Dear Writers,

Are you stressed out while rewriting your project?  Breathe. Drink water. Exercise.  And read, read, read.

Whatever genre you’re writing, give your characters new sparks by rereading your favorite book of the same genre.

Study how the author of that favorite book show:

• what the protagonist wants (early in the story)–to connect with Reader
• the authentic details in the setting, circumstances, vernacular
• sensory details
• dialogue and body language that reveals each character’s personality or what he/she wants to show
• hooks, foreshadowing, metaphors
• archetypes help move story forward
• thematic threads

I’m cheering for you!

Sincerely,
Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

http://writingcoachteresa.com

Teresa LeYung-Ryan has helped over 1,000 writers.

As editor/story consultant, Coach Teresa helps her clients polish their manuscripts by identifying the themes and archetypes in their stories.

Her novel Love Made of Heart is used in college composition classes.

As author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she coaches authors before and after publication. 

http://writingcoachteresa.com Read other posts in her blog.

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

As Writing Career Coach

I presented “Build My Name, Beat the Game” to delightful writers at the Redwood Writers Conference.  Writers in my session, please scroll down until you see my post/column entitled “Redwood Writers Conference Pure Joy” and follow instructions please to build your names.

There’s post-conference work for me.  I’ll email colleagues and follow up on our conversations; I’ll email writers in my session some coaching notes; I’ll pitch my workshop to other organizations.

Do you know a non-fiction writer who wants to go to a writers’  conference but can’t afford it? Encourage her/him to ask family and  friends to chip in (what better Christmas gift or birthday gift!).   Check out Writing for Change Conference.

As Author

I’m writing down “gems” as they pop into my head.  Gems in the form of dialogue, metaphors, descriptions, hooks, and story-questions.

I had a chance to chat with Martha Engber at the Redwood Writers Conference and read the jacket copy of her novel  The Wind Thief.  I started reading it when I got home Saturday night and have been reading a little everyday.  What lovely prose and sensory details! What a gifted writer.  Tanya Egan Gibson is another gifted writer; I’m also reading her novel How to Buy a Love of Reading. My reading well-written books can only make me a better writer.

As Publisher

I’m updating Build My Name, Beat the Game: 22 Days to Identify & Develop My Writer’s Platform to Attract Agents, Acquisition Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention so that I can take the next step in publishing the next edition–and that is letting Nancy Mulvany create the index.

This evening I attended a Business and Leadership program at the Commonwealth Club on “iPad Revolution and the Future of Digital Magazines” with Matthew Davis of Zinio and Matt Carlson of Hot Studio, two pioneers in this emerging field.  Kevin O’Malley, President, TechTalk/Studio was Moderator (Thank you, Kevin, for inviting me.  The program was enlightening).

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung Ryan

Coach Teresa says: “Reach out, not stress out, when building your writer’s name/platform.”  

To comment on any of my columns (blog posts), just click on the blue title bar of the post, fill in the boxes and press “submit.”  Please click here http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/ for Home Page of my blog.

]]> https://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/a-week-of-wearing-3-hats-author-publisher-writing-career-coach/feed/ 2 https://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/im-the-editor-who-helps-writers-22-pages-at-a-time/ https://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/im-the-editor-who-helps-writers-22-pages-at-a-time/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:35:47 +0000 admin http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/?p=529 New Year’s approaching, new year to give your writing project a new look.

Ask me, Writing Coach Teresa, to edit 22 pages at a time.
Gain tools from my coaching with each installment of your manuscript. Affordable too.

Learn how to use  archetypes, themes/universal messages, metaphors, hooks, foreshadows, pivotal plot points, seamless transitions, and poignancy to make your story a page-turner.
I like to edit fiction and narrative non-fiction with strong and quirky protagonists, memoirs, young adult fiction, and short stories.

Visit http://WritingCoachTeresa.com home page to find out what it means when an agent or editor tells a writer that his/her story is episodic.

Writing Coach & Manuscript Consultant Teresa LeYung Ryan who helps writers 22 pages at a time.

California Writers’ Club–SF Peninsula Branch Presents
“Build Your Name While You Write”
with Writing-Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan

January 16, 2010, 10am to noon
Belmont Library, 1110 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Belmont, CA
Cost: $15  CWC members;  $18 non-members

Reservations are advised:
Call 650-615-8331 to leave a message or email Chris Wachlin at <reservations@sfpeninsulawriters.com> with your name and the meeting date.

More info & PayPal available on:  http://cwc-peninsula.org

Can you relate to any one of these statements?

* Agents and acquisition editors say publishers prefer to work with authors who are already celebrities or have established platforms (i.e. means to build fan base).  How do I compete?

* I am published. There aren’t enough hours in a day to write, let alone run around and network.

* I believe in my writing and I’m committed to building my career, but, my budget is limited.

Optional exercises before January 16:  http://cwc-peninsula.org/

On January 16, 2010 Teresa will debut her guide Build Your Name, Beat the Game: Be Happily Published

Teresa LeYung Ryan’s bio:  http://WritingCoachTeresa.com