The structure of a novel can make or break it. If it’s well-structured—as in the pacing is good, the events happen in the most logical order (even if that’s not necessarily chronologically), and the characters do things you’d expect them to do—that’s more than half the battle. And if you’re lucky, the structure is pretty good starting with the first draft. Most of my novels/novellas are like this (now—maybe not in the beginning), but not all of them.

One of the novels I’m working on now wasn’t so lucky. The first draft was okay. It was actually pretty good until about 2/3 of the way through. And then it kind of fell flat. The ending sucked, to put it bluntly.

So on my first round of revisions, I rewrote the ending entirely. My protagonist made a better decision to start with, and then I added in a new twist after that, and then everything wrapped up more or less neatly. But I still didn’t really like it. I kept looking back at my original ending, wondering if there was something there after all. Read the rest of this entry »

Considering this blog is “Cameron Chapman On Writing” and not “Cameron Chapman Promoting Her Books and Nothing Else”, I thought it was time to get back to writing about writing. Besides, there’s a nice, big, shiny link to where you can buy Aboard the Unstoppable Aerostat Fenris in the sidebar.

So today I’d like to talk about my strategies for revising and editing my work. Some writers have very set techniques for editing their work. Others are sort of all over the place. I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle. Read the rest of this entry »

Music has always been an integral part of my creative process. I’ve gotten more than a few story ideas from song lyrics. And whenever I start on a new project, I come up with a playlist of sorts that I use to get me in the mood to write. Usually, these are the songs I listen to while I’m in the shower (’cause that’s also where I get my best ideas). I’ll listen to the same eight to ten songs for the entire writing and revising process. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve written before about using beta readers to find holes or inconsistencies in your manuscript. Good beta readers, including good online critique sites, can be an invaluable part of polishing your novel or other writing, especially if you’re fairly new to writing and your betas are more experienced (or more widely read).

But there are downsides to beta readers, too.  Read the rest of this entry »

The debate over foul language in fiction is one that can get heated at times. A lot of people don’t like reading it, and will immediately criticize authors whose characters swear. The most common argument against it is that a “real” author would have a larger vocabulary than that and wouldn’t have to “resort” to using such common, base language.

To that, I say, “Bullshit.” Read the rest of this entry »

Passive voice is a tricky subject for a lot of writers. It’s often not explained very well, and so many writers don’t really understand what passive voice is. Because of that, there tend to be a lot of blanket statements out there that passive voice is always bad and should never be used. Read the rest of this entry »

Adverbs are a contentious issue among fiction writers. A lot of writers use them liberally, and a lot of other writers try not to use them at all. It’s often said that adverbs are a sign of weak writing, and should be replaced with stronger verbs. Read the rest of this entry »

Original metaphor is definitely not among my writing strengths. I have friends who can create beautiful metaphors that perfectly evoke the feeling and impression they’re going for. I am jealous of these people and this ability. But writing without any kind of metaphor can feel a bit dry at times. And so on occasion I turned to the tried-and-true metaphors and similes that immediately say exactly what I wanted to say. Read the rest of this entry »

Infodumps aren’t good. For the most part, I’m not going to argue with this. But I think there’s a lot of confusion about what an infodump actually is. A lot of people think that any time you’re putting backstory into the narrative rather than the dialogue or action, it’s an infodump.

I disagree with that definition. Read the rest of this entry »

“Kill your darlings” is probably one of the hardest things for a lot of writers to do. And yet, if you want the final draft of your novel or short story to be as close to perfect as it can be, it’s necessary to cut all those wonderful little bits of prose that you’re just in love with. Read the rest of this entry »