Revising Your Manuscript: Fourteen Questions to Ask Yourself

1) Can you summarize the story in about a sentence or two?

Example:

Three daughters try desperately to save their father from his conniving new wife.

A cop has to fight a losing battle with the bottle and discover the identity of a serial killer.

2) Have you checked spelling, grammar and formatting?

Make the editor's job easy and you'll be ahead of the game.

3) Is your hero/heroine interesting or someone readers will be interested in?

The reader has to care about what happens to this character.

4) Does the story start with a hook, an interesting question that will draw the reader in?

Read the first sentence of many of your favorite books. How did the authors draw you into their worlds? Also please remember the type of story you are telling. Don't write a beginning sentence just for shock value; make sure it fulfills the promise of the story.

5) Did one or more of your characters change throughout the story? If not, was that on purpose? People usually like to see a character arc, someone achieving their goal or reaching enlightenment.

Stories are usually about a person and a problem. Once the problem is solved (or unsolved) how does that affect the character? Good or bad the reader wants to know.

6) Have you mastered point of view?

If you get confused, you're in trouble.

7) Does your dialogue move the story along? Does everyone sound like themselves or could readers interchange them?

8) Is there tension throughout the story?

Every story has moments of low tension, but if you have a four-page description of how a character brushed his teeth you had better be one heck of a stylist and stick with writing literary fiction. Popular fiction readers will likely set your book aside with a quick flick of the wrist.

9) Is there unanswered conflict until the end?

Leave the reader curious about something whether it is the first name of a key character or the resolution of a subplot.

10) Does every scene matter?

Again the teeth brusher.

11) Does everyone have a motive that counts?

Whether it is the hero, villain or sidekick, it helps the story if the reader is able to understand the actions of each character. If everyone has a viable motive, it also heightens the tension.

12) Does each chapter drive the story forward offering more information?

13) Does the ending do what it's supposed to?

Mystery writer Mickey Spillane said, "The first page sells the books, the last page sells the next book."

14) Do you like your story?

I hope so because in the world of publishing you need to be your book's greatest champion.

Dara Girard is the author of three novels and a member of Romance Writers of America and Novelists Inc. You can find more articles and links for writers at her website: http://www.daragirard.com

---

Write Your Way To A Better Brain

Boost Brain Power Through WritingHave you ever noticed what happens... Read More

Top Ten Great Headline Ideas

What Makes a Great Headline?Headlines are far more important than... Read More

Five Tips to Find More Time for Your Writing Life

When I asked new ezine subscribers, "What is your Number... Read More

Ferreting Out Work

FERRETING OUT WORK You keep hearing that there's work out... Read More

Writing Personal Statements - Top Tips

WRITING THE PERSONAL STATEMENT TO GET INTO UK UNIVERSITYHOW DO... Read More

Making Better Word Choices ? 4 Examples

Choosing the wrong words can have a poor effect on... Read More

Hunting for Markets Over the Holidays

Chances are, you'll be busy over the next several weeks.... Read More

Is Now the Time for a Play about the War in Iraq?

Everone knows that comedy is mostly about timing. If you... Read More

2nd Installment on Autobiography

ESSAY 2Andre Malraux once said that what interested him in... Read More

Through the Eyes of an Artist

As writers, we initially tend to be either more cerebral... Read More

Open a Vein

If you want to be a writer, you must write... Read More

Do You Plot With Your Character In Mind?

Creative Writing Tips ?You are plotting the story. You write... Read More

Publish It Now! No Matter What It Is

Do you want to publish something? An article, a non-fiction... Read More

Graphology - Unleash Inner Personality & Talent of Child

|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More

9 More Writing Tips for Successful Email Marketing

A few months ago, I wrote a guide entitled: 101... Read More

Discover the Magic of the Most Beautiful Words in the English Language

'Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always... Read More

How to Build A Success Freelance Career (Part 1)

In the current job market, many editorial workers have turned... Read More

Ten Tips to Help You Finish Writing Your Novel

1. Set aside a time to write and keep it... Read More

10 Things that Keep You from Writing Your Book? and What You Can do About It

9 out of 10 professionals and small business owners have... Read More

From Book Notes to Book Reports

Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More

COULD YOU (not) REPEAT THAT PLEASE?

I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More

Whats in a Name? Giving Birth to your Characters

So you've got your plot outlined, a title lined up... Read More

Im Just The Writer

Writers are often are greatly surprised or disappointed by how... Read More

Does Your Fight Scene Pack a Punch?

Long ago, movie directors mastered the technique of creating a... Read More

Making The Time To Write That Novel

Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More

New Year Resolutions for Writers - The Best Kind to Make and How to Keep Them

On the first day of a bright and shiny new... Read More

How to Come Up with Fresh Story Ideas

How to Come Up with Fresh Story Ideas When Your... Read More

Sick of the Traditional Publishing Path?

A book coaching client recently emailed me that she was... Read More

Writing Made Them Rich #5: Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle was born in England in 1939.His fascination with... Read More

Dont Make This Huge Writing Mistake!

You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence,... Read More

Realize Your Book Dream In 2005!

If you haven't realized the success you wanted last year,... Read More

Effective Collaboration - Working With Your Ghostwriter

Using a ghostwriter to craft your free reprint articles and... Read More

First Priority

No matter what you are writing, the first priority is... Read More