Karin Beery's Blog Member of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors

What is Character Voice?

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Last month we talked about author voice (click here if you missed it). How is that different from character voice, and what do you need to know about character voice?

Author Voice vs. Character Voice

Your author voice is how you see the world, which influences how you write about it. Your natural tendency to be poetic or humorous or technical are all part of your voice. Character voice is how each of your characters see the world, which influences how they describe and think about it.

The Spoken Voice

Anything your characters say should reflect their voices, and their voices are determined by their backstory. Things that influence character voice include:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Education
  • Location
  • Family
  • Occupation

For example, an Asian immigrant living in Alabama will speak differently than a native-born Alabamian (is that a word?). Likewise, a third-generation man of Asian-American decent will also speak differently than an Asian immigrant.

Artists will see the world differently than mechanics who will see things differently than college professors. High school dropouts will have a different vocabulary from high school graduates which will be different from doctoral candidates. People from Maine, Michigan, and Madagascar will all use different slang and accents.

Every aspect of your characters’ lives will influence how they view the world and speak about it. But the spoken voice isn’t the only voice in a manuscript.

The Internal Voice

Where many authors falter with character voice is with the internal voice—their characters’ thoughts. Everything shown from a character’s perspective (external and internal) needs to reflect the same voice.

For example, an isolated lumberjack who never went to college isn’t going to grunt and mumble single-syllable words while thinking elaborate Shakespearean thoughts (unless he’s a lover of Shakespeare that you reveal later in the story). What often happens is this:

Female dialogue = female’s voice
Male dialogue = male’s voice
Everyone’s thoughts = author’s voice

Instead, you want to write:

Female dialogue & thoughts = female’s voice
Male dialogue & thoughts = male’s voice

Everything written in a scene—whether it’s dialogue, thoughts, descriptions, or interpretations—should reflect the point-of-view character’s voice. If you want to show another character’s perspective, you need to include a scene break to change the point of view. If you want to show your perspective, switch to nonfiction. How you write the novel reveals your voice, but if you want to highlight your thoughts and interpretations, fiction isn’t the best vehicle for that.

If you have questions about character voice, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

 

What is Author Voice?

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One of the most common reasons authors push back against suggested edits is author voice—they’re convinced that everything they write is part of their voice, therefore any edits will change their voice.

That’s partly true, in the same way that a voice teacher changes a singer’s voice.

Professional opera singers spend years training and fine tuning their voices, not because they’re terrible singers, but because they don’t want to be good opera singers. They want to be great. They also want to strengthen their vocal muscles so they can enjoy a long, productive career.

How, then, do authors train, strengthen, and fine tune their voices? It starts by understanding what we mean by “voice.”

An Author’s Voice

Simply put, an author’s voice is his or her unique perspective on life. That perspective manifests itself in how the author writes.

For example, if I set a painting on an easel and asked five authors to describe it, their interpretation and expression of that painting is their voice. That does not mean, however, that the writing is without errors or weaknesses.

Fine Tune Your Voice

Before you start training and strengthening your voice, you need to figure out how to do it. That means finding out your weaknesses so you can strengthen them.

If your editor says you have too much telling in your book, don’t try to justify the telling. Instead, ask for examples of unnecessary telling and suggestions for eliminating it. If your dialogue is boring, your characters are stereotypical, or your settings are bland, learn how to change it.

As you learn and apply good fiction-writing techniques, your voice won’t change into someone else’s; it will become a clearer expression of you.

Training & Strengthening Your Voice

Once you’ve fine-tuned your voice, it’s time to train it. You train your author’s voice the same way you train any muscle in your body—practice.

Vince Lombardi is often misquoted as saying, “Practice makes perfect.” What he actually said was, “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” A quarterback won’t improve if he throws the ball wrong over and over again; he improves when he corrects his form and practices the new improved technique.

The same is true for writers.

