We all have aspects of writing in which we excel and aspects in which we’re terrible. It’s important to be able to identify both. If you feel that you are terrible at writing, you’re probably reading your work too closely. This is a good time for beta readers or to walk away and work on something else. If you feel that you’re the best writer ever, you’re probably not reading your work closely enough. This is a good time to go back to the basics and study your craft.
Start with a list: “I am good at _______________. I need more work on ______________.”
I can say with confidence that I am good at character and setting descriptions. I used to be terrible and so I spent a lot of time trying to get better. And luckily, my beta readers agree. I’m the kind of reader that hates pages of descriptions, so I try to give you just one or two quick lines that hit you with that feeling of total understanding. Such as:
- His kind eyes sat in perfect symmetry on his face, his lips forever curled into a smile.
- The restaurant is one of those that is taken up largely by the bar with a few tables to the side.
- Somehow, the forest is mostly intact, despite the obvious signs of the world we live in—poisoned tree trunks that are nothing but half-formed stumps, ponds of water covered in slime, and zero sound of anything alive.
I can also say with absolute confidence that I have trouble focusing on plot. I started writing to be able to play out relationships in my life that never got resolved. The characters in my first book were all based on real people. We live in big messy worlds, embedded in random family structures with a lot of unexplained trauma. In trying to emulate that, I didn’t let the story breathe.
In a story, every line matters. Characters need to have clear desires and motivations. The drama must come to a resolution by the end. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does need to make sense. When all my characters were based on real people, I could only write what that person would actually do, rather than what that character would do given the plot. The short story was fun, the first draft was 400 pages, and since then, I’ve been searching for the story amidst everything that wasn’t the story. 11 years, 4 editors, and 13 revisions later, I have hopefully become better at this.
But first, I needed to listen to my characters and let them tell their own story. First and foremost, that meant telling Charlie’s story (the main plot) and not letting her be overshadowed by her friend’s (the subplots). Your task today is to look at the piece you’re working on and find the central plot. Make sure everything is reinforcing that plot and not getting lost in the subplots. If you’re not sure which is your plot and which are your subplots, then I’d suggest writing a synopsis which allows you to see the bare bones of your story without all the fluff.
Elegance Press 