New Writer's Checklist

It's almost NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month: http://www.nanowrimo.org ) so I'm breathless with anticipation--I can't wait to get started on my paranormal. I plotted it out and have been chomping at the bit, wanting to write and starting tomorrow, I can! Whoopee! I love starting new manuscripts. I love the beginning--the setup--it's so much fun when that hero and heroine first meet!

Anyway, because of NaNoWriMo and my obsessive/compulsive/competitive need to WIN, which means writing 50,000 words before midnight on Nov 30, I probably won't be doing much blogging. So...I thought that tonight, I would put together a checklist of all the tips and things I have learned that you need to review in your manuscript before you send it out to anyone. It's the sort of list you need to use about a month before you put your manuscript in the mail, because after all, you actually need time to fix any weird little things you find on the final run-through.

So, here it is, the Writer's Checklist:
Note: I'm going to assume that you're going to figure out what the right answers are to the questions listed below...

1. First - print out your manuscript (I know it's a pain--but do it). Things will look differently when it's actually printed out. You will most likely find some really odd mistakes that your eyes had just skipped before. Once it is printed: Read it out loud. Can you read through it without stumbling? Does it sound right? Does it make sense? Do you use horrible names for your characters that no one can pronounce--including you?
2. Do all the characters' names start with the same first letters or syllables?
3. Is your writing smooth? Is there anything which throws you out of the story or makes you read a line twice to figure out what you meant?
4. By the end of page 1, do you show your main character's current, immediate situation and initial motivation, even if that motivation changes later? Does the reader understand your character's emotional state? If you are withholding anything about your main character so you can spring it on your reader as a surprise later, don't. The surprise will be on you because the reader won't get past page 1 if they don't understand your main character and pretty understand the initial setup/starter conflict. The more information your reader has, the more likely they are to bond with your characters. This is not to say you should start with a dump of the character's backstory--no--do not do that. We just want to know the immediate situation and the character's current mood/disposition/personality at this point.
5. Does the action start immediatly on page 1 or is it just...boring?
6. Are there too many details that don't mean anything? Are only the most important and relevant details included? To set a scene, you really only need a few-very sparse--details. Anything more is boring. Editors call an excess of details: overwriting.
7. Do we understand the protagonist (see item 3) and does the protagonist have at least 1 trait we like and/or relate to, be it humor, charm, protectiveness, integrity, honesty, or whatever...Show us. Show us on page 1.
8. Do you use too many big words and obfuscate your meaning?
9. Is the total manuscript length right for the genre you wrote it for? (E.g. many Harlequin romances are 50,000 - 70,000 words in length, while a single-title like a romantic suspense may be 100,000 words.)
10. Did you use the right point of view for the genre? Most genres and editors want limited third person.
11. Is your point of view clear at all times? Is the point of view in each scene "grounded" with the character who has the most to lose or most involvement with the scene?
12. Do you have too many subplots giving your manuscript the distinct feeling of having everything except the kitchen sink thrown into it?
13. Do you have a sagging middle?
14. Do you have at least 2 plot twists or unexpected developments (this helps avoid number 13)?
15. Do you have a black moment when everything seems lost for the hero or heroine?
16. Do you have a satisfying ending? An example of an unsatisfying ending would be if your heroine spent the book investigating a murder, only to have someone else solve it or the murderer die offstage somewhere in a manner unrelated to the investigation. Your hero and heroine actually have to have some part in the ending.
17. Do your characters grow and learn something?
18. Are your details and language correct for the time period used for the manuscript? Does your heroine say, "Okay," in 1809, for example? Does the hair and eye color stay the same for your characters--unless they deliberately take some action to change them.
19. Do the characters each have their own speech pattern so that you can tell who is talking by what they say?
20. Is the world you built, whether it be Regency England or a colony on Mars, consistent?
21. Is the grammar and spelling correct?
22. Have you gone crazy yet?

:-)

That's the list. Hope it helps.

Judging Writing Contests

This topic is near and dear to my heart for a number of reasons. Good or bad, writing contests are opportunities for both the writers who submit contest entries and those who judge. Of course, one must never judge a contest category one has entered--at least if both activities occur within the same contest, but this goes without saying.

