Posts Tagged ‘manuscript consultant’

This blog post is to encourage my clients and all the writers who are on their umpteenth rewrites.

When you’re writing a novel, a memoir, or any lengthy story, keeping track of the elements (plotlines, character arcs, archetypes, themes, hooks, foreshadows, metaphors, dialogue, front story, back story, internal monologue, exposition, irony) becomes a monumental task.

My analogy:  The elements in your story make up the pieces of a ten-thousand-piece puzzle.  Revising a piece of the puzzle could mean adjusting all the other pieces, especially when you’ve been rewriting and rewriting. Has your overall puzzle become a fuzzy picture?

Here’s my advice: Work in sections. Start with the first quarter of your story. Print your pages and read them out loud, chapter by chapter.  As you read, take notes; use color coding to track each element.  Example:  you might use yellow highlight to track your “hooks.”  Whatever method you choose to track, ask yourself these questions:  What’s my intent to introduce this hook?  Am I going to keep the reader engaged by re-baiting this hook in successive chapters?  At what point will I satisfy the reader by releasing the hook (delivering the “aha” moment)?

Happy rewriting and tracking!

I salute you!

Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

author / manuscript consultant / writing career coach

author of Love Made of Heart (the story that inspires adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas and to gain resources for their families)

author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

http://writingcoachteresa.com

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What to do before hiring an editor for your manuscript?

My advice for narrative non-fiction writers is the same for fiction writers.

“Look at Your Manuscript with an Editor’s Lens”

by Teresa LeYung Ryan–Developmental Editor/Manuscript Consultant/Writing Career Coach

Since writing a story with the intent to engage the reader is so much like meeting a stranger and wanting him/her to be interested in us, I will focus on “how to make the first quarter of your story a compelling read.”

I love working with diligent writers who want to transform their manuscripts into page-turners. However, there are things you can do before you give your work to an editor. Let me show you how you can help yourself.

Does your manuscript pass these tests?

• Planting hook(s) or story-question(s);
• Grounding the reader with the three Ws and the big C (Who?  When?  Where? Circumstances);
• Showing (not telling) what the protagonist wants;
• Paying attention to language and rules

Let’s learn from the pros.

Planting Hook or Story-Question:

In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston hooks us with the first line: “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you…”   Then, Ms. Kingston transitions into her story with:  “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one . . .”

Grounding the Reader with the Three Ws and the big C:

In Woven of Water, while the story timeline spans from 1957 to 2005, Californian author Luisa Adams brilliantly shows us who she was as a girl (not with a year-by-year narrative, but with a single exquisite chapter).  Because she grounded us with “who, when, where” and the “circumstances” as to why she had left her love affair with water, we eagerly follow as she takes us into her enchanted world of a “cottage in the forest.”  Another device to ground the reader is the employment of sensory details (not long descriptions).  Sensory details put the reader in the scene/story world.  Re-read one of your favorite author’s books. Study from the masters.

Showing What the Protagonist Wants:

In The Other Mother, young Carol Schaefer wants to ask questions:  “Was there any way to keep my baby?  Was there anyone who would help me find a way to do that?”

In Eat, Pray, Love, Elisabeth Gilbert says: I wish Giovanni would kiss me.

In Love Made of Heart, my protagonist Ruby Lin prays: Please don’t end up like Grandmother (while witnessing police officers escorting her own mother out of her apartment).

Paying Attention to Language and Rules:

Read the first five pages of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and you will see how this wordsmith plays with language and rules. (You can “bend” the rules to create flow, but you must not ignore them.)

In Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison’s protagonist Bone is a girl.  Bone’s voice is convincing in dialogue and in internal monologue. Brilliant use of dialect.

Sentences Deserve Your Attention:

Remember Groucho Marx’s line “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas…”? That sentence got a lot of laughs.  But, what if you didn’t want to be funny (ambiguous in this case)?

How would you rewrite these sentences?  See the misplaced modifiers?

• He likes to fish near the Farallon Islands, they jump when they’re hungry at dawn or dusk. (the islands jump?)
• She insists on knowing when I come home and leave, not to be nosy, but for safety reasons. (who is not nosy?)
• Being cautious as not to step on the dog’s tail, the children tip-toed away from him while sleeping. (who’s sleeping?)

To improve your sentence structure and other skills, I recommend these books:

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Woe is I: Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner

More Advice:

• In all the stories I referenced above, the authors present memorable experiences by employing authentic details, unusual story-worlds though real, and poetic language. You want to do the same for your story.
• Also, these stories have another vital component–all the plotlines have what Martha Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots Pure and Simple, calls “Cause and Effect” linked scenes.  Another must-read blog:  http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/search?q=first+quarter
• When you’re writing non-fiction and you do not have the luxury of rearranging the sequence of events to create a page-turning plotline, you can engage the reader by using concise expositions to leap over blocks of time in order to focus on the core themes and fast-forward to the next scene.  A helpful website for memoir writers: http://www.memoriesandmemoirs.com
• You the author must show the reader what the protagonist wants, even if the protagonist doesn’t know at first.
• We don’t have to “like” a protagonist, but, we do need to connect with him/her on an emotional level. Perhaps what he/she wants is also what we want.
• Story-telling is a skill learned, practiced, and mastered. May you practice with joy.

