Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Manuscript evaluations

  • Continuity and Story Bibles – by Your WorldKeeper Diane Garland – A Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox post

    Continuity and Story Bibles – by Your WorldKeeper Diane Garland – A Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox post

    Tools of the Authors’ and Screenwriters’ Trade: Continuity and Story Bibles

    Building a story bible is much like building a house. I know as I am currently going through the very stressful and time-consuming process of having a house built. I’ve found myself agonizing over the rooms (do we really need a formal living room?), the hinges of the windows (9 choices of style, 7 choices of color), the light switches and outlets (how many and where do they go?), and many, many more things I had never even thought about (my favorite being how many caissons should be drilled for the foundation).

    When I’m not overseeing the house, I’m creating story bibles for authors who write series. I’ve been doing this for a variety of authors in multiple genres. Both endeavors require a tight organization of details, an insight into what the finished product should look like and how it all started.

    The major thread that runs through both of my projects is continuity.

    The Importance of Continuity

    Continuity is one of the most under-rated yet, far-reaching aspects of writing a series. It’s the one that is easily glossed over and forgotten in the mad dash to get words on the paper or the screen. It takes a backseat to the development of the world, the characters, the story arcs, and the action. And yet, it is one of the things readers remember most when reading a book. Continuity in a series includes everything from the attributes of the characters to the placement of buildings in the world. It covers the timeline and storylines from book to book, along with the rules of the world. Like building a house, an author needs to include the correct nuts and bolts as needed to plan the best possible design of the world she is creating. And, yes, even pantzers need to do this at some point before typing The End.

    Nuts and Bolts to Include

    Readers thrive on details. They crave information on the setting, the characters, buildings, outdoor spaces and more. These elements create a living, breathing world for the reader to experience. A few basic elements are standard when writing characters–a name, their age and physical characteristics for example. More details will appear over the course of the series i.e. family relationships and a love of animals. An author will also add details to enrich the storyline, a childhood anecdote for example.

    The same goes with the development of the world. Tell the reader what the buildings or outdoor spaces look like, where they are located, and what they are used for. Description provides the reader with more color and more ways of imagining the setting. Remember to take your buildings beyond the four walls. Give them not only structure, but dress them up a bit. When building a house, more happens than naming the rooms. We create a home by filling the rooms with furniture, artwork, blinds on the windows, and paint on the walls. Do the same with the buildings and spaces in your story world. Bring your world to life.

    Not having ambiance or a sense of place in a work is called “the white room syndrome.”  White room syndrome is what our editors note that can be a major weakness found in manuscript evaluations.  There is little or no immersion  for readers in a “white room” and this will cause the dreaded lost of interest in a work. ~Kiffer Brown

    Organizing the Nuts and Bolts

     Organizing the myriad of details of a story world is a necessary evil. Continuity demands this. Writing a series is stressful enough without struggling to recall details from previous books or spending hours searching for that one fact that was mentioned in book 2 (or maybe book 3, or maybe only existed in your thoughts and wasn’t actually mentioned on the page.) Too many authors rely on memory or scraps of notes here and there to keep them on the straight and narrow. Finding a system that works is an important tool in an author’s box of tricks. A story bible is one such tool.

    Creating a Story Bible -not just for Scifi writers

    If you want to pitch your book for a TV series or film or gaming, you will need to create a story bible. Screenwriters depend on it and so should serious authors. The story bible holds all of the tiny pieces of information such as cultural phrases, potential plotting ideas, dialogue, emotions, memories, does the character like dry wines or takes her bourbon neat, coffee black or macchiatos only, and a myriad of other ideas or details. And then there or the locations, timelines, character details, …

    Old school — perhaps

    Creating a story bible requires attention to detail and a lot of patience. The minutiae of a story world can be quite tricky to record. Choosing a structure for the bible that will work best for the author is crucial. Many find various word and writing programs to work best. All information regarding the characters, spaces, timelines, rules of the world, and what makes your story world unique should be listed and arranged in a manner easy to access. Without a good system, continuity across books will suffer, the reader will flounder and the author will inevitably hear about it in letters and reviews.

    It is important for each writer  to find a system that works for her/him per project. One size definitely does not fit all.  

    Specifics on what to include in your story bible along with different systems will be discussed at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference in Diane Garland’s session Your Story World: Beyond Eye Color and the Weather. And we will interview Diane for an OnWord Talks podcast soon!

    Learn from the BEST!

    Diane is always on the go! We invite you to visit the YOUR WORLDKEEPER website at https://yourworldkeeper.com/

    Diane Garland will teach several sessions on planning book series, world building, and creating story-bibles at  CAC20 in Bellingham, Wash.

     

    Her clients include USA Today Bestselling Author Ann Charles, Winner of four Will Rogers Gold Medallions and the Laramie Award, Jacquie Rogers, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Hamilton, USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry among others.