Anyway, I'm a contest slut. That's right, I'll go with any contest who'll have me, although my sluttiness is about to be cut short if-and-when I finally get my contract from Cerridwen Press. But I'm actually entering contests right up until the time I sign that contract. And I'm judging contests, other contests (not the ones I'm entering).

Why Judge a Writing Contest?
Because you will learn more about what works and what doesn't work by judging other writers' work, than you ever will just staring at your own work (or work already published). We can never recognize our own faults, but it is sure easy to recognize other folks' faults. And once you realize what doesn't work elsewhere, you have to go back and be brutally honest with your own writing and see if you are doing the same thing.

Caveat: If you feel your writing is so good that you just don't have any of the flaws you see in other people's writing, then don't even bother to be a judge. You won't be a good judge and you won't benefit from judging. Good judges always learn from the experience, just like good teachers learn as much from their students as their students learn from them. The very act of teaching forces you to learn just like the very act of judging forces you to learn. Take advantage of it.

Here are the steps to getting the most out of judging and coincidentally being a good judge.

• You can't take points off if you cannot articulate what the problem is. Nope, sorry, I don't care if the story was the worst thing you've ever read in your life. You can't take points off if you can't say why it was the worst thing you ever read. And I mean specifics. Is the character flat? Why? Not enough description? Too much description? Did the dialog not go with the character as described? What was wrong? This will help you, as a writer, identify problems well enough to be able to find and correct them in your own work, and it will help the contest entry writer to fix what is wrong. They paid good money for the contest in the hopes they could fast track to some editor or agent who is judging the contest finalists, but if they don't get to the final round, they deserve to know exactly why.
• Give them a solution to the problem(s). You can, of course, offer nothing but criticism, but you are shortchanging both the writer and yourself. While it is highly doubtful that the writer will implement any solution you recommend, it may spark an "A-HA!" moment for them, or at the very least serve as a starting gun to get them moving. For you as a judge, this is an opportunity for you to think of ways to fix a flaw. Sooner or later, you're going to be on the receiving end of a revision letter, so the more your flex your revision muscles, the stronger they will be when you have to row the same leaky boat. It may also help to make your criticism seem less negative and harsh, and more inspirational. Well, maybe not - I don't know of any criticisms that don't seem negative and harsh, but at least you will have tried and the writer will know you have tried.
• You'll realize why editors and agents only have to read the first few lines. This isn't really so helpful for the recipient of your criticism, but after judging a few contests, you will begin to realize why agents and editors can tell so quickly if a specific manuscript is going to be worth their time or not. I know this sounds discouraging, but it is so true. It is also a mostly qualitative property that is excrutiatingly hard to identify. Mostly, I think of it in terms of writing maturity. Works that are published, and manuscripts which are publishable seem...mature. The writing is more polished, the characters seem more real, the descriptions mesh well with the story and the dialogue is true. It's smooth. You actually have a hard time pulling yourself far enough out of the story to actually DO any criticism. Each time you read a word, a phrase, a sentence, you sink back into the characters and situation and become unaware of the writing. Unfortunately, 90% of what you see in contests just isn't mature. It doesn't pull you into the story. You are always aware of the writing as opposed to sinking into the story. The characters seem silly and childish, like plastic Barbie and Ken dolls, and the writing constantly jars you out of the story. The hard part is, once you begin to recognize this, you get really, really paranoid about your own work and your ability to write smoothly and NOT lose your reader at the first sentence. There's nothing I can do about paranoia, I'm afraid.
• Don't take off points for problems with facts. Point them out to the writer, but be aware that you may be the one who is wrong--not the writer. Or you may both be wrong. Most writers do at least some research. If you think the facts are wrong, just make note of it on the entry and indicate you think it is wrong, and leave it at that. Most contests do not even give points for factual exactitude--this is fiction, after all, so for God's sake, don't take off points in some random place just because it makes you feel vindicated. Some historical categories do have maybe one judging area for historical accuracy, and this is where you can, maybe take off 1 or 2 points, but as I said, you'd better be absolutely, positively sure. I've seen judges indicate that the War of 1812 never happened and that the writer shouldn't "make up wars like this". I've had judges tell me Apollo was the Greek Sun God, when in actual fact it was Helios (and Apollo just got mixed up with Helios later). So like I said, you might indicate you think something is wrong, but I, personally, wouldn't take off points unless it is something like a story taking place in 1804 and the characters are constantly saying things like: "Okay, dude, catch you later!" or "Can you just fast-forward that and get to the relevant point?"

