Monday, January 29, 2018

Winter Writing: Exercises in Show Don't Tell

By: Emrald Sethna


As writers, we are often told to "show, not tell," meaning we must understand the importance of details and descriptions that grip readers and reel them into the story. They should be able to envision the environment you display and be stimulated by the senses that the characters experience. In other words, include detailed descriptions. This can be difficult, however, given that there is a fine line between just enough detail and too much detail. Would you want to spend two or three pages listening to a description of the meal a character is eating? Not really. You may want to allow readers to see or taste the dish for themselves but that can be done in a matter of a couple sentences--ones that not simply tell readers about the dish, either. Let's look at a few examples and exercises to help you understand and practice the use of descriptions.

Since we are in the midst of the winter season, we'll focus on descriptions of the winter environment. Feel free to take inspiration for your own work in the future! Firstly, we will look at an effective description that "shows" followed by an unneffective one that "tells" and a long, undesirable desciption that "shows too much."

What you want: "The frost clung to the stubby tree's sleeping branches, sparkling in the golden morning light."

What you don't want: "There was frost on the tree."

What you don't want: "The milky white frost clung to the stubby tree's sleeping, brown-black branches that stretched five feet long. They sparkled and glimmered in the sun's golden rays hitting it at a perfect 45 degree angle."

Notice how "telling" a reader about something leaves them with several questions. What tree? Where was the frost? What did it look like? Meanwhile, a long description gives readers too much unnecessary information. We don't need to know what precise angle the light hits the tree nor do we need to know the color of frost or how long the tree's limbs are. Writers must strive to describe what is necessary--just enough to allow readers a glimpse into the environment, which they can summon through their own creativity--without going overboard.

Let's have you exercise descriptions of winter. Below you will find some key words for the different senses a character could experience in a winter environment. Your job is to take the following situation and create an effective description.

Situation: Your character is walking down a sidewalk. It's the middle of winter. What is the world like around them?

Here are the key words you could use:

Sight: Sparkle, Hazy, Glisten, Dense, Pile, Cloud, Thick

Smell: Sharp, Fresh, Crisp, Thick

Taste: Icy, Frozen, Cold

Hearing: Crush, Crunch, Swish, Whoosh

Feeling: Soft, Chilly, Cold, Sharp, Dense, Solid, Icy

Example:

"The dense snow crunched beneath her boots. Her vision was hazy from the cloud of soft flakes that showered down onto her. It easily erased the footprints she left behind."

Get creative and try to show the situation rather than tell readers what happens. Utilize adjectives you would associate with winter and use your own experiences as inspiration!

With a little practice, you will have no problem becoming the Goldilocks of descriptions, distinguishing between too much information, not enough description, and what is just right.

Share your exercise descriptions in the comments below, and if you have any questions, let us know!

Happy Writing!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

When is the Best Time to Submit Manuscripts?




By: Carla Trueheart 


In the literary world, timing is everything. Most writers know the importance of book release dates, but how about sending out book proposals? Over the many years it took me to get published, I detailed the agents and publishing houses I sent to, and most importantly, kept a record of dates and times. What I found, in looking back over these lists, is that there are definitely good times of the year to submit manuscripts, and bad times of the year to submit. While literary agencies and publishing companies are indeed open year-round in most cases, response times and even follow-up emails are highly dependent on the seasons. To help aid you in submission times, here is a list of the seasons with an explanation of possible reasons agencies and publishers either respond quickly or leave you hanging. 

Summer
Summertime is the best time for fun in the sun, but the worst time for submitting manuscripts. It’s vacation time for many, and I’ve found that I rarely received responses to query letters during the summer. If I did get a response, it was normally not until the fall. It’s also quite likely you will run into notes on the agency webpage stating that so-and-so is away right now, and is therefore not accepting any queries. While it’s not out of the question to submit during the summer, be aware of vacation dates, agency attendance, and response times.

Autumn
This time of year is not normally a problem as far as response time. Most agents seem to be tucking in for the winter season and not vacationing or attending conventions. Overall, I would consider the autumn the best time of year to submit manuscripts. In fact, when I finally did receive a publishing contract, it was after I had submitted a book proposal in the fall. While this is obviously not an exact science and is dependent on where your agency is located, there are some definite pluses to submitting manuscripts in the fall. It’s also a good reading time, so an agent might be more willing to look over your manuscript or partial.

Winter
This can go either way. There are a few things to consider: the holidays and NANO (National Novel Writing Month). After November, a lot of writers involved in NANO are submitting proposals. You don’t want to get lost in the flurry of queries. And the holidays, of course, are busy for most agents—they are people too—so it’s comparable to the summer in that respect. The winter is high reading time, however, so in my experience, it can go either way.

Spring
Agents are usually pretty quick to respond in the spring, but conventions do start up around this time. As such, you may see a higher than average amount of agents not accepting manuscripts until a certain date, or they may list dates they are out of the office. This is also true of publishing houses who will be attending conventions and seminars. On the plus side, you might consider attending one of these conventions, as they are great ways to approach an agent and tell them about your work, face to face. Still, the spring is a good time to submit overall.

In sum, the summer and winter are probably the worst times to submit, while the spring and fall are the best. Again, this is not an exact science, just what research and my own personal experience has determined through the years. So what do you do in the meantime? You can submit a query and take your chances, or you can continue to work on your manuscript revisions and final edits. You can also continue to research agencies and publishers so when the right agent is available at the right time, you will have the best shot at receiving a publishing contract.


 Good luck with your queries, and please let us know if you have any questions at all!

Friday, January 5, 2018

Choose Your Own Writing Prompt: Winter Edition

By: Emrald Sethna

The Steps to Getting Published is proud to bring you an assortment of winter writing prompts to get those frozen writing gears spinning. Choose one, choose two, or choose them all! We hope you have fun with these, and as always, please share your work in the comments section if you'd like. We'd love to see what you come up with!

Here are your choices:


1) Write a short story about being stuck in a snowstorm.

2) Image prompt: Based on the image provided below, write a one-page story:









3) Write a five-page screenplay about the aftermath of a crazy holiday season.
4) Write a poem about how winter makes you feel.
5) Write a 250 word short story about an insane winter season. 
6) Write the happiest winter or holiday season story in five words.