NAKED EDITOR. DRAMATIC EDITING.

Under The Microscope With A Micro-Editor

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:16:26 +0000

AprIL 21, 2012 —– 10am——— 2 Hour WORKSHOP

Under the Microscope With a Micro-Editor
by Tiffany Lawson Inman

Thinking of sending your manuscript to an agent?
Thinking of self-publishing?

After a manuscript has been macro-edited, it needs to go in for the micro-edit: a dissection of the writing, line by line by line by line. Fixing little issues that create BIG problems.

Details. Nix it. Reword. Choreography. Motivation. Echo. Simultaneity. Why? Awkward. Pacing. Adverb adverb! Response? Rhythm. Wordy. Telling. Throw away. Backwards. Who?
Unnatural. Missing environment. Missing action. Missing body language.Too much.Too little. Huh?

Learn how to face the fear of micro-editing. It is hard work, but the end result will bring you closer to publication! Tiffany Lawson Inman will go through the basics of Micro-edit with a dramatic dissection of an unpolished scene.

Optional, bring up to 5 pages of your WIP to start micro-editing. A sample scene will be provided for those without.

http://www.hodrw.com/events/7/april-meeting/

April 21, 2012 with Heart of Denver Romance Writers (you don’t have to be a romance writer to come to the workshop – all genres will benefit!) There is a $2 door fee for members. Visitors are welcome at meetings. Non-members may attend twice before being asked to join our chapter.

Hungering to Write YA Fiction?

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:13:29 +0000

Quick update on my class schedule for those of you HUNGERING for my YA class, 77 Secrets to Writing YA Fiction That Sells .Apologies for the confusion. I did have the class set for April along with my Madness to Method: Oscar Worthy Charactersclass (one you should also be looking into. )

Oops! Not a brilliant idea on my part – I have had a string of writer-folks telling me they want to take both classes, but are saying they won’t because that would mean two assignment loads in the same month. *sad face*

Well I can absolutely understand the busy-schedule-syndrome. BBS is a stinker. I really want everyone to be happy and be able to absorb ALL of the knowledge they can this summer, so what am I going to do about it??

I’m leaving Madness to Method: Oscar Worthy Characters on the schedule for April and nudging 77 Secrets to Writing YA over to May. The class is up on the May schedule for registration.

I cringe at having to do this, I sincerely hope that you all can take the class in May. Many apologies if this is an inconvenience for you. This class will be taught again this year because this knowledge is a MUST when writing YA and writers want this information in their road-to-publication-arsenal.

~always be learning

TiffanyLawsonInman

Dirt On Face Action. Dirt In Mouth Scene Writing!

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:09:49 +0000

First: Read blog. Comment. Might win a class.

Second: Write 300 world fight scene and enter it into Dirty Fighting Contest. Might win 10 Page EDIT.

Third:Smile at the fact that you are an accomplished writer.

Are you good at pullin’ punches with your laptop-in-hand?

What Is More Dramatic Than A Fight?

Get a fight choreographer/stuntman insiders view of writing fictional violence with Teel James Glen and Tiffany Lawson Inman today on

http://jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/dramatic-fighting-by-tiffany-lawson-inman/

Comment on blog and your name is in hat to win one of my classes!

Get your fingers and brain moving on a 300 word fight scene Dirty Fighting Contest – rules are just a click away!

YOU MIGHT WIN 10 PAGE EDIT!

Last Friday of the Month is WITS Day For Naked Editor!

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:21:02 +0000

It’s official! As of today I’m a permanent guest blogger over at http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/

Is your writing suffering from OVER Emotional Saturation?

Too Quick To Tears: Emotional Timing Is E V E R Y T H I N G

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/too-quick-to-tears-emotional-timing-is-everything/

Comment today and YOU MIGHT WIN a spot in one of my classes!

Is LOVE A Secret Writing Weapon?

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:35:23 +0000

I am holding a mug of hot cocoa with pink marshmallows bobbing and moshing together, some melting into my cup, others sticking to the sides. Do you remember what it tasted like the first time you had hot cocoa? Was it a cold day, or just for fun? Did you bypass the required cooling period and accidentally burn your tongues tip? What was it like to suck in your first mini-marshmallow and feel the sweet texture against the roof of your mouth?

