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

Writing Descriptions: The Envelope Method

Have you ever read a book that had so much description you got lost in the writing, but not in a good way—in a what-were-we-talking-about way?

Or how about this—the handsome hero in a romance novel is shown down to the last freckle, but it’s not a description you find attractive?

Description is peevish. Too little and your reader can’t visualize anything. Too much and you can confuse your reader or describe something a reader might not like.

What’s a writer to do?

I can’t remember if it was Sol Stein, Jon Franklin, or Jack Hart (sorry—I can’t find the correct attribute in my notes), but I will never forget his advice because it’s the perfect solution to the description problem:

The Envelope Method

The premise is simple: Share enough detail to create an envelope, then let the reader fill the envelope with their own ideas.

For example, tell the reader the hero is six-two, trim, and clean shaven with salt-and-pepper hair. If he has a specific trait that sets him apart—a cleft chin, crooked nose, or curly hair—show that, but then let the reader fill in the rest.

The same is true for settings. Rarely do readers need to know every color, species, and location of each flower in a one-acre garden. Nor do they need to know the color and texture of every carpet, sofa, and drapery in a house. The exception, again, would be a character who notices those things (an interior designer in a historic Victorian home) or a setting that’s an integral part of the plot (two people fighting over whether the garden should be flowers or vegetables).

For many readers, creating their own images of people and places is part of the joy of reading. Don’t rob them of that joy! Give your readers just enough detail to lead them in the right direction, then let them figure out the rest on their own.

If you have questions about the envelope method or writing descriptions, 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!

Why Novels Need Story Structure

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Have you ever walked into your regular grocery store and cringed because they rearranged the store? You find dog food in the bread aisle and paper plates where the cereal used to be. Everything you need is still in the store, but it’s hard to find, which can be frustrating.

Something similar happens when authors write books without structure—readers “walk in” to the story expecting to find three acts or mirroring plot points, but instead they find vignettes or backstory. If it’s a favorite author—like your regular grocery store—they might stick around and try to find their way through the mess, but if it’s someone new to them, chances are good that they’ll walk out and find a story that’s less frustrating.

In his book Just Write, James Scott Bell says structure is important for the reader, not the writer. Whether or not they realize it, readers have specific expectations for novels. They expect the boy and girl to live happily ever after in a romance. They detective must find the criminal in a mystery. Historical events need to impact the characters in historical romance.

All of those elements are part of a novel’s structure. Recognizing and understanding different story structures will help you create a solid foundation on which to build your novel.

As with most things in fiction writing, there’s no one-way to do things. There are different types of story structure you can use, and they all work. A good place to start is the traditional three-act story.

A three-act story actually includes at least six main points, but the three most obvious are the acts.

Act I: The introduction—this is where you introduce the setting and main characters.
Act II: The body—where the story happens (and conflict reigns).
Act III: The conclusion—the climax of the story where everything resolves.

But you also need some transitional elements.

Inciting Incident: Something out of the ordinary that forces the main character into the story.
First Door: A situation requiring a decision that pushes the MC from Act I into Act II.
Second Door: A life-changing decision that forces the MC into Act III (it doesn’t matter what the MC chooses, life will be different; it’s his choice as to how it will be different).

Most readers cand identify these elements, but the subconsciously look for them, and including them in your book helps them more easily navigate new settings, new characters, and a new author voice.

The are many variations of the three-act plot, and they all work. The key is to find the structure model that works best for you and your story. I’ve listed some of my favorite resources for structure below—what’s your go-to book for plot structure?

AVAILABLE NOW! Get your copy here!

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

Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

Write Better Characters: How to Strengthen Goals and Motivations

Characters are, of course, the lifeblood of fiction. All the twisty turny plot elements in the world won’t matter to readers if they are not bonded to a character they care about.” Just Write by James Scott Bell

Characters are the heart of any novel. If readers don’t connect with and care about your characters, they won’t keep reading. So how do you help your readers connect? By strengthening your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts (GMC). The easiest way to strengthen a GMC is to make sure it’s specific to your character.

