Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Writing and Other Resolutions.

Like most writers, except for the rare hermit-type, I'd love a NYTimes best seller. Then I can hire a cutthroat publicity team to make sure my novels are out there, without me harassing my friends, and strangers, to review, buy, etc.

For this year, 2018, I hope for better family relations. Why are relatives so stubborn? They never behave the way you wish they would (tongue in cheek). And I hope that my ailing mother makes it past her 90th birthday in May.

Well, these aren't resolutions, only wishes. I resolve to be kinder, calmer, to think before I react.
To not want to throw books or keyboards across the room when miffed.

Stop writing in the Passive Voice, though often I don't know what that entails.
Convince people that I have no 'narrators' in my stories, those are my characters' thoughts. I was taught not to add 'she thought' in a critique group. When you're in someone's POV every detail is in your character's thoughts.

And the bigee of 'show' don't 'tell.' I love to show, but often get it wrong. I will work on that one.

Eliminate 'could', 'would,' and no 'should', when possible. Delete those 'there was' and 'it was.' Pretty soon, few words are left to form a sentence.

But every writer has their own voice, and I notice the majority of best-selling authors don't follow any of this advice. These writers even have the audacity to write in incomplete sentences!

I dislike that everyone wants stories to be fast-paced, no nuance, no in-depth characterization. Just action, action. I guess I was born in the wrong era. While writers of yore can be too flowery, or have inner thoughts that run for pages, the classics are classic for a reason.

Most of all I resolve to keep writing and learning and becoming a better person all around (how is that for too many 'gerunds'?)
 
My just released novel is On a Stormy Primeval Shore:

In 1784, Amelia sails to New Brunswick, a land overrun by Loyalists escaping the American Revolution, to marry a soldier whom she rejects. Acadian Gilbert fights to preserve his heritage and property—will they find love when events seek to destroy them?

Purchase on my BWL Author page
Or on Amazon
Visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.
 

3 comments:

  1. Enjoyed the post. I agree with all those things and I do them repeatedly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not ready to throw in the towel then? I agree with everything you said especially having a best seller in 2018. When that happens, I hope you don't forget we little people, who are fairly poor. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love Katherine's highly researched books--and need to get a review up for this one co-written with Jude Pittman. Nothing fictional about this story--which I was interested to see upon reading the notes at the end.

    ReplyDelete