In the fiercely competitive arena of the publishing world, how does one stand out in a crowd?  Building relationships is one key to success in this business. Another key is to know how to translate the themes from your life to your writing and articulate those themes as community concerns.  I want to see all hardworking writers realize their dreams. My best wishes to you!

To read other posts in my blog (about writing contests, publishing opportunities, more tips on platform-building), click on [ Home ] and scroll down  OR key in words in the search box to find specific posts. Example: if you key in the words: poetry anthology 2011 into my blog’s search box and click [search], you will see my post containing info about the  Las Positas College Anthology and other contests for other genres (Thank you, Poet Laureate Deborah Grossman!) To read the entire version of a post, click on the title bar of that post.

To see my website for all my books, go to:  http://writingcoachteresa.com

Reach out, not stress out!

Sincerely,

Build-Your-Writer’s-Platform Coach Teresa

Teresa LeYung Ryan–Developmental Editor/Manuscript Consultant, Writing Career Coach, Author, Publisher

Teresa specializes in editing fiction and narrative non-fiction with themes on the human condition.

She likes spunky protagonists in thrillers, women’s novels, memoirs, and children’s literature.

Love Made of Heart is:
• recommended by the California School Library Association and the California Reading Association

• read by students at Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, CCSF, and many other colleges and high schools.

• used in Advanced Composition English-as-a-Second-Language classes
• archived at the San Francisco History Center

Teresa says: “The more you read, the more your own writing will flow.”  
Please click here for my blog’s home page  http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/

My fun workbook is now available through Amazon!

BUILD YOUR WRITER’S PLATFORM & FANBASE IN 22 DAYS: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Writers-Platform-Fanbase/dp/0983010005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297630400&sr=1-1

http://lovemadeofheart.com/BUILD-YOUR-WRITER%27S-PLATFORM-&-FANBASE-IN-22-DAYS.html

What’s Writing Career Coach Teresa’s Mantra for Herself in 2011?

More work.  Real Simple.  Life made easier. Live my best life.  Instant inspiration.

Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW

Order from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Writers-Platform-Fanbase/dp/0983010005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297630400&sr=1-1

Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan happy with her 2011 vision board collage--photo by Creativity Mentor Mary E. Knippel

The day after I created my vision board/collage at Mary’s workshop, I started developing my next workbook for writers!

Thank you so much, Creativity Mentor Mary E. Knippel!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan  on facebook!
Author / Writing Career Coach / Manuscript Consultant / Publisher

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Writing Conference and Workshops for Writers in California in February 2011

San Francisco Writers Conference February 18-20, 2011

http://sfwriters.org/

I, Teresa LeYung Ryan, will be presenting with Elisa Southard at this exciting conference. On Friday, February 18, 2011, 9:00am we’ll kick off the conference with our signature session (interactive too) “Get a Grip: Be Your Own Best Promoter”

Talking Tagline Coach Elisa Southard & Writing Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

Also, I will be offering one-on-one consultation as a manuscript consultant / book doctor and writing career coach.

See you there!

Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her workbook BUILD YOUR WRITER’S PLATFORM & FANBASE IN 22 DAYS: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW to help writers gain a competitive edge.  She uses her novelLOVE MADE OF HEART to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas that their parents suffer. Also, Teresa is a manuscript consultant; she likes quirky and feisty protagonists. Resources at her website & blog http://writingcoachteresa.com

February 17 and 21, 2011 Check out the pre-conference and post-conference workshops too!  http://sfwriters.org/

Another Magical Week for Writing Career Coach Teresa

Today is Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I received the proof of my workbook BUILD YOUR WRITER’S PLATFORM & FANBASE IN 22 DAYS: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW from CreateSpace and it looks beautiful!  As soon as I review the proof closely, I will authorize CreateSpace to start distributions of the physical book and make the ebook available through Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Mac, and PC. Thank you, CreateSpace staff and CreateSpace “Community” !  Thank you, graphic designer Gail Cao Mazhari, for making the front cover, back cover, and spine so beautiful !!!!

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After attending Mary E. Knippel‘s remarkably motivating workshop (creating my 2011 vision board/collage) on Sunday and spending time with the other women (learning something from each one of them), I started mapping out my next workbook BUILD YOUR WRITING LIFE IN 22 DAYS:  For Fiction & Narrative Non-Fiction Writers. Thank you so much, Creativity Coach Mary!

