I’m a multi-published author who specializes in contemporary romances; western and suspense. I’m proud to say that my books have hit the bestselling scale at Amazon and won various awards.
I’ve always had a passion for writing very sensual stories that incorporate some mystery and/or humor. My books have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages, into electronic format, and have been re-issued in trade paperback as well as large print library editions. Most recently, I’m also working on audio books.
My own personal hero is a former Marine who helped me create three beautiful, intelligent children. Our family lives in rural Ohio. In my free time, I enjoy bird watching, gardening and reading. I also love being in or near large bodies of water and spending time with my very large, extended family. 🙂
Click here for a printable copy of My Backlist in chronological order.
Common Newbie Mistakes by Becky Barker
My first romance novel was published in 1987. Like most writers, I’m also an avid reader. I, and many of my peers, have started independently republishing some of our early titles. As I reread my older books and theirs, I’ve noticed many of us made the same newbie mistakes when we were beginners. After critiquing and judging dozens of manuscripts, I’ve pinpointed some of these problems.
#1. Overuse of proper nouns.
Check your manuscripts. If nearly every paragraph starts with the proper name of your hero or heroine, rewrite. I’ve seen this problem with published and unpublished stories. It immediately alerts judges, agents and editors to the fact that you’re new at the writing business.
An example of overuse of proper nouns is in paragraphs such as this one:
Joe and Mary decided to walk on the beach. Joe reached for her and Mary took his hand. Then Joe and Mary headed for the door.
I’ve read paragraphs such as this when judging unpublished manuscripts. The paragraph is grammatically correct, but very stilted and formal. Another example:
Joe and Mary decided to walk on the beach. He reached for her and she took his hand. Then they headed for the door.
The second version of the paragraph is also grammatically correct, but the use of pronouns makes it less formal. If you’ve wondered how to better engage your readers and write stories readers can relate to, this is an easy way to make your writing more personal and engaging.
#2. Beginning a book with too much backstory.
One of my biggest mistakes in my early writing career was the overuse of backstory. I always felt I had to tell every detail of character background before the reader could understand the current situation. That’s just wrong. It’s better to keep a little mystery and feed those background details into the storyline as needed. Don’t try to cram it in the first few pages/chapter. All that does is bog down the pace and bore the reader.
#3. The overuse of unnecessary words.
Most writers have favorite words they overuse. These unnecessary words can also slow the pace and tag you as a beginner. My favorite overused word is “that.” A few others include, “very, even, really.” Do a search on your manuscript and decide if these words are important to the story or just excess words.
The same goes for adverbs and “ly” words in tag lines. Strong dialogue should be descriptive enough to express the speaker’s opinion. For instance:
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard!”
No tag is needed, but a simple one will suffice. The character has made it clear she’s disgusted. Don’t give in to the temptation to add, “she said angrily” or “she declared hotly.” A tag can actually weaken the effect of her succinct, acerbic comment.
Some writers feel tags are totally unnecessary, especially in scenes with fast-paced banter. Now that I’m moving into the audio production of my work, I’ve learned tags can be very important when a listener needs to know which character is speaking. Just beware of the use of too many adverbial tags such as “she snapped irritably, he whispered adoringly, she murmured huskily, he said broodingly.” I’m deleting a lot of these tags and trying to find a nice balance as I revise projects.
#4. Head-hopping points of view
My first few books were written with lots of head-hopping. I shared scenes from several points of view depending on the number of characters involved. Most readers didn’t notice or care, but I learned that allowing the POV to jump from character to character detracted from the emotional impact of a scene. It’s better to concentrate a scene or chapter from one point of view, thus making the story much more emotional for the main characters.
That’s not to say I would never write a head-hopping scene now. I sometimes change point of view when I think a secondary character’s input is vital to overall character development or when I want readers to know the immediate impact a situation has on the main characters. There are bestselling authors who frequently change POV but do it so seamlessly most readers don’t notice.
#5. Passive voice.
I’ll make it simple by explaining that you need to keep your verbs active. Instead of: “We were planning to leave tomorrow.” Replace with: “We planned to leave tomorrow.”
#6. Long, complex sentences.
Try not to put too much information in one sentence. Take a breath and break up the info. Don’t make the mistake of substituting with short, choppy sentences, but don’t cram too many words into one sentence. Balance is much more effective.
#7. Editing. No matter how many times you reread or edit your own work, it’s not enough. If you can’t afford a professional editor, then be sure to have several beta readers. Each new prospective on the work can be helpful. There are readers who will refuse to finish anything if they see grammar errors. Independently published work is especially scrutinized by the grammar police. (As I’m rereading this paragraph, I actually found one typo and one misspelled word. Ugh!)
In conclusion, don’t get bogged down by advice.
Any advice given by friends and fellow writers is just advice. There aren’t any writing rules that haven’t been successfully broken. Trying to make your story conform to all the rules can be daunting. It can cramp your style and keep you from writing the stories that come most naturally to you. My last word of advice is to let the story flow for the first draft and edit by the rules once it’s finished.
Happy writing!