by Mindy Obenhaus
Congratulations! You’ve labored for months (maybe years) and, finally, your manuscript is complete. It’s out of your head and on the page. You can’t wait for your editor to read it. But, slow down. Before you hit Send, have you made sure your shiny new manuscript truly shines? Or could it use a little polishing?
This is where I currently find myself in the writing process. I’m almost ready to send off another manuscript, but not until it undergoes a little polishing. This means I have to read the story in its entirety with a few specific things in mind.
Flow. Does the story move smoothly, or does it feel disjointed? Sometimes I’ve got the right stuff, it’s just in the wrong order. By shifting around a couple of scenes or even approaching the scene from a different POV, things feel more organic, like they were meant to be that way. Sometimes I have to delete things. Flow is important. If something trips you up or doesn’t feel right, then some tweaking might be in order.
Continuity. Things sometimes change as I’m writing.
- Character names. Like when my heroine’s mother’s boyfriend was named Jerry and I soon discovered that reading “Mom and Jerry” in a sentence had my mind conjuring up images of a certain cat and mouse. So, Jerry became Bill. However, the Replace function doesn’t always catch everything, so it’s good to double check.
- Descriptions. Everything from hair color to eye color needs to be consistent. Unless, of course, your character colors their hair midway through the story or is wearing colored contact lens. This also applies to…
- Setting. If I don’t have a clear vision of a setting in my head from the onset of the story, it’s apt to change. As someone who’s used both real and fictitious settings in my books, I can honestly say this is where a real setting is an advantage. Still, the places in which your scenes take place can evolve during the writing process. What I thought I wanted at the beginning isn’t necessarily how they remain, so I need to make sure I’m consistent throughout the story.
Tightening. Do I have repeated words? Can sentences be rephrased to be more succinct? Do I really need all that description of something in chapter six after I’ve already talked about it in chapter two?
Hooks and chapter endings.This is important. We don’t want a reader to sigh with contentment as they close the book at the end of chapter seven, set the book aside and go to sleep. No, we want to leave them hanging so they can’t wait to move onto chapter eight. Some of the greatest compliments a writer can hear are things like, “I couldn’t put it down,” or “You kept me up late because I couldn’t stop reading.” Save the satisfying ending for the end of the book. But hook the reader at the end of each scene so they want to keep reading.
Completing your manuscript is always something to be celebrated. But don’t be so eager to send it off that you overlook that all important polishing process. Remember, the hard work is already done. So you may as well take just a little more time to make sure it shines.
Writers, what tips do you have for polishing your manuscripts? Readers, what makes a book one you can’t put down? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my upcoming release, Their Yuletide Healing (print US only, digital for international). And check out the book trailer HERE!
As her plans unravel, can she give her children what they truly need?
Foster mom Rae Girard’s determined to make her children’s first Christmas with her the best they’ve ever had—and she’s shocked when the town scrooge, attorney Cole Heinsohn, offers to pitch in. Rae’s young charges have melted Cole’s heart, and he wants them to experience the special day he never had. But when disaster strikes, an imperfect holiday might bring them something better: a family…
