by Ruth Harris
Meh. With a Shrug.
The book’s not terrible. Not at all. The settings are well-drawn, the dialogue’s more than halfway decent, the reader can even tell one character from another — but, bottom line, it’s meh. With a shrug.
Something’s missing.
What’s the x factor?
What’s the mysterious something that turns meh into mahvelous?
OMG. Are We Talking Plain Vanilla?
Missionary position?
Bland?
Reads like it was written by a bot?
Lacks a unique voice?
Resembles an AI product?
Has the personality of a flounder?
Or the flavor of freeze-dried anything?
Where’s the pulse?
The beating heart?
To be blunt, is this poor, innocent book DOA?
How come?
What happened?
Who did it?
And why?
Bottom line: after all your work and tears and effort, does your book have all the verve, style, and panache of a software manual? (Remember those?)
What Went Wrong?
Or, specifically, where did you go wrong?
You followed all the rules, didn’t you? You banished clichés, canceled adverbs, and made sure character arcs really arc-ed, but, still, something’s “off.”
What’s the something?
And why?
Was your book workshopped to death?
Did you address every niggling question and trivial comment?
Did you make all the changes your editor suggested (even though you didn’t agree with all of them)?
Or maybe you let yourself get bullied or pushed around by beta readers/your crit group/or even your editors?
And you allowed rejections and negative comments to torpedo your confidence?
How to Get it Right.
I know it can be difficult to assert yourself among the cascading rejections and undermining comments, but it’s your book. And it needs to sound like you.
It’s important to understand when a comment is constructive — or just someone else’s bias or subjective preference.
Is the opinion valid or simply a projection of someone’s own limitations and the ceiling they’ve put on their own aspirations?
You need to be able to tell the difference and, yes, you even need a bit of arrogance.
You need to learn to trust yourself and your own taste.
It’s called confidence and it’s hard to hang on to it when all you’re getting are rejections and turn-downs.
When you’re being ignored.
When every passing snarky comment feels like a drive-by shooting.
And everyone else seems to be a success and you’re not where you want to be.
Yet.
So how do you get there from here?
Polish Your Diamonds.
Does your dialogue shine?
Do your characters spring to life on the page?
Are you aces at coming up with great plots?
Is emotion your strong suit? Does the reader feel your characters’ love, lust, grief, fear, loss, passion?
Lean on your strengths, develop them to their greatest potential, and you will find your unique, individual voice.
The one that draws loyal readers to your work.
Create an Author Bank Account — and Make Regular Deposits.
Not $$$$. But words or phrases.
Set up a dedicated list for words and phrases you love, a list you can turn to whenever you feel stuck or just need a little push.
Read books by other writers and make notes of what they do that appeals to you most. Whether it’s creating a great scene, a memorable character, a sensational twist or a killer ending, you will be able to learn from them and enrich your own story-telling abilities.
Read the newspapers/watch cable news for true-life scandals and conflict. What happens in Washington doesn’t have to stay in Washington, does it? Wouldn’t a lying, sleazy politician be great fodder for creating a compelling antagonist? Would that quietly effective governor be the basis for your MC’s ability to withstand all the misery you pile on him/her?
Check the sports pages. Larger-than-life characters, cliff-hanger contract negotiations, public triumphs and headlined humiliations, vivid verbs and pulse-pounding do-or-die, win-or-go-home scenarios.
Don’t forget the business sites — mega bucks at stake, rich guys killing each other with spread sheet assassinations, uppity women elbowing their way into the C suite, pushing themselves into old boy networks and, god forbid, women bosses!
Watch movies and streaming shows, new and old. Dramas are forever because the characters and conflicts resonate universally. This week’s box office winners reflect what people are feeling/thinking right now.
Don’t Diss the Documentary.
Documentaries exist on everything from unlocking the secrets of nuclear fission to making a great soufflé, from big wave surfing to dangerous mountain climbing feats (Everest’s North face in January, anyone?).
These intellectual and physical activities take you inside unfamiliar new worlds of thrills, chills, eureka moments and life-or-death decisions.
Widely available, downloadable documentaries of true-life adventures are an unending sources of fresh, new ideas with the true-to-life details that snap a setting or character’s expertise into focus.
Perspective, Baby, Perspective! Writer No-No’s or Just Snark?
Show ‘em who’s boss.
Chop those undermining comments down to size.
Does that snarky one-star review of your literary fiction come from someone who can barely compose a sentence?
Does that lousy one-star review of your thriller come from a devoted romance reader?
Did that bitchy comment come from a relative envious of your success?
Always: Consider the source.
Put those crummy comments in perspective.
Don’t forget that the words “author” and “authority” come from the same root. You are the authority on your book. NOT your crit group, a beta reader, not your editor — and certainly not some rando reviewer.
How to Turn Those Writer No-Nos into Writer Go-Gos.
Work on your craft, develop your voice, and focus on the fact that no one knows more about your book than you do.
No one.
Nobody.
Nowhere.
No how.
Period.
Keep at it, stay focused, ignore the doubters and nay-sayers, and soon enough those writer no-no’s will morph into writer go-go’s.
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) January 29, 2023
What about you, scriveners? Have you ever workshopped a book to death? Let snarky beta readers rob you of your confidence (Anne pleads guilty to that one.) Have you ever done any of these writer no-no’s? What are the most dangerous writer no-no’s for you?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Available at Amazon, Kobo, GooglePlay, Nook, and Apple
“WOW! WHAT A STORY!”
“A master storyteller coaxed me through a maze of fascinating, brilliant, tragic, and heartwarming twists and turns, and left me feeling uplifted and satisfied. ZURI slides to the top of my favorite books of 2020!” —Sue Coletta, award-winning, bestselling author
They rescue endangered animals, but can they rescue each other?
