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From the Reading Chair

Developmental editor Laurel Cohn shares insights, tips and advice on writing and editing your work, and discusses how to navigate the sometimes tricky terrain of the development phase, in order to reach your publishing goals

Pull up a seat and settle in

Over the last three decades and more I’ve worked with hundreds of writers, many of whom have gone on to be successfully published. Not one of them has ever said, ‘Oh, that was easier than I thought it would be!’

I don’t say this to put you off, but to be real with you about the challenges and the joys that are part of what it means to be a writer.

From the Reading Chair offers my perspective on some of the issues I see writers wrestle with both on the page, and off the page.

Laurel

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Opening Chapters

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Openings are crucial. If the opening pages of a story are weak chances are no one will ever get to the middle, let alone the end.

Opening Sentences

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

The very best opening sentences draw us in because they are like portals to a whole universe. They give promise of what is to come.

Character Arcs

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Plot is shaped as much by the emotional journey of the central character as it is by the events of the story. The two are interlinked.

Revealing Character: Telling Details

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

It works best when we get to know characters gradually, piecing together defining details about them over the course of the story.

Knowing your characters

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

You need to know more about your characters than your reader is ever going to know.

Mapping Your Story Part 1: Chapter Outlines

Rewriting and editing, When you're done, Writing tips

Doing a chapter outline after a completed draft maximises the leap forward in the next draft.

Mapping Your Story Part 2: Scene Outlines

Rewriting and editing, When you're done, Writing tips

Scene outlines are a key strategy in developing work for publication.

From writer’s draft to reader’s draft

Rewriting and editing, The writing life, When you're done, Writing tips

Getting from writer's draft to reader's draft is a process. Which development phase are you in?

Cutting 100K words to get the manuscript over the line: an interview with Kyra Geddes

Rewriting and editing, The writing life

'It was EXTREMELY difficult for me to take in the suggested cuts and edits. At times I wasn't sure I could sustain the mental or physical energy needed to see it through...

Copyediting or structural editing? What do I need?

Rewriting and editing, When you're done

What are the different types of editing, and when do you need them?

Writing Self-help Part 3: Finding Your Voice

Writing tips

You may be an excellent facilitator, good with blogs, and effective with one-on-one clients – but writing a book is another whole way of reaching an audience.

Writing Self-help Part 2: The Mix of Content

Writing tips

The content of your self-help book will likely contain a range of ingredients, a mix of material, so it's important to understand the role of each ingredient.

Writing Self-help Part 1: Clarity of Purpose

Writing tips

The self-help genre, also known as personal development, is as popular as ever with readers, and also with writers. The more you understand about the genre, the better.

The Value of a Mentor

Rewriting and editing, The writing life, Writing tips

A writing mentor can help you understand your work and your practice in new ways, and help you navigate the often tricky emotional terrain of writing a book.

Are You Paying Attention?

Rewriting and editing, The writing life, When you're done, Writing tips

One of the keys to success for a writer is an ability to pay attention to the macro as well as the micro, to the mundane as well as the sublime.

Deadlines: pros and cons

The writing life

One of the greatest challenges of working on a long format writing project is staying on course. Can deadlines help you get there?

Story Design

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Theme. Plotlines. Characters. Backstory. Point of view. The artistry in developing work for publication lies in understanding how these elements work together to create your story design.

Vital Organs Part 3: The Central Event

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

The central event is the one event the book cannot do without; it is central to and creates the story. Without it, the book collapses like a house of cards.

Vital Organs Part 2: The Major Dramatic Question

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

To develop your work and create a strong story structure, it is crucial to understand the major dramatic question that lies at the heart of your story.

Vital Organs Part 1: Story Essence

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Where does the real story lie? What is the essence of your tale? What are you really trying to say? What is it about?

AI and the Creative Urge

The writing life

AI might be able to draft a synopsis, but can it satisfy the creative urge?

Endings

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

When you are crafting your ending, think about whether you have said what you wanted to say. Are there any loose ends? Are there story questions posed that aren’t answered?

Point of View Part 3: First or third? First and third?

Writing tips

The key to choosing point of view is understanding the relationship you want the reader to have with the characters and events of the story.

Point of View Part 2: Degrees of Distance

Writing tips

Varying point of view distance allows you to control the relationship between the reader and the story to evoke specific responses.

Point of View Part 1: Using multiple points of view

Writing tips

When you choose multiple points of view, be mindful of the types of relationships you are building between the reader and the characters, and their purpose.

