"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -John 10:10
Does a good book (I mean, an utterly mouthwatering, scrumptious, delicious book, one with adjectives that simply drip off of the page), literally satisfy your soul the way an amazing piece of bruschetta, perfectly toasted, with tomato and basil does? Maybe it's just me.
In order to get to your readers (and if you want someone to reach the end of your novel, you're going to have to get to them, straight away), you're going to have to make them feel something,
something big, strong, colorful, and sometimes extreme. That way, if a young man were to pick up Song of the Silent on a shelf at Barnes and Noble, or in a cardboard box at a rummage sale (I should be so lucky), he wouldn't open to the first page, read a bit, then say, "Oh, this is a fluffy little children's novel. How uninteresting." Because JUST BECAUSE IT'S A CHILDREN'S NOVEL, doesn't mean it has to be light and fluffy! Look at Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, A Wrinkle in Time, Eragon! Gone are the days where children are expected to only read little books about what terrible punishments will befall them, should they dare try to color outside of the lines (We can thank Lewis Carroll for that particular liberation). As you probably already know, we live in the age of information. Hungry human minds need lots of it, delivered smoothly, accurately, quickly! If you want someone to care about your novel, you will have to use language that grabs peoples attention. Can I get an amen?
Sorry, dozed off.
Right. Well, anyway. One of the worst obstacles I face while writing Song of the Silent, is realizing that a scene I'm writing isn't conveying the emotion I want it to at all. My Editor Whom I Pay (EWIP), can usually tell when I'm struggling to create happiness, and instead get gloom. What she'll usually say is something like: "Perhaps, at some point, you will return, feeling adventurous, and turn it from green to red." It's abstract advice, but it's how my EWIP and I interact; The scene is feeling a little green, and I think it would be better if it were more red.
I'm confused.
If you're having a bit of trouble wrapping around this advice-
Can you see me? I'm raising my hand.
-Think of it like synesthesia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia). It's the same idea as writing words that are so easy to imagine (word painting), that you can almost smell that Autumn wind slithering gently through the midnight trees, or taste that lemon poppy seed muffin, piping hot, with delicate trails of steam twisting from the center. All because of your words! Words have power, if you learn to use them correctly. You shouldn't mince words, you should always make certain that Every. Single. Word. Counts.
If there are too many words that aren't really actually positively vital to your story, then why are they there? My prescription for a manuscript that doesn't move a reader an inch is to do what an artist would do: take a few steps back, and squint. You'll see the big picture, and realize what is important, and what is just plain boring and monotonous. I have dragged huge paragraphs along for years (literally), before realizing that Song of the Silent didn't need need them anymore. It was terrifying, but I highlighted those huge paragraphs, and hit delete.
Liberation! An instant face-lift for your novel. You might, of course, want to save those paragraphs in a different file (or keep the notebook pages stored under your mattress), because it is nice to look back at your old work. You could either decide to bring it back, or simply see how much you have grown as a writer.
Because, you are a writer! Never give up; mean what you say!
Now I'm hungry. I want some bruschetta, or a lemon poppy seed muffin.
Me too, actually! I guess that bit of word painting did its job.
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