#editortips for 09.13.12

@smoulderingsea: Fiction writing can have its poetic moments, but it's not poetry. The same storycrafting and prose rules don't apply. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Don't be afraid to explore tangents that weren't in your outline. You may discover a depth you never intended. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: When solving a problem in a scene, discard the first answer that comes to mind. It's likely the most predictable/obvious. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Your story is not a precious secret. If you intend to sub it, you need to share it with people who can give objective feedback. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Make sure your crit partners aren't too much like you. The echo chamber effect is good for your ego, but bad for your writing. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: When you're writing, you can feel like a force of nature. Forces of nature can be a bit sloppy. You will have a mess to clean. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: When your editor asks you to remove a problem area in one part of the story, that's not an excuse to shoehorn it in elsewhere. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Subtle changes in word choice can drastically change impact. Squeal. Trill. Keen. All high noises, very different connotation. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: If someone offers a solution to an issue, don't refuse because it's not your own special words. If it helps/is right, use it. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: ...now granted, don't like...copy whole passages of someone else's fix for the story. But if they suggest X word is better... #editortips

@smoulderingsea: When you complain agents are working for their authors, not reading your MS--remember one day you could be one of those authors. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Don't neglect any part of your story in the hopes the rest will compensate. Weak beginning, middle, end...any will drag it down. #editortips

@smoulderingsea: Writing seems like a mystical process, but it's not. In the end it's just one word after another. Build that into a great story. #editortips

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 repeatedly misspelling my own damned name.