A REVIEW BY ANY OTHER NAME

To review or not to review...

One challenge for self-publishers is getting reviews. Right up there with getting them, is giving them. Reviews can be fun to do. However, if the author is a person who did a review for you, or they are a friend/fellow-group member, it can be difficult. How honest can you be? How objective? Even if the writer is unknown to you, how harsh do you wish to be?

As a reviewer, it’s important to be true to your objective-take on a book. If you always give 5-Star reviews, folks start to doubt the value of those reviews. On the other hand, no one wants to be hurtful or discouraging to fellow writers.

The 5-star rating limits choices. Sometimes a book is a 3.5, or the writing is warrants a 5, but the story evolution isn't as stellar. A book can be an enjoyable read without being a 5 Star book.

Additionally genres differ. A reviewer might not “like” a book simply because of the genre even thought it has a story and skilled writing. So what is that assessment worth in the overall scheme of ratings?

Most writers have considered the pitfalls of this review process and state that consistency in your reviews is important. Know why you like or don't like a book and translate that into an objective review each and every time.

More than one writer has defined a personal system. One way to help understand a reviewer's system, read other reviews they've written. Having a pre-determined system makes reviewing easier. I've read other defining commentaries on ratings and have devised a system I plan to use in the future.

• 5 Stars – Excellent story, well-written, worth every penny, drew me through the story fast enough to turn off my internal editor
• 4 Stars – Great book, satisfying read, skilled writing, well-crafted story/plot, would read more by this author and highly recommend it
• 3 stars – Good overall, generally well written, easy read, has at least one strong component (writing, plot or characters)
• 2 Stars – Mildly decent story premise, moderate writing skills, possibly predictable or boring, would not read another by this author.
• 1 Star – Difficult to read line-to-line writing, unlikeable or boring characters, hard to finish or not finished at all, would not recommend it

Based on this ranking tier, I consider a book with a 4-Star review and positive comments well worth buying--strongly recommended.

Personally, I avoid reviewing books I consider worth 1 or 2 Stars. However, a lack of review could also be an oversight, not an implied rating. 

Do you do reviews? What do your ratings tell the reader?

HIKERS AND STORY SETTINGS

Once upon a time travel was the best way and sometimes the only way to research a story site. Writers these days have wonderful information available on the internet. And although visiting an area is still a preferred research method, my thanks goes out to the folks who take the pictures and write the text and make it virtual visiting available.

One of the best sites for my setting is the Hiking the LaHave Islands by John Hutton. Viewing the photos, following the map and reading the text pulled me back to the area. I could smell the ocean.

Typical house - Note Lunenburg "bump"

This house, which Hutton tells us in a typical home in the area, sports a Lunenburg Bump, the uniquely shaped dormer on its front. This could easily be Uncle Lem's house in my Caleb Cover mystery series.

Bush Island Bridge

In the first book, a hurricane washes out the bridge trapping the characters with a murderer on my fictional island. In book two, the official opening of the new bridge plays a role.

In reality, there are several bridges connecting the La Have Islands. this one is the Bush Island bridge. It's just like the one washed away in Sheldon Harris Came Home Dead.

For a unique experience try John Hutton's virtual Hike - better still plan your next walking vacation and visit the La Have Islands in person.

CREATING A SETTING FOR YOUR NOVEL

WORLD BUILDING INSPIRATION #3

Crescent Beach and Georges Island

Devon turned onto the beach road leading to the island and Caleb’s Cove. Rain sheeted on the windshield, defeating the wipers and distorting her view. Hunched forward, she followed the spit, acutely aware of the white capped waves assaulting the fence between sand and road. Torrents dissected the road and blurred sky, ocean and land into one mass. (Came Home Dead)

The third and perhaps most critical inspiration for Caleb's Cove and the island it sits on, is Georges Island and the road access to it, Crescent Beach. Located in Lunenburg County, the LaHave Islands stagger out from the mainland, forested jewels in the Atlantic Ocean. Although details are altered for the fictional world, Devon drives along this beach road as the hurricane takes over the landscape.


Crescent Beach, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

The LaHave Islands

Other information about the scenery and the history of the LaHave Islands and area can be found at Lunenburg Region, Nova Scotia. The area is closely connected to the sea, to the Bluenose which is found on the Canadian Dime and the prohibition era rum running.

The land, the history and the people provide a rich background for the Caleb Cove Mysteries. (Even if the actual community and all
the folks in it are figments of my imagination.) Writing the stories is so much easier with so many potential details available in the real world.

Stronger Writing - Two quick tips

MISCELLANEOUS MUDDY WRITING ITEMS

If your writing seems muddy, or wishy-washy the following items might be the problem.

1) Avoid Unneeded Qualifiers

Maybe, possibly, might, seems, very

(Unless your intent is to make your character look wishy-washy)
- Choose strong words and statements

Be careful - some words don't need any qualifier:
   Pregnant is pregnant; absolue is absolute; unique is unique; fatal is fatal

2) Eliminate Redundancies

Two words often sneak in where one is enough. Watch for them.
- two eyes
- stood up or sat down
- sky above or earth below
- ceiling overhead or floor underfoot
- end result 

LY words and other adverbs -Stronger Writing #6

The Deadly –ly

“Ly words almost always catch the author in the act of explaining dialogue – smuggling emotions into speaker attributions that belong in the dialogue itself.” Self Editing for fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. Pg 51

I doubt there is a writer out there who has not been told to eliminate the -ly words, or at least to limit their use severely. The experts tell us -ly words are the mark of a lazy writer. 