If you don’t implement the fiction-writing techniques you’ve learned, you will simply train and strengthen the bad habits you already have. But as you incorporate more engaging techniques over and over again, you will train yourself to show without so much effort. Like a professional quarterback, you’ll develop muscle memory that will write stronger, clearer voice with each story.

The Hard Work

Opera singers don’t rehearse until they get a part in a show, then stop. Professional football players don’t practice every day until they sign a contract, then stop. Successful pros never stop training—neither do success authors.

Your muscle memory will never be perfect, and sometimes life will distract you from completely focusing on your writing. That’s why authors with 10, 20, or 50 books published still work with editors. They continue to ask other professionals to help them find weak spots so they can continue to strengthen their stories and writing skills. The continue to strengthen their voices.

Author voice is the most natural aspect of writing while also requiring dedication and hard work to make it shine. The effort, however, is worth it.

If you have questions about author voice, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Dialogue: More than Talking

Every novel needs dialogue, but what is it, and how do you write it well? I’m glad you asked.

What is dialogue?

At the most basic level, dialogue is a conversation between characters. Like conversations in the real world, it contains several aspects:

  1. Spoken words.
  2. Unspoken words.
  3. Body language.

How do you incorporate dialogue into your story? Let’s look at each of these three parts for some tips on strengthening your book’s dialogue.

Spoken Words

In books, the spoken part of dialogue is set apart by quotations marks, i.e.

“How did you do that?” Mark asked Michelle.

Knowing what your characters will say is one part of spoken dialogue, but you want to consider these other factors to write realistic and engaging conversations.

  • We’re lazy, y’all. Imagine someone saying, “We are lazy, you all.” Sounds a bit stiff, doesn’t it. If that’s your character’s personality, go with it! But most people speak with contractions, so make sure your characters do too.
  • Vocabulary matters. An English professor with speak differently than a biology professor, who will speak differently than the cable repair man. Dialogue should represent the character’s vocabulary, not the author’s.
  • Well, that makes sense. Is it realistic to start sentences with well, so, yeah? Absolutely. But there’s a fine line between realism and engaging writing. Your general rule of thumb: If it doesn’t add context or clarity, cut it.
  • I don’t like that rule, Billy. Think about how many times in a conversation you say the other person’s name. Then look at how many times your characters say each other’s names. Another general rule of thumb: unless there are more than two people in the conversation, they don’t need to call each other by name. They know who they’re talking to.

Unspoken Words

The unspoken part of dialogue—a.k.a. thoughts—have a few specific rules you need to know.

  • Each scene can only show one character’s thoughts. Whether you’re writing in first- or third-person point of view, there’s only one POV character. That means you can only show the thoughts of the POV character.
  • The POV character IS the narrator. Unless you’re writing in omniscient, there isn’t a narrator in your story. The POV character for each scene is the narrator, which means the thoughts need to reflect that character’s speech patterns. Just like the spoken part of dialogue, the thoughts need to include contractions, the appropriate vocabulary, and any other spoken quirks of your character.

Body Language

Human faces and bodies speak loudly; so can your character’s faces and bodies. By using body language, you can show your reader what’s happening instead of telling them. Check out the examples below.

This: “Let’s go,” Linda said, eager to leave.
Or this: “Let’s go.” Linda grabbed Matt’s hand and pulled him through the door.

This: “I love it.” Beth lied. She didn’t like the sour candy.
Or this: “I love it.” Beth’s mouth puckered, her eyes watering. She chugged a glass of water.

Incorporating body language into your dialogue shows the reader what’s going on, allowing them to feel and interpret the scene with your characters.

By including all three aspects of dialogue into your writing, you’ll create more vivid and engaging scenes that pull your readers into the story.

If you have questions about dialogue, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Effective Feedback: Get More From Your Beta Readers

One of the best ways to find issues in your manuscript is to ask for feedback from others. Once you have that information, you can use it to find and fix problem areas in your story. A lot of authors understand this concept, but the process doesn’t always work for them.

Why? They ask the wrong questions.

Too often, authors ask yes/no questions or questions that can be answered with 1-2 words.

