Lucky 13: 13 Tips On Becoming a Stronger Writer by Author Carol Lynch Williams

Happy Wednesday, Everyone! Today I’m excited to have author Carol Lynch Williams here to share her tips on becoming a stronger writer. Carol is also the co-founder of Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers, www.WIFYR.com, which will be having an online fall conference. Carol shares some info about it and a link to register if you’re interested in her post. 

Now here’s Carol! 

 

 

There are lots of things you can do to make your stories stronger and it doesn't take that much effort. 

Lucky Thirteen—Thirteen Tips to Help You Become a Better Writer

Learn to write. People who dash off a story without thought, practice, or effort, clog the market place. You might have a fantastic idea but if you don't know how to write, you're not going to get the attention you could. So learn the craft. Lots of today’s suggestions can help you improve as a writer.

Come to conferences where professionals speak, listen to what they say, use their advice to help you become an expert. And what do you know! This October 24, 25, and 26, Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers is running a workshop with some amazing teachers including editors Joy Peskin and Jill Davis. Agents Stephen Fraser and Amy Jameson will also be in attendance. This 12-hour online intensive will talk about everything from plotting to voice. You can check out the lineup here: https://www.wifyr.com/online-intensive-workshop-2024

Read like crazy. William Faulkner said to read everything you can get your hands on and I almost agree with him 100%. I think you should read the very best books. Bad or weak writing is easy writing and it’s easy to imitate. Make sure the books you read are well-told and well-written. You can learn the craft of writing by reading excellent writers like MT Anderson, Tim Wynne-Jones, Ann Dee Ellis, Martine Levitt, Holly Black--the list goes on and on. 

Write what you know. When I say this, I don't mean you mustn’t write anything you don't know about. Research can make an event live and breathe for you.

When you write what you know (because of experience or research), you put your heart on the page. This connects your character with your reader. They’ll understand what you're saying because you have been there, done that.

Exercise: Take 30 minutes to brainstorm all the things you would love to write. These could be things you want to explore--ideas for books of nonfiction--or things you already know. As you jot down your ideas, write your connection-your heart-and why this idea means something to you.

Show don’t tell. Let's be honest. You can't show everything that happens in a novel. There just isn't time. But it’s important to let your character be a participant in the novel and not a newscaster. Your main character should not tell the reader the story. They should experience the story. Showing important scenes is crucial to the forward movement of the story.

Setting and sense of place. Have you ever read a book and you're not quite sure where you are in time and place? That’s often because the author hasn’t established the setting. We don't need pages and pages of description to let a reader know where they are in our book of fiction. But once we have set up where the book takes place and where our main character is, we must remind the reader. This is when sense of place becomes important. Use all five senses –sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch--to remind the reader where they are. 

There are novels that are written specifically for setting. When you're writing for kids, though, don’t go overboard setting up place. If your main character is in a desert, let us know what they see and feel in that desert. Once you've done that, remind the reader where they are two or three times a page. Yes, every page! They can talk about the heat of the sun. Or how thick the sand is to walk through. Or how it's hard to grow a garden in the desert. This will keep your reader grounded in place.

Exercise:

List ten places you have lived. Give details. Think about the way it felt to be outside, in your bedroom, at school. Use the five senses when describing these places.

For me, emotion is the most important part of a novel. It goes back to writing what you know. If you understand a specific event then you can put the emotion of that event on the page. What is it like to lose someone you love? What is it like to break up with someone you thought you would be with forever? What is it like to laugh so hard you can't breathe? What is it like to be mortified? We’ve all felt these things.

As a writer you do all the work that a camera in a film does. You capture dialogue, place, and emotion. Always ask yourself,  “What does this character feel?”

This means you have to mine the emotion they experience, not to be a surface level writer. Instead, dive into the heart of the event, into the heart of the character. When you do, you connect with the reader.

Exercise: Every day for one month, allow yourself to experience an emotional event from the past. Write about this experience. Put every word, emotion, and etc that deals with this emotional experience on the page. Remember, that later, editing is your best friend. But right now you are just learning how to mine your emotions so that you can write a stronger, richer character.

Make Your Words Work. Every word needs to drive toward the climax of the novel. Anything that is extra, filled with fluff, or is an aside, etc. etc.? It’s time to get rid of it. Structurally, you want to get in, get out, and get it over with. 

