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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: writing with clarity, Most Recent at Top [Help]
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1. Editing a Book - 10 Tips Checklist for Children’s Writers Part1

Editing a Book - 10 Tips Checklist for Children’s Writers Part 1

You’ve been working on your story for a while now and you think it’s just about done. It’s been critiqued numerous times and you revised it numerous times. Now, it’s time for ‘editing a book;’ this entails proofreading and self-editing. You don’t want to short-change yourself on the last stretch, so get ready to put the final layers of polish on your manuscript.

While this ‘editing a book’ article is geared toward children’s writers, it has information for just about all writers.

Here are 10 tips to you can use to help fine-tune your children’s manuscript:

1. Editing a Book: Check for Clarity

Check each sentence for clarity. It’s important to remember that you may know what you intend to convey, but your readers may not. It’d be a good idea to have someone else read the manuscript for you. This is where a good critique group comes in handy.

2. Editing a Book: Check for “Telling” and Lackluster Sentences

Check each sentence for telling. While you will need some effective telling, you want to have more showing.

Example: Joe hit his head and was dazed.
Alternative: Joe banged his head against the tree. He wobbled a moment and fell to the ground.

Show, don’t tell. Use your imagination and picture your character going through motions—maybe he’s turning his lip up, or he’s cocking his head. Try to visualize it; this will help in showing rather than telling.

A good way to add more showing is to add more sensory details. Use the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) to create a living character; this will help breathe life into your story.

Example: Joe felt cold.
Alternative: A chill ran through Joe’s body.

Example: Joe was frightened.
Alternative: Joe’s breath stopped. Goosebumps made the hair on his arms stand at attention.

3. Editing a Book: Point of View - Watch for Head Hopping

Checking for head hopping is especially important for children’s writers since their stories should be told from the protagonist’s point of view or perspective.

If the story is being told from your main character’s point of view (POV) make sure it stays there.

If my POV character Joe is sad and wearing a frown, it wouldn’t be advisable to say: Noticing his sad face Fran immediately knew Joe was distraught. This is bringing Fran’s POV into the picture.

You might say: Joe knew Fran would immediately notice his despair; they were friends for so long.

Or, you can just use dialogue: “Joe, what’s wrong?”

~~~
I wasn't going to post on Wednesday, because of presenting a week-long workshop at the Muse Online Writers Conference this week, but I changed my mind. Please come back on Wednesday for Part 2 of Editing a Book - 10 Tips Checklist for Children’s Writers .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related Writing Articles: 

Is Your Manuscript Ready for Submissions?
Rewriting a Folktale
2 Comments on Editing a Book - 10 Tips Checklist for Children’s Writers Part1, last added: 10/3/2011
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2. Guest blogger: Writing With Clarity, by Karen Cioffi

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines clarity as lucidity, clearness of thought.

Writing with clarity can be a difficult aspect of writing. There isn't a GPS for clarity. And, no matter how clear you think you are conveying a particular sentence, paragraph, or theme, the reader may not be able to see what you intend - you've missed the clarity mark.

How does this happen?

Missing the clarity mark may happen even if you have clearness of thought; if that clearness of thought or intent doesn't translate onto paper, you will have missed the mark.

As the author, you know what you're thinking, what motives are involved, what you assume the reader should be seeing, or understanding-this knowledge may cloud your perception of what is actually being conveying. This clarity cloud can at times create a gap between what you think you're saying and what you actually say. This happens because as the author, you're too close to your own writing.

Think of a color. Now, think of a very specific hue or shade within that color. Now, try to write what you see or explain it.

This is what can happen with your story. You can see what's unfolding clear as day, the scene, the characters, and the intent. But, your vision may not translate with clarity onto paper. You may think it has, but that doesn't mean it actually has.

An example of this is a children's picture book I reviewed. The content and illustrations were well done, but there was one problem. The story ultimately was about the main character having to go through a metamorphosis in order to be accepted by others. This is what a reader, a child, might take away from the story. While the story had a number of good points, this one flaw was problematic. The authors knew what they intended, but that intent didn't show through. And, because they were so sure of their intent, they couldn't see that the take away value of the story could be anything but what they intended.

Fortunately, there is help in this area: a critique group. Every writer who is writing a manuscript should belong to a critique group. Having three, six, or ten other writers, who write in the same genre, will help you find many of the pitfalls in your story. They are the unknowing audience. They have no perceived conception of your story, so they will be able to see where it goes astray and where it lacks clarity.

For more on writing, ghostwriting, freelance writing, and promotion visit: http://KarenCioffi.com While you're there, be sure to sign up for Karen's FREE monthly newsletter, A Writer's World, and get TWO FREE e-books on writing and marketing in the process. For writing services visit: http://DKVWriting4U.com

14 Comments on Guest blogger: Writing With Clarity, by Karen Cioffi, last added: 1/13/2011
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