 20 years of Master Class to Masterpiece |
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II. SUBMISSIONS, continued b) Craft and Critiques Voice is often touted as a desirable element in fiction, yet it’s difficult to pinpoint (“I know it when I see it”). What does voice mean to you? How can it help create and define a character? Because I specialize in children's fiction, I'm always on the lookout for a unique voice that sounds genuinely from a child's perspective. So much of the time, you can clearly tell that it's an adult trying to write from a child's perspective, and that's always an indication that a writer needs to take a more careful look at voice. A strong, unique voice is characterized for me when the personality of the protagonist starts to take shape through the delivery of the story. What kinds of craft flaws do you commonly see in otherwise well-written manuscripts? In general, what self-editing tips do you suggest? The voice not sounding authentically like a child or teen is a big one. I also appreciate a well-rounded vocabulary, and suggested that authors go through their work and try to replace very common words with interesting words that reflects the personality of the character and that flow well with the aesthetic of the story. From a technical perspective, sentences that don't flow well are distracting and take me out of the story. I always recommend that writers read their work out loud, as the ear will often catch what the eye passes over. Sarah Dessen says, “I never start a book until I have the first scene, last scene, climactic scene and first line all in my head.” Cheryl Klein’s Second Sight references arcs (such as climax) within each scene. What tip or exercise do you suggest for making scenes emotionally satisfying? This question is a little broad. Different scenes of different books simply require different approaches. An action-packed scene of wizards climbing a mountain will need different approaches from a scene showing a mother and son fighting at the breakfast table. I will say that perhaps one element that should be present in both scenes is the element of surprise. When a scene is predictable, that’s the surest way to fall flat. Aside from that, my editorial advice would be more closely tailored to the scene in question. Our workshop enrollees critique peers’ full novels. However, many writers are experienced only in critiquing excerpts. What helps you keep track of everything in a novel—e.g., do you make notes after each chapter; if so, on what? I use Cheryl Klein’s plot checklist (from The Magic Words, the updated and expanded version of Second Sight, now published with Norton) as a prompt to make sure that all of the pieces of story are in place—the emotional plot, the action plot, the stakes, the thematic point, the emotional point. I’ll often fill it out, myself, or ask authors to do it themselves. That is SUCH a great tool, because I’ve found that nine times out of ten, missing or weak elements are able to be very clearly identified, which makes addressing them simpler (if not easier!). (Enrollee question) Please tell us about your approach to revision in a manuscript—one for which you’ve provided an editorial letter and/or invitation to re-submit. Every book that I represent has had a different editorial process, but typically, after my initial read, I provide a big picture editorial letter and then offer to schedule a phone call to brainstorm and discuss. The edits hopefully get smaller from there, with shorter letters and perhaps line edits dropped directly into the manuscript, until I deem the work polished enough to submit to editors. I typically go through two to four rounds of edits on a manuscript before submissions. |
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