really good tips. I write like that sometimes, masking emotion but I usually fix that in editing. you should do an editor tag. as a writer, I feel like you editors are kind of mysterious. I know what you do, but from an outside perspective and just from researching. maybe some questions could be: what is the best part about editing/being an editor? what genre or kind of genre do you prefer? have you ever gotten a manuscript that was really bad? what made it bad? one that was good and what made it good?
Christy! This is brilliant! Though I don't know how many editors are on BookTube... BUT, your questions are fantastic. I might have to incorporate them into a Q&A type vid or something. :)
I just wanted to say that I love your approach for this. Everyone's just yelling 'mistake this' and 'mistake that' and you seem to genuinely care about this and be much more gentle and thoughtful. Thanks for that.
These are all just such great tips. To expand upon dialogue tags: 1) eliminate any "he said/she said" if unnecessary, and 2) we were all taught in school that "said" is a lazy word and can be replaced by "queried," "whined," etc. but that is NOT TRUE. Lol. Also, your editor videos are amazing. More, please!
I'm no writer but I am an English teacher. I hate when writers misuse the word "literally," have comma splices, or don't have enough commas, such as after prepositional phrases. When I have to stop and figure out where a comma is supposed to go in order to have the sentence make sense, it really slows down the reading.
I edited this for you, Elie. I'm no writer but I am an English teacher. I hate when writers misuse the word "literally," have comma splices, or don't have enough commas, such as after prepositional phrases. When I stop to figure out where a comma is needed for the sentence to make sense, it slows reading.
I have so much admiration for this video :) I love writing stories, more so just for the fun of them, but am always wanting to improve on the way in which I convey them. I very much look forward to your continuation on in this series :) x As a pet peeve, I think it sort of sticks out when you can tell an author has done a lot of research into a subject/topic, so much so, that they don't want it to go to waste and end up going into a lot of depth about something which doesn't necessairly move the story along!
Thanks, Lorna!! Glad you enjoyed it. :) And AH yes, you are so right about the research thing. I call it "author intrusion," when the author slips information in just to show how much he or she knows about a topic, lol. Sometimes it adds to the story, but sometimes it's distracting for sure.
About began and started to: If I'm using a progressive verb like 'walking', then 'started' is cut from 'started walking'. If the verb is 'walked' and the distinction between when character started walking and when he finished is important and not immediately made apparent by the context, then I use 'started walking'
I find this videos so helpful! Every time I learn something new about what weakens the manuscript, I tend to go over it searching for these common mistakes. I would love to see more tips on how to strengthen the writing.
I'm so glad I found this channel! Most other booktube channels only do bookhauls, so I'm super happy that this channel has other types of content. And this was such a great video! I have no plans to ever write a book, but it was super interesting to learn about some mistakes authors make. :)
Yes, I would love more editor talk! I love how empathetic you are to new authors. I'm trying to teach myself that craft at the moment, and I'm a bit hungry for information. :)
My pet peeve as a reader is when the author over-describes something or someone, especially using flowery or poetic language. I don't care that the boy's eyes are as blue as the sea on a cloudless sunny day. I don't need to know every single thing in a way-too-detailed room description. Unless that antique, gold rimmed, hand-painted vase is essential to the plot, I don't care that it's there. By the way, loved this video, and I subscribed. I'm ready to see more.
Thanks you! so true, I loved this video, all the things you said applied to the book I am working on. You are direct and not at all wishy-washy with your words. You make point and make it easy to understand. Thanks for your help!
So glad I found this because I been writing since middle school in and out because never thought i could do such a thing so I would give up for years and then pick up writing few years later and same limbo until now, finally taking writing serious and pursuing to get better to make it to my dream career and hobby. Its crazy that many of these things I do and always try to correct it as I write. You're so right there is this stigma with editors lol, but I agree that as an aspiring author myself and published authors we need that criticism and direction. Thank you so much for these tips. P.S be my future editor! haha.
The starting point should be working out what people look like or what they do when they're confused. Then say that the character is doing it. For instance, don't say "she had an angry look upon her face." Say something like "her face reddened as she clenched her fists and she kicked the chair across the room."