Did you like this book?
Did it keep you engaged?
Who was your favorite character?

These questions don’t give us enough information to self-edit our manuscripts. Instead, we need to go deeper, and that includes asking more specific questions (or including follow-up questions).

In my book How to Edit Your Novel: Practical Tips for Strengthening Your Story, I include many questions to ask your readers, then tell you how to process and apply the information to your manuscript. I can’t give you all the details here, but I can share with you some of the questions I suggest asking to get the most from your early readers. 

General:

  1. Does the point of view flow well? If not, where did it stall for you?
  2. Does the point of view feel natural? If not, where did it feel unnatural to you?
  3. Were there any places where the point of view confused you? Where?

Characters:

  1. Who were your favorite characters? Why?
  2. Who were your least favorite characters? Why?
  3. Were there any characters you didn’t like? What didn’t you like about them?

Plot:

  1. Are there any places where the story dragged or was overexplained? Where?
  2. Did the action drag? Where?
  3. Were you bored with any scenes? Which ones?

Descriptions:

  1. Were there any places that felt choppy or confusing? Where?
  2. Were there any confusing places/descriptions? Where?
  3. Did anything about the story feel cliché or “done before”? Which parts?

Notice that each questions includes a follow-up. That follow-up is where you find the gold—get the specifics to help you find and fix those problem areas.

Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Research & Revising: Two Paths to Novel Writing

Most writers know that the first draft of their manuscript will never sell, but how many drafts does a writer have to write?

Honestly, the writing portion of a novel takes the shortest amount of time. The research and/or revising will likely (and should likely) take up 75% or more of the process. Depending on how you prefer to spend your time (research or revision), you’ll have different numbers of drafts (though the first draft will never be your final). And regardless of which method you prefer, you’ll have to invest time to create an engaging, readable story.

Write type of writer are you? Here’s a quick quiz:

  • Would you rather:
  1. Plan every detail of your trip before you leave so you maximize the experience and don’t miss anything?
  2. Hop on the plane and see what happens, even if it means you miss a few things?
  • When buying clothes, do you:
  1. Try things on in the store to make sure you know how everything looks and feels, then buy only what you need?
  2. Buy arms full of things to try on at home and return what you don’t want later?
  • Before going to a new restaurant, do you:
  1. Find the restaurant and menu online so you know what to order when you get there?
  2. Maybe you’ll scan the menu online, but you don’t make any decisions until you’re in your seat and everyone else has ordered?

If you answered A to most of those, you’re probably a researcher. If you answered B, you’re probably a reviser.

Researcher

Researchers like to know all the details before they start writing their stories. They have notes on:

  • Characters, include goals, motivations, conflicts; appearance; character arc.
  • They know their stories transitional moments (inciting incident, breaking point, point of no return, etc.).
  • They’ve calculated where in the story each main plot point and reaction should occur.
  • They’ve tracked the setting, including building details, topographical information, and historical events (if needed).
  • They have binders or folders full of notes on all of these details.

By the time a researcher sits down to write, they know almost everything they need to know about the story. They’ve spent weeks (or months) writing things down and organizing them before they ever type the first word of their manuscripts.

Reviser

Revisers tend to start with a solid understanding of either their plot or characters, but most of the details have yet to be discovered. Sometimes called seat-of-the-pants writers, they do minimal prep work before writing (usually a few days or maybe a week or two). Their process is more trial-and-error: if something doesn’t work, edit out and try something different.

Revisers (as you might imagine) spend more time revising their manuscripts. It may take 1-2 (or three or four) big revisions before they’re ready to let anyone read or critique their manuscripts.

Neither of these paths is right or wrong. Neither one yields better results than the other. They’re just different. Don’t get discouraged if your best friend is a researcher and only needs to edit her story instead of revising it. That method works for her; your method works for you.

Not sure which type of writer you are? Email me at karin@writenowedits.com and we’ll figure it out!

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Conflict, Suspense, and Tension in Fiction

Conflict, suspense, and tension are not the same things. They’re often used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be. Each one of these has a different role and performs a different function in fiction.