Writers often start with goals and motivations are that are too general.

Goal: to buy a house.
Motivation: they’re sick of renting.

The problem with that goal and motivation is that they could apply to millions of people. Strong GMCs can only apply to your characters. There’s something so specific about the goal or motivation that it couldn’t possibly apply to anyone else.

An excellent example of a strong goal is Kenya’s goal is the movie Something New. The movie opens with her having drinks with three friends. The conversation eventually turns to men, and Kenya—a successful single Black woman—admits that she’d like to find a man, but she’s holding out for her IBM: her Ideal Black Man.

Her motivation is somewhat generic. Like many people, getting married is eventually part of Kenya’s plan. It’s her very specific goal, however (to find her IBM), that helps the audience understand her conflict—the kind, successful man she meets on a blind date is white. Without knowing her specific goal, Kenya comes across as either racist, irrational, or both. Because of her goal, however, the audience understands her conflict.

Another way to strengthen a GMC is to individualize the motivation. An example of a character with a specific motivation is Charlotte Atherton is Karen Witemeyer’s A Worthy Pursuit. Charlotte’s goal is to teach gifted children. There’s nothing particularly unusual about that. It’s her motivation that makes her stand out.

Charlotte was a piano prodigy as a child, and her father took advantage of her talent to make himself famous. When she grows up, the first man to show interest in her wasn’t actually interested in a relationship with her; he also wanted to take advantage of her talent. Those experiences fuel her motivation—to protect gifted children from being manipulated by and taken advantage of by others.

Without understanding Charlotte’s motivation, it’s impossible to understand why she flees to the woods and hides with three students when the school she teaches at unexpectedly closes in the middle of the night. Without understanding her specific motivation, Charlotte’s reaction to the school closing looks overly emotional at best and like kidnapping at its worst. Her specific motivation, however, makes her relatable.

By creating goals and motivations that could only belong to your characters, you’re allowing the reader to better understand and better relate to your characters, which makes the reader want to keep turning the page. Keep them turning the page.

What are your characters’ goals and motivations? How can you make them more specific?

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!

Why Do You Need a Novel Synopsis?

Most novelists know they need to write a synopsis for their books, and there are lots of resources to teach you how to write your synopsis, but why do you need one?

Here’s the good news—a synopsis is not an example of your writing style or skill. That’s not why agents and publishers request them, so don’t worry about whether or not the synopsis demonstrates your mastery of fiction-writing techniques. It’s not supposed to. Instead, your synopsis demonstrates the following:

  • Can you follow directions? Agents and publishers will request everything from a one-page to a ten-page synopsis—you can’t submit the same one to everyone. Agents and publishers usually post their submission guidelines on their websites, including synopsis length. Sending the right length shows the recipient that you can and will follow directions.
  • Story structure. The best novels have structure (such as the three-act story). Your synopsis will show the reader if your story has structure and where the weaknesses are.
  • Characterization. You should include brief descriptions of your main characters in your synopsis, and those will help the reader see whether or not you have stereotypical or complex characters. The synopsis will also highlight character growth and development.
  • Other big-picture problems. Does the pacing work? Is there enough conflict? Your synopsis shows this.

It’s actually pretty easy to help an author polish a strong story with fiction-writing problems (too much telling, not enough sensory details, etc.). It’s much more time consuming to fix those issues if they’re layered on top of plot holes and weak characterization.

When you’re writing your synopsis, remember that it’s a story summary—it shows agents and publishers how well you can plot a story and create relatable characters. Don’t get bogged down in the details. Let the story shine (your sample chapters will do the rest).

Still not sure about your synopsis? Don’t hesitate to contact me and let’s see how we can strengthen yours.

For more tips, connect with me online at Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

7 Ways to Add Tension Without Ruining Your Story

Have you ever been in a restaurant when the people next to you started arguing? Talk about tension! Putting a fight or argument into your story is a great way to add tension, but if you rely solely on personal confrontation, you’ll end up with characters who fight constantly. It won’t take long for that to annoy your readers.