I'm writing my first manuscript and if God willing I ever get it completed, I can't wait to have an editor tear it a new one! - I went to school and had a career in art, so I am all for critiques! - I am trying to find beta readers amongst my trusted friends to get early feedback and no one's biting, so having an editor to work with would be like a dream, lol.
This was very educational and made me as a writer more aware of things I hadn't thought of before, thank you! My pet peeve as a reader is when words get repeated waaay too much when they really didn't need to
Mollie, I love your videos because they are straight forward..."She speaks with quiet strength"..lolI love to read and I have done some editing for friends and family in the past. I feel very cute throat while doing it because sometime 2 sentences is enough, but I get 2 pages. That is hard. I agree that the simple approach is best. When I read I don't like it when there are different delivery methods as the story unfolds. Letters, dialogue, texts if that's what you're into, historical documents, I think that spices things up!Much success to you!
Thanks, Najeebah! I appreciate it. :) I agree that different forms of content (letters, historical documents, journals, or even recipes!) can "spice things up." Thanks for watching! xx
My number one pet peeve? I realize writers have opinions and sometimes they try to convey them in their writings, but I don't like it when they create contrived situations to prove their point. The two that spring to mind were religious in nature. In one fantasy book, apparently set either in our past or an alternate version of our present, it was "proved" that the Bible was false because elves are immortal and they didn't see any of that Bible stuff happen. This had nothing to do with the plot of the novel and was quite gratuitous. Now I am mature enough to tolerate characters with different religious beliefs from mine, but when a writer goes that far out of his/her way to pull a stunt like that it completely breaks my immersion in the story. I encountered an almost identical plot in another story, but instead of elves it was aliens. They'd been monitoring the human race for millenia and none of that Bible stuff happened according to the aliens. In a similar vein I don't like it when again, in order to endorse their own particular ideology, an author does what I call "stacking the deck". I won't name names, but a certain author I encountered was wont to do the following. This author would create a world in which the people sharing the author's ideology were almost flawless. Those who did not share the author's ideology were mean, nasty, stupid, ugly caricatures by comparison to the intellectual, beautiful, sweet-natured people sharing the author's ideology. In a Romeo/Juliet sort of way, one person from the "bad group", a good-looking, intelligent, idealistic, but sadly misguided individual would develop a love interest with the main character. Before the end of the novel the love interest would have completely converted over to the protagonist's way of life, repudiating his/her former values. I read about three books by the same author with basically that same plot before I promised myself to never, ever, ever read another book by that author again. A writing style mistake I truly abhor is dialog where you have to go back and re-read it over and over to figure out who said what. I realize using "said" over and over again can be a bit repetitive, but when a writer abandons that, they should still insert clues. A similar style mistake I hate is when the character through whose eyes we see the story changes without warning, explanation, or clues. I'm okay with changing characters. But please drop a hint somewhere that lets me know it's happening! I hate figuring out a page or two after the fact that I've been reading about a different character and didn't even know it. My last pet peeve is RU-vid commenters who make ridiculously long posts. Hahaha! Just kidding!
A writer is always going to reflect their own views in their work but in showing those views as belonging to those characters who are otherwise perfect they are also showing that to be their view of themselves, worrying.
Major suggestion: Read Stephen King’s “On Writing”...you’ll get all of this and much more. This is good advice she’s giving. King really cuts to the chase and makes it so clear just by the talent he has with words.
Great video. I'm also an editor (in Swedish). I see it as an editor to help the author to make his/her text the best possible. As an editor you are a helper, and you help the author to make his/her text shine.
Jenny that's awesome! Love that. I wish more authors could think of editors as a helper! Although, I can understand how it would be intimidating to pass along your work for critique.
I loved every bit of this. Thank you for taking the time to make this, and to explain it all so simply. I tend to feel like I have a handle on these things as a published author, but the reminders are always worth-while. And I, too, looooooove to nerd out on these sorts of topics!
Love this video. I am currently working on my first book and this information is so helpful. I hope you continue with these types of videos. I was wondering if you had a website for you editing business? I do not need an editor yet but I will once I'm done. Thank you.
Awesome! As an author I'm always looking for tips on how to improve stuff. I totally agree with the whole "show don't tell," especially with descriptions of people's behaviour. Like if someone frowns and says "what do you mean?" it's obvious they're confused. Saying someone gave a confused look doesn't really explain what that face even looks like, since everyone has their own facial expressions etc. It's hard sometimes to know the balance between not enough description and too much though, but I think that just comes with a lot of practice and reading.
