Category Archives: learning how to write

Why I LOVE being an IFW editor

by Sandy Tritt

On a whim, I asked our editors why they love being an Inspiration for Writers editor. I didn’t know what to expect, but I did get a lot of answers. Here’s who said what:

Rhonda White: Education–both learning and teaching—is an important part of my life. Editing and ghostwriting provide me with the opportunity to learn (through researching facts, information and materials for new books and novels) and to teach (by editing and analyzing manuscripts for my clients, as well as writing coaching assignments) what I have learned. Watching my clients grow as writers thrills me, and I celebrate every publication by one of my clients as if it were my own. It’s incredibly fulfilling to help a client achieve their dream goal of publication, and since over 98% of our clients become published authors, this career path provides me with many reasons to celebrate! 

Jennifer Jett: I love every single part about being an IFW editor. I love the clients and the manuscripts that come across my desk. Those writers for whom I edit become more than clients—they are friends who keep in touch, and I love, love, love when they email me to tell me about their successes. As a writer myself, I love the craft; as a magazine editor by day, I enjoy the process of polishing a product to make it shine. I love to read, and with IFW, I am able to edit stories that fall into the genres I read for fun. Every manuscript is an opportunity to not only help a writer become stronger in their skills but to teach them about editing and industry standards, and I enjoy helping people. With IFW, I am connected to a network of amazing and successful writers and editors of all genres from around the world, all with different specialties. My access to them and their knowledge makes each project a learning experience for me, as well. Fiction has been in my bones since my childhood, and being a part of this incredible group provides me with the rare opportunity to exercise my creative muscle every day. 

Jessica Nelson: Though I haven’t been with Inspiration for Writers, Inc. long, I already feel like a beloved member of the family. Everyone is exceptionally kind and supportive. My favorite part of working with these lovely ladies (and gentlemen!) is that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Every question is seen as a teaching moment, and they are not only more than willing to help you learn–they are always willing to learn, too. Knowing that I am part of a company in which the people constantly better themselves to better serve their clients makes me unbelievably proud. (Note: Jessica is our new college intern. She is an American Scholar at West Virginia Wesleyan College majoring in Creative Writing. Welcome to the family, Jessica!)


Stacy Tritt: Working for IFW (as an intern) while still in college was a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to use the education I was receiving in a work environment. Writing and editing are hard work. It takes a focused mind, a wealth of knowledge and more patience than I ever thought I could develop. Working in the “real world” now, the fellowship I have at IFW continues to push my education and development in writing and editing forward, long after walking the stage in my cap and gown. Hardly a day goes by without me learning something new about writing, publishing, editing and more because of the wonderful coworkers I have.

Jessica Murphy: I love being an IFW editor because it gives me the chance to contribute to the success and happiness of aspiring writers everywhere. By showing them how to perfect both their stories and their skills, I can help them achieve their goals and raise their confidence and potential to new heights. And as a bonus, editing helps me improve my own skills, teaches me about multiple genres and subjects, and often inspires me to write. I also consider myself lucky to have colleagues who give me these opportunities and offer both professional and personal support. Not many opportunities are as interesting and motivating as this one.


Sandi Rog: I love being an IFW editor because it’s an opportunity to discover amazing writers. I love it when I get the chance to help an author learn the craft, to teach them things that might have taken them years to learn. I love it when I get to help make their manuscripts shine. It doesn’t get better than that.  

Charlotte Firbank-King: I love being an IFW editor because I meet wonderful people from all over the world and in every walk of life. There are the friendly and kind people, funny people and sometimes, people who test one’s ability to keep cool and sane. I learn something from every type. I love to see people absorb all I share and then grow in the craft of writing. I love the excitement and challenge of a raw manuscript arriving, then working with clients to make it shine and vibrate with life. I get a special thrill from seeing my client’s manuscripts published. 
I absolutely love the editors at IFW. We share funny moments, we share our frustrations and joys. We share words, phrases or quotes seldom used and therefore new to us. We help each other with challenging sentences and argue endlessly about where a comma should be. We offer love and compassion when one of us is hurting. We celebrate when one of us has a book of our own published. We are like a cyber-family who supports not only one another, but our clients, who join our family for a period of time.

Sherry Wilson: I love editing for IFW. Editing gives me the freedom to make my own hours and thus, homeschool my four children, while still being involved in people’s stories. Nothing feels better than getting lost in the world a new writer has created, poking and prodding as I try to find holes and ways to make it stronger. I love the excitement of the creative process as I work with a writer to help her create something that lives up to her vision of her story. Every day is different—every project a new opportunity. It is great to work with a wonderful stable of writers of all different backgrounds and interests. This way, projects get assigned to the editor with experience and knowledge of the genre and publishing trends. The stable of editors is small enough to be a personal experience for the writer, but the experience is wide enough to edit almost anything. And the support of the other editors means that the writer gets the best of the service and we editors get to learn and grow as we work. Let’s face it, what better job is there than to read all day? I’m very thankful for IFW and the other editors who have become friends. It’s more than just an editing company, it’s a family.
If you’d like to learn more about our editors, visit http://www.inspirationforwriters.com/staff/editors.html. 
Our editors are the backbone of Inspiration for Writers. To make sure we have the best match between writer and editor, we provide a free sample edit for manuscripts over 20,000 words. We want our writers to be comfortable with the personality, style and expertise of our editors. For truly, the writer/editor relationship is a close one, and the writer must feel comfortable asking questions and receiving feedback. If you’d like to submit your manuscript, follow the guidelines at  http://www.inspirationforwriters.com/editing/sample.html. Thank you. We’d love to invite you to become a part of our Inspiration for Writers family. 