Spend your words like money. My mom was a writer. She never published a novel, but she wrote like crazy. Often, in her classroom, she would tell her creative writing students to spend their words like money. Imagine you're paying five dollars for every word you put on the page. If you're writing a 40,000 word novel, that means you would pay $200,000 to write the book. Save ‘money’ and your story, but cutting the extra words.

Don’t be preachy. Just tell your story. If there’s a lesson to learn, it’ll come out. I knew someone who wanted to save the world with her writing. She wept when she told me her goal. And I couldn't discount that she really believed what she was saying. But few want to feel like they are learning something when they’re reading fiction.

Kids read for a number of reasons. One of them is to experience something they would never experience on their own and to see a main character survive and do well. No lessons are needed. 

Subhint: Your truth will come out. Write your heart. Make the reader care and do it in as few words as possible. My Book of Life by Angel is a book that does just this.

Ask yourself questions as you write.

Why is this happening?

Why is my character doing this?

Why is this story headed in this direction?

Why am I the best person to write this book?

Ask:

Why do I want to be a writer?

How important is this to me?

What matters most to me when I write?

Keep asking yourself questions through the whole novel.  

       What does my character want? 

       What does she want more than anything?          

       What will she do if? 

       What is the hardest thing for her to lose?

Subhint-Torture your character. It’s your job to make hard things happen. This way your character can change, grow, and prepare to meet the climax of the novel.

Watch your language. Use ‘ly’ words sparingly. :D I'm not talking about words like family, fly, and early but those dreaded adverbs. Often the description is weak. So what can you do instead? The key is to use stronger verbs. ‘He ran quickly’ could be ‘He raced.’ ‘She whispered softly.’ Whispering is soft, isn't it? When I go through my manuscript, I find I can lose almost every single ‘ly’ word

Subhint—The following words can, almost always, be pulled from the text. 

·       Was-ing words can go from two words to one. (I was running = I ran)

·       Start and began —I started to cry = I cried. Just let the action happen.            

·       Words like “that, well, um, just” 

·       I wondered and I thought, especially in a first person manuscript.

·       Sit down, stand up-Unless this is an unusual place, when we sit, we sit down and when we stand, we stand up.

Tags are the ‘he said, she said’ of a sentence. A tag’s job is to let the reader know who’s speaking. Don't use your tag to say somebody spoke quietly. Let your writing do that work instead. Don't use your tag to say someone barked as it is almost impossible for a person to truly bark out words – unless your main character is a dog. They don’t hiss a sentence and they don’t guffaw a sentence. ‘You know what I’m saying here,” she said happily.

 Subhint: Let the scene around your character help set the stage. Let your writing--those perfectly crafted sentences--do the hard work.

Make time for what you love. Some writers won't allow themselves the opportunity to write until after they have done every other chore/job they have in a day. I've been like this, too, for the last five years with my full-time job.

This means I'm not giving my best time to what I love to do most. That’s changing for me now. For the next few weeks I’m renewing an old habit I had: writing first thing in the morning.

On October 12, 2024 we have a free online event with a class on writing every day. www.wifyr.com/wifyrwrimo

 My friend Scott Rhoades has written every day for more than six years. I’m six years behind and I won’t catch up, but I’ll be writing again and what’s better than that?

Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 30 books for young readers including Waiting, Messenger, and The Chosen One.  She teaches creative writing at a local university and is a mentor. Carol is also the co-founder of Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers, www.WIFYR.com. The best part of her life are her five daughters and her incredible Baby Bubs.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, September 23rd I have an interview with debut author Dionna Mann and a giveaway of her MG Mama's Chicken and Dumplings

Wednesday, September 25^th I have an agent spotlight interview with Amy Thrall Flynn and a query critique giveaway

Tuesday, October 1st I’m participating in the Scaredy Cat Giveaway Hop

Wednesday, October 2nd I have a guest post by author Tracy Bilen and a giveaway of her YA thriller Whisper and my IWSG post

Saturday, October 5th I’m participating in the Howl-O-Ween Giveaway Hop

Monday, October 7th I have an agent spotlight interview with Leslie Zampetti and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!