with the
point-of-view character, try to figure out what the other players are thinking
by viewing their actions, inflections and gestures through the eyes of
the viewpoint character.
5. Pay attention to rhythm. For example, short,
choppy sentences convey tension and urgency. This is a good technique for a
charged scene in any genre. So use sentence length and construction to help
convey mood through rhythm.
6. Cut adverbs. Eliminating adverbs strengthens
writing by forcing us to choose better words. Don’t say she walked slowly; pick
a stronger verb. She ambled, crept, limped, and trudged.
7. Make limited use of dialogue tags (he said/she
said). Most of the time you don’t need them and they bog down the pace.
8. Use as much dialogue as possible vs. narrative
to advance plot, deepen characterizations, and share background info. Dialogue
keeps the story active and immediate and the reader feels engaged and in the
middle of the action.
9. Write tight and cut ruthlessly if something
doesn’t advance the plot or offer new insights into a character, cut it.
Author Elmore Leonard was asked once how he did this. He said he simply left
out the parts readers skip. That’s a great rule. Everything must be deliberate
and there for a purpose or it should be cut.
10. Always take the time to choose the perfect word.
Walked conveys a whole different meaning than sauntered.
11. Don’t overuse pet words. We all fall into this
trap, and new ones keep cropping up. Make a list of your overused words, then
search for them after you finish each chapter.
12. Limit descriptions, especially of
settings. Popular fiction readers have no patience for long, lyrical passages.
They want the mood and place captured quickly so they can move into the action.
____________________________________________________________________
Irene
Hannon, who writes both contemporary romance and romantic suspense, is the
bestselling author of more than 45 novels.
Her books have been honored with two coveted RITA awards (the “Oscar” of
romantic fiction), a Carol award, a Daphne du Maurier award, a National
Readers’ Choice award, three HOLT Medallions, a Retailers Choice award and two
Reviewers’ Choice awards from RT Book
Reviews magazine. A former corporate communications executive with a
Fortune 500 company, Irene now writes full time. Her Private Justice series includes the titles: Deceived, Trapped and Vanished. She can be found at http://www.irenehannon.com/
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