That's it for being a judge. I'd say to be nice about your criticism, but I'm assuming you're making an honest attempt to be a good judge and not just make snide remarks at the expense of the writer because it makes you feel good to show how much smarter you are and how irritated you are with stupid writers.

Why Enter A Writing Contest?

After reading the above, you are probably thinking contests are just way too hard on the ego and way too subjective to enter. Except they are learning opportunities. Or publishing opportunities.

• You may actually have a publishable entry. Yes, it does happen. In every category of a contest, SOMEONE (usually three someones) has an entry that finals. And some agent or editor will read it. And often, that agent or editor will request the full manuscript! I would note, however, that more often than not, requests for fulls seem to come from editors at the huge conglomerate known as Harlequin. Just a note.
• You may need help. Wouldn't you rather find out about your flaws BEFORE it goes to an agent or editor and gets rejected? Sometimes, even with critique partners, some flaws creep through. I can't tell you how many really stupid mistakes I've made that I didn't see until a judge pointed them out to me. (See the Apollo/Helios item above? Well, that came about because I stupidly put in that Mercury was the Sun God, which was NEVER the case but I had a brain fart and it slipped by BOTH me and my critique partner and it took a contest judge to point it out to me. And thank GOD they did before I sent the manuscript to anyone important and looked like a total idiot. Of course, the judge also got it wrong, but we were both wrong in this case.) I've also had cases where I thought it a scene or situation was perfectly reasonable and clear, only to find that anyone else reading it would think something entirely different. That happens to me a lot with characters I think are being funny and others think are just mean. I guess I'm weird.
• You will become the QUEEN (or KING) of Ruthlessness. If you enter enough contests, you will figure out that your entry must CONFORM. You will discover how to format it properly and make sure your hero and heroine meet within the first couple of chapters, preferrably as early as possible. Maybe even on page 1. You will cut chapters 1-3 just so they DO meet within the first few pages (and you'll find out that, hey, maybe that really is a better place to start). You will learn to create chemistry between your characters. This last point is a sore one with me because I prefer subtle/realistic chemistry, while most romance contests will require a somewhat over-the-top throbbing body parts kind of chemistry, but here's the thing... If your writing is mature enough, then they will forget they like "lurid" and they will think you are doing it beautifully even when it's really subtle. And that is all it takes. You need to be ruthless with your writing if you are ever going to publish. It is what will let you delete that wonderful, but utterly pointless scene/phrase/dialog that needs to be deleted even though you think it is the best piece of writing you have ever done. If it doesn't advance the plot, reveal the character, or otherwise work for the story, it has to go. If you pay attention and go through the rigors of contests, you will learn this (or just not final). It can be a hard and harsh lesson, but if you are determined to publish, this is one way to hone your skills. In fact, I was never very good at editing until I started really "polishing" stuff for contests and I wanted something which in the original draft was 75 pages fit the 50 page entry limit. You'd be amazed at how much crap can creep into your writing. Even good crap is still crap and it has to go. Hone your skills.

So, that is really the long and short of contests.

Snakes on a Plane: Don't be Daft

Writers really have to be careful in developing their stories. I'm going to give some fine examples. Really fine.

First...Snakes on a Plane.
What?
Doesn't anyone remember basic biology?
Samuel L. Jackson is one of my very favorite actors, but this latest fiasco in filmmaking has me a little perturbed due to a severly flawed premise. How could he participate in such an abomination?

No author is perfect and none of our artistic efforts are perfect, but writers owe it to their audiences to at least give it the old college try.

So...Snakes on a Plane. Sadly, this premise is flawed from the get-go. The problem can't actually be a problem, unless you're like...daft.

Humans are warmblooded.
Reptiles, which includes snakes, are coldblooded.
It's cold at 33,000 feet.

