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In this episode we cover: 

• Character creation and personification
• Writing elements to represent theme
• Bringing stories full circle
• Advice for writing dialogue
• Incorporating mythology into stories

This week’s question is: What have you binged this year?

Recommendation of the week is: Worst Wedding Date by Pippa Grant

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

***this show uses affiliate links

Find out more about TJ:

In The Lives of Puppets

Ravensong (Green Creek book 2)

Instagram

Rebel of the Week is: Karla 

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

1 new patron this week, welcome and thank you to Noreen Stone. A big thank you to my existing patrons as well. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

The post 189 Creating Unforgettable Characters with TJ Klune appeared first on Sacha Black.

You’ve written ‘THE END’ on your first, second, eighth – or if you’re me it will mostly likely be my third draft. You know it’s not perfect, but you’re happy you have taken your manuscript as far as you can. What next?

Alpha / Beta readers

As I approach the end of my first draft this concept is becoming more than just a twinkle in my eye. It’s quietly growing into the elephant in the corner of the room.

What are beta readers? How do I get one? How long will it take? Will they tear my work to pieces?

I resorted to asking some seasoned pros for advice and they really have given some amazing helpful and comprehensive answers. Please welcome Geoff and Dylan

Why use a Beta reader at all?

GEOFF – You need someone to tell you the story hangs together. That is what I want. Not a clean up on typos and grammar though that is useful, but is the plot engaging, do the characters work, does the story flow, make sense etc. to me a beta reader is not a paid for editor who could do the same job but a friendly help mate who is prepared to offer a view, possibly in return for you reading their work. Ideally, it is someone you know and trust to tell you as it is without some other agenda. But I’m not sure there’s any difference between a beta reader and the right sort of editor – clearly you need an editor as well for grammar and typos but that is different to a beta reader.

DYLAN – As a writer you are too close to your work. Even when you leave a manuscript to rest for a few weeks before going back to it, you know the story intimately. You know the character’s motivations and their backstories. You need beta readers to tell you what you’ve actually written, rather than what you intended to write. They give you insight to things you’ve missed out, things you’ve never thought of, plot holes, characterisation issues and so on.

How do you find your Beta readers?

GEOFF – Word of mouth, brazenly asking people, posting about the book and asking for help – personally I have found people love to help albeit that sometimes they don’t realise quite what is involved.

DYLAN – By asking people nicely.

When choosing a Beta reader, do you look for a certain type of reader? i.e. someone who does or doesn’t read your particular genre, and why?

GEOFF – I want someone who will take the job seriously. Ideally they will have a fondness for the genre but they must be open-minded. My first work – a comedic book – was easy enough to place. For my current WIP I had three aspects where a specific Beta would be useful. I found someone to cover two of the three.

DYLAN – I think it’s important to get a spread of people who are likely to view your work differently. Try to get writers and readers, those that are immersed in your genre and those that aren’t. Most important, get people who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth.

How long do you expect a Beta reader to take to read your work – do you agree a time?

GEOFF – I always tell them when I need the results by and I’m realistic to make sure I give them at least a month and often longer.

DYLAN – I try to set them a deadline of around a month, giving them warning beforehand, but they get as much time as they need.

How much feedback do you expect to receive or give when going through a beta reading process?

GEOFF – Piece of string. I tell Beta readers that I want more than ‘well done’ but then they know that. I try and give them at least three things to have in mind as they read. In all honesty I’m grateful for whatever I get, given they aren’t being paid and if they are shit I don’t ask again. I have the luxury of no deadlines so if I find the Beta reader or Beta readers I have asked aren’t any good I can circle back and recalibrate my timings.

DYLAN – Each beta reader is different. Based on their background and inclination I like to give an overview of how I felt about the book and then break it down into plot, setting, pacing and characterisation.

Do you set any guidelines or ask any specific questions of beta readers before giving them your work? 

GEOFF – Yes to questions, no to guidelines. I want the Beta reader to work as they feel comfortable. If they ask for guidelines then I discuss with them. Recently I had a Beta reader respond in three parts – plot, dialogue and other but that was their choice and they were looking at my writing about American characters hence dialogue as a separate topic.

DYLAN – I’ll ask them to cover the areas I mentioned above beforehand, and occasionally point them to a specific scene I’m concerned about, but otherwise I leave it to them. Any feedback is gold dust and I don’t want to either restrict them or steer them too much.

What does beta read feedback look like? Or maybe more importantly feel like?

GEOFF – I don’t think there is one way it is set out. The best is someone who will take a word version and annotate it with comments and changes but an email explaining is just as good. I don’t feel feedback – that’s far too spinach and quorn for me.

