I'm six or seven books into my educational tour of crime fiction. I'm learning a lot. It's still the best homework ever.
Here's a list of some of the notes I've taken so far on what works and what doesn't in the books I've read. This is completely subjective. And as the title points out, it's a list of how-tos from somebody that hasn't. But I heard those monkeys were getting closer to re-creating Hamlet. If they can do that, I can give whatever advice I want!
- Cut the pronouns. Lee Child is a master of this. You don't read about Reacher, "He found the door ajar. He pushed it open cautiously. He looked around." That's clumsy. Instead you read "He found the door ajar. Pushed it open cautiously. Looked around." Short, declarative sentences win the day.
- Have a ticking clock. Yes, it was cheesy on 24. And yes, I'm speaking figuratively. The story has to have an impetus to move the characters to immediate action. Nobody wants to read about detective Will Solveitsomeday when they can read about captain Urgent Matters.
- Decide on one familiar name per character. And stick with it. Nothing is worse that having the author switch between a character's first name, last name, pet name, nick name, rank, etc. Book characters don't have faces. We count on names for recognition. Don't confuse the reader.
- Don't use dialogue as a plot mover. If the words coming from your character's mouth feel like you've extracted them to move along the story, revise. Readers notice.
- Don't be afraid to cut. Be ruthless with your own work. I've just decided to chop off a 5,000+ word chapter. It doesn't advance the story, I don't come back to the characters. I can find a more effective use for that space (I think)
- Don't be heavy handed with your opinion. If your character thinks his boss is a bafoon, you would do better to have the boss act as such and let the reader surmise than have the character state it. This also goes back to showing vs. telling.
The best advice of course is to do what I'm doing; read. Find what you do and don't like and work your manuscript accordingly.
Best of luck. I need it.
Oh, good luck to you too!