Renny Kudrow, Director of the Kihali animal orphanage in Kenya, is a renowned elephant whisperer, a brilliant translator of animal communication. But human communication?
Not so much, thinks Starlite Higgins, the wildlife vet who Renny thinks is not up to the job.
Renny is prickly, remote, critical, and Starlite, accustomed to success, but who almost causes Zuri’s rescue to fail, is unable to win his approval.
When Renny and Starlite must work together to save the life of the baby rhino fatally wounded by poachers, they must face the shocking secrets they both hide—and the attraction they can no longer deny.
And here’s what Amazon readers are saying:
5 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed this sweet but important novella about a director of an African animal orphanage and a vet’s struggle to save an injured rhino calf after its mother is brutally murdered by poachers. On one level the story is a tender glimpse into the intelligent world of animals; on another it’s an expose of the tragic world of poaching and the wildlife it endangers. Add to that an engaging love story between the protagonists, and you have a delightful way to spend a few hours.
5 out of 5 stars Wow, What a Story!
The beginning cut deep. I feared and worried during the middle, and cried happy tears at the end. A master storyteller coaxed me through a maze of fascinating, brilliant, tragic, and heartwarming twists and turns and left me feeling uplifted and satisfied, but yearning for more of the lovable Zuri, quirky Boozie, majestic Maise, and the delightful Renny and Starlight. I hope there’s a sequel! ZURI slides to the top of my favorite books of 2020!
“Focus on the fact that no one knows more about your book than you do.” Yup! Happy Sunday, Ruth & Anne.
Okay, that was awesome! Like a good jolt of inspirational sources. Thanks!
Nicely done, Ruth. I’m particularly fond of the phrase, “the ceiling they’ve put on their own aspirations” — isn’t it nuts that we do that? Construct ceilings we allow to control our aspirations?
“Does your dialogue shine?”
Yes, Ruth! I’d advise starting there. Dialogue is fastest way to improve any manuscript. Do it well, and attention will be paid!
Garry—Thanks! And backatcha…Have an excellent Sunday.
Alex—Many thanks and much appreciated! glad to hear the post resonated. 🙂
Thanks, CS. “Nuts?” Or should we say “certifiable?”
I believe this is the uplifting post I needed today. I’m gearing up for sending query letters to agents for the first time in years and …. wow, am I not ready for the upcoming rejection letters! I’ve received so many in my lifetime, I could paper the SalesForce building in San Francisco (which I have to look at every single day!). Thank you for your words.
Jim—IIRC Elmore Leonard said readers skip “the boring parts” but no one ever skips dialogue. EL knew whereof he spoke.
My thoughts on writing dialogue here on the blog—
https://annerallen.com/2020/01/15-keys-writing-dialogue/
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for saying out loud–and proud!
Liz—thank *you*! I Hate feeling the heavy, suffocating hand of no-no’s in a book!
Patricia— unfortunately rejection is part of the gig. Never gets easy. 🙁 OTOH you gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. (Not you-know-who I hope.)
Good luck!
You’re welcome! It’s unfortunate that some writers, partcularly young writers aren’t able to separate the feedback wheat from the chaff.
Thanks for this Ruth. Not being a loquacious person in real life, dialogue is my bug-a-boo. Description is my strong suit, reviewers have often commented they felt like they were there. I sometimes work out dialogue by talking to myself, or maybe it’s a sign of my age. Either way it helps.
Love the idea of the Author Bank Account. So often we hear a phrase or see something that triggers an idea or think of a sentence that would fit well in a work in progress. Having a notebook in every room, including the bath helps to jot them down before they are gone.
Ruth, thanks for the pep talk on behalf of all writers who’ve ever doubted themselves, which is 99.99% of us! When your feelings are roiled up, it’s hard to separate snarky from sage.
Terrific ideas of where to look for fresh, timely, kick-ass story ideas!
Debbie—great phrase snarky from sage —love it! Yeah important to keep files (aka author bank account). Long time ago my dad told me to keep notes. He said “you think you’ll remember but you won’t.” He was so so right!
Brenda— glad the author bank helped. I’m totally with you on notebooks—have them everywhere. Also I keep index cards and a pen in coat/jacket pockets when I go out. Writers need to be prepared! You never know when the next great idea will strike!
As I make my notes for my book reviews, I do record clever turns of phrase. But keep them…why? Now I know why. Thank you for this helpful advise, Ruth.
Great post, Ruth. So many good ideas.
Love this advice: “Work on your craft, develop your voice, and focus on the fact that no one knows more about your book than you do.”
Leanne—thank you! I’m so pleased to learn my post is helpful. Yes keep those clever turns of phrase! As Picasso said, “great artists steal.” Who are we to disagree? Why not look for inspiration anywhere we can find it?
Kay—how nice of you! Thank you. Yes—author=authority. We’re the ones who know! If we’re not the ultimate experts on our own books, then who is?
Excellent advice. Thank you.
V.M.Sang — Thanks for the kind words. Pleased to hear my post helped!
Early on, I took the advice of an unpublished writer who thought he knew everything. This guy got off on tearing apart other writers. The deeper he cut, the better he felt about himself. You know the type. Interestingly enough, twelve years later, he’s still unpublished. Not one title to his name. Gee, I wonder why. 😉
Sue Coletta Gee, me too! Scratches head in puzzlement.
The know-it-alls and wannabes are high on the list of writer scourges. They’re vampires draining your energy & good will. So glad you escaped!
Great points, Anne. Especially taking into consideration the source of criticism before we slash our work to pieces because of it.