Conflict

New writers tend to believe that conflict means “argument,” as in having a conflict with someone else, but it’s much simpler than that—conflict is anything that prevents your characters from achieving their goals.

A conflict can be a person, event, or inanimate object. A conflict can be a seemingly good thing. As long as it gets in your character’s way, it’s a conflict.

Say your MMC (male main character) wants a promotion at work. The promotion should be a sure thing, but that would make for a boring story. It needs conflict. Anything that prevents him from getting the job will work. It could be:

  • A person: Someone else wants the job. That person has become a conflict.
  • An event: Your MMC needs to attend a company event to get the promotion, but it’s the same weekend as his wedding. His wedding is now a conflict.
  • An inanimate object: MMC’s fiancé agrees to change the wedding date, but his car stalls in the driveway. Then, on the way to the airport, a tree falls into the road. His car and the tree have now become conflicts.

Suspense

Readers and writers alike think of police, spies, and murder when they think about suspense, but they’re confusing suspense with danger. In the suspense, thriller, and mystery genres, the police, spies, and murder might create suspense, but in and of themselves, they are not.

At its most basic level, suspense is delayed gratification.

Let’s look at our MMC again. If he gets the promotion in chapter two, there’s no suspense because there’s no delay. But put conflicts in front him—make him and the reader wait to find out if he’s getting the job—and you’ve added suspense.

Each of the conflicts mentioned above adds more suspense.

  • Instead of a quick interview process, now the boss has two candidates to interview. That will take longer. Suspense.
  • MMC and his fiancé push back the wedding for the sake of his career. A delayed wedding equals more suspense.
  • A quick 30-minute trip to the airport is delayed by his car and the tree. Double suspense.

The longer it takes your characters to achieve their goals, the more suspenseful the story.

Tension

Our final piece of the confusion trifecta, tension is the term people tend to swap for conflict and suspense, but it’s actually another layer of complexity in your story.

Tension is created by your characters’ reactions to conflict and suspense, and it should lead to a sense of unrest or imbalance.

If life is going well for your characters, there’s no tension. Toss in a conflict that creates suspense, and it will yield tension. Let’s go back to our MMC’s promotion. Where does the tension come from, and what does it look like?

  • MMC’s relationship with the person going after his promotion will change. The situation might also change his relationships with coworkers. Someone else applying for the job has created tension in the workplace.
  • After rescheduling his wedding, MMC’s relationship with his fiancé will change, especially if one of them didn’t want to move the date. It’s the perfect place to add tension in the romance.
  • Whether or not the MMC makes it to the airport on time, his car and the tree are excellent reasons to increase tension—he could lose faith in his mechanic and begin resenting the neighbor whose tree blocked the road. Whichever way you write it, let unrest be the goal.

Regardless of the genre you’re writing, your story needs all three of these elements: conflict, suspense, and tension. Your reader will enjoy seeing how long it takes your characters to achieve their goals and seeing how the conflicts change them.

If you have questions about these, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

Also check out:

The Omniscient Point of View
First- or Third-Person Point of View

Women’s Fiction and Family Fiction: What are they?

Fiction genres seem to be spawning. Contemporary and historical fiction are now too broad of descriptors for readers who know exactly what they want: historical romantic suspense or contemporary magical realism. This effort to provide more clarity has resulted in many new genres.

Two story types that have become quite popular are women’s and family fiction.

What exactly are they and what do they need to include?

Women’s Fiction

In its broadest sense, women’s fiction is any novel in which the main character is a woman. The novel can include elements of romance, suspense, history, science fiction, etc., as long as the main focus of the story is on the female lead.

It’s not enough to simply have a female main character (FMC), though. In women’s fiction, the story needs to revolve around the FMC’s story arc—how and why she moves from Point A to Point B. Those points can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

Often (but not always), women’s fiction includes deeper topics or themes. The female detective isn’t just searching for a killer; she’s challenging her sobriety by tackling her first case since receiving her 90-day chip from Alcoholics Anonymous. The FMC is forced to confront her narcissistic brother, exposing wounds, then healing them as she learns the power of forgiveness. Or she overcomes crippling self-doubt through a serious of awkward events that teach her how to laugh at life and herself.