Very cool!! I didn't know you were an author. :) Yeah, the whole "show don't tell" thing is always tricky. There is totally a balance that comes with practice and reading! xx
Hello! I'd like to sort of contest part of your third point or, more accurately, ask you for some clarifications on it. I agree that unnecessary interruptions in dialogue are a major put-off in pieces I read, yet I find myself using them fairly often. A quick look through some of my dialogue scenes left me with the impression that, for the most part, I employ this device to better the scene's flow, and I think it's working out for me. I never do it in short exchanges between characters, but when there's more extensive, uninterrupted dialogue, I like to sprinkle in bits of narration, such as subtle motions or changes in expression, and I think that benefits the overall scene. One example I have at the ready includes one of the characters adopting a sharper tone and leaning forth to intone the latter half of their dialogue, so I briefly close the quotation and describe their movements, such as narrowing of the eyes etc. before continuing. I feel that without this device the parts with extensive dialogue would become somewhat monotone, failing to illustrate ongoing events as vibrantly as they could. I also tend to break quotations after the character's first sentence or period, throw in a verb, then let the character finish the rest of their part uninterrupted. ["Yes, I suppose," she replied, playfully arching a brow. "But have you considered..."] It somehow feels more organic like that, though it may well just be a stylistic choice of mine. So, what do you think? Are this practices just inherently damning, am I perhaps misusing them in some way? And of course, I try not to abuse them. All's well in moderation. Penny for your thoughts? :)
I think she meant unnecessary interruptions such as he said/she said (if it's obvious who's talking). Your using action to enhance what they are saying which adds weight to what they are saying and stops the conversation from feeling like it's taking place in a blank space.
This was really interesting! I definitely notice the first one "x emotion rose in her" - did it though? I love to see characters fiddling with the sleeve of their jacket rather than read that nervousness hit them. I would love to see more editor-based videos, it's not something I see around! :)
Thank you for this! Ngl I clicked expecting to hear some of the same tips other videos have touched on countless times, but the first point was such a specific way of looking at "show don't tell" I'd never heard it like that before. The others were explained super well too. This is definitely going to help me.
Mollie, I loved this video! There are so many aspiring authors here that have done so many videos about the creation of a novel and this is the side we really don't see much. I would love to see you continue this series as I am sure there are so many authors out there that will watch this! Keep up the good work...this is getting tweeted.
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the kind words. It's definitely something I enjoy talking about and have nothing but respect for authors who create, create, revise, revise, revise. Haha! xx
Thank you for this video! I love your approach to editing, and it's a pleasure listening to you talk:) The point about masking emotions with verbs was something I never thought about!
So glad I came across this. I'm just putting some finals notes to my outline and will be starting my first draft within the next couple days. I'll definitely keep an eye out. Thanks.
She suggested we show, not tell. That sentence is telling. Showing would be: "She burst into the room, slamming the door behind her. For a few seconds, she frantically groped for a latch or bolt but found no way to lock the door. Instincts told her this was no time to rest. Yet she needed to catch her breath, even her muscles protested in pain. She gave in. She leaned forward and clasped her knees for support, while her muddied blond hair slid off her shoulders and beads of sweat ran down her cheeks, finally dripping down her small nose. Two deep, filling breaths were all she could get before it came again. Footsteps. Wood cracked and creaked in the hallway beyond the door. A chill ran up her spine and she cringed, moving backward and away from the now frail-looking door. Then, like a car pushed to a forced start, instincts took over again and spun her around, despite her aching legs. Facing her rose two doors; both plain, and neither as decrepit as the one she'd crossed before. They were identical. Which one should she open? Did either lead to freedom outside this damned mansion and its twisted grounds? She stared left, she glanced right. Even her instincts could not move her. Meanwhile, the footsteps grew slowly louder. They were reaching the door. But how could she decide? She knew nothing of the place or what was behind those doors. Desperation had her shaking and she felt warm tears join the blood and sweat on her face. Where would she go?"