So how do you add tension without the fights? Simple – make everything go wrong for your characters. As soon as things start to return to normal, throw another obstacle in front of them. Here are some great ways to tense things up without ruining your story.

  1. Move your characters. Take them out of a familiar setting, whether it’s just moving into a new house or a completely new city. Changing the location opens lots of problematic doors.
  2. Change their jobs. Even if your characters are completely confident in their work abilities, the new location, co-workers, and management/employees can add tension.
  3. Lose something precious. Grandma’s ring. Dad’s Joe Montana autographed football. It doesn’t matter how big or valuable, as long as there’s sentimental attachment.
  4. Give them something they don’t want. A new dog. Another pregnancy. An old house full of junk inherited from a deceased relative/hoarder. Anything that messes up the status quo will add tension.
  5. Destroy something. A deer/car accident that leaves your character without a way to get to work. A house fire that leaves him homeless. A drowned cell phone that causes your character to miss an important phone call.
  6. Give them friends and co-workers. Unless your story takes place on a deserted island, you can add minor characters who mess with your main characters. Don’t start arguments though, just put them in tense situations. An ex-boyfriend who interrupts a dinner date or the highly motivated co-worker who tramples anyone on his way to the next promotion.
  7. Bring in the family. Whether it’s the nuclear family or a distant relative, the possibilities are endless for creating tension: the sexist uncle who insults every woman in the room; the annoying cousin who’s never worked a day in her life; the younger sibling who’s always trying to prove himself. (Try to avoid the nagging mother-in-law and the self-centered stepmom though – they’ve become cliché.)

Look at your characters and evaluate their situations. Figure out what would really push their buttons – then push them! Determine what would ruin their plans – then ruin them! This kind of tension gives your characters issues to work through without forcing them to slip into nagging, argumentative behaviors. Tension, tension, tension!

How have you added tension to your story?

Do you need help adding tension? Let me know, and let’s see how I can help: 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!

4 Tips for Creating Meaningful Connections with Characters

One of the great things about fiction is the opportunity to step into someone else’s head and not only experience a new and different life, but to feel the excitement, anguish, and fear right along with the character. But why do some books elicit such deep emotions from the reader while others fall short?

It’s all about connecting with the characters.

Have you ever read a book that you wanted to love, but you just couldn’t make yourself care what happened to the characters? Or maybe you wanted to know what happened, but you never felt any sympathy for or excitement with the characters? Either way, the problem is the same—you never developed a connection with the characters, so you never invested in their lives.

Why does it matter? Because people won’t read about characters they don’t care about.

Yes, you might find some readers who just want to know how the story ends, so they skim pages and skip long paragraphs to get to the last chapter (or, if you’re like me, you read the last chapter to see if you’ll like the ending, then decide if the book’s worth your time). Don’t give readers an excuse to skip pages! Instead, give them the chance to get to know your characters so they’re not merely curious to see what happens, they care about what happens.

How do you create meaningful connections with characters?

Stop skipping Act I.

Perhaps the most traditional (and well known) story structure is the three-act structure—beginning, middle, and end. Another way to understand and discus the three acts is:

  • Act I: Introduction
  • Act II: Body/Story
  • Act III: Conclusion

In a ridiculously short summary, these three parts essentially mean:

  • An introduction of characters, setting, and plot.
  • Watching the characters interact with each other within the setting to advance the plot.
  • When the characters work through the final plot issues to resolve the story with a satisfactory ending.

The part I really want to focus on is Act I, the introduction. It’s becoming more and more common to see that part of the story stripped down (if not completely eliminated) in an effort to jump right into the plot.

Don’t. Do it.

For years now, writers have been told to start their stories with action. Yes, that is absolutely true, but that doesn’t mean you dive right into the plot without first introducing all of the key players and plot elements. Don’t sacrifice Act I for the sake of action. When you do that, your reader doesn’t know whether to root for the woman on the run or hope she gets caught—without an introduction, you throw the reader into a confusing situation, and you never want to confuse the reader.

