Falling Leaflets: Tweetalicious Advice from an Editor (and a contest for MG/YA/Adult manuscripts!)

Friday, October 12, 2012

Adrien-Luc Sanders has won my awesome-dude-of-the-week award for his service to writers everywhere.

Tweeting advice and commentary from the handle @smoulderingsea, his hashtag #editortips is a well-known goldmine of information. Yes, keep in mind that not all editors think exactly alike, but also keep in mind that free advice from a Senior Editor at Entangled Publishing should always be welcomed (unlike a free/discount root canal...which goes under the category of "bargains to avoid"). See Entangled's editing team profiles HERE to find out more about him and his interests.

Here are a few tweets from this Tuesday's #editortips:

Adrien-Luc Sanders‏@smoulderingsea
If you start thinking "Well I need to explain all this before the story really starts..." Stop. Look at what you wrote. Delete. #editortips

Your main character doesn't have to be a good person. They have to be someone interesting readers can empathize with. #editortips

Even if your MC is good, they won't always do good things. In a moment of weakness, under duress, etc.--they'll do bad things. #editortips

The message to take away from all this is character complexity. No one is ever defined by one trait. No one remains constant. #editortips

Key characterization factor: plausible motivation. Readers don't get why the MC does what they do? Readers won't stick around. #editortips

While characters need to express their opinions to build voice, interjecting a snarky comment on *everything* derails the story. #editortips

Anyone can do snarky. The important thing is revealing who your character really is under the snark and cleverness. #editortips

While tropes can provide a skeleton for your story, don't fall back on them for everything. Twist them into something unique. #editortips

90% of the time, italicized first person thoughts can be rolled into third person to strengthen the overall voice and flow. #editortips

If you do use italicized first person thoughts, make sure not to over-use them. When it's every other paragraph, it's annoying. #editortips

There should never be a part of your book you label "boring, but necessary." If it's necessary, make it interesting. #editortips

Many don't seem to understand: you can make anything interesting. Bookshelves. Golf. Slime mold. That's what writers do. #editortips

~~~

**To find more advice from Adrien-Luc Sanders and others on Twitter, simply go to twitter.com and enter "#editortips" in the search box

CONTEST ALERT:

Have a Middle Grade, Young Adult, or Adult manuscript ready to submit? Head over to Dee's blog and read the guidelines for the Hook, Line, & Sinker contest. Round 1 opens Saturday, October 13 at 11:00 am EDT.

Read about the agent line-up and wish lists HERE.