Writing the first draft we use whatever easy word comes to mind to help us get the story on the page. In the editing process, we need to search out those weak verb/adverb structures, the way a cat hunts a mouse, and find more specific verbs. One common place we find them is coupled with said and in other constructions to define emotions.

 - If you use an –ly word to tell us how a character is feeling, use action to show us.

She was angry with Tom.

She glared at Tom, her teeth clenched and her fists bunched at her sides. 

- If you use an -ly word to insert emotions, use stronger dialogue.

“How should I know,” she said furiously.

“How the hell should I know?” she said.

- If you use an –ly word to enhance a verb, find a stronger verb.

She walked slowly (or unsteadily) down the street.

She strolled (or tottered) down the street.

Remember, when editing use that find function. Check your –ly words and be honest, isn't there a better way to say it?

MAKE YOUR WRITING ACTIVE

Use Active not Passive

Passive voice:

- Lowers and softens impact

- Distance the reader by forcing her to reorganize the sentence into SVO (Subject+Verb+Object)

- Uses 30% more words than active voice

- Lays flat and dull on the page

In active voice the subject acts.

In passive voice, the action is done TO the subject.

Active:             The sleuth caught the killer.

Passive:           The killer was caught by the sleuth.

To Find Passive Voice – Watch for this combination in structures:

- a form of the verb “to be” (is, am are, was, were, be, been or being)

- a participle or past participle (-ing and –ed verbs)

- a prepositional phrase beginning with by (written or implied)

            The rules were changed by the boss.

            The rules were changed. (by an implied someone)

Using WAS, ING’s and TO’s (participles or infinitives) result in passive constructions that distance the reader from the action.

Example

Passive:

• Considering her options, Jane tried to think of a way to grant the snake freedom without actually touching it.  One of the solutions she considered was barbecue tongs, but that would mean lifting the shoe box edge high enough for the slithery little monster to make an escape, so that was abandoned.

 Active:

• Jane considered her options.  How the heck could she grant the snake freedom without actually touching it?  She could use barbecue tongs, but that would mean lifting the shoe box edge high enough for the slithery little monster to escape. No, she wouldn’t try the tongs.

 Write your story any way you can, but when you have the meat on the platter, trim the fat. Cut back on structures that distance your reader. Garnish with action and pull your readers in.

WAS is a 4 letter word - Proven Editing Tools # 4

WAS is a Four Letter Word

by guest blogger - Diana Cranstoun

It was a cold and moonlit night.

Discussions around editing and passive voice prompted the following balanced article listing pros and cons for using the word "was." Diana volunteered to write this article in the series  on Writing Stronger - five proven areas for editing. Thanks, Diana, for these insights.

According to Michael Hauge, the job of the filmmaker is to elicit emotion in the audience. That responsibility holds equally true for the fiction writer. Our readers want to share in our characters' journeys, experiencing in a visceral way their joy and despair, fear and courage, trust and betrayal etc.

As writers, we’re told the most effective way to do this is to ‘show’ our stories rather than ‘tell’ them. A simple technique to 'show' is to use active, rather than, passive voice.

Passive voice – telling - holds the reader at arm’s length, and merely informs.

Active voice – showing -  engages the reader, eliciting emotion in both reader and character.

One of the biggest culprits of passive voice?  ‘Was’. It might only be a three letter word, but the writer must treat it with the same respect as its four-letter cousin.  Rely on was too frequently and your writing will lose its power.

The Argument AGAINST 'was':

Take this simple phrase:  He was walking.  ‘Was’ plus an ----ing verb is about as passive as it gets, and is on the 'No, no, no, no, no!' self-editing checklist for many publishing companies.  It’s boring and rarely suggests - or elicits - emotion in either character or reader.

He walked – is a little better, but it still doesn't tell the reader much.

Now try these for size. He strode. He strolled. He sauntered. He paced. He plodded. He shuffled. He waddled. He marched. He meandered. He slogged.

As a reader, can’t you see a picture in your head of how - exactly – the character 'was walking’? Doesn't that image evoke the emotion the character is feeling? And now don’t you want to use that other three-letter-word ‘Why?’ to ask why the character is feeling that way?

Get your reader to ask ‘Why?’ and you've engaged him. You've now elicited an emotion – at the very least, one of curiosity - in him.

The Argument FOR 'was':

It’s often suggested that during our final edit, we plug ‘was’ into our search option and eliminate its every use.  Maybe that’s taking things a bit too far because 'was' does have a place in our stories.

Where?

In character dialogue. " You know, she was telling me the other day..."  "I heard she was going into the army." "There was a sale at the shops today."

There is an argument to be made that too much showing can adversely affect the pace of a story. Think about the phasing or pacing of a song. If the singer sings each word, each phrase, at the same volume and with the same intensity, it's boring and turns the listener off. You need the quiet moments, the loud moments, the fast and the slow. That's one of the roles of 'was' in your book. Sometimes you just need that moment where you want to slip in a fact or piece of incidental information without making a big deal of it.

Ah, but what about the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities, I hear you ask.  In his famous opening line, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, Dickens uses the word 'was' ten times.  That's right, ten times!

As always, whenever there's a rule, it can be broken. But it's not something I suggest you try to emulate. Dickens' effectiveness has everything to do with the poetic nature of his introduction and the fact that he was a genius. That's not the case for most of us.

So what's the perfect balance?  Is there one? Check out the following links below and see how these best-selling authors from different eras deal with 'was'.