How, then, do you start your story?

  1. Start with action that’s appropriate for the genre and story. If you’re writing suspense, it’s understandable and often acceptable to open with a woman on the run, then reveal that character to the reader as you go. That’s part of the suspense plot. If, however, you’re writing women’s fiction, the action needs to appropriate: a working woman grocery shopping, a mom pushing a stroller while she jogs, two sisters sorting through their deceased father’s possessions. All of these things are It doesn’t have to be a car chase or gun fight, as long as it doesn’t start with the main character thinking for two pages.
  2. Introduce the main characters. Imagine you’re at a barbecue. Your friend brings over a stranger and says, “This is my co-worker, Larry.” Besides what Larry looks like, you only know one thing about him. That’s not a great introduction, but that’s how many authors start their books. Instead, use this introduction: “This is my co-worker, Larry. He just moved to town last month and is looking for a new massage therapist to treat back issues resulting from a car accident. I thought you might be able to help him since you work at a chiropractor’s office and have connections in that industry.” Wow. Now the reader understands Larry. They may not be able to relate to his situation, but they’ll understand why he hires someone to walk his dog and stop thinking he’s lazy. You’ve helped create empathy.
  3. Show the setting. Where and when a story takes place will impact the events of the story. For example, a cruise ship is sinking. How should the reader react to that? It’s hard to know if you don’t know when or where the ship is sinking. If it’s off the coast of Florida in 2005, the Coast Guard will be there with speed boats and helicopters—exciting! If, however, it’s 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, it’s tragic. Make sure you show the setting.
  4. Establish normalcy. If the reader doesn’t know what life is like for your characters, they won’t know how to respond when unusual events happen. Say your character is sitting in her car at a red light when two cars plow into the intersection and crash. She calmly calls 9-1-1, gives a statement when the police arrive, then goes home where her husband hugs her and tells her how proud he is of her and how amazing she is. Why? Without establishing her normal—that she’s an army veteran with severe PTSD who curls into a ball and suffers flashbacks when a balloon pops—there’s no way to understand her breakthrough by being able to call for help and drive herself home. Take the time to establish normalcy so the reader can recognize important moments.

By including these four elements, you’ll make it easier for your reader to connect with the characters, which will establish the emotional connection that pulls the reader through the story.

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!

Keep It Simple, Stupid: 3 Fiction-Writing Rules for Success

When it comes to fiction writing, simple is best.

Too often, new writers want to do something new and original to capture an agent or publisher’s attention. They create over-the-top characters, put them into unbelievable situations, and describe every encounter and setting with Victorian-era poetry. They break all the rules because they’re convinced their unique approach to novels will wow their readers.

That rarely works.

Here’s the hard truth that many new writers struggle to understand–the rules exist for a reason, and understanding (and applying) those rules will increase your chance of signing a book deal (and selling more copies of your book). By understanding and applying basic fiction-writing rules, you’ll capture your readers attention and keep it until the end.

When it comes to fiction, remember to K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid (or Silly, if you prefer).

At it’s heart, a great novel includes three main things:

1. Believable characters. Stereotypes won’t cut it. Neither will random characters thrown into situations they’d never find themselves in. Characters don’t need to be off the wall, they need to be multi-dimensional and believable (even if the reader can’t relate, she should at least understand the character’s motivations).

2. A structured, forward-moving plot. If your characters don’t have goals–if they aren’t actively working toward something–your readers will lose interest. But it’s not enough to have them struggling over and over and over again toward the same thing (that would move the plot backward). Give the characters something to work toward and keep adding new plot points.

3. Appropriate showing. Novelists have heard “show don’t tell,” but showing in and of itself isn’t enough. The showing needs to be appropriate to the characters and the time period. Six year-old children don’t talk in complete paragraphs with three-syllable words. Turn-of-the-century characters don’t say groovy.

Don’t worry about unique plot twists or unconventional points-of-view until after you have a few novels under your belt. Instead, master these basic fiction-writing elements and you’ll create stories people will want to read.

K.I.S.S.

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