Writing Prescription Eighteen
Before submitting your book to an agent, revise your manuscript with these questions in mind -
LEAD CHARACTER -
1. Is my lead worth following for a whole novel? Why?
2. Do my characters sufficiently contrast?
3. Will readers bond to my lead?
OPPOSITION CHARACTER -
1. Is he just as fully realized as my lead?
2. Is his behaviour justified (in his own mind)?
3. Is he as strong (or preferably) stronger than the lead, in terms of ability to win the fight?
PLOT -
1. Is there any point where a reader might feel like putting the book down?
2. Is the story out of balance? Too much action? Too much reaction?
THE OPENING -
1. Do I open with some part of the story engine running? Or am I spending too much time warming up?
2. What is the tone of my novel going to be?
3. What danger is the lead in?
4. Is there enough conflict in the setup to run through the whole book?
MIDDLES -
1. Do I deepen character relationships?
2. Why should the reader care what's happening?
3. Have I justified the final battle or final choice that will wrap things up at the end?
4. Is there a sense of death (physical, professional, psychological) that overhangs?
5. Is there a story adhesive keeping the characters together eg. Moral, professional duty, physical location, other reasons characters can't just walk away?
ENDINGS -
1. Are there loose threads left dangling? Resolve them.
2. Do I give a feeling of resonance/ a sense of something beyond the confines of e book covers.
3. Will the readers feel the way I want them to feel?
SCENES -
1. Is there conflict/ tension in every scene?
2. If the scene is action, is the objective clear?
3. If the scene is reaction, is the emotion clear?
VOICE, STYLE, POINT OF VIEW -
1. Are there sections where the style seems forced or stilted? Read it aloud
2. Is the POV consistent in every scene?
3 if writing in first person, can the character see and feel what it is I describe?
4. If writing in third person, do I slip into the thoughts of other characters rather than the POV character in the scene? Do I describe something the character can't see or feel?
SETTING AND DESCRIPTION -
1. Have I brought the setting to life for the reader?
2. Does the setting operate as a 'character'?
3. Do they add mood and tone.
DIALOGUE -
1. Does my dialogue have conflict or tension, even between allies?
2. Can I change some attributions, he said she said, to action beats
THEME -
1. Do I know what my theme is?
2. Have I avoided 'the lecture'?
CHAPTER OPENINGS -
1. Can I begin a little further in?
2. Does the opening grab? Have a hint of conflict or action?
CHAPTER ENDINGS –
1. Can I find a place to end a chapter earlier?
Word search for repeated or weak words and replace them.
BIG MOMENTS -
Identify 5 big moments in your story. After each moment, make a list of 10 ways you can heighten that moment, make it more intense, give it more juice.