Some years ago, when I first started editing, I ran into an interesting phenomena. Occasionally, I would sit down to edit a manuscript, and it would be excruciatingly boring. I could hardly get myself to read to the next page. There was no way in the universe or outside of it that I would have kept reading that book if I had not been being paid to so do. I had to bribe myself with chocolate to continue.
Then I would reach the end of the book, and a funny thing would happen. I would sit back and think about what I just read and think, “Boy, that’s a good book!”
What had just happened?
Dutifully, I would sit down and work out in my head what made the story good, when I looked at it as a whole, and, more importantly, how the author could get that onstage early on.
Somewhere around the third or fifth time this happened, I discovered something interesting…I was giving everyone the same advice.
Oh, not the same specific advice. The specific advice was tailored for the individual story. But the general overall advice was the same each time. In fact, in the years since then, I have had maybe two manuscripts pass my desk that I did not need to share this advice with. It seemed to be the number one error made by beginning authors.
What is this advice? I will share it with you, but first there are two principles that we need to review.
Why We Read
When we pick up a book, why do we continue reading it? Why do we take the effort to turn the pages? Why do we keep reading it rather than playing video games, chatting on Facebook, watching movies, shopping, polishing our toenails, or the many, many other things we could do in life?
There are many possible responses, but they can all be reduced to: We want to know what happens next.
What is it that makes us want to keep reading? What is it that makes what happen matter?
Caring Is…Caring
Imagine two stories, both of which include a scene involving the local swim team:
In Story A, the main character drops of her child for a swim team meet on her way to an important meeting, where she and others will decide whether or not to take up arms against the tyrant who rules their town.
In Story B, the main character’s son is on the swim team. He loves swim team. He adores swim team. He lives for swim team. His feelings are hurt one day when his team swims against the Sharks, a neighboring team, and he loses to a rude boy from the next town who mocks him.
On the way home, the family is in a car accident. The boy is badly injured. Doctors tell him that he would never walk again. The boy is dejected. He won’t talk or even eat on his own.
His mother has an idea. She begs to be allowed to take him to the pool. His doctors are doubtful that thiswise. Yet, despite the objections of all around her, his mother prevails. She carries her teenage boy into the local gym and gently puts him into the pool.
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