First Word

I see authors fall into this problem: writing not just cliche characters but cliche scenes. Let me give you an example: a scene in a police department. Every single element is exactly what you would expect. The hot-head police captain, the lesbian police officer, the heated argument over the case. These kinds of staid and expected scenes lower the quality and originality of the storytelling. They accomplish critical negatives: the reader is non-plussed with the lack of imagination and knows exactly what to expect with the outcome, because it all so "been there done that". In fresh and original writing, the scene becomes less obvious and unexpected. In building originality, the writer decorates the canvas with new and colorful interactions. For example, instead of the hot-head police captain we have the soft-spoken maybe even effeminate leader who gets his way with a softer, kinder and more important unexpected approach. The female officer is a bohemian goddess who wears ina...

As a publisher and editor, I can literally tell on the first page of a manuscript whether the book is going to end on the acceptance or rejection pile. I'm sure all you authors out there are eager to hear what to avoid if you want to get through the gatekeeping process. Tell it all on page 1 . How could you possibly do that on a single page, well, you would be surprised. Some authors give the book's big reveal on the very first page. They think this technique effectively draws in the reader -- and it could if you're a master of the storytelling process. Truth is, most new authors are not masters of that process, and the big reveal only serves to ruin the book's chances of getting accepted. So unless you're super talented and can pull that one off in some clever, interesting way, I don't recommend you approach your book's story that way. Passive voice and cluttered writing . Two-hundred adjectives strung together with a lot of passive voice is a big no, n...