“I've finished reading
the entire story and it is one of the most addictive books I've seen on this
site. I read the entire second half in one session tonight because the need to
know of what happened next was so strong. It is a powerful Young Adult story
that deals with a variety of coming of age issues which also has a fantastic
fantasy and mystery element to it. There are many original ideas with
characters that are interesting and quite unique.” -- John
“Rated this 6 stars as
I love the premise of the story so far, as well as your writing style and
voice.” -- Willow
“Great voice to
introduce the story. Polished writing, descriptive but not wordy. I really like
the premise of this story.” -- Jillian
“I am loving this! You
have this flair for drip feeding intrigue with perfect timing. You grabbed and
kept my interest.” – Sue
“Your narrative is easy
to fall into, the language matches that of a teenage girl so that we feel we
know Maggie, we relate to her. I've
loaded it up with highest stars. This is an absorbing read.” -- Zoe
These are excerpts from
comments left on the writer’s website, www.Authonomy.com, about my first novel,
SEEING MAGIC (www.facebook.com/seeingmagic). There are approximately
one hundred comments like this for my light-hearted YA fantasy. The heaps of praise might be a load of bull because
writers are always kind to each other, and therefore, lie through their
teeth. Nevertheless, I’d like to believe
there is some merit to my humble tale, but I have a terrible dark secret which
haunts me.
I’m ashamed to say I’ve
never taken a writing course. I majored
in Computer Engineering and Computer Science in college. Neither program emphasized the need for
strong communication skills. My AP (Advanced Placement)
English test scores and my SAT verbal score allowed me to opt out of both English 101 and English 102,
so I did. I took a few literature
courses, mostly in comparative mythology, but I never learned how to write
well.
My life’s course took a
sharp veer off the corporate path, away from cutting edge technology, when my
first-born child was diagnosed with Autism, 9-11 happened, and my husband was
fired from his job all within a scant few weeks. He went into a fugue state, spending day
after day on the couch watching foreign sports programs on cable. All of my product’s clients either declared
bankruptcy in the aftermath of the collapse of the twin towers, or they were subpoenaed
before Congress to explain why they were defrauding their shareholders. No one in the telephony industry bought test
equipment that year. Meanwhile, the
Health Department wanted to send therapists into my home to set up an in-home
therapy program for my son, and I couldn’t let them see the condition of my
husband or my house. When my company
decided to make me part of the twenty-five percent employee lay-off in July
2002, it was almost a relief. Eliminating
my salary from the payroll meant that my two direct reports got to keep their
jobs. It was the right thing to do, but
it destroyed my way of life, and my self-concept.
With both of us unable
to find work, a mountain of debt, a huge mortgage, and a special-needs child,
life quickly went from bad to worse. By
2004 my second child was born. He had Spina
Bifida and we were homeless. For
two-and-a-half years we lived in a 1978 travel trailer with no shower, moving
from camp ground to camp ground, or sometimes from Wal-Mart parking lot to
Wal-Mart parking lot. I tried to keep
myself from going insane by reading books, since the camp grounds rarely got TV
reception. A Harlequin/Silhouette book
cost $3.84. I could afford two a
month. My favorite series was the
Silhouette Bombshell series, where accomplished young women saved the day. When Harlequin Enterprises killed the series,
I started writing stories for myself, needing that escape into fantasy.
Finally, in 2012, I
found Authonomy.com. My first attempt at
a complete novel was very rough, although at the time, I didn’t realize
it. With advice from fellow authors on
the site, I learned how to write well.
It is this advice, using my first novel as a case study, which I now present
to you.
Even if I’ll never be
talented enough to have a successful writing career, you may benefit since these
tips come not from me, but from many talented writers, several of whom are
already published.
I use an iterative
process, with seven steps. I’ll be
presenting each through its own posting, using examples from my case study. They are as follows:
1.
Get to the good stuff sooner. Add action and conflict in the opening
paragraphs of the story.
2.
Eliminate overused words and look for other
common grammar mistakes which impede the flow of the prose.
3.
Remove repeated words or phrases, especially
repeated metaphors.
4.
Don’t start a sentence with a conjunction, and don’t
end with a preposition. Incomplete or
run-on sentences confuse and distract the reader.
5.
Look for unnecessary words or phrases.
6.
Check for continuity.
7.
Repeat, as needed.
As always, feedback, suggestions, corrections or criticism is appreciated.
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