Ergo, turn off the heat in the plane for a few minutes.
Problem solved.
Humans, being warmblooded, will whine and shiver, but remain active when the temperature drops. Snakes, being coldblooded, will become inactive. Planes shunt engine heat into the cabin because it's darn cold in the air, particularly at 33,000 feet. If you turn off the heat, you can then stroll through the plane at your leisure, picking up limp, rubbery, semi-comatose snakes and do whatever it is you want to do with them. Then, when you're done, turn the heat back on.

You're done.
There's no actual story here, other than the fact that everyone involved with this movie appears to be suffering from some kind of serious brain damage because no one appears to know what it means to be coldblooded versus warmblooded. They don't know what snakes are.

The writers appear to be cheerfully clueless.

This movie illustrates a bad premise.
This is just one problem a writer must contend with. Another is character incoherance. Not incoherant dialogue, but character actions, traits, dialogue or other characteristics that don't make sense for the type of character you are creating.

I ran into this recently in a book that I really wanted to love. It is a major bestseller and has a thrilling premise. Besides, I know and like the author. The problem is, the heroine's character is hopelessly incoherant in the first chapter. The behavior of the character is so flawed that it shattered my ability to like her at all. In fact, my only hope is that she "buys the farm" later in the book. I know she won't, but I'm hoping at least for serious injury.

This heroine is an ex-FBI agent and has been around guns most of her life. If this was a coherently drawn character, she would have her gun safety rules so ingrained in her psyche that she would do things like unload and break open a gun before handing it to someone. She would never in a million years point a loaded weapon at anyone. (I'm around law enforcement people all the time, as well as having my own concealed carry permit, and I've noticed how people, even "civilians" in even a casual situation such as looking over unloaded guns in a pawn shop handle the weapons. They hand them to each other broken open and never point them at anyone.)

You don't point a weapon, loaded or not, at anyone unless you mean to use it.

So, in the first chapter of this book, a friend of the heroine's has hired a bodyguard for the heroine. When the bodyguard arrives, the heroine is in her den. The bodyguard, the friend, and the bodyguard's assistant walk down the hallway to the den, knock, and open the door.

The heroine points a loaded weapon at them.

Now, she knew who opened the door. She knew her friend was out there, along with this bodyguard and his assistant. The heroine had plenty of firearms training and yet she aimed a loaded weapon at an open doorway where she knows her friend and two innocent people are standing.

This character is seriously broken at this point. She's incoherant. She cannot be an ex-FBI agent and act like this--I just can't believe it would happen.

But wait! There's more!

I didn't tell you that before the bodyguard opens the door, they hear the heroine giggling to herself and loading her weapon.

Now, I ask you, does that sound like something a heroine--a character you are supposed to sympathize with--should do?

The only characters I know that laugh insanely to themselves, load weapons and point them at their friends are wacko nutjobs or people with a major substance abuse problem.

The best thing that could have happened at this point would have been if the writer had the hero--upon seeing the loaded weapon pointed at him--had whipped out his own gun and shot her right between the eyes. Then we could have gotten a new, and potentially more coherant, heroine. The hero could have claimed self-defense and given the insane laughter and loaded gun pointed at him, I'm sure any court in the land would have found him completely innocent.

This heroine needs to go. She makes me want to tear off her arm and beat her senseless with it.

Now, lest you think that I'm perfect, or think I'm perfect, that is not the case. My brain short-circuited the other day and I wrote that Mercury was the sun god. Clearly, this is not the case, and I knew this. However, for some reason, my brain didn't note the error and it kept slipping through my edits. Fortunately, I sent my manuscript in to a contest, and the judges astutely pointed out that Mercury is not the sun god, he's a messenger for the gods. The judges indicated that Apollo is the sun god, which in actual fact, is not precisely true, either. The actual, original Greek sun god was Helios, but somehow, over time, Apollo got mixed up with Helios and folks forgot that Apollo was actually the god of other things, but not the sun.

Anyway, that's just one mistake I've made. There are plenty of others and I'll make plenty of others in the future. That's why it is so critically important to have other people check out your work.

Errors stop a reader cold and they will rarely continue once stopped. They may also avoid your books in the future, figuring you're an idiot. Don't let this happen to you.

