A FANTASY ROMANCE
(The Goddesses Trilogy Book 1)
Feeling so blessed as the initial reviews for Editing Bootcamp start trickling in. Are you on the fence, wondering whether to give Editing Bootcamp a slice of your valuable time? Look at the reviews and decide for yourself:
A reader has highlighted the checklists on her Kindle because she is sure she’ll need them later on when she edits her book. Hey seabreeze, I don’t know who you are but if you email me, I’ll send you a PDF than you can print out and keep for your reference.
Ruch thinks I’ve “peeled the onion layer by layer.” Thanks, Ruch. I did try to be as detailed as I could within the word-count limit I had. Glad I could help!
Are you looking to self-publish on a low budget but can’t compromise on quality?
Do you want to polish your book before querying an agent?
Are you a newbie fiction editor wanting to learn developmental editing?
Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Learn the art of Self-Editing and purchase your copy of Editing Bootcamp here: mybook.to/EditingBootcamp
Buy Now with 1-Click! on Amazon
Looking to self-publish on a low budget but can’t compromise on quality?
Want to polish your book before querying an agent?
Are you a newbie fiction editor wanting to learn developmental editing?
Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.
Lots of books teach the craft of writing but not many focus on reworking, polishing, or self-editing. Learning editing skills shouldn’t be restricted to a privileged few. All writers should have access to strategies that can change a crude first draft into a polished work of art.
Editing Bootcamp will demystify the editing process by showing you how to spot and avoid common pitfalls, and correct the mistakes.
Inside you’ll find:
•Actionable steps for all stages of editing.
•Seven fiction elements including structure, point of view, characters, dialogue and more.
•Handy editing checklists.
Buy the book here and take your writing to the next level with this concise how-to guide. Edit yourself into print.
Join my newsletter for editing tips and future deals. Instantly download a free booklet Self-Edit your Fiction Like a Pro.
Effective story endings don’t merely satisfy the reader. It awes them.
An unforgettable ending will immediately make the reader want to re-read the book from the beginning. It will leave the reader chewing on the last scene long after closing the book. If your ending is effective, it will hook the reader into buying and reading your next book.
So, how do you create such an ending? What are the types of endings you can weave into your story? Let’s discuss.
In this ending, the author explains what happens to the characters in the future by following their lives. It is a way to tie up loose ends. These endings can sometimes feel rushed, so remember to foreshadow each character’s story arc.
Also, it doesn’t mean the ending has to be happy. Even if you’re leaving the reader heartbroken with a bittersweet ending, remember that it has to ‘feel’ right.
In this type of ending, the author switches up the story and take the readers by surprise. These ending are especially popular in Mystery or Thriller genres and are sometimes referred to as the ‘twist.’
Remember that though these endings are unexpected, they must make sense upon reflection. Again, there should be plenty of foreshadowing throughout the story for the twist to make sense.
This ending is used when an author doesn’t want to reveal everything about the character because they have a sequel in mind. It seems like the close of a chapter and gets the reader excited about the next.
But these are also the most controversial of all endings, especially because they are so hard to do well. If you are not careful, you’ll make the reader feel cheated instead of satisfied, especially more so if you’re a new writer and the reader doesn’t know when (or if) you’ll write the sequel!
The best way to create a cliffhanger ending is to tidy up all the plot points so the reader is satisfied, but let them know that a lot more is coming the character’s way.
This type of ending brings the reader back to the opening line/scene and feels like their journey has come full circle. This ending requires planning and editing to feel authentic instead of forced.
Sometimes, the last paragraph or the last line sums up what the author wanted to convey to the reader all along. Remember not to sound preachy though!
Now, let’s discuss how to craft a satisfying ending that ‘wows’ the reader.
The conflict gives readers the reason to keep turning the pages of the book. In the end, the readers expect a payoff. They want to know the answer to the question you have been asking.
Yup. Your character’s actions. Things you described in the beginning and middle of your story. Not hand of God. No deus ex machina, which, by the way, is the topic I will cover for X.
Endings are much more satisfying if the character makes them happen. The character faces the conflict head-on and a battle ensues. Maybe they’ll win or maybe they won’t. Either way, the reader is there to cheer them on. Now, wouldn’t they feel cheated if the fight were ‘fixed?’
Happy. Heartbroken. Pensive. Thrilled.
If you bring your characters and the conflict to life between the pages, the readers will care.
Here’s a cool poster to help you remember.
The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings by James Scott Bell.
Elements of Fiction Writing: Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress.
What kind of ending do you like best? Do you ever face problems while crafting your endings? Let me know in the comments.
Sign up to my newsletter for more tips like these. Subscribers get to download Self-Edit Your Fiction Like a Pro free.
Next up on the blog: F for Find & Replace.
– Dola.
Dialogues in fiction writing is a vast topic. So much so, that whole books have been written on this topic. It would’ve been a folly to cover everything about dialogues in a single blog post, so I thought of giving you a handy checklist instead–something you can use every time you sit down with your red pen to edit dialogues in your fiction manuscript. Here it is:
Here’s an infographic that you can download to help you remember correct punctuation for dialogues.
Some writers excel at writing dialogues. Others have to work really hard to get it just right. Which category are you in? Let me know in the comments.
