#editortips for 07.17.12

@smoulderingsea: Be careful that you aren't just repeating the same scenario over and over again for angst. Each scene should drive the plot. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Usually, you don't need to say something started/began to happen. Just say it happened. She screamed, not she began to scream. #editortips**

@smoulderingsea: Watch out for descriptive phrasing that, on second glance, doesn't make sense. Like "up above." There's no down above. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Many times you don't need "almost" or "nearly." They're just softeners that diminish actions, when you want to make an impact. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: "And then" is often unnecessary. Usually just "and" or "then" will suffice, depending on which works best in the situation. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: In deep 3rd POV, you shouldn't need to constantly reiterate the POV character's name in the narrative. Use only when necessary. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Throwing everything and the kitchen sink into your worldbuilding doesn't qualify as original worldbuilding. It's just messy. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: If you want YA characters' parents absent to allow for more autonomy, try to avoid Tragic!Death unless it's 100% necessary. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: If you leave out too many key details, you aren't creating suspense. You're confusing the reader. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Prominent character deaths need purpose. They should affect the plot, whether through events or through characters' reactions. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Please don't tell me how your book will make a great movie. It tells me you wrote it like one, and there'll be no POV depth. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: It's hard to sideline a book that didn't sell. Don't see it as failure. See it as a chance to start something new and amazing. #editortips

**@_TerriBruce added, "YES! This one drives me nuts! I tell writers to channel Yoda: do or do not. There is no "start.""

About #editortips:
#editortips is a daily rash of tweets from an only partially crazy editor, chock full of random chocolatey morsels about writing, editing, and querying vaguely disguised as helpful pointers and/or really bad humor. I tweet as @smoulderingsea, and try to post with some consistency every weekday at 6PM CST. Weekends optional, depending on if I’m spending yet another Saturday night editing because my social life consists of Netflix and threatening to turn my toasty brown ass ghetto up in this shiz.