Women’s fiction can include one or several main characters. It can be written in first person or third person. Dramatic or humorous. Contemporary or historical. But the woman’s story arc must be the central story.

Family Fiction

You may have already guessed: family fiction focuses on the family, but it’s more than simply including a family in your novel. The story needs to include the family dynamics and different characters’ plot lines, which lends itself well to multiple point-of-view characters.

While women’s fiction focuses on the main character confronting her narcissistic brother, family fiction will focus on how the narcissistic brother affects the whole family. It could include points of view from the sister, brother, mother, and father. Instead of honing in on one specific event—when the sister confronts her brother—family fiction pulls back the lens to look at how all the characters interact over the years leading up to that confrontation (or perhaps after it).

Family fiction can include generations in one timeline or dual timelines (showing grandma in the 1940s, mom in the 1970s, and daughter in the 2000s). It can fit into one story (like the movie The Family Stone) or several (Karen Kingsbury’s Baxter family series). The most important element is the family perspective. Family fiction isn’t the story of one member of a family; it’s the story of them all.

Still have questions? Send them to me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

For more fiction-writing tips, check out:

Omniscient Point of View
Why Novels Need Structure

The Omniscient Point of View

Once the go-to point of view for novels, the omniscient POV isn’t as popular as it once was, but it’s making a reappearance in modern fiction. Many authors assume omniscient is easier to write because of its broad range—you can jump into any character’s head at a time—but that’s actually what makes it so difficult.

What is Omniscient POV?

The omniscient perspective is the eye-in-the-sky, all knowing perspective that allows the reader to see any character at any time in any location. Even though it’s written using third person pronouns (he, she, they), it’s a shallow perspective. It doesn’t show the characters’ emotions or thoughts at a deep level because, even though the narrator knows what each character feels and thinks, the narrator doesn’t experience those feelings or emotions.

The difference between third person and omniscient POVs can be seen in the difference between listening to an explorer tell about his adventures and listening to a reporter tell about an explorer’s adventures. When using third person, authors live inside the point-of-view character, so they show everything as if they’re experiencing it. When using omniscient, authors observe the characters, so they show everything as if they’ve observed it.

How is Omniscient Different from Head Hopping?

The difference between omniscient and head hopping lies in the details. In the omniscient perspective, each scene shows what the narrator observes, which can include observing characters in different places in the house, city, or state at the same time. Head hopping, however, uses the third person perspective, showing each character’s emotions and thoughts, without including scene breaks to distinguish a POV change.

Why Does the Narrator Matter?

What truly sets third person and omniscient POVs apart is the narrator voice. In third person, each scene is shown from one character’s perspective, and each of those characters has a unique voice. Their upbringing, education, and life experiences determine their vocabulary, tone, and rhythm. Chapters in a male POV will sound different from chapters in a female POV. Scenes in a homeless dropout’s POV will sound different from scenes in a trust fund kid’s POV. In third person, each POV character has a unique voice.

In omniscient POV, there’s one voice—the narrator’s voice. It doesn’t matter if the narrator is describing male or female, young or old, rich or poor. The words and style used by the narrator to show each scene will sound the same. This isn’t a diverse perspective that shows how different races and genders view the same situation. It’s one perspective for all things.

When Would You Use Omniscient POV?

The omniscient perspective works well in stories where the focus is on the big picture and not on individual characters. Romance focuses intensely on the emotions and thoughts of a few specific characters; it’s the perfect genre for third person. Any type of coming-of-age or personal growth drama should consider third (or first) person. Mysteries and suspense—when the reader wants to see and feel exactly what the protagonist and antagonist feel—should stick with third. These all focus on the characters.

Omniscient works well in books that focus more on setting or theme. I don’t mean setting in the sense of the house a character lives in, but the whole setting—time and location. You see these frequently in historical and speculative genres. For theme, look to literary fiction.

