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Editing Karma

11/25/2014

I recently gave feedback to an editing client about the interplay of title, theme, and ending. Then, last weekend, I received a revision request for a short story I submitted to a magazine almost nine months ago: "Not sure if it accomplishes enough in the end, but it's tightly written with good action and an interesting idea. I think it's lacking a core of deeper meaning; the writer could dig a bit deeper and really say something."

Time to take my own editing medicine!

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Let the Readers Feel Smart

11/19/2014

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. . . but don't make your characters stupid.

I'd credit this if I could, but I can't remember who said it: Give readers just enough clues to figure out the next step or the answer to a problem in your story just before the characters do. It makes the readers feel smart and keeps them engaged.

I think this is great advice, although I don't know that every book needs to follow it. What I do know, however, is how far it can go wrong if you can't judge what "just enough" means. I'm reading a story now by an author I usually enjoy, and it's taking the characters so long to figure out what's going on I'm beginning to think they're stupid.

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Editing Karma

Let the Readers Feel Smart

Torah Cottrill

Buy My Books
(my stories appear in these)

Archives

The Far Side of the World:
the blog of my Japanese adventures

Editing Karma

Let the Readers Feel Smart

Torah Cottrill

Buy My Books(my stories appear in these)

Archives

The Far Side of the World: the blog of my Japanese adventures

Buy My Books
(my stories appear in these)

The Far Side of the World:
the blog of my Japanese adventures