Writing Emotions

by Sandy Tritt

Emotions. We all have them. Good, bad, or aggravating, if we’re alive, we move from one emotion to another throughout the day. Yet, emotion is one of the most difficult things to show in a story. We want to either overstate or understate it. You know the melodrama—Joe fell over the casket, sobbing. “Why, God?” he shouted. “Why?”

Yeah.

And I think you know the understatement. Joe left the funeral home. Well, that was that. His entire family—his parents, his wife, his children—had been killed in the explosion. Now it was time to hit the road and follow his dream of being a street musician.

Ouch. Not much feeling in this guy, is there? I’m starting to think he may have caused the explosion.

Some writers try to sidestep this problem by using the show-and-tell method: Joe was outraged. He slammed his fist onto the table. “I’m so angry!”  

Yikes. We can discuss all the ways this is wrong, wrong, wrong in another blog.

None of these examples, of course, show us how to capture emotion and present it in a way that sucker-punches our reader and leaves him breathless. How do we do that?

First and most importantly, do not name an emotion. Not ever. When you write “he was sad” or “she was angry,” you are telling your reader what your words should be showing your reader. Additionally, if you do not provide backup that proves the character is feeling the emotion named, your reader won’t believe you and may even distrust you. Instead, you must take the time to describe the emotional response, and then you must trust your reader to “get it” without explanation. Readers are smart. If you do your job, they will do theirs.

So, how do you show emotion in a fresh way without being melodramatic, without telling, and without ignoring the feelings? I’ve been teaching the “continual improvement” method, which, simply stated, means you need to work harder than you’ve ever worked before to make your writing innovative and juicy and the best it’s ever been. So, get out a fresh sheet of paper or open a new document. At the top of the page, write the name of the emotion you want to convey (we will use “anger” as our example). Under that, write a sentence using this emotion: Joe pounded his fist on the table and glared at Cathy. Then, number from one to five along the left side of the page. Next to each number, write a way your character can express this emotion. For example, we could make a list like this:  

  1. Shout 
  2. Shake fist 
  3. Hit table or wall  
  4. Kick something or someone 
  5. Storm out of the room and slam the door after him
Okay, those are all valid ways to show anger. But they are also somewhat cliché—we’ve seen these same reactions used zillions of times. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination or effort to list them. So, after we’ve listed our five items (or more—if you have additional examples clamoring to escape your brain, write them down), we need to list one more. Hmmm. This is when we have to actually think. How else can we express anger? What if our character is so angry he destroys something that belongs to the object of his anger?

Create a sentence using that vision:
Joe grabbed Cathy’s doll—the one that had comforted her throughout her childhood—and snapped off the head.

Okay, that’s better than glaring and pounding. But we’re not done. We can still do better. We need to improve that sentence, using the most active verbs we can and the most unique visuals we can imagine.

     Cathy’s doll sat on the mantle, pristine and elegant.
     White flashes obscured Joe’s vision. He seized the doll and threw it into the fireplace. Flames lapped at the virginal gown, now tarnished by soot.

Better. A bit disjointed. So, once more, we go back and improve. As we improve, we must smooth out the rough spots and we must be sure the emotion builds, that the reader can see the emotion coming and expect it, yet are still surprised by the rawness and power of it. And, perhaps, by the way the emotion changes, sometimes presenting multiple emotions in just a few moments, if it is logical to do so (most highly emotional situations do facilitate multiple emotions).

So, our third (and fourth and fifth and sixth and . . . ) try:
    
     In that instant, Joe knew. Those late night “wrong numbers” and those “working late” excuses were nothing but lies.
     He fell against the fireplace, the weight of his discovery heavy on his shoulders. Why would she betray him? They had made love just this morning. How could she pretend?
    Heat roiled in his gut, churning with the acidic taste of vomit. As he lifted his hand to his mouth—the hand that hours ago had caressed his wife—he inadvertently touched Cathy’s childhood doll. Always untouchable, until recently it sat in a glass case, protected from dust and dirt. Protected from Cathy’s lies.
     Flashing white light grew at the periphery of Joe’s vision. He shook his head to clear his sight, but the light consumed him. He snatched the doll and heaved it into the fire. Orange and red flames teased the virginal gown, lapping closer and closer until they captured it, consuming first the clothes, thread by thread. The fire danced across the cloth body until a hole opened in its center. For one second, two seconds, three seconds, the fire burned yellow. Then the stuffing fragmented, breaking into pieces. White flames consumed it.
     Joe’s hands trembled, but it was too late now. The greedy fire seized the doll’s rubber head. For a second, the head rebelled, holding its shape, until it too surrendered. The skin blistered and cracked, then melted into a smelly, gummy mass that dripped off the log and onto the ashes below.
     Black smoke curled up the chimney, its acrid odor stinging Joe’s eyes. He blinked back tears. 
     It was over.

And so on. This last incarnation was actually reworked several times, with details added each time.  You’ll likely do the same, finding more descriptive and unique ways to describe the same old emotions. You’ll also find yourself wanting to use setting to enrich emotion—which is another leap in the quality of our writing. Try to find ways in which the description of setting can emulate the emotion.

It takes time and effort to make your writing fresh and enticing, but it’s worth it—it’s what separates ho-hum writing from really good writing.      

If you get stuck and want some help with creating vivid descriptions, pick up a good book on body language or study one of these references:

  • Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglis, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression (Create Space)
  •  Linda Edelstein, The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits (Writer Digest Books)
  • Ann Hood, Creating Character Emotions(Story Press)
        And, of course, our editors are always standing by, ready to assist you when you get stuck or need some help. Just shoot us off an email and we’ll get started right away.