Johnny Me This is a painfully generic work of prose. Nothing incorrect about it, it was readable and told the story, but the writing was quite forgettable and didn't evoke a certain "voice", if you will. I don't think a piece like this would be picked up by a publisher compared to anything else. For an example of what I mean by "voice", take Hemingway and Rowling for example. They both write in a rather simplistic manner, with language a 5th grader could understand, but they each are unique in the way they frame the prose. You could see a new paragraph by Hemingway and immediately be able to tell that he wrote it, same with pretty much all the celebrated authors of the last 500 years. I think you could become a proficient writer, I really do, but if you want to be regarded for your good prose (as I'm assuming you, and most other authors for that matter, do) then you may have to work a bit more at finding your own style, rather than being an imitation of your contemporaries.
Thot Police I'll find my voice soon enough. I only recently began taking writing seriously. The more I read and the more I write, the sooner that will be. But I agree, neither me nor the generic and soon-to-be-dead character had much of a voice in that short scene. If you have any idea how to help me "find" my voice, I'm all ear-- eyes, I mean. Whichever you prefer.
Johnny me: The first half of this is good, the rest not so good. It's all tell, almost the author commenting on her state. It's difficult to know without context what is telling her that there's no time to rest, but "instincts" isn't helpful. I am assuming that someone is trying to find her, so let's have him yell her name or give us the sounds of him stomping around trying to find her. Perhaps have her lean against a wall panting or something, to show she's tired and breathless. How you do know if someone is tired and breathless? Watch marathon runners at the end and see what they do. They don't stand there and say, "oh, I'm tired and breathless". They crouch down or sit or lie down panting.
Even though I'm not a writer, I'm still really interested in the process books go through on their way to being published, so yes I'd love to see some more editor talk videos!
Fantastic video! So interesting to hear all these things! I love learning about writing and editing novels, even though I'm not a writer or editor myself. I'm really looking forward to the next Editor Talk videos!
This is amazing!! i'd personally love to know more about the editing world. What do you study, how is the studying process and all that stuff. Sadly, here in Argentina the concept of being an editor is a little bit ambiguous so i'm really happy of finding your channel!
Thank you so much for this video! It really does help! I am currently writing a book but I never get past 100 pages because I always go back and edit and change things. The first, the very very first draft was as slow as a snail, but now I believe (since my writing has changed) that the story has evolved into something else. I'm proud of it, but too scared to finish it.
SO glad to hear that my video is helpful!! You are brave for even getting 100 pages in. I know editing can stifle the creativity sometimes though. Sometimes you just have to push past the first rough ROUGH draft before the story evolves... sounds like you're well on your way. ;)
love this. i learned a lot. it makes me reflect on my own work and mentally pinpoint the mistakes😂 thank you for this. God bless and please do more of this. very enlightening👍
That started to... began to... reminded me of something I discovered I was doing. I wrote. He felt blah blah... Then I was like... why not just write the feeling? Instead of telling people she/he felt this and that? XD So I'm re-writing that. :O
Very useful. I find it very easy to not info dump, I can slot it into a certain scene or a certain dialogue without it seeming unnatural and to not give anything away at once. I find this a major issue in the first books of fantasy series so is my number one thing to get right.
I'm a second-time author but like to think that I am starting over, and I think that this is a good video series that You should start. I also wrote You an email a couple of minutes ago.
Hey Mollie, great video! I think it would be a great idea for a series, so writers have an idea about what the readers think is most important at that moment, improving stories bottom-up and helping each other out :) For a reader, like me, I think it's interesting to watch as well to see if I recognize the things or not. Definitely would watch it!
Thank you so much! Glad to hear people like to nerd out with me, lol. I definitely have some other editor talk videos planned. Readers definitely have so much wisdom to offer writers when they are reading the same genre over and over. Recognizing patterns and/or small but common mistakes, i.e., having a critical eye, can help a new author SO much.
Hey Christy! Thanks for watching!! Glad to hear it was interesting/helpful. :) I love talking about this stuff with aspiring writers!! Good luck on your future work.
There are several different types of editors. Most people think of copy editors. The sole purpose of a copy editor is to add clarity to an author's work. Not add to it, not stifle voice, but to help the author reach into the reader's mind.
