REVIEW: EDITING YOUR NOVEL'S STRUCTURE by Bethany A. Tucker

'Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish

 

Before it’s time to check for commas and iron out passive voice, fiction writers need to know that their story is strong. Are your beta readers not finishing? Do they have multiple, conflicting complaints? When you ask them questions about how they experience your story, do they give lukewarm responses? Or have you not even asked anyone to read your story, wondering if it’s ready?

If any of the above is true, you may need to refine the structure of your story. What is structure you ask?  Structure is what holds a story together. Does the character arc entrance the reader? Is the world building comprehensive and believable? These questions and more have to be answered by all of us as we turn our drafts into books. 

In this concise handbook, complete with checklists for each section, let a veteran writer walk you through the process of self-assessing your novel, from characters to pacing with lots of compassion and a dash of humor. In easy to follow directions and using adaptable strategies, she shows you how to check yourself for plot holes, settle timeline confusion, and snap character arcs into place. 

Use this handbook for quick help and quick self-editing checklists on:

-  Characters and Character Arcs.
-  Plot.
-  Backstory
.
-  Point of View.
-  A detailed explanation of nearly free self-editing tools and how to apply them to your book to find your own structural problems.
-  Beginnings and Ends.
-  Editing for sensitive and specialized subject matter.
-  Helpful tips on choosing beta readers, when to seek an editor, and a sample questionnaire to give to your first readers. 


Grab your copy of Edit Your Novel’s Structure today! Now is the time to finish that draft and get your story out into the world.'

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MY REVIEW:

All writers are gleaners. We collect and trawl through books on the art of writing (and there are loads!). Most of us find a template we like. More often we create hybrids absorbed from the many authors whose wisdom we have sought. 

Many writing books are veritable tomes - daunting in their bible-like thickness. Not so Bethany A. Tucker's Editing Your Novel's Structure. She literally concentrates on structure, comparing it to house construction. It is the skeleton upon which you will flesh out your story. 

She is refreshingly open to many approaches to structure, having tried and tested them herself. Not only that, she deals with voice, character, sensitivity and how to navigate ethnicities, disabilities or sexualities that are not your own. I particularly liked the checklists in each chapter of this short handbook. This is certainly going on my virtual bookshelf when I come to edit.

Author Bio:

Bethany Tucker is an author and editor located near Seattle, U.S.A. Story has always been a part of her life. With over twenty years of writing and teaching experience, she’s more than ready to take your hand and pull back the curtain on writing craft and mindset. Last year she edited over a million words for aspiring authors. Her YA fantasy series Adelaide is published wide under the pen name Mustang Rabbit and her dark epic fantasy is releasing in 2021 under Ciara Darren. You can find more about her services for authors at TheArtandScienceofWords.com. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: Mustang Rabbit