Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Tuesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts


By: Kristen Kieffer

We've all been there.

You head to the bookstore to pick up a new novel because all of your friends are raving about it. Back at home, you settle into bed with a nice cup of tea, crack open your new novel, and begin reading. Much to your dismay, it becomes clear within the first few chapters that this book is definitely not all it was cracked up to be.

It's not that the book is a complete disaster. It does have its moments, but being the crazy writer person you are, it is hard not to notice every glaring overuse of adjectives, adverbs, cliches, and metaphors. With a sigh, you shut the book and try to think of what you'll tell your friends, who will be devastated to learn that you didn't like their new favorite novel.

Sound familiar? I know I've been there a time or two myself. But as much as we can all tear a novel to shreds for its frivolous writing, I think we can also confess to being the perpetrator of such fluff-making on occasion.

After all, writing a novel is no easy task. It takes months (or even years) of hard work to crank out a completed draft, and in that time you become some close to your work that it can be difficult to see its flaws. A few eye-roll-worthy lines are bound to slip right passed your notice.

Those fluffy passages are otherwise known as filler content, and learning to cut as much of it from your manuscript as possible is imperative if you plan on writing a novel that readers won't set aside after only a few chapters.

But how can you identify your own filler content and cut it without risking your sanity or readers' understanding of the book? Let's take some time today to break that down...

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To read the rest of the post, click here:

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:
Happy writing and running, Kathy

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