DYLAN – Again, it’s different depending on who the beta reader is. I like my beta readers to be blunt and honest. I don’t need the feedback sugar-coated because it’s important I get both their thoughts and emotions at the time of reading. All I ask is that it’s constructive. I always say “don’t tell me it’s shit, tell me it’s shit because…”

How do you receive feedback? All in one go or chapter by chapter? In a word doc, or hand written scrawls across the page?

GEOFF – See above; I had all sorts. I prefer not hand written scrawls and I prefer not face to face. I want to absorb their ideas. Some however prefer to explain themselves. There I have learnt to button my lip and not ask anything unless I really don’t understand what they are trying to say.

DYLAN – Most send me feedback electronically. Some like to give general thoughts, others a more detailed chapter by chapter run through.

Have you ever been stung or pleasantly surprised by beta reading?

GEOFF – My first Beta reader – my wife – hated it. I realised how hard it was and after that have always been grateful for whatever is said, even if it pulls something apart. No one, yet, has been obviously out to destroy so I take whatever they say in good faith. Have I been pleasantly surprised? Once; my current WIP contains a lot of the science of genetics and I had two biology graduates from oxford read it. They both made the same points and both complemented me on my understanding; since I stopped biology aged 12 I was quietly pleased!

DYLAN – I’m always pleasantly surprised by the feedback my beta readers give me, even if it’s pointing out terrible writing or major errors.

What’s the best advice you could give someone about to embark on the Beta reading phase?

GEOFF – Ask anyone who you think might be good, if they’d do it. Even if you don’t use them there will be another occasion. Work hard to make them feel comfortable; they know how much this means to you but if they are really going to be helpful they need to be made really comfortable that you’ll not eat them or, worse, if they are friends, you’ll not hate them. Remember: once you give them your manuscript it’s no longer yours, it is theirs and anything they say is right. Treat them with kid gloves and respect; if they haven’t understood something, chances are you haven’t told it very well. However if they suggest a solution be very wary about accepting it. Only you know your own book.

DYLAN – For the writer, be very grateful for the feedback you receive, positive or negative, and remember that any comments the beta reader makes is because they want to improve the book. You don’t have to take all points on board but you should read and consider each one carefully.

For the beta reader, be honest and constructive. These are your opinions so they can’t be wrong. And yes, we’ll still be speaking at the end of this!

***

So here are my top 10 tips for the Beta reading stage:

The post 10 TOP TIPS For the BETA Reading Stage appeared first on Sacha Black.

In part one, I outlined why I didn’t like constructive criticism. As a brief summary,

You damage yourself, It makes you feel like shit, Criticism is negative, Criticism slows you down, Asking for criticism shuts your brain down, Giving constructive criticism makes me feel like crap, Just because society says so, isn’t good enough, Writers deserve respect not criticism, It’s ok not to be criticised.

To see the detail behind the topics above visit part one of the post. Before talking with two people who are experienced with constructive commenting, I wanted to delve deeper into the detail of what constructive commenting actually is. But first, I wanted to thank you all for how many detailed and thoughtful comments you submitted on the last post.

How to constructively comment:

Here’s the meat of this two parter. Hopefully I have convinced you in part one that constructive criticism is dead, and we need to hail the era of constructive commenting. As I ready mentioned my definition is:

 A method of constructively appraising a piece of work, using positive reinforcement.

For me the principles of constructively commenting are:

Say things politely and respectfully. (read things back to yourself before you send them back – how would you feel receiving the comment)

Be specific – Give Examples If someone has made a continuity error, tell them, highlight it and point it out. Just saying

‘oh I think you have some major consistency issues‘

Is not helpful in the slightest. Highlight the section and be polite.

‘I wasn’t sure if your character was meant to be wearing blue or red in this bit, but I noticed that it changed part way through.’

See how much nicer and politer that is, whilst still pointing out the problem?

Make suggestions – If someone’s character needs some work, tell them, and tell them what they could do to improve them. It’s no use saying, your character lacks depth, or I don’t feel anything for them. Tell them how to improve. ‘Have you thought about your characters backstory? I would love to know more about their history at this point in the story.’

What about

‘I wanted to ask you, how do you think your character feels here? How do you think this event has effected them? You could expand a little on this event to include some of that’

So much better, and more positive than, your character sucks, and I don’t feel anything for them. I have been told this, and that’s what prompted the thought behind this post.

Be Balanced – Even if you hate their work, there is ALWAYS something good about it. Whether be pacing, dialogue, style, a specific piece of description the options are endless, use your writers imagination. If you can’t find something positive, politely make your excuses and withdraw yourself from giving feedback. Don’t crush them by not giving any positive feedback. But the other point is don’t only give positive feedback. The reason the writer asked for your feedback is because they want to improve. So help them improve.

