Skip to main content

How to Fix Bad Writing



A first draft of a novel is never perfect. A first draft of anything you've written is never perfect. We all know that. If you're a serious writer who's been looking through writing websites and generally spending your time reading about writing, well, you're like the rest of us.

Someday, you are going to look back at what you have written, may it be to edit, to remind yourself of how much you've improved, or just to laugh at your writing.

So here's my advice.
If it makes you cringe, do something about it. 

I'm writing a fantasy novel about seven dragons with elemental powers who are trying to bring back flight to a world where dragons cannot fly. As my fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out the words, I came to a scene where one of my main characters has to ask a friend for help. In reply, the friend begins rambling on and on about why she can't help him, but at the end of the chapter, she agrees to help.

When I looked back at that particular scene to begin editing it, something was poking at me in the back of my mind. My inner critic was at it again. Trust me: your inner critic is almost always right. Finally, I came to a conclusion. The scene was poorly written and completely unnecessary to the story.

So, when you come across a scene your inner critic doesn't like, don't leave it as it is. If you are as attached to your novel as I am, your inner critic will keep banging on the walls of your brain. However, all is not lost. 

You have two choices:

1. Fix the scene.

2. Cut the scene.

Fixing the Scene

There's always a chance your scene isn't as bad as you think it is. In that case, lucky you! All you have to do now is tweak your scene and make it the best it can possibly be. If you're not sure if your scene is good enough, check with someone you know. Ask a friend to read it and tell you what they think (although you may have to shove your entire novel in their hands 😄).

Cutting the Scene

This is your last resort, after much argument with your inner critic. You've finally decided: I can't fix this. You've concluded there is no point in keeping the scene any longer. The only way to fix your novel is to delete the scene. If the scene really is unnecessary, deleting it is the best option. Your novel will be better without it. 

Happy writing and God bless,
        Germaine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spoiler-Free Book Review - The Squire's Tales (Gerald Morris)

Okay, so it's technically an entire series, but that's irrelevant. I am reviewing books and it is therefore a book review.  The Squire's Tales , by Gerald Morris, is a series of novels that retell in hilarious fashion the lesser known tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Don't worry, you won't have to hear about the sword in the stone again or anything at all about Arthur's childhood. Because this is where the best part comes in: these stories are told from the perspectives of those that other renditions tend to gloss over, mock or forget entirely. These characters are a squire, (as the title would imply) a page, three women and a knight who is objectively terrible at being a knight. He sings and plays music instead. His name's Dinadan. He's wonderful. Over the ten books in the series, you get seven different characters from whose points of view the stories are told (plus a couple extra in the last book, but that's a spec...
Post a Comment
Read more

Intercessor

- Megan - Intercessor I remember when I was falling, like they do now, Now I fly, on the wings of my Father But look, Lord – She's still falling You carry me Lord, why not him? Won't you rescue her too? They cry out, begging me to catch them, But turn a blind eye when I point to their Maker How, Lord, can I make this work? I ask her, I tell him. I knock at their doors I beg my Father to show them the light, But no response comes from either side. I have to do something – they continue to fall I worry and fret, I can't just let them go! I trust in my own strength, I reach in to grab her, But he doesn't start flying, and now I'm tumbling too I've filled my heart with their problems, now I can't hold on to Him I cry out just like they do, and my Maker comes again He's taught me a lesson, and now I have learned That it isn't my job, to carry their load The I AM is the one who carries the world And as the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Windows to the Soul

-Hannah- Today we look at character descriptions. What do appearances say about a character's personality? Quite a lot, actually. Authors use descriptions as an easy way of giving the reader a first impression of a character without having to go into any particular effort. Cicero once said that "the face is a picture of the mind," and this can be true, especially in books or movies. Authors generally want to give you as much information as possible about their characters (unless they're deliberately hiding things) and will use the opportunity to describe their character's appearance to their advantage. Look at this extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, where Hagrid is described: A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. This is J.K.Rowling's...
Post a Comment
Read more