Listening to the written word

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Listening to the written word helps us understand the effects we create through word choices. Read your own work aloud. Edit with your ears. You'll ‘hear’ things that you may not ‘see’ on the page.

Managing subplots

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

The function and roles of subplots are important principles to understand, but there is no golden rule. That’s what makes the creative endeavour of writing fiction so alluring and at the same time so terrifying.

Scene and Summary

Writing tips

If scenes are the building blocks of story, summary is the mortar that holds the scenes together, and occasionally the keystone piece that supports the structure.

Connecting as writers

The writing life

A profile of writer and writing teacher Lisa Clifford

The Messy First Draft

Rewriting and editing, The writing life

It may be shambolic, confused, all over the place. It may be a train wreck. That's okay. It’s just the first draft. And first drafts are messy.

Writing a synopsis

Rewriting and editing, When you're done

Writers often moan and groan about writing a synopsis. But there's no escape; you're going to have to do it.

What Emojis Tell Us About Writing Good Dialogue

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Recently I’ve been prompted to consider why a fat, pink heart may say more to us than the word ‘love’ or ‘xx’, and what this tells us about writing good dialogue.

Prologues: the frame, the puzzle piece and the hors d’oeuvre

Writing tips

What is a prologue, exactly? And do I need one?

Behind the Successful Debut Book

Rewriting and editing, The writing life, When you're done

The 'overnight' success of debut books is usually built on a development process spanning many, many years.

What’s in a name?

Writing tips

Characters' names influence the reading experience in different ways. The choices you make are important.

Balancing Backstory

Writing tips

Ever been stuck at a party with a guy who wants to tell you all about himself? Too much backstory! The same is true with characters on the page.

Understanding Story Structure: Spinal care for writers

Rewriting and editing, Writing tips

Structural issues are common in both fiction and narrative non-fiction book-length works. Understanding story structure is key.

Sentence Length: Finding Your Rhythm

Writing tips

Does advice to trim and tighten your writing mean shorter sentence lengths?

Evoking readers’ trust

Writing tips

The books we tend to find most satisfying are the ones that evoke readers' trust by allowing them imaginative space to enter the story.

Critical Reading for Writers

Rewriting and editing, The writing life, Writing tips

Critical reading is an important skill for writers to develop. Don't underestimate the value of reading the works of others.

Writing a Memoir

Writing tips

It takes a deep commitment to write a memoir manuscript for publication. Are you prepared to take the plunge?

‘You owe it to your work’: The Structural Editing Process

Rewriting and editing

‘Editing is part of the creative process; don’t see it as separate from the writing process – you owe it to your work to deepen it.’

Revising your manuscript

Rewriting and editing

Successful writers understand that writing is mostly about rewriting. You can't avoid revising your manuscript.

What does an editor do?

Rewriting and editing, When you're done

How does an editor help a writer with their manuscript? What do they do?

Challenges for Emerging Writers

The writing life

The three main challenges and hurdles facing emerging writers.

Seeking Feedback

When you're done

The right sort of feedback, from the right reader, at the right time will, without a doubt, make you a better writer.

Managing Feedback

The writing life, When you're done

We may not have control over the feedback we receive, but we do have control over the way we respond to it and what we do next – how we manage it.

When am I Done?

The writing life, When you're done

Knowing when your work is ready to be launched into the wider world can be a difficult thing to pin down.

Recharging your Batteries

The writing life

Sometimes writers' energy for a project becomes depleted. Just as batteries run down and need recharging over time, so do writers.

Surviving Rejection

The writing life, When you're done

‘Resilient writers think of success and rejection as a package deal: If we want to accept writing success when it comes, we must be willing to accept writing defeat when it happens.'

Building Resilience as a Writer

The writing life

How do you survive the development phase of a manuscript? How do you build resilience as a writer?

Self-publishing Skillset: Jack of all trades

When you're done

To be a successful self-publisher you have to be a 'Jack of all trades'.

Sending Your Manuscript out

When you're done

It can be confronting to let go of your precious baby and send your manuscript into the wider world of professional readers: assessors, editors, agents, publishers.

Self-publishing Steps to Publication

When you're done

Thinking of self-publishing? Make sure you understand what's involved.

Narrative Momentum

Writing tips

Narrative momentum is that urge that makes you want to keep turning the pages.

Trimming and Tightening Text

Rewriting and editing

Trimming and tightening text is a little like pruning in the garden to increase the quality of flowering and fruiting, to remove deadwood, and to improve the overall structure and shape.