• Test your premise - is it sound or is it a "snake on the plane" premise? Run it by as many people as you can to check for logic and/or scientific flaws.
• Understand your characters - don't have them do things like point a loaded weapon at a friend when the character's background and training would preclude such a stupid action (even without a law enforcement background, I don't know any adults who would do this, either). Even a character mentally cracking up will deteriorate in ways that reflect their own peculiar habits, training and traits, so keep that in mind. Have others read your work and look for character inconsistencies.
• Check your facts - don't put in facts like Mercury is the sun god, thinking you will change them later, or because you're too lazy to check, or worse, because you think you need that "fact" for your story. If you need to distort the facts, see if you can't distort your story instead. Readers pick up on facts that are incorrect and it can destroy your work.
• Don't include extraneous research just to show off you've done it - oh, I forgot to give you an example of this. Another bestseller I read spent the initial chapter on extraneous details about the FBI training facility in Quantico, VA. Not only was it incredibly boring, it annoyed me because it's only the writer showing off, saying "hey, look at all this cool stuff I learned in my research!"

Here's the thing with the last point, it was boring and the author actually got some of the "facts" wrong. The more "facts" you include, the higher the probability that you are going to misinterpret your research and/or get something wrong. Only add those details that you need to have to create the atmosphere, setting and plot you are writing. Layering on more information, particularly background information (the building was built out of native limestone in 1920--blah, blah--who cares?) bores your reader and increases the probability of error.

You must do your research, but it's more important to understand the implications than to just include a bunch of facts.

The writers of the snake movie did not understand the implications of reptiles being coldblooded and the fact that high altitudes are cold. Another writer did not understand the implications of gun safety training and how it becomes a habit in those who regularly handle weapons. Another included piles of details from her research that were not only unnecessary to the plot but in actual fact exposed a few things she got wrong.

And of course I got my gods wrong.

At one time or another, I've made all the mistakes listed above, from stupid premises to misinterpreting researched facts, so...

Keep it accurate and keep it germane.

Get another pair of eyes to review your work just to make sure.

How to Publish the First Book You Write...

How to Publish the First Book You Write...

What, are you crazy?
Against all odds, I know two people who have already published the first book they have ever written, or are on the cusp of doing so, and I don't know that many writers. I may even know more than two--actually, now that I think of it, I know three people who have done this. Three authors, maybe more.

How did they do it (when I'm still struggling...)?
They actually have quite a number of things in common. The problem for the rest of us is that it may not be so easy to imitate this success, but here is what I have identified as the primary traits or actions which have made these authors so amazingly successful in such a short time--generally within two years of first setting pen to paper.

1) Each of them knew exactly what they were going to write and in what genre. They knew the genre, read it, loved it, and understood it.

a) They didn't try to draw outside the lines of their chosen genre--the story fit squarely and completely within the norm for the genre. For example, one writer wrote a Regency Historical and after studying other Historicals, she saw that the majority had a small range of sensuality (sensual to HOT) and at least one love scene. She wrote hers to fit exactly in the middle of the range. She also did enough research to keep it true to the period, but did not include needless details.

b) The authors all had some small twist to make their story unique, such as a woman wanting to be a vet in Regency England, but in every other respect, the story fit the genre. They accomplished the "same but different" task the editors set out for new writers.

2) Each of them decided on a plan up front on how to get it published. In the cases I know about, they all decided to get an agent and let the agent market the book. None of them attempted a "mixed mode" where they tried to market the book themselves while also searching for an agent.

a) I also know some authors who marketed their book, themselves, but these generally went to specific publishers where having an agent is not an advantage initially. These are houses such as Avalon and Harlequin which use a boiler-plate contract and fixed advance, and the e-publishers.

b) If you want to get an agent, do so up front and don't try to market your book, yourself. If you market your book to most of the big publishers, such as Avon, Warners, NAL, etc, and then you do manage to get an agent, you've just compromised their ability to sell this particular manuscript because they now can't submit it to the "best" places. This may also make them less enthusiastic about working with you because you have cut away at their opportunities to make a big sale.