Are you there? Did you drift away into a warm memory of snow on the streets and the promise of breaking in your new sled?

I thought so!

Breaking into our memories is one thing, but reaching back to the first times you experienced pieces of life, those are the memories that light my emotions on fire. This is an underused weapon in most genres. Although, one genre is lucky enough to utilize this weapon throughout every aspect of their writing.

Young Adult Fiction.

YA authors don’t glaze over first time memories. Their genre demands that they dive to the bottom of the memory pool and show us every emotion and decision their protagonists make during these precious moments of discovery.

What memories are chosen?
When you flesh memories out of your life and into your story, do they move your story forward?
Do they deepen characterization?
Is your voice unique enough?
Do you truly understand your POVs volcanic relationships?
How are you showing the sequence of events to the reader?
How much emotion does your protagonist show, and how much are you leaving for the reader to feel for themselves?

Big questions to answer.

And if you succeed in finding the perfect emotional formula for your novel, there will be BIG REWARDS. *cough, cough…Hunger Games.

Speaking of exquisite examples of writing craft, let’s take a peek at an excerpt from Suzanne Collins, Hunger Games:

I hear Peeta’s voice in my head. She has no idea. The effect she can have. Obviously meant to demean me. Right? But a tiny part of me wonders if this was a compliment. That he meant I was appealing in some way. It’s weird, how much he’s noticed me. Like the attention he’s paid to my hunting. And apparently, I have not been as oblivious to him as I imagined, either. The flour. The wrestling. I have kept track of the boy with the bread.————-Collins, Suzanne (2009-09-01). The Hunger Games (p. 93). Scholastic Books. Kindle Edition.

Collins lets us watch her protagonist waffle between thoughts about the possible love/like interest. We get to know more of the POVs personality through these segments. What if she had just said, “I think that boy likes me, and, gosh, maybe I like him too!” BORING.

Gale’s eyes fastened on the bow. “Can I see that?” I handed it over. “Just remember, stealing’s punishable by death.” That was the first time I ever saw him smile. It transformed him from someone menacing to someone you wished you knew. But it took several months before I returned that smile.—————–Collins, Suzanne (2009-09- 01). The Hunger Games (p. 111). Scholastic Books. Kindle Edition.

She sure knows how to present the base of a relationship. A snarky – could be friend-flirty remark. In return a fresh description of a smile that takes us a step deeper into who Gale is. Then she tells us something HUGE about her character. Even at 14, this girl was cautious and stubborn. And as a bonus, Collins raises the question, what will those traits do for her POVs future? Thank you Suzanne Collins for also raising the YA emotional bar.

The most common first memory found in YA novels is that of LOVE. I’m not sure if it’s because when we are young we are able to feel love more? Or, that love itself makes us feel young again. Whatever it is, YA authors find themselves heart deep in first loves, first glances, first worry, first kisses, first lovers quarrel, first jealousy, first betrayal, and the biggest of all – first heart break.

Readers are attracted to the rawness that First Love brings to the story. The depth to which the author goes to show inside POV is like we are being thrown into our own youth to relive these cognitive adventures. Our brains start shooting endorphins. Poof!

We.

Are.

Young.

Again.

The imagined reality of this teenage world is intoxicating. Who wouldn’t want to read YA fiction?

Precisely.

The audience of YA fiction is now surpassing anything publishers would have dreamed of 10 years ago. Literary agents are widening their submission guidelines to include YA fiction and it’s plethora of sub-genres. Authors like Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Harlan Coben, John Grisham, and Candace Bushnell are now pushing out YA series by the handful.

I refuse to let them have all of the fun.

So I ask you, “Are you ready to dive into the pool?” Because readers are out there. Out there waiting for their next emotional ride.

If you don’t write it, someone else will!

——————————–

Happy Valentine’s Day, and THANK YOU for joining me today for my NEW ONLINE COURSE REVEAL! DrummmmmRollPlease?!?

77 Secrets To Writing Young Adult Fiction That Sells!

A class where I guide writers to find their own emotional formula for a successful YA novel. It’s a delicate process, and different for each story.

