Guest post: Like Fine Wine, Good Writing Takes Time

 

 

Like Fine Wine, Good Writing Takes Time

by Patti Townley-Covert

 

Many years ago, after a dramatic affair on a cruise ship with a sexy Norwegian navigator, I decided I wanted to write a book. But there were some strong reasons to wait. In fact, I waited almost 30 years. Now I’m not recommending you wait that long, but taking my time made a tremendous difference to my story—and waiting could make a difference to yours. Here’s why.

The necessary skill takes time to develop. Writing for publication is different than writing for a school assignment. Although you may have a gift for words, understanding the craft of writing takes effort. The more story-telling techniques you apply, the more vivid your story becomes. Learning to evoke emotion takes skill.

There are many ways to learn the craft of writing for publication. Reading books on writing is not only fun, but engages your creativity with ideas. My two favorites are Writing for Story by Jon Franklin and Make Every Word Count by Gary Provost. Because they’re so powerful, I’ve reread each of them several times over the years.

Practice. Practice. Practice. If your story means as much to you as mine did to me, it’s beneficial to write—lots. An professional editor/mentor told me a great way to develop my skill was to write letters—in today’s world that may equate to emails.

For a few years, I wrote a prisoner—a man who had murdered his wife. We dialogued about all kinds of issues, and as I strived for clarity of important points, I grew in my craft. In fact, I met that guy because of a magazine article I’d written.

Another way I practiced was journaling. This helped me understand my story better. I certainly didn’t want to encourage people to have affairs, yet my romance was electrifying. As I grew in my ability to communicate, I became able to define the problems in terms of my character. This helped me grow as a person and gave my story relevance for today’s young adults (and many others), who long for intimacy.

All that practice led to an incredible career. I never dreamed I’d develop and lead an editorial team at a science/faith think tank. As I edited brilliant scientists (one worked on the Mars rover), I learned to identify problems with their writing, and that helped me identify problems with my own.

Crucial events may still be in the making. Although my story starts in the early seventies, this past two years gave my story relevance. COVID, the devastating withdrawal from Afghanistan, the injustice of George Floyd and resulting civil unrest all paralleled problems I experienced as a young adult. As 2020-2021 unfolded, I finally had the scenarios I needed to pull the pieces of my story together.

Your story may be much easier to write. You may be more highly gifted than me—I had to work really hard to learn. But the delays also gave me time to grow and become ready for success should I achieve it. Being visible as an author carries certain responsibilities including putting forth a story worth reading.

The other day I described my story to a beloved relative, who isn’t much of a reader. He said “Wow! That’s my story.” Because I took the time my book needed, it actually carries a message he relates to. And that’s the best kind of success.

 

An award-winning freelance writer and editor, Patti Townley-Covert is the author of The Windblown Girl: A Memoir about Self, Sexuality, and Social Issues. Concern for young adults trying to escape life’s pain infused this page-turner with a message relevant for today.

 

Patti’s written numerous magazine articles for national and international publications such as Life Beautiful, HyVee, and Facts and Trends. As a founding member of the anti-human trafficking organization, Every ONE Free, Patti co-wrote Do ONE Thing: Enlisting in the Battle Against Human Trafficking. Now, her bi-weekly blog focuses on justice issues and exchanging cultural lies for truths that have withstood the test of time.

 

Patti’s done the limbo in the Caribbean, gone on a King Crab Safari in the Arctic Circle, and will soon explore Denali National Park. While at home, she plants pansies and experiments with drought-tolerant gardening.

 

website: ptcovert.com

Blog: ptcovert.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patti.townleycovert

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-townley-covert-973b4614/

 

9 top tips to determine if your memoir is ready to be published

  

Ready to publish? Are you sure? Come have a look at my latest guest post, this time on Writing Advice with B. Lynn Goodwin.

9 TOP TIPS TO DETERMINE IF YOUR MEMOIR IS READY TO BE PUBLISHED

"Get Caught Reading" by Bedazzled Ink Publishing

  

 

What an honor to be featured on my publisher's blog today!

My interview on Ebook Showcase

 Come join me on Ebook  Showcase as Graham Higson and I discuss my new book, Uprooted, and what it was like to be a young woman in the ground-breaking woman's rights era of the 1970s.

 

 

Tips for writing great dialog

 

 

With no idea how to write a book, somehow, I wrote one. Naturally, it needed work. Lots of work. Then I discovered the challenges of writing dialog. What to say without sounding forced? Or lame? Or ridiculously boring? How could I make it move the story along instead of just filling blank pages? And dialog tags—“He said, she said,” were good enough for me. I focused on an engaging story.

At one point, someone gave me a long list of dialog tag options that went way beyond said or asked. I’d never seen such a list. What fun! If such a list existed, it must be acceptable to use them, right? I dove into my manuscript. While I didn’t change all of the “boring” he said, she saids, I added words that I thought were more colorful, vibrant, interesting. Feeling confident, I believed that my writing had finally come alive, and began the quest for a literary agent.

My wake-up call came a few months later, when an agent chastised me for using “bellowed” instead of “said.” Stunned, I thought: What’s wrong with using bellowed? It fit the character and the scene. Her comment said if written correctly, I didn’t need rely on verbs to replace said. She said they were annoying and amateur. Yikes! Determined to understand what I’d done wrong, I researched the basics behind writing good dialog. An eye-opening, if not embarrassing, education.