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My dear friend Chandra Garsson, the exquisite artist/filmmaker, has been announcing on facebook:

Jan. 31, 2011, 2:22pm  “Less is definitely more. It takes hours to whittle down a minute to a few seconds toward a three minute film about my friend Teresa LeYung Ryan. I am now at 6 minutes, 39 seconds and I’m thinking maaaaaybe 4-5 minutes.”

Jan. 31, 2011, 6:06pm  “I’ve got the film down to 5 minutes, 17 seconds, and because I have a tendency yo love any creative work I do, I’m SO tempted not to edit any more. But I know it should be shorter.”

Feb. 1, 2011, am  “4 minutes 56 seconds, and well worth the watch. Long on time, but very lively. It had to be both, it’s Teresa, she’s worth it. Soon in a theater near you— well— in your computer anyway.”

Feb. 1, 2011, pm  “Film is just under five minutes, I’m happy. I can’t imagine what Teresa will think, seeing herself presented through my eyes.”

Here’s my response:

Dear Chandra, I thought I was going to be “water boy” schlepping stuff while you film people in The City. Your wanting to make me the subject of one of your films is already the best gift. Everything else is icing on the cake. You add “magic” to all you do. You had painted my Love Made of Heart bookcase . . . and now a film about goofy me–I can’t wait to see it. I thank you. Humbly, Teresa

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Teresa LeYung Ryan uses her workbook BUILD YOUR WRITER’S PLATFORM & FANBASE IN 22 DAYS: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW to help writers gain a competitive edge.  She uses her novel LOVE MADE OF HEART to inspire adult-children of mentally-ill parents to speak openly about the stigmas that their parents suffer. Also, Teresa is a manuscript consultant; she likes quirky and feisty protagonists. Resources at her website & blog http://writingcoachteresa.com

What Does a Writer’s Life Look Like this Week?

Monday, author Elisa Southard and I took BART and Muni to meet with San Francisco Writers Conference co-founder Michael Larsen at the coffee shop in Grace Cathedral. Michael gave me lots of ideas for the new edition of my workbook BUILD  YOUR WRITER’S PLATFORM & FANBASE IN 22 DAYS: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers and Media Attention NOW.

Elisa Southard is building her fanbase for her new book BIG CITY  TRAVEL SKILLS –for young, first-time travelers.

Elisa & I will be presenting at the exciting San Francisco Writers Conference again, so, please look for us Feb. 18-20, 2011.

Tuesday I went to my part-time day-job (what a blessing to have a second source of income and work with gracious folks); also, answered emails from writers (including one from Chris Wachlin about how to get Kepler’s Books & Magazine to stock the wonderful anthology Fault Zone that members of California Writers Club-San Francisco Peninsula Branch have published).

Today, I met author Margaret Davis and her husband at the Oakland Museum of California.  I was mesmerized by
the Gallery of California History;  the new gallery is based on the theme of Coming to California.  The exhibit will be there until December 2, 2013.  Check it out.

Margaret, thank you for “word shifting” my workbook title and telling me what Dan Poynter said.

What a treat it was to see Margaret & Ray!  Then I hopped on BART and landed in San Francisco again.  Lora Baldwin (Frank Baldwin is working on another script) and their 2 boys were in town; I had a chance to catch up with Lora (doing the 2 biggest jobs on this planet–being a mom and home schooling her children) and get a dose of joyful energy from her and those beautiful kids.

Connections?  Frank Baldwin is one my mentors ( I refer to him as Obewan); he was one of Margaret Davis’s advisors when she was writing Straight Down the Middle.

Everyone mentioned in this post are or were involved with California Writers Club and the Jack London Writers Conference.   I had met Michael Larsen & Elizabeth Pomada and Frank Baldwin at that conference in the last 1990s. Margaret Davis and I are members of the San Francisco/Peninsula Branch of CWC; Elisa Southard was with the Marin Branch.

I come home and see that Jane Glendinning has emailed me photos of my presentation in October 2010 at CWC  Berkeley Branch (they meet at Oakland Main Library).

Thank you, Michael & Elizabeth, Elisa, Chris, Margaret & Ray, Jane, Lora & Frank, and the Baldwin children for making my week, and it’s only Wednesday!

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

What’s Happening with Borders Books & Music?

Literary agent Andy Ross, former owner of Cody’s Books, has written an informative blog post about Borders Books & Music and consequences on publishers and authors.

http://andyrossagency.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/whats-the-matter-with-borders/

In Andy’s post, he refers to Peter Osnos’s article in the Atlantic January 11, 2011

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/01/what-went-wrong-at-borders/69310/

I am sad for everyone, especially for employees who have lost or will lose their jobs.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

Are There Publishing-Writing Opportunities for Students-Young Writers-Children?