I never said it was easy. None of this is easy, or EVERYONE would be writing YA novels. But I do think I have found a few other secret weapons to combat the competition.

Course Topics:

Writer’s-eyes-only Interviews with bestselling YA authors, YA super agents, YA debut authors
Dissecting Top Ten YA fiction from 2010/11 for a prime learning experience, exposing layers of writing craft that will get you sold.
Understanding Highs and Lows of the emotional teeter-totter underlying your character motivations
Focus your authentic YA voice: dialogue, framework, phrasing – sometimes the only thing between you and the top of the pile.
Talk the talk and walk the walk: solid characters/ characterization from protagonist to the neighbor kid working the counter at the pizza joint
Learning Do’s and Don’ts of writing warm n’fuzzy and hot n’steamy
Maneuvering between the delicate fibers of teenagers and their guardians
Pulling your reader’s psychological strings and manipulating the cinematography behind your POV’s lens
Extra Extra! Are you up for the challenge of co-authoring YA with your son/daughter?

Read more about 77 Secrets To Writing YA Fiction That Sells: http://tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor.com/writing-courses-what-where-and-how/

Or, go to Lawson Writer’s Academy to register!

******Can’t wait till April for a writing challenge? Wanna start small?

Kicking off the 2nd Dirty Fighting Contest and I am judging!! To find out more and get prepared go to: http://jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/dirty-fighting-contest-round-2/

Head on over and see what dirty fighting (writing) is all about. Make sure you click on the links to see our previous round of sling slangin’ kick a$$ scenes.

First prize gets their scene edited by me on St. Patty’s day! ** I’m sure there will be MORE prizes once St. Patty’s day rolls around. I’ll toss down a few green beers and who knows what I’ll be giving away for free?!!?

Speaking of FREE . . . Catch the S W E E T D E A L ! Register for Tiffany’s April classes and/or Margie’s March class by March 1^st and you could WIN an 8-PAGE EDIT!

Go to Lawson Writer’s Academy to register!

Setting Up Camp At MY NEW SITE

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:05:37 +0000

Dear Diary,

I have outgrown blogspot.com

I picked up my tent and my posts and dragged them over to THE BEST SITE

EVER!!!

I hope you follow!

I know I will have more room to play over there and soon I’ll have SOOOOOOO many more

activities to show everyone!

MORE Writing Craft Articles, Guest Blogs, Contests, Learning Opportunities, Interviews, Line-by-line Edits, and…… Oh, I almost forgot…Self-Editing Tips N’ Tricks!!!!

Hope to see you soon,

Your Friend – Tiffany Lawson Inman

P.s. BIG things happening on Valentines Day. I know you

will want to stop by.

Honey Badger vs Good Writing Craft???

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:39:00 +0000

If you put good writing craft in a cage with the Honey Badger – GOOD WRITING CRAFT will always win.

How does your writing stand up?

I’m guest blogging over at: http://www.brewingpassion.com/2012/02/gettin-naked-with-professional-tiffany.html

ME, convert to ROMANCE?!?! Only if it is THIS GOOD. Thanks to Liz Crowe at http://www.brewingpassion.com/ , I can say this! Comment today or tomorrow – and you could win a prize!

Follow me @NakedEditor to find out more!

Triple Threat Behind Staging A Scene class STARTS NOW !http://www.margielawson.com/lawson-writers-academy-courses

Beware of the FALSE HOOK !

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:57:00 +0000

What do most writing craft books say about openings?

A lot of don’ts and dos.

Am I right?

Don’t use a lot of description. Don’t open with back story. Do try and start with action. Do introduce the story theme and problem. Do establish character and setting. Do excite your reader. Do show the promise of your novel in the first sentence, in the first paragraph. Oh yeah…and hook your reader.

Hook your reader.

Hook your reader, HOOK YOUR READER!

All are true. All are dangerous. Why? Because everything rests on the HOOK!

E V E R Y T H I N G. Therefore, people work their butts off on the beginning of their novel!

Or they should be.

And then what happens?

How many of you have read a false hook? Loved the first line or paragraph, and then the book goes downhill. Such a disappointment. We don’t want a bunch of marketing tactics drawing your reader in for a one bite, for the rest of the meal to taste less than good. It sullies our reputation as story tellers.