    Diane will help you create and write your series efficiently by maintaining continuity and fluidity. Diane, with her crackerjack proficiency in tracking details, locations, timelines,  characters, and more will allow you, the author, to spend your time being creative, and not on tracking details that give works their all-important story construct.” – Kiffer Brown, publishing consultant and CEO of Chanticleer Reviews

    Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

    And that our professionals (like Diane) are top-notch and our editors are  experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillan, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, etc.). If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com.

    Click  here to learn more about Chanticleer Editorial Services.

    A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service. Here are some handy links about this tried and true service:

    https://www.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/

    We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today! BookEditor@ChantiReviews.com

    Writer’s Toolbox

    Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article. 

  • Top Eleven Reasons Why a Manuscript is Rejected by Jessica Page Morrell

    Or  “Why your manuscript did not make it past the “SLUSH PILE” [Chanticleer’s Editor’s Note]

    © Jessica P. Morrell

    1. The writing style is flowery, cluttered with modifiers, or sloppy.  Overuse of modifiers is one of the most obvious indicators of an unsophisticated or sloppy writer at work. The simple solution is to limit your use of modifiers and use them only when they contain information that a noun or verb cannot.

    2.  Mechanical errors such as spelling mistakes, grammar slip-ups, poorly constructed sentences, or punctuation problems.  In an increasingly competitive marketplace, these errors will knock you out of the running. Editors and agents are only interested in professional, polished and error-free writing.

    3. The conflict is weak or boring. Conflict ignites and powers a story. Your protagonist must be up against powerful opposition at every turn and must fight these forces with an all-out offensive.

    4. The opening does not contain a hook. The opening of a story is a gathering of forces to be unleashed. Stories always open with a change in the protagonist’s circumstances and this change is usually threatening. Openings also introduce a question that needs answering.

    5. The story and the individual scenes do not have a sense of tension building and suspense. Readers need a reason to keep turning the page and all stories need growing intensity until the climax or resolution. A story where the tension does not rise, without unanswered questions and a series of surprises and reversals, won’t captivate readers.

    6. The manuscript is plagued with dialogue disasters: overly long exchanges; characters giving speeches; or, the dialogue contains no tension or conflict. Other problems: each character does not sound distinct, characters talk about mundane topics not relevant to the story, or speech tags are distracting and filled with adverbs. Properly utilized dialogue defines characters, provides information and pushes the plot forward.

    7. There is too much telling, not enough dramatization. Whenever appropriate bring the story to your readers in scenes, where they can witness it unfold in real time. “Show, don’t tell” is a useful guideline for writers, but fiction is actually ‘told’ and ‘shown.’ A combination of both techniques creates the most effective fiction. Scenes are most effective when you’re revealing characters or complicated interactions between characters. Exposition is most effective when you’re filling in background information or moving quickly between two scenes. Too much showing or too many scenes makes the story too drawn out just as too much exposition makes it static. The best stories usually move back and forth between scene and description.

    8. Characters are underdeveloped. In the best fiction the reader has a sense that the characters have existed before the story began and will carry on after it ends. Memorable fictional characters are richly drawn, consistent, with dominant traits throughout.

    9. The ending doesn’t deliver or satisfy. The best endings are not contrived or convenient. They are the logical and highly dramatic culmination of the proceeding events. The climax is the highest emotional pitch of your story, a decision, a collision of forces, and settling of scores.

    10. The point of view is muddled or inconsistent. The point of view is the filter or lens which we see the story through. It is crucial that you understand who is telling the story and why. Viewpoint characters are generally those who will be most affected by the events of the story. If you’re using a multiple point of view, strive for a logical and consistent pattern.

    Another note from Kiffer Brown,

    One way to make sure that your work is the best that it can be before LINE EDITING and COPY EDITING, is to have a professional manuscript evaluation or manuscript overview assessment of your work-in-progress. This assessment will alert you to any of the above issues before you have your work edited.

    Click on this link or the one above for more information about manuscript overviews. 

    and finally, Number 11 – FORMATTING ERRORS and Erroneous Submissions

    11. The manuscript format is inappropriate or contains errors. There are no exceptions to the guidelines for manuscript submission. Margins, line spacing, fonts, and formats must be adhered to or your manuscript will be ignored.

    11a. The manuscript has been sent to the wrong person or house. For example, you send a category romance to a publisher that only publishes mainstream. Submissions require meticulous research and care. Whenever possible, make contacts in the industry and in general, send brief inquiries before sending any manuscript pages.

     

    Jessica Page Morrell

    Jessica Page Morrell is a top-tier developmental editor and a contributor to Writer’s Digest magazine,  and she teaches Master Writing Craft Classes at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that is held annually.

    Jessica understands both sides of the editorial desk–as a highly-sought after content development editor and an author. Her work also appears in multiple anthologies and The Writer and Writer’s Digest magazines.  She is known for explaining the hows and whys of what makes for excellent writing and for sharing very clear examples that examines the technical aspects of writing that emphases layering and subtext. Her books on writing craft are considered “a must have” for any serious writer’s toolkit.

    Chanticleer Reviews and OnWord Talks will interview Jessica for more of her writing tips and advice. Stay tuned! ~ Chanticleer

    We are planning a writing craft workshop soon that will be taught by Jessica.