Hi Mollie! This is a great video, and I'm glad you decided to make something like this. I can tell that you are really passionate about writers and the writing process. I work for a literary agent, and I see some of things you mentioned while reading queries - especially the info dump in the first few chapters. It can be distracting, like you said, especially when the writing is really phenomenal otherwise. Sometimes I just want to call the author and talk through it with them because of the potential the story has. I'm thinking about making a similar video talking about how to tidy up sample chapters to send out to agents when the time comes. Thanks again for the vid, it was very articulate and helpful! :)
That's amazing! I love connecting with other people in the publishing biz, and I'm sure you see a LOT as a literary agent. The info dumping is so obvious, even in TV shows and movies. It's totally distracting! I love that you're going to make a video, too! Can't wait to watch it. I always think it's interesting to see how different industry pros have different perspectives/bits of advice. It really takes a village!! xx
Thank you! I now need to go through my story again and see if I do that last thing. Darn it! XD But thank you for telling us. If I don't know what I'm supposed to think about, I can't fix it. :)
Yay! This is an awesome video. I am really interested in being a part of the publishing industry when I graduate from school. You should definitely make more videos like this. Especially a video for aspiring editors. That would be really helpful. Thank you for sharing this video!(:
Mollie, I loved this. You should definitely keep making videos like this. I have never edited a novel, or even fiction, but I have edited many shorter pieces. And sometimes I find that when I am reading a novel, I read it with a critical eye. It's maybe not always the best because it can really take me out of the story, but I can't help myself. Is your editing mostly freelance? Or do work as an editor for a publisher? Just curious how you broke into that business!
THANKS, Katie!! Glad you enjoyed it. It's so hard to turn the editor brain off to just enjoy a book, haha. Yep, entirely freelance. I've worked with publishers in the past, but I mostly work with indie authors. I've slowed down with freelancing honestly because of my day job! I'm going to be doing a video on how to get into editing, so more to come on that! But if you ever want to chat about it, I'm around!! I like to nerd out about this stuff.
About editors: Of course in every group of people there will be good ones, but when someone has any kind of authority in their hands, the human thing to do is to abuse it. I think the best approach is to see the editor as space, and your manuscript as a rocket.
How applicable is this to children's books (Middle grade)? I can see the importance of "show don't tell" "don't over explain" etc. for adult audiences. However, how does one judge good writing for a non-adult audience, who's social intelligence is under development?
My Question regarding editors is that a lot of times it feels like they are trying to impose their own voice on my story; that the changes they suggest are not errors so much as statements of this is not how I would have written that. Like they are trying to become coauthors. I am open to editorial suggestions, but if they feel like attempts to change my voice, I am more resistant to implementing them.
Found this really interesting!! As someone who has self-published I kind of had to play the role of editor myself so it's helpful to know what to look for in my future work ;-)
Oooh, yes, you definitely have to wear so many hats when you're self-publishing! I've always admired authors to dive into self-publishing. It's not easy to do! Thanks for watching. :)!
I checked a few of your more recent videos and the microphone is a huge improvement. :) Another tip I can offer to help reduce the echo: give your microphone a fluffy hoody. Get a fluffy dishcloth (microfiber would be ideal if you layer several together) and fold it in a N shape several times lengthwise, then fold in in half so that your N pattern pulls a U turn: N|N. Place the inside of the U on your microphone and secure it with a thick rubber band. Now stretch from the top center of one side of the N shape and tuck it into the rubber band. You should now have a thick, fluffy hoody over your microphone thus muting sound that isn't directly in front of it.
Interesting video! I've been writing stories for a few years but I have yet to get far enough with a project to consider it polished enough to seek the next step in the process. I find dialogue to be hard to write mostly because I don't really understand how to format dialogue. I find Plays to have better notation being simpler than novels with the "he/she said" somewhere in the sentence. It feels slow and almost awkward. When I wrote dialogue it used to turn into overly long monologues. I'm working on that as that was mostly a tell versus show issue but I feel like all I am ever doing is making sure something or other makes sense rather than actually getting somewhere. x)
Oh that's awesome; I never thought about how Plays have better notation. Totally a fair point. Dialogue tags can feel awkward. I tend to like the simpler he/she said over he/she exclaimed, etc., and only when it's necessary, really. But sometimes even the simple he/she can feel like it slows everything down!