For example, consider a novel that shows the lives of fifteen soldiers serving in Operation Desert Storm; the emphasis isn’t specifically on one character but on what this group of characters experienced during the early 2000s in the Middle East (time and location). Omniscient also works well when introducing a cast of characters in a made-up world (location). If a is story less concerned with how a character changes in a book and more interested in how that character observes and experiences forgiveness throughout her life (theme), omniscient can work.

This does not mean you can never use omniscient in a women’s fiction novel and you can never use third person in speculative fiction. These are merely examples of genres that work well with the omniscient POV. I’m seeing it more often now in modern fiction, so understanding its strengths and weaknesses can help you decide if it’s the right POV for you.

If you have questions about omniscient or any points of view, leave a comment or contact me at karin@writenowedits.com.

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

For more information on point of view:

First or Third Person Point of View by Karin Beery
Writing Deep Viewpoint by Kathy Tyers

First or Third Person Point of View: When and Why?

When it comes to captivating your audience, point of view (POV) matters. While there are no right or wrong places to use different POVs, there are absolutely genres and styles that work well with specific POVs. Before we jump into that, let’s look at the different POVs often used in fiction.

First, Third, and Omniscient POVs

For the sake of this post, we’ll refer to the three main POVs as First Person, Third Person, and Omniscient. Kathy Tyers, author of Writing Deep Viewpoint, defines them as:

  • First Person: Narrator uses the “I” voice.
  • Third Person: Narrator is present as a named character, using the “he” or “she” voice.
  • Omniscient: Still “he” or “she,” the narrator’s consciousness is godlike in knowledge.

Each of these POVs provides s different depth of perspective.

First Person is the deepest, putting the reader directly into the mind and body of the narrator and allowing the reader to experience the story life as real life—only knowing, feeling, and sensing situations from one perspective.

Third Person can keep the reader close (Deep Third) or at a distance (Shallow Third). In today’s market, Deep Third is preferred. Similar to First Person, Deep Third pulls the reader into the mind and body of the narrator (again only showing what the character knows, feels, and senses), but the use of “he” and “she” pronouns adds a bit of space between the character and reader. Shallow Third adds even more space, as it doesn’t rely as heavily on the POV character’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions and often focuses more on external descriptions and plot points.

Omniscient is a third-person POV (as it uses “he” and “she”). Its perspective creates the most space between the characters and the reader as it doesn’t ever allow the reader to get into the main character’s head or heart. The narrator can describe what a character does (and possibly even the motivations) but can’t convey the feelings and emotions of each character because the narrator is, in fact, its own godlike, all-knowing character.

When and Why to Use Each POV

Technically, authors can use any POV in any novel or genre, but there are certain POVs that work better in different genres. Here are a few examples and why they do/don’t work.

First Person—Yes: This intimate perspective is excellent for books with one main character, such as young adult or women’s fiction novels that follow the growth and character arc of one person. There may be best friends, enemies, and love interests, but their main purpose in the story is to motivate the main character to change (or to highlight how the main character changes).

First Person—No: Most romance novel readers want to see the story from both the hero’s and the heroine’s perspectives. Because of this, the majority of romance novels are written in Third Person, so readers expect (and even demand) that perspective. While you technically can write a romance novel in First Person, there are readers who simply will not read it because of the POV. Since it’s possible to create a similar POV depth by writing Deep Third, that’s usually recommended for romance novels.

Third Person—Yes: Any book with multiple main characters is the perfect book for Third Person POV. I already mentioned romance novels, but it also works well in speculative fiction, historical, suspense, thriller. Anytime you have two or more main characters (characters with goals/motivations/conflicts and character arcs), it’s a good story for Third Person.

Third Person—No: I honestly can’t think of a time when I would encourage an author to avoid this POV. Because it’s so widely accepted, it can be used in just about any genre.