If you are new to writing dialog, or find it challenging, what I learned after getting my hand slapped might be of value.

Here’s the deal:

Good dialog can do miraculous things for your story. Aside from helping readers get to know the characters and how they interact, it’s a great way to move the story along without long passages of narration. With good dialog, you can share backstory, avoiding the dreaded “info dump,” explaining relationships, conflicts, past history, etc. A conversation between your protagonist (or you) and other characters, or between two characters about your protagonist (or you), are also great ways to divulge important information a bit at a time.

Those are efficient ways to use dialog. But even more important is dialog structure. There are a number of nuances that can make your conversations between characters great, or send them into the proverbial trash can. What are the no-nos I learned?

Straying from conventional dialog tags.

“Pointed out, informed, chastised, mentioned, breathed, repeated, echoed, declared, hissed, snarled, muttered, jabbed, snapped, interrupted, announced, admitted, lied”…all scream lazy, ignorant, or amateur writing. Why? It takes creative writing to accomplish good dialog. Remember show not tell? Dialog is where you can shine. Think about this: Said and asked are invisible to the reader. The above-mentioned words stand out, and not in a good way. Don’t treat the reader like they are stupid. Show them action.

“I’ll have you know that Irene didn’t have a clue what she was doing,” Cathy informed Iris.

Does your reader really need you to tell them that Cathy is informing Iris? No, it is self-explanatory.

“I think you are completely wrong about that!” announced Fred.

Does your reader really need you to tell them that Fred is announcing? No. The exclamation point gives the clue.

Granted, sometimes yelled, cried out, or whispered are totally appropriate. The key is to use these sparingly, though. This isn’t a case of too much of a good thing, it’s a case of a not-good thing that is used too much. 

Are you thinking: "But I see this all the time in books written by best selling authors!" 

You're right. You do. Personally, I won't read a book written this way, and I don't think I'm alone. To quote from a New York times Book Review, "The book may sell in the millions, but it's still junk." I sure don't want to be accused of writing junk.

Anyway, back to the use of said. While I prefer that, it’s also important that you avoid using said too often.

“I don’t care!” said Sheila.

“That’s obvious,” said George.

“How dare you!” said Sheila.

“Give it a rest.” said George.

Line after line of he said, she said, he said, she said, will drive your reader crazy.

There are far better ways to deal with back-and-forth exchanges. One excellent way is to use action beats, which means you can skip the tag altogether. For example:

Sheila swirled around the room like a tornado, anger building with each revolution. “I don’t care!”

George leaned against the sofa, taking a nonchalant puff off his cigar. “That’s obvious.”

Sheila’s pacing abruptly stopped. She stared at George, her eyes fiery. “How dare you!”

With a deep sigh, George crossed his arms and frowned at her. “Give it a rest.”

Notice how not one he said or she said is used here. That’s because they are not necessary. We know who is talking by the proceeding or subsequent action. Also, if there are only two people in the scene, you don't usually need to remind the reader who is speaking in every single line.

Relying on adverbs.

Sometimes writers feel the need to adding adverbs. However, adverbs can weaken your writing.

“Oh my, you’re so funny,” Sheila said laughingly.

The following examples are far better:

“Oh my, you’re so funny,” Sheila said, laughing.

Sheila laughed. “Oh my, you’re so funny.”

“Oh my, you’re so funny,” Sheila said. She then laughed.

This indicates that Sheila is laughing after she spoke, rather than while she’s speaking. Can you laugh while you are speaking? Probably not.

“I had no idea!” Sheila said with surprise.

This is a weak tag, even without an adverb. It’s far better to show through action how Sheila is surprised…show us!

Making dialog sound too formal.

Try to pay more attention to how people talk, either in person or on TV.

“I think we need to discuss our son raiding the kitchen late last night,” George said.

Sheila set down her book to look at him. “I thought we were going to paint the kitchen this weekend.”

“You are changing the subject.”

Sheila’s face registered confusion. “Why would you say I am changing the subject?”

People rarely use full sentences, and when asked a question, they don’t answer it! They also use contractions more often than not. This conversation is probably more realistic:

“Let’s discuss our son’s kitchen raid late last night,” George said.

Sheila set down her book to look at him. “Weren’t we going to paint the kitchen this weekend?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

Sheila’s face registered confusion. “What?”

Trying something unconventional.

A new and annoying trend to avoid (unless you are famous): Not using quotation marks. This is completely my personal opinion, but there are a few truly wonderful authors out there who have decided to be different and not use quotation marks. I just don’t get why. Quotes help the reader to keep track of who is talking. Without them, it’s easier to get lost. Why do these authors avoid conventional dialog punctuation? Maybe to be different; maybe to set a mood. If you are a new author, it’s best to stick with what works.

Mastering dialog isn’t rocket science. Once you get the hang of it, you will discover how it can make your story better. And it’s all about a better story, right? 

I highly recommend you check out the book Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King. Chapter 5 is especially helpful with dialog structure. While this book mentions fiction writing, it applies to nonfiction and other writing as well.