Literary Leftovers - A Matter of POV

By Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

Years ago when I first started writing, I wrote short drama sketches for my church. The first one got published and every one after that. Then I turned my hand to novels. After a few months and 125,000 words, I found an online critique group.

When I received my first critique, I discovered I knew nothing but good dialogue ... and I mean nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zip. I'd never heard of POV and had no idea what it even meant. Show don't tell?? Why can’t I use a plethora of adverbs? Omniscient is something God is.

I didn't have any problem accepting the hard critiques. The difference was, while they were hard, I never saw them as harsh. It's all a matter of POV. I wanted to learn. I read those critiques from the POV of being taught - not attacked.

We need to trust that our critique partners won't let us get away with anything less than our best. We should grow to the point where we don't need compliments. The highest compliment I can receive from my CPs is getting back a chapter with no suggestions or corrections. I think that’s only happened once.

How do we do give the best critiques? Read with an editor's eye and a sister-in-Christ's heart:

the mindset that God deserves our best not our leftovers. When I’m lazy and don’t feel like thinking up a new meal, I fix leftovers. I even tell myself I’m being thrifty. That might be fine with food—but not in our writing.

What are literary leftovers?

1.      Not removing superfluous adverbs in contrast to spending an extra twenty minutes looking for just the right verb.

2.      Not knowing your characters well enough to communicate their hurts and motivation.

3.      Not investing the time required to get the character's motivation shown-not-told on the page.

4.      Using clichés or over-used metaphors

5.      Recycling a great metaphor or simile without changing it.    

6.      Using the same old conflict over and over. In romance, if miscommunication is the only conflict, that’s week-old-moldy-green leftovers.

7.      Not always striving to grow as a writer.

Even if you've already got an agent, have been close to a contract, or you’re published, you can still get a low score on a contest entry. Fiction is subjective. We all know that. But instead of ruffling your quills in indignation, change your personal POV. See teaching not attacking. You'll be glad you did. You'll add another layer to your rhino skin, and you'll be more willing to kill your darlings. It’s all a matter of your POV.

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Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She's an award-winning bestselling novelist, a multi-published playwright and contributor to the award-winning blog, The Write Conversation. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler who thinks he’s a teddy bear. While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, Ane has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction (try saying that three times fast). Ane firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. Her passion when she isn't writing her Southern-fried Fiction, is Community Theatre. She's Creative Director of Players Guild@Sugar Hill, an avocational non-profit theatre group, where she and her husband act, direct, build sets, and are chief gofors. Contributor to the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and a wooly mammoth. You can find Ane on her website and blog: http://www.anemulligan.com. If you'd like to see a map of Chapel Springs showing you where all the characters live, visit http://www.anemulligan.com

Research ~ for Contemporary Fiction?

By Ane Mulligan

When I worked on two different historical manuscripts, I did the research. In fact, I enjoyed it. But when I switched to contemporary novels, I didn't have to do as much, right? I mean, hey, I live in the present. I know we don't use dial phones or write hand-written letters anymore. So why do I need to worry about research?

Well, I can tell you why. Oy, can I tell you. The first time, after writing the fifty thousand plus words in my WIP, I neatly wrote myself into a corner. Can you say, "Yikes!"? It was the story that became my debut novel, and I wrote that the warm springs had cooled. But when I got to the part where my main character had to find a fix and began to look for one, I discovered my set-up was highly unlikely. Not impossible, but rather improbable. Fortunately, I managed—after groveling and whining—to find a geo-geek who introduced me to a geologist who helped me.

But think of the time—not to mention headaches—I could have saved had I researched it first. But did I learn from that mistake? No, it took another near disaster. You know the kind: the ones that make readers send you letters, telling you you're an idiot.

And so I confess there was another. It was in my sophomore novel and involved a new car. I chose one I figured a mid-twenties dude would buy. Now, I had done some research on it, but not enough. Because I had him purchasing a brand spanking new car … a model that had been discontinued several years ago. All I can say is thank goodness for knowledgeable beta readers.

But I sure learned my lesson. There's more to this gig than writing a story. To make it real, we still need to do the research … prior to writing. Even for contemporary novels.

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While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, bestselling novelist Ane Mulligan has worn many: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction. She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane on her Southern-fried Fiction website, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Pinterest.