Omniscient—Yes: Omniscient works well in literary fiction, where the emphasis in on the theme instead of the plot and characters. It can also work well in epic novels, where the story takes place over large periods of time or space, again taking the focus off of a few specific characters and instead putting it on several people throughout time or across the world. (Think Hawaii by Jame Michener.)

Omniscient—No: Aside from one specific genre to avoid, it’s really a specific type of story that doesn’t work well with Omniscient: stories about or that highlight deep emotional connections. For that reason, romance novels are out. For all other genres … it depends. If you want to tell the story of six soldiers in the Civil War, omniscient might not be the best fit, but it could work perfectly for the story of a regimen of soldiers and their impact on the war.

I’ll say it one more time because it can’t be said enough—there are no right or wrong ways to use POV in your books. But there are ways to use POV to improve your chances of getting noticed, getting published, and developing a fan base.

Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com

For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!

For more fiction writing tips, try these:

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue
Why Novels Need Structure

Backstory: The Right and Wrong Ways to Use Dialogue

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Every main character in every book has a backstory, but the readers don’t need to see or understand it all. There are times, however, when it’s necessary to include backstory in your manuscript to either fill in plot holes or show character development. One of the best ways to do that is by using dialogue, but only if you do it the right way.

Here’s a look at the wrong way to show backstory using dialogue:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember my twenty-first birthday party last week? It rained all day and we had to move the activities inside? The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway?”
“Of course.”
“Well, my bedroom is at the top of the stairs. Anyone could have gone up there without us noticing.”

Here’s the problem with that section: Ben’s mom already knows the details of the party, her son’s age, and the layout of the house. There’s no reason for him to give her that information. Doing so makes it look like this conversation is a set-up to give information to the readers (which it is). There are two ways to solve this problem.

#1: Make the dialogue more realistic:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember how crowded the house was during my birthday party? Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”

#2: Use the Dumb Puppet:

“I think one of my friends stole my watch,” Ben said.
“Why would you say that?” his mom asked.
“Do you remember how crowded the house was during my birthday party?  Anyone could have gone up to my bedroom without us noticing.”
“How could you not notice someone in your bedroom?” Brian asked.
“The party was supposed to be outside, but it rained all day,” his mom said. “We had to move the activities inside. The house wasn’t big enough, so people filled the living room, dining room, and hallway. Ben’s bedroom is upstairs. Anyone could have gone up without us noticing.”

Do you see the difference between options?In the first version, the dialogue is unnatural. Yes, it gives necessary information, but it also makes the characters seems awkward. The latter options create a smoother flowing story. If the details of the party aren’t important, cut them (example one) and keep the story moving. If they are important, include a character who doesn’t know what’s going on (in this case, Brian is the Dumb Puppet) so the other characters can explain it without sounding awkward.

Are you struggling to include backstory in a more natural way? Let me know, and let’s see how we can figure it out together.

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If you’re looking to strengthen your writing and self-editing skills, here’s what you can expect in How to Edit Your Novel:

Take your self-editing skills to the next level.

• Have you eliminated all the telling?
• Are the characters complex?
• Is every scene necessary?

Most authors will answer ‘yes!’ to these questions. But then editors and readers tell them the descriptions don’t engage them, the characters are stereotypical, and the story dragged.

How do you fix it?

Self-editing can only take you so far. But if you know the right questions to ask and you know how to interpret the answers, you’ll not only strengthen your self-editing skills, you’ll strengthen your writing.

HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL doesn’t simply rehash the fiction-writing basics that create good stories-it provides examples, context, and questions that will help authors identify and strengthen their weaknesses the same way a professional editor tackles a manuscript. By combining mini writing lessons with practical self-editing tips, everything a writer needs to become a better self-editor is practically presented.

Whether you’re a new writer or an experienced author, HOW TO EDIT YOUR NOVEL can help you polish your story into a gem agents, publishers, and readers will want to keep reading.

” … bound to be a book you keep right next to your keyboard …. ”
–Cristel Phelps, Managing Editor for Fiction, Elk Lake Publishing, Inc

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