The Capitol City Young Writers have opened submissions for a literary journal by writers aged 10-18. Deadline is March 15, 2011. Check it out and help spread the word. Thank you, Linda McCabe and Margie Yee Webb, for telling me.

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On January 22nd Elisa Southard will be co-chairing the judging for the Bay Area Travel Writers Student Contest Submission deadline was January 1, 2011.  Keep them in mind later in the year so that you can get in on their next contest.  How perfect for Elisa Southard, the travel writer, to co-chair this event. Elisa is working on a new book—Big City Travel Skills–for young, first-time travelers.

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The Mt. Diablo Branch of California Writers Club
Young Writers Workshops and Contest “Honoring a New Generation of California Writers”
6th – 7th – 8th Grades,  Contra Costa County, California

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Check out Stone Soup for young writers and artists

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Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan–creator of “Heroes, Tricksters & Villains” workshop for young writers

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com and click on “Writers’ Resources”

I’m speaking as an editor/manuscript consultant. Whether you are writing fiction or narrative non-fiction, employing dialogue that not only represents each character’s personality but also gives clues  in an entertaining way will move your story forward.

How important is dialogue in a memoir or novel? Re-read your favorite story and study the author’s techniques.

When I’m not editing for my wonderful clients, I study dialogue in movies.
Since a script usually doesn’t offer narrative or internal monologue to supplement “words” the way a book does, dialogue (and how the lines are delivered) is an essential component in story-telling.  I love smart dialogue.

In the movie Woman Chases Man (1937), protagonist Virginia Travis, a starving architect (Miriam Hopkins) sees three portraits in the living room of B.J. Nolan (Charles Winninger).

Virginia:  (She sees a portrait of a little boy holding  Pilgram’s Progress)  “Who’s that?”

BJ:  “My son Kenneth.”

Virginia:  (She’s looking at the second portrait–a teenage boy holding the same book) “ Another son?”

BJ:  “Same one. Age sixteen.”

Virginia:  “Must be a slow reader.”

Virginia:   (She looks at third portrait–a young man in his cap and gown, holding diploma)  “I see he finished the book.”

BJ:  “Yeah, he has the checkbook now.”

Virginia:  “I had a checkbook once.”

The story is launched, with B. J. and Virginia scheming to get  Kenneth (Joel McCrae) to sign a check.  By the way, young Broderick Crawford’s portrayal of Hunk (friend of Virginia, disguising as B.J.’s butler) is hilarious.

Screen play by Joseph Anthony, Mannie Seff and David Hertz

Original story by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton

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In Cold Comfort Farm (1995) screenplay by Malcolm Bradbury, from the novel by Stella Gibbons (1930s), protagonist Flora Poste (recently orphaned) moves to the country to live with her relatives so that she can live on her modest 100 pounds a year and be a novelist.  Flora’s relations are odd in deed.  The mysterious matriarch, Flora’s Great Aunt Ada, doesn’t leave her room because she suffers from a terrifying memory of an event. As a girl, Ada had seen “something nasty in the wood shed” and now decades later she still has recurring nightmares.  Flora is the first person to ask Aunt Ada questions, which serves as the turning point in the story.  As it turns out, Aunt Ada doesn’t remember what she saw. But she won’t let go of her suffering (or let her family leave the farm either).

Toward the end of the story when a movie Czar Mr. Neck comes to the farm to take her grandson Seth to Hollywood . . . Great Aunt Ada comes running out of the house . . .
Great Aunt Ada : “I saw something nasty in the wood shed.”

Mr. Neck:  “Sure you did, but did they see you Baby?”

Coach Teresa here.  I emailed my friend Margaret Davis (author of Straight Down the Middle) to ask her if she has seen the movie and Margaret replied:
“My mother had a selection of novels in our house when I was growing up.  I was an avid reader, and I read, and reread, many of them over and over.  I knew Cold Comfort Farm by heart!  I also enjoyed Stella Gibbons’s book Nightingale Wood (also knew it by heart as a child!), and I know my own writing is definitely influenced by her.”

Happy New Year & New Writing Energy to Everyone!

Remember to employ dialogue that not only represents each character’s personality but also gives clues  in an entertaining way to move your story forward.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant / Writing Career Coach / Author / Publisher

http://WritingCoachTeresa.com

When weaving a story, keep “it” simple.  “It” = story-structure.

One of my favorite stories is E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web.  This timeless tale has wonderful hooks, memorable characters, universal themes and a compelling yet simple plotline.   Writers, I recommend your dissecting this book and your favorite books if you want to understand story structure for fiction or narrative non-fiction.

Cheers!

May your writing projects take on new form and new vitality in the new year!

Sincerely,

Writing Coach/Manuscript Consultant Teresa LeYung Ryan

author of Love Made of Heart (recommended by the California School Library Association and the California Reading Association)

http://writingcoachteresa.com