By Mary Carter
EAGLE TIMES CORRESPONDENT
Part 3: Their They’re There is a Method to this Madness
In our prior installments, we discussed preparing for the creative fight. You either have notes for your novel or simply plain nerve. Y our opening line is a lasso and your first pages divine. Congratulations, it’s time to write. Should you worry about grammar and accuracy as you go? If it breaks your flow — no. You can catch the typos and incorrect usages during edits. Yes, edits plural. You’ll do lots of them.
If you write historical fiction, nearly every chapter holds a fact check. For example, could someone drink from a Dixie Cup in 1918? No, they were called Health Kups until 1919. Did Cleopatra say “okay.” Absolutely not. While modern media tends to portray the past in creative ways, I’m old school enough to feel that writers have an obligation to maintain the integrity of the history they’re fictionalizing. Yes, the research around any statement you make can drive you insane. But it’s better to be right than to have a flippant reader point out that 6 of the 87,000 words you poured your heart out over are wrong.
Word counts matter. Most publishers cringe at a debut novel containing 198k words. You have to be a J.K. Rowling for that. There are online guides for suggested word counts by genre. If you want to publish through an agent, it’s best to abide by them.
Tone is a quality to keep in mind. My agent gently warned me that my second novel’s opening was a wee bit purple. Looking it up, I was horrified. Purple prose is flowery and ornate. It borders on melodramatic. I thanked her and changed my ‘crayon’ right away. ‘Show, don’t tell’ is also essential. Instead of saying, ‘Jennifer became angry,’ try: ‘Jennifer paled and refused to answer.’ Your readers will enjoy drawing their own conclusions.
Next, we have correct phrasing. Consider the sentence: “Billowing atop the waves, Penelope saw three ships sail past.” True, it has strength and imagery. But the way it’s written, it’s Penelope billowing atop the waves, not the ships.
Last, but not least, ‘voice’ is the badge of a successful writer. ‘Voice’ is how your personal expression reveals itself in word selection and structure. When my first novel was being shipped around to editors, some praised my ‘voice,’ while
others said ‘meh.’ One even mocked me. Submitting your novel is a rhino-skinned process we’ll tackle at another time.
For now, write as though your heart were guiding the keys. Make time for your art and don’t feel guilty. Find the joy and revel in it. There’s nothing more rewarding.
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