The following is some of the reason why Ms. Vater rejects manuscripts, because of weak or sub-standard writing:
A: A book has to have strong plotting and intriguing story elements to work. It also has to be well written. I can tell pretty quickly whether the book is written well, and by that I mean it's up to publication standards. This doesn't mean I'm tossing it out if I find a typo or two. There are a lot of things that let me know the writing is not ready:
Overstatement / repetition -- The writer hits me over the head with what's already obvious by what he's already indicated in a previous sentence.
Writing doesn't flow well -- The sentences just snag my eye because the phrasing isn't smooth. Awkward phrasing. Run-on sentences.
Not quite the right way with words -- frequent misuse of words, just not selecting the right word for the intended meaning.
Character development doesn't work -- Characters are written too simply.
Dialog doesn't feel natural.
Dialog tags are intrusive.
Scenes have no tone. Or the writer tries too hard to make it feel creepy and instead it feels like a cheezy B movie.
Scenes overall don't work.
Too much telling, not enough showing.
Pacing drags. Nothing pushing the plot forward: no intrigue, no conflict, no questions raised, no goal for protagonist.
Writer tries too hard to show off his vocabulary but just ends up getting in his own way with pretentious language rather than just telling the story.
Well, I definitely see myself in the repetition/overstatement catagory. It seems like the last two sentences of every one of my long-winded paragraphs are repeating the same message as though I'm hammering the reader over the head for emphasis. I have since gone in there to look for those pesky double hammer smacks.
Hmmm...writer tries to hard for the creepy or satire. Guilty, that's me in spades. Even my fight scenes are waaaaay over-the-top. Too much blow by blow.
Can you find youself in there somewhere? Ever have the comment "the writing wasn't strong enough?" You'll probably find it in the above list, not to say that there are certainly a few other reasons. But I thought it valid and noteworthy coming from an agent.
Tri
A: A book has to have strong plotting and intriguing story elements to work. It also has to be well written. I can tell pretty quickly whether the book is written well, and by that I mean it's up to publication standards. This doesn't mean I'm tossing it out if I find a typo or two. There are a lot of things that let me know the writing is not ready:
Overstatement / repetition -- The writer hits me over the head with what's already obvious by what he's already indicated in a previous sentence.
Writing doesn't flow well -- The sentences just snag my eye because the phrasing isn't smooth. Awkward phrasing. Run-on sentences.
Not quite the right way with words -- frequent misuse of words, just not selecting the right word for the intended meaning.
Character development doesn't work -- Characters are written too simply.
Dialog doesn't feel natural.
Dialog tags are intrusive.
Scenes have no tone. Or the writer tries too hard to make it feel creepy and instead it feels like a cheezy B movie.
Scenes overall don't work.
Too much telling, not enough showing.
Pacing drags. Nothing pushing the plot forward: no intrigue, no conflict, no questions raised, no goal for protagonist.
Writer tries too hard to show off his vocabulary but just ends up getting in his own way with pretentious language rather than just telling the story.
Well, I definitely see myself in the repetition/overstatement catagory. It seems like the last two sentences of every one of my long-winded paragraphs are repeating the same message as though I'm hammering the reader over the head for emphasis. I have since gone in there to look for those pesky double hammer smacks.
Hmmm...writer tries to hard for the creepy or satire. Guilty, that's me in spades. Even my fight scenes are waaaaay over-the-top. Too much blow by blow.
Can you find youself in there somewhere? Ever have the comment "the writing wasn't strong enough?" You'll probably find it in the above list, not to say that there are certainly a few other reasons. But I thought it valid and noteworthy coming from an agent.
Tri
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