By Elizabeth Nguyen
As some of us are madly editing our manuscripts for agent pitches to be presented at the April Write Stuff Conference, Dianna Sinovic’s workshop comes at just the right time. As a certified book coach, author, and editor of her own company, Diasin Books LLC, Sinovic understands this process. It is a relief we are not alone and she is here to help guide us.
First, she advised authors to assess and have a strategic plan of action. The tips include being patient and looking at the whole manuscript. It’s important to be honest about flaws, remember the reader, and trust your feelings. Sinovic illustrated how to tackle the main points by breaking them down. This will be useful in maintaining timelines, the flow of the story, and clarity of thought. It will prevent those loose plot threads from dangling in the wind like laundry left out on a clothesline. She explained that bullet point outlines of each chapter and scene are recommended.
Things to analyze include the main point of the story, character arc, main conflict, story timeline, and overall plot. Remember to look at keeping the point of view consistent within each chapter. Stay calm, take your time, and audit your story for flow.
To tamp down your character’s scattered brains, check their logic. Does it make sense? Contradictions should be sharply drawn. The stakes need to be high, and the reader needs to know what the character stands to lose. Cause and effect are extremely important. Scenes have to be designed to drive the story forward, which will add tension.
While we further assess what was wrong with our stories, she helped clarify what Red, Yellow, and Green Light issues are. These are the important Do’s and Don’ts. Major problems include plot holes and lack of character emotion, so don’t bring your story down. Do sprinkle backstory around, like you are preparing a savory meal. Stay away from the dreaded Info Dump, which is a bunch of information that bogs down the flow of the story. Lock down the point of each scene. If you are at a loss, brainstorm ideas, make revisions, polish it up, and begin to share your story. Beta readers can be useful in the final stages and don’t hesitate to seek them out through the club. Consider Beta readers your target audience and look for fresh eyes not familiar with your story. This can be challenging for those writing children’s or young adult stories, but using teachers as a resource was suggested.
During the afternoon session, participants used hands-on writing assignments to answer big questions like, “What is the story about?” This produced laughter because really, it might not be so clear. Sinovic gave examples from known works, and participants shared their own.
Last but not least, she encouraged us to think about the genre of our books, how they are similar to other books out there, and their marketability. Even if someone is writing a cross-genre novel, she suggests committing to a type. She recognizes this might be hard, but encouraged this to happen.
Whether one decides to utilize these techniques before they write to plot, or after to edit, they can be used to save time and effort on rewrites. Online editing tools were mentioned, including Autocrit, Grammarly, and others. These are accepted practices as long as the author remains the author and doesn’t let AI do the writing for them.
Now, after all of that has been said, take a deep breath, and pause for a moment. Remember, it will save time and energy to plan and plot what you write. It can be rewarding to convey a clear and concise message. This will avoid confusion for the reader, and ego bruising for the writer. Finally, make every word count, and maybe one day you will be counting the money you make for each one.
GLVWG’s meetings are held on the fourth Saturday of each month (unless otherwise noted) at the Palmer Library in Easton and online via Zoom. The morning consists of a general membership meeting and free program featuring a speaker who focuses on some aspect of the art or craft of writing. The afternoon workshop is usually—but not always—a deeper dive into the morning program topic. There is a fee for the afternoon program if you are not a member. Visit glvwg.org for a list of meeting dates, speakers, and program topics.