Writers should be hooking their readers through the entire novel. Raising questions. Little and big. Keep them turning the page.

How to avoid the false hook? Look at more than what you are saying. Also look at how you are saying it. The tone.

You need to show the promise of your novel with what is going to happen and how the story will be told. They go hand in hand. The how is your needle, the what is your thread. Can’t have one without the other. Readers don’t want a great story that is written poorly. Nor do readers want a crappy story that was written beautifully.

Let’s look at how NY Times Bestselling author, Harlan Coben uses his needle and thread. Here are his first two of paragraphs of Tell No One in either the right order, or the wrong order.

Which one is the first paragraph? Does one have more or less promise than the other? **********You better not cheat. Don’t run and get your copy, or look on your Kindle.

Look at his writing.

1.Tone

2.Quality

What else?

The third piece to a solid hook: There are questions on top of questions on top of questions. Egging the reader to turn the first page and melt into this man’s world.

Paragraph A :

There should have been a dark whisper in the wind. Or maybe a deep chill in the bone. Something. An ethereal song only Elizabeth or I could hear. A tightness in the air. Some textbook premonition. There are misfortunes we almost expect in life—what happened to my parents, for example—and then there are other dark moments, moments of sudden violence, that alter everything. There was my life before the tragedy. There is my life now. The two have painfully little in common.

Paragraph B :

Elizabeth was quiet for our anniversary drive, but that was hardly unusual. Even as a young girl, she’d possessed this unpredictable melancholy streak. She’d go quiet and drift into either deep contemplation of a deep funk, I never knew which. Part of the mystery, I guess, but for the first time, I could feel a chasm between us. Our relationship had survived so much. I wondered if it could survive the truth. Or for that matter, the unspoken lies.

OOOOh I got the chills!

Are you turning the page for more? Yes you are.

He has given us over 20 questions in 163 words. And his tone? The intensity of his tone is one wave after another moving us further into his story.

It is always taught in speech writing classes: you tell the audience the same information three times in the course of an informational speech. It takes three times for your reading audience to really get what you are saying. Well. Harlan does it 20 times in the first two paragraphs. He wants us to listen and keep listening.

What is the difference between Harlan Coben’s novels and an unknown suspense thriller that has just been passed over in the submission pile? He uses the what, and the how, very well. And the tone he uses is a question in itself.

But, the biggest difference: Harlan keeps his answers close to his heart. He lets go of information in a deliciously suspenseful way.

A crumb here, a morsel there.

And he doesn’t let go of those nuggets until after the reader has met the wondering threshold. It is true.

Timing is everything.

Harlan has excelled at the art of threading his hook through every moment of his Best selling novels.

Look at your WIP.
*How far does your hook get you?
*How can you work in the concept of needle and thread?
*When do you start giving up those precious answers?

Did you figure it out? Which of Harlan’s paragraphs is the first paragraph of his book? A or B?

Don’t Let Thrillers Hog The Freezer

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:23:00 +0000

GUEST BLOGGING TODAY!!

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/

Come on in, I won’t bite….

Support Breast Cancer Research! Buy a book. Enter a Drawing. Win a Free class from LAWSON WRITER’S ACADEMY.

tiffanylawsoninmanisnakededitor — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:04:00 +0000

100% of the proceeds for ENTANGLED: A Paranormal Anthology EBOOK go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

This ebook, a paranormal anthology, is $2.99 through October, $3.99 starting Nov. 1st.

http://www.amazon.com/Entangled-a-Paranormal-Anthology-ebook/dp/B005LXWPI6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Support Breast Cancer Research and enjoy a spine-tingling read!

How to get in the drawing:

Email a picture to me at tiffanylawsonfictioneditor@gmail.com

Not just any photo – I need it to show you holding your ebook with the cover of ENGTANGLED on the screen.

Easy, right?! Your name will be in a drawing for an online course (Oct. or Nov.) from Lawson Writer’s Academy!

http://bit.ly/LawsonWritersAcademyCourses

drawing is SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2nd, at 8:00PM Mountain Time.

Buy ENTANGLED.
Support Breast Cancer Research.
Send me your picture.
Win an online course!

See you there!