Coming up: E for Endings. Stay tuned.
– Dola.
A comma splice is an error. It is a sentence in which a comma is incorrectly used to separate independent clauses in a compound sentence. A comma can be used to create a compound sentence, but such a sentence would need more than just a comma to be correct.
For example:
Your report is late, we were depending on you.
Fish travel in schools, whales travel in pods.
To confirm there is a coma splice, check if you can replace the comma with a period. Since the above comma splices can be divided into two sentences, it confirms that the original sentences are indeed compound sentences.
Your report is late. We were depending on you.
Fish travel in schools. Whales travel in pods.
The above examples are simple. A comma splice can get confusing in a long sentence when there are other commas present.
For example:
When I was sixteen, my mother gave me a pretty, milky-white pearl necklace, it belonged to Lady Ashley Lamb, an ancestor who married beneath her social status.
The third comma in the above sentence is creating a comma splice and is incorrect, but the other commas are correctly used. The sentence can be easily fixed thus:
When I was sixteen, my mother gave me a pretty, milky-white pearl necklace. It belonged to Lady Ashley Lamb, an ancestor who married beneath her social status.
Here are some common ways to fix a comma splice:
1. Separate the comma splice into two sentences using a period. But be careful of overdoing this because this results in short, choppy sentences–not something that is always desirable. Long comma splices are good candidates for this correction method.
When I was sixteen, my mother gave me a pretty, milky-white pearl necklace. It belonged to Lady Ashley Lamb, an ancestor who married beneath her social status.
2. Follow the comma with and, but, or, or another coordinating conjunction. This is the most common method of fixing a comma splice.
Fish travel in schools, but whales travel in pods.
3. Replace the comma with a semicolon. This method works best when you think the sentence doesn’t sound right with a coordinating conjunction.
Your report is late; we were depending on you.
Between You & Me – Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Morris
Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style
Have you written a comma splice before without knowing what it was? Do you think you will be able to recognize one and fix it after reading this? Do you have a question regarding comma splices? Let me know in the comments.
The next self-editing tip will be D for Dialogues. Stay tuned!
Want my editing tips in your inbox? Subscribe to my newsletter and download Self-Edit Your Fiction Like a Pro FREE.
– Dola.
Blurbs sell books. That’s their primary function—to get your books in the hands of readers. Its goal is not to give away your story but to compel the reader to pick up the book. You might know of it as a book description that is printed on the back cover of the book or appears on the description field of retailers like Amazon.
In this blog post, I’ll show you what to include in a blurb and help you deconstruct a blurb of a self-published bestselling novel to put things in perspective.
This is your hook, your chance to grab the reader by their throat. Make it short and make it punchy.
Most authors do not use a tagline, which is a mistake in this mobile age where almost everyone is browsing on their cell phones and only a few lines of the description text is displayed. This is your chance to make the reader click on the Read More button to read the rest of the blurb. Put it in bold—make it stand out.
You might have a great story, but the primary reason a reader will pick up a book is if they care enough for your main character. This is the paragraph where you need to introduce your main character. Tell us in a sentence who they are and what they want.
Make the next sentence about their conflict—the challenge they are facing to get their goal. In the third sentence, raise the stakes. Tell the reader what your character stands to lose. Their job? Their sanity? The love of their life? How about their world and everyone in it? The higher the stakes the better. Without consequences, a conflict lacks drama. Some authors also like to add a dramatic question in this paragraph to establish what’s at stake.
Add some paragraphs, some white space here so the reader doesn’t have to look at a big blob of text.
In this paragraph, show the reader why this book is for them. It’s also an opportunity to let them know what genre the book is, if it is part of a series etc. Identify a bestselling book or an author or a famous main character that shares the market of your book and mention it in this paragraph, so that you have an opportunity to let their fans know that your book is what they have been looking for.
Most authors end their blurb with a synopsis and hope the reader will scroll up and buy. The CTA asks the reader to do it, which much improves the chances of it happening.
Let’s see a blurb in action. This blurb is from Mark Dawson’s The Cleaner. Mark Dawson is a million-selling author and ranks among the Top 100 authors on amazon dot com.
—
MI6 created him. Now they want him dead. //Punchy tagline.
John Milton is an assassin for the British government, but he’s old and tired and wants to quit. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. Milton knows too much. The only way out of his job is in a box – there are no exceptions. //Main Character.
Milton goes on the run and meets a young mother who needs his help. Her son has been tempted by a life with a glamorous gang and the charismatic criminal who leads it. Milton must get the boy out of trouble – before it’s too late. //The Conflict.
And when his old agency sends another agent after him, the odds against him are stacked even higher. //Rising Stakes.
If you like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp, and Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne, you won’t be able to put down the compulsively addictive John Milton series. //Selling Paragraph.Scroll up and click Look Inside or Buy NOW. //CTA.
—
Notice how long the blurb is? Only 150 words. You may take a few more, but short is your best friend here. Normally, 150-250 words is the sweet spot you want to hit.
Do you have a question about blurbs? Did you find this post informative? Let me know in the comments.
Coming up tomorrow: C for Comma Splice. See you with a new tip.
Want my editing tips in your inbox? Subscribe to my newsletter and download Self-Edit Your Fiction Like a Pro FREE.
– Dola.