I was once again reminded how important a fresh look is on a manuscript. This week a writer friend asked me to look at a picture book manuscript that her agent had said was “too mean spirited.” It was a retelling of an old story–good guys against a bad guy–with a very modern twist. I thought it was hilarious. I’d seen several versions and really couldn’t see much to tone down. Then yesterday she showed it to a mutual critique partner who had not seen the story before. She pointed out areas that would soften the story. This third writer had fresh eyes and was so right in her suggestions.
I love this imagery from Arthur Polotnik: “You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” When we are writing our own view is hindered by smoke. We’re excited about what we’re creating–in love with our characters, our words. Setting aside the manuscript and coming back to it later when the fire has cooled, let’s some of that smoke of infatuation clear.
When we’ve looked at a manuscript over and over and over, we get blind. It’s too easy to skim because we “know” what it says. Suzanne Paschall says it this way, “Tired eyes become blind to errors that jump out to fresh eyes…” Somehow we need a splash of water in the face to wake us up.
Right now I’m going through my own manuscript using comments from my critique group. Mine is a novel in verse and once I gave the complete manuscript to my partners, I’ve didn’t look at it until I got their feedback. (I also tried not to think about the story at all.) Their questions and comments are helping me see it afresh. It helps me see what I know but didn’t put on the page. It helps me see where I wasn’t clear or left out details that will add to the story. It challenges me. And I know it is making my story better.
Soon, I’ll reread the whole story again to get it ready to send out on submission. This time I’ll probably first change the font so it looks different to me. This trick can help fool our eyes into seeing the words afresh.
Do you have other tools you use to look at your writing with fresh eyes? If so, please share in the comments.
Author: Susan Uhlig
Breathe all the life you can spare into your characters so readers would recognize them if they met on the street.
Breathe all the life you
Holding Up the Universe
Holding Up the Universe (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016) by Jennifer Niven is an interesting read told from two colliding viewpoints.
On the one side is LIbby Strout, who three years ago had to have a wall knocked down to get her out of the house. She’d lost her mother and ate and ate until she weighed 653 pounds. Now that she’s lost 302 pounds, she can walk, run, dance, ride in a car, and Libby’s going to high school. Where, of course, she’s still the biggest girl there.
On the opposite side is Jack Masselin. He has a secret–face blindness that makes it very difficult for him to tell people apart, even his own family. He covers it up by being the life of the party–being friendly with everyone. Not his girlfriend or even his family know about his problem.
A dare at school makes the two teens meet and they are forced to spend time together. The weird part is–they should be enemies–both are surprised at how well they get along.
I think the bad language could have been toned down, but I do understand there are teens who talk like this.
On her website, Jennifer Niven says her stories are “about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” That definitely fits this story. Read more about her here.
The Passion of Dolssa
The Passion of Dolssa (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2016) by Julie Berry is a historical novel that shows a time of extreme prejudice for those who don’t believe the same way as a another group–and the latter are in power. In this case it’s the Catholic church inquisitors going after men and women who may have merely talked about the love of Jesus. This story is told in multiple viewpoints and was fascinating. I grieved for Dolssa, for Botille and her family, and even somewhat for some of Dolssa’s hunters. At some points it may be a difficult read, but it’s definitely worth persisting.
This book is a 2017 Michael L. Printz Honor title, a New York Times Notable Book, and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
The author writes middle grade as well as YA and you can see all her titles here. Plus on that page there’s a short video about the setting and historical backdrop for this novel.
Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.