One of the first things I teach newer developmental/story editors is to focus on the big picture. That means looking for problems with a novel manuscript’s plot, character development, and setting. It means noticing perspective/point-of-view problems, flabby scenes, and unnecessary exposition. It does not mean pointing out every unnecessary adverb or overused word. Don’t Overwhelm…
As a developmental editor, you need to be able to help authors understand where their plots are falling down. This means you need to trace the story arc. What is a story arc? It’s what happens in a story and why it happens. The Details: What Is a Story Arc Exactly? Of course, the what…
As editors, we need to understand the connection between character and plot and how to support authors in developing this relationship effectively. Causes of Implausible Plot Events A common problem you’ll come across when editing fiction is a situation where characters are shoved around like chess pieces. Margie the protagonist winds up slapping her best…
Authors often struggle to create compelling plots. They try to hit plot points (“turning point” “black moment” and so on) but without a solid sense of how structure works, their stories can feel formulaic and lifeless. It helps if you understand story patterns so that you can see where the story might be getting off…
A common structural problem you’ll encounter in fiction development is ineffective scene construction: A good scene includes the meat of a plot event – whether that event is an emotional discussion over coffee, a decision to take a certain action, or a foot chase across town – but not a whole lot more. Problems with…
I’m not talking about those resolutions we all make on January 1. I mean the way a story ends: how the plot comes together, and the character arcs are ended. Authors often struggle to end their stories in a way that readers will find satisfying. As a developmental editor, you can help. What is a…
The plot twist editorial query From time to time, world events occur that make fiction editors look at each other and say, “We can never again tell our authors their plot events are implausible!” And I smile along with everyone else. But of course it’s not true. “It really happened” has never been a measure…
Recognizing Story Pattern and Story Structure Let’s dive in to a discussion showcasing story pattern and story structure. One common story pattern in fiction is the quest, such as this example: Huckleberry Finn is a quester; Dante (The Divine Comedy) is a quester; Charles Marlow (Conrad’s Heart of Darkness) is a quester. A reader seeing…
As developmental editors, our goal is to help authors figure out how to revise their stories to make them better. To do this, we are essentially comparing the work in front of us to some ideal in our heads. That ideal should not be “how I would have written this” but should be instead an…