Top and Tails – Start positive, end positive. Do the constructive commenting bit in the middle. But more than that, summarise. Its always helpful for you to summarise at the end because quite often I find that I get an overall feeling about something, but haven’t found a specific example to highlight it (yes I am contradicting myself) but it could be that generally you feel there isn’t enough detail, or there’s too much emotion and it’s made a chapter melodramatic. Sometimes there aren’t specific examples for overall feedback but it is still valid, and you might not pick up on it until you start to summarise.

***

I asked my Writers Bureau Tutor Esther Newton about her experiences with constructive criticism and constructive commenting.

Esther have you ever had constructive criticism that you found difficult or hurtful? How did it make you feel, and how did you deal with it?

Yes! I’ve received plenty of constructive criticism over the years. I felt awful at first and as if I should give up writing there and then. But some of it was particularly stinging. Some criticism was helpful but a lot just seemed negative and a put down. The way I dealt with it was to leave it for a few days, then get up and dust myself down, grit my teeth and push on to prove to myself that I jolly well could be a writer!

What do you think constitutes ‘good’ feedback.

Where there’s a balance. I always highlight the good points in a student’s work and focus on those. Then I’ll focus on areas which I think could do with a little work and help to improve the story/article/novel etc., before finishing in a positive light – it’s always good to encourage and I’d hate to ever put anyone off writing.

Do you ever get feedback on your work now? If yes, how do you process it?

Yes. It’s been interesting getting the feedback from my book of short stories. Most of it has been very positive, but my daughter said I focus on death too much! She found the stories depressing. The stories were written over a number of years and prize winners of various competitions, so they weren’t written one after the other. Nonetheless, in each story, my intension was to deal with issues centring around sad events, but to finish in a positive, uplifting way. But I took her views on board and feel fine; not everybody is going to like everyone’s writing and you can’t please everyone. I think I deal with constructive criticism much better than I used to.

As your student, I think you constructively comment. But, I am interested to know, as a tutor who critiques students’ work continually, where you would put yourself on the scale of critiquing?

This made me smile. I’m actually often referred to as the ‘kind’ tutor. I always like to be positive and to encourage others in their work. I think it would awful to slate someone’s work (not saying any of the other tutors do) but I’d hate to feel I’d crushed someone’s dream. We’re not all going to be the next J.K. Rowling, but who’s to say we can’t write what we want to write? There’s a market out there for everyone, even if it’s just the small press, having a reader’s letter published or for ourselves because we love to write.

What techniques or principles do you use to give feedback?

As I mentioned I concentrate on what’s good in a piece of work and point out why. I think it’s important for a student to know what’s going right and then I make reference to anything which could benefit from a little help. I mention why and make some suggestions for improvement. At all times I try and keep that sense of encouragement.

I was a writing student myself and my tutor used this approach, which I found fantastic. It’s what kept me going, learning and enthused. So I guess it’s thanks to him that I do the same.

Finally, having seen my brief explanation of constructive comments vs. criticism, do you agree or disagree with the principle of only asking for constructive comments?

I can completely see where you’re coming from and why. I hadn’t actually realised that constructive commenting is my way. But it is! So, of course, I heartily agree. Though, I do have students who want criticism and so I work on that side of things for them if they ask. Though, even so, I think I still work more towards constructive comments!

***

I wanted to ask someone who has received my constructive comments what they thought of my style. 

Keith agreed to let me use him as an example, I’m (slowly) beta reading his novel The Orphans and employing a constructive commenting method to give feedback. I asked Keith what he thought of my feedback, this is what he said:

How did the feedback I gave you differ from other feedback you have received in the passed?

Most assuredly. With the exception of one person’s feedback that was completely positive (much appreciated but not overly helpful), some feedback I have had has felt like having my work marked. Your feedback felt nearer to a tutorial.

How did the feedback make you feel about your work?

More positive than I was expecting. I particularly appreciated your comments about the aspects that you liked. I am quite readily discouraged, and it is easy for me to look at the criticism and believe that the odd nice or encouraging comment is just put in there to make me feel better. Your comments left me feeling that you really did enjoy the work but were offering some excellent suggestions that could make it even more enjoyable.

In terms of the level, style and depth of feedback how was it pitched?

I found the mix of detailed and general comments to be very useful. While the general comments gave me plenty of meat to work with, the more specific remarks helped to fine-tune my re-working.

Do you think the style of feedback I give is different to constructive criticism you have received before?

Your feedback is less like marking and more like mentoring. I don’t think I can say much more than that.

Now you have read the arguments, seen other research, heard from a giver and receiver of constructive comments I would really like to know what you think about them???

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