+Mollie Reads Due to my preference for Play notation I decided to turn a short story I'm working on into a Play and see what I think of it. Maybe it's something that suits my style better and as such worth trying :) I won't stop trying to make things sound good in the novel format but maybe there is another way of working with it so it doesn't get in the way as much! ^_^
It's such a tiny thing, but I hate when there are three or more people involved in a conversation, and the author begins to drop the dialogue tags, and I no longer have any idea who's talking. The statements are not distinct enough form me to know who's who, and then I have to stop reading, go back, and figure out who said what.
I'm thinking of becoming a writer so I can get an editor as cute as this one. I'd probably make lots of mistakes on purpose so we could interact more. Me: "So you're saying I should start sentences with capital letters and end sentences with punctuation? Okay, I'll try that." Her: "Don't take this too personally, but in the future I would prefer that you avoid turning in manuscripts written in crayon on napkins." Me: "What about yellow highlighter pen on cardboard? No? I would be so lost without your advice. You smell nice."
The problem w show, don't tell is that no one has ever clearly defined what these mean for me, and my rxperience has convinced me that you cannot show without telling, and that most forms of telling are forms of showing. Also, I have watched author videos that advise people to use telling because it uses fewer words, invoking less is more. For example, instead of writing a long description of how someone is angry, just say "he was angry"
i only use "starting" or "beginning" in dialogue tags. It really changes the idea if the character says something staring to walk than walking. And for the confused face tag, maybe they could have a straight face, or something. I don't see that one unnecesary...
I'm afraid I disagree. For instance, the word 'started' is not an extraneous word if used properly. For instance: 'I walked down the driveway' is simply a report of something that happened in the past. A statement. The reader hears about a moment after the fact that they did not experience alongside the protagonist, from somewhere in the past that is unspecified, which creates distance between the reader and the protagonist. Creating distance is not what any of us have in mind. 'I started to walk down the driveway' puts a thought in the reader's head tied directly to the moment the protagonist began this action. That is the power of the word 'started'. Now there is no temporal distance. The action is tied precisely to an active point on the timeline. There is kinetic motion happening 'right now'. The reader identifies temporally with that moment and it feels to them that they are shoulder to shoulder with the protagonist in that moment, almost as if it is happening to them, 'right now'. It only took seven extra letters to do that. If a reader reads at 250 words per minute, all they have invested is less than a quarter of a second in order to remove that distance and make the sentence stronger, not weaker. So it is not 'hardly worth mentioning'. On the contrary, it is absolutely worth mentioning. But the mention is about the potential power of that word, and not about how it is always an extraneous word. Because it isn't.
Thanks for this video. I love the idea of the cackling editor at their computer.....could make a good story! Please keep these going. Im a NaNo writer with two books now to edit and i WILL publish them, just need more editing tips so I can get that red pen out first. Do you have a website???
I'm having trouble with my summary. I've got it down to 600 words, which is too long, but rather like John Coltrane "It took that long to fit it all in" . I kind of feel like only somebody else could write the summary, but there isn't anybody else, so I've started sending it out like it is. If I don't get an agent by Christmas I'm going to self-publish, as I don't think it'll appeal to an agent anyway; this means I'll have to do a lot of the editing myself, although I've got somebody doing proofreading. Any ideas for tightening up the summary?
Hey Katie! I'm not really "in" publishing, as I'm just a freelance editor who works **mostly** with indie authors, but I plan to do a video on this topic. Definitely my best piece of advice is to join professional associations and meet other people who have been doing what you want to do for years. Majoring in English or an equally relevant degree is also super helpful, but I found that the classes I took AFTER college were honestly more helpful (copyediting courses, etc.) because they're more specific. xx
Whenever I read my own work, I always find places where I mix up tenses. I'm trying to write in past tense but find present tense in the text. It seems like, no matter how many times I read it, I always find more places it happens. Any suggestions?
No! I understand. It just that I hear so many stories of agents who threw a manuscript into the trash because it was addressed incorrectly or the spacing wasn't how they wanted it or some other trivial excuse when it may have been a masterpiece of writing. How many time have you heard of good writers being rejected many time by people who probably didn't even read it. J K Rowling comes to mind. Or Mem Fox who wrote a children's book "Possum Magic" and was rejected 50 time before selling 8,000,000 copies.
Thanks, Sophie! I think I might do a video one day soon on how I got into the editing gigs. :) Not that there is one "path" haha. Thanks for watching! xx
