http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/amazing-giveaway-a-free-pass-to-the-2012-san-francisco-writers-conference-feb-16-19-2012-worth-745

A shorten version of the above url is http://tinyurl.com/wd-free-sfconference-ticket.

I know I haven’t been posting much recently. Took two writing courses from Stanford and have a whole new version of the first 4.5 chapters.

1. Look for places where dialog is linked to kinds of “looking”.  Take them out.
2. Make sure your character changes by the end of the novel.  The character at the end
3. “Write a one-sentence statement summarizing your story that includes the main character, the main theme, and the main problem to be overcome.”
4. “Read the first paragraph of every chapter. From these isolated paragraphs alone, you should be able to detect forward movement in the story, with both plot and characterization escalating.”
5. “You want dialog to illuminate character personality and reveal emotion. It can influence or lead other characters. What it should NOT do, however, is be used as a device to state plot facts.”
6. “Search for the word “as” in construction (e.g., As she ran out the door, she grabbed a sweater from the closet. He pulled on his coat as she started the car.) Breaking these constructions into separate sentences will strengthen your voice and give your story more power.” “Also watch out for -ing action constructions.” “Make the most of narrative beats between dialog. Use the space to create action.”
7. “Mark references to the five senses in your manuscript. Make sure you have at least three references to the senses per chapter.”
8. “Don’t use italics for emphasis.” “To make your voice stronger, use an action to denote emphasis, not italics. (e.g., A whiny character saying, ‘I want to go too, becomes, ‘She clutched his sleeve. ‘I want to go.”)”
9. “Show actions such as observing, judging, acting, and dealing with consequences instead of flat out telling the reader how a character feels.”
10. “Have someone you don’t know read your pages for typos and errors. Pay extra for each mistake he or she finds.”

February 11, 2010
by  James Plath (from Writer’s Digest)

Lots of tips that not only help you with agents and publishers but just to help you make your story better.

…when writing a scene, first you must concentrate only on the elements that make that scene work on its own as an isolated mini-story. But eventually you must judge each individual scene’s effectiveness according to how much it contributes to the work as a whole.

Can’t decide whether or not the scene you’ve just written belongs in your story? A scene should do two or more of these four things:

1) advance the plot

2) develop the character(s)

3) illustrate the theme

4) contribute to suspense (which in turn advances the plot).

by suzannah of “Write it Fresh, Write it Bold, Write it Sideways”

The strengths of Rowling’s prose read like a summary of Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style”:

• varied sentences, both in length and structure
• use of the active voice
• limited use of “to be” verbs and related constructs (“there were,” “it was,” “she was”)
• balanced use of rare verbs (slam, snatch, swagger) with more common ones (close, take, walk)
• a preference for concrete nouns that appeal to the five senses
• carefully selected modifiers
• use of more specific transitional words and phrases (because, though, which) rather than relying entirely upon “and,” “but,” and “then”

The Potter prose isn’t afraid to use adverbs (including adverbs in dialogue tags), for which all writers should be grateful.

1) Who is your main character (MC)?
2) What does the MC want?
3) What’s the main conflict that keeps the MC from getting that want?
4) What’s the event/situation that sets the MC in motion to achieve the want?
5) What are the obstacles the MC encounters, keeping him/her from the want? (Obstacles should escalate, building tension)
6) What’s the event/situation that makes the MC go “All-or-Nothing” to win the want? (This is a moment in which there is no turning back)
7) Does the MC win or lose?
8) What’s the effect of the win or loss on the MC?

from moonrat, a recovering editorial assistant, posted Friday, January 02, 2009.

The thing about your overwriting…. It’s just boring. It’s going to be the thing that makes people put your book down and never buy it. I know that in your mind, this language was a good idea. You clearly put a lot of time into stringing together as many adjectives, adverbs, and “replacement” nouns that struck you as interesting. So I’m gonna need you to try to be honest with yourself and flexible with me here.

“techniques to make your  book one readers won’t be able to put down.”

• PLOT FROM THE GUT.
• THE “Heart-Clutching Moments” PLOTTING METHOD:
• What are HCM?
  • Love at first sight…
  • A huge moral lapse…
  • Murder…
  • Death by other means…
  • A refusal of grace…
  • Nature gone wild…
  • Someone standing up to corruption…
  • A change of heart, for good or ill…
  • An act of depraved violence…
  • Betrayal…
  • Forgiveness…
  • A revelation…
  HCMs can be active, whole scenes:
  • A lifesaving attempt
  • A chase
  • A battle
  • A seduction
  • A caper
• Make a list of Heart-Clutching Moments and put them on index cards in rough order. Then you can build an outline

There is a lot more in this article.