Half-Baked Fiction

Another thing the migraine taught me is not to send people half-baked work. Today I opened a synopsis I sent to my agent and to another friend on Friday. The thing barely made sense. I’ve fixed it, but vowed never to send a document prematurely, even if it’s late.
Writing Tip for Today: You don’t have to have migraines to jump the gun. You might simply be enthusiastic, and in a hasty submission relay embarrassing errors.

  • Let your work sit for a day when it’s possible. Then, read a hard copy aloud. For me, there’s something about that hard copy and reading aloud that helps me spot errors.
  • Enlist a willing reader. Your mom or spouse aren’t good choices, but a friend or another writer can locate places where your prose has logic problems or just doesn’t flow well.
  • Sleep on it. Many times, my dreaming or daydreaming over a period of time refines and improves my story ideas. Just be sure you write down good ideas as quickly as you can–you probably won’t remember them when you need them if they aren’t written down.

About Linda S. Clare

I'm an author, speaker, writing coach and mentor. I teach both fiction and nonfiction writing at Lane Community College and in the doctoral program as expert writing advisor for George Fox University. I love helping writers improve their craft and I'm both an avid reader and writer of stories about those with wounded hearts.

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