"Overwritten"

I'm no expert, but perhaps you could have said the very same thing with less words. Sometimes less is more. Having said that, I just received a rejection that said my writing was "myth sounding", which I found out the agent meant heavy on the dramatic phrasing. I took a chance and aked the agent to define just what he meant and I was shocked but he answered and defined his remarks. Unfortuanately I'm starting to think dramatic is just my style. You could ask him to define what he means. I hear you'll be lucky if you get an answer. Maybe post a couple paragraphs of your work or put it in the SYW. Good luck and keep submitting.

It can mean:
-you are trying to hard
- using more words than you need
- using fancy words when simple words work just as well (you're a Mets fan so you are obviously intelligent but sometimes intelligent people try too hard in their writing to show they are intelligent.)

I second Joyce's idea of posting some material in the SYW section.

THat actually seems like an opening. If she takes the time to write a personal note then perhaps she likes your story but the opening is a bit florid, too writerly, and she wants to see how you respond to suggestion. If you have even the slightest feeling that she is right, why not go ahead and re-write those chapters, cutting whatever isn't truly necessary? Maybe she's willing to give it/you another chance?

I got a similar letter from an agent, more generalized, suggesting I check every instance of the word "that" in my MS to determine if it was really necessary; also to try and cut down on my passive sentences. If I did that, she said, she'd be willing to look at it again.

At first I was all angry. What's the big deal, I cried, I can make these changes in a day! This is nothing, why won't she take me! Blah,blah,blah. So I made the changes and, much to my suprise, I deleted about 200 thats! And guess what . . . she took me on, and now my MS has just been requested by a major publisher!

joyce said:

Having said that, I just received a rejection that said my writing was "myth sounding", which I found out the agent meant heavy on the dramatic phrasing. I took a chance and aked the agent to define just what he meant and I was shocked but he answered and defined his remarks. Unfortuanately I'm starting to think dramatic is just my style.

Click to expand...

Agents don't like dramatic? I'm in a lot of trouble . . .

As for overwritten, like the others said, too many words for what you're trying to say. It can also mean too much description, overly wordy description, or rambling internal monologues too. And, like everything else, it's very subjective. *sigh*

Maybe it's like 'overacting' when something doesn't feel real because someone is obviously 'ACTING!' I don't know - I would ask for a definition as well.

Look it over--are you trying too hard?

If it's the first few chapters, right? So that's probably what you went over the most, to grab the agent. Maybe you went over it too much.

Could be a case of trying to sound "writerly". Your word choice or plot or theme may have gone off track and grazed the melodramatic.

You may have too much description or backstory altogether, or maybe too much at the beginning. Do you describe every single character? In depth? What about every single scene getting a paragraph or two of description before you get to any conflict? You can get away with the occasional scene like this, but it's a hard sell if a lot of scenes kick off with description, especially paragraphs of the stuff. Same with backstory. Do you need it all? Did you include it too early in the novel where it may not be needed yet (if at all)?

It's probably a polite way of saying the writing is too purple. If a character walks across the room and grabs a doorknob, there is no need for him to...hesitate with each creak of the floorboards as his distorted image enlarged in the gilded shine of the doorknob. Unless the doorknob (or a reflected image) is important later in the story, just have him walk and grab (brief synonyms for the two verbs can convey pace and attitude, though, but rarely would one need more than a single word as replacement).

I used to overwrite a lot. Basically, I enjoyed explaining every single little detail to my readers until they wanted to drill a hole in their own heads. Thankfully, I got help and I've been toning down my first WIP quite a bit. Now that I know how to write without 'overwriting,' my second WIP is much, much stronger than my first, even with the revisions.

I agree with everyone else here who's suggested the SYW forum.

- overwrought
- wordy
- too many details/descriptions
- too much dialogue
- too much flowery language
- overcomplicated plot
- too much internal dialogue
- too much info dump
- too much narrative/exposition

just too much...

Read Hemingway, or some other minimalist writer. You'll get it.

I think it's a common enough mistake. Usually it's too much description and making sure you detail every possible movement and moment the protagonist goes through.

It was very much like my previous stuff. I think you just feel intimidated and uncertain about how you're going to do this that you wind up going overboard. My defense at the time was that the protagonist was just talky, but... Well, that's a pretty weak defense.