3) They wrote with intent. This is a hard one to explain because "intent" can seem an awful lot like "wishing" or even "planning", but here is what it means: Writing with intent means you are serious about this work and you are seriously writing up to published standards. But even more importantly, it means that you intend to have it published, even if it means going to a vanity publisher. You are not writing to have fun or because it's fun (although I hope it is).

a) Perhaps my own experience with this will help. When I started writing again a few years ago, I wanted to be published, but I had very vague ideas of this. I had no real publisher in mind, and no real specifics as far as identifying the boundaries of a specific and currently published genre. I was reading Barbara Michaels at the time and sort of thought I wanted to write something along the lines of some of her paranormal mysteries. I did no market research and basically, I wrote to please myself. I had fun. I goofed around with the story and with the language because it was fun.

It sort of stopped being fun when I realized no one was even interested in it. But, I chalked it up to experience and went on to the next one. I joined a critique group. I wrote and submitted another manuscript and got a little further with Harlequin, but again, I hadn't really read anything other than their guidelines, so I really hadn't done my research. It also didn't help when the line I wrote for ended.

Again, I stepped up my efforts and seriously wrote a Regency, a la Georgette Heyer, not realizing that the traditional Regency market was dying. This book got the attention of an agent, but did not get published as the traditional Regency market crashed and burned. (Although on a good note, this manuscript has finally found a home with Cerridwen, so all is not lost...)

So I decided to make my own genre of Regency Romance/Suspense. I got an agent. Then I got a different agent. We're still trying to get it published, but as you can see, it's not my first manuscript. The jury is still out on whether it ultimately gets a print contract or I try to place it with Cerridwen, as well.

Finally cognizant of the things I've been trying to relay to you here, I am now writing a contemporary paranormal. I've done the research into the genre. I'm trying to write within the lines. During the conference, I went to paranormal and "heightening the sensuality" sessions. I just hope I get the sensuality level up enough to fit it squarely into the genre, and that I have enough of a different twist to make some editor sit up and take notice. But I am serious about this one. Deadly serious.

b) An important factor in intent is writing seriously for publication. You can't just slip in some silliness because you like the words or it sounds smart. You can't leave that "umm, is this part really okay? Maybe no one will notice" in your manuscript, because everyone will notice and it won't be good. And, the worst fault: you can't get silly or slipshod toward the middle and end when the writing gets rough as you're trying to keep all the plot balls in the air. You've got to buckle down and write it/rewrite it until it is good all the way through. A lot of manuscripts fall apart in the middle and end. That's why so many editors want to see the first three chapters and the last, or take a synopsis so seriously. They want to see if you can carry the story through to a satisfying conclusion or if you're going to get tired and slip along the way. It's so easy after you've been struggling to finish your book to just rush toward the end, just to get the draft done. And then rush your edits towards the end because you're tired of editing. You can't be tired toward the end or it will show. You have to make sure the middle and end are as good or better than the beginning.

If you're already doing all of these things and have written a bunch of manuscripts and still aren't published, then don't despair. I firmly believe that all writing can be improved. It is an art and therefore talent is important, but an artist often has many half-completed drawings and paintings. They have to practice to get those great painting. We, as writers, must also practice until we get it right. When we do, our creations will find homes, and we can only hope this happens before anyone cuts their own ear off in despair.

It isn't hopeless, but writing with intent is most likely the best path to success.

Word of Wisdom on Editing Manuscripts

Whew - I just finished doing critiques for a couple of critique partners, as well as a handful of contest entries.  As always, I'm impressed, even awed, by some of the great work out there.  It is amazing how creative people are in coming up with new story lines, wonderful characters and terrific plots, but it is humbling to realize how few will make it across the finish line and be published.  I wish I could say I will be one of those who crawl across the finish line on hands and knees, bloody and winded...

Anyway, it is all so subjective...and yet...it's not.

Sometimes you look at published work and you think: how did that get published when these other great manuscripts can't?  From what I've seen, although there are a lot of subjective elements, there are some things which the published manuscripts have and which often, the unpublished ones, don't.

A lot of unpublished manuscripts start out GREAT and then...slowly...crumble.
Here are a few of the flaws I've seen, although remember, this is subjective.  However, I have heard editors and agents talk about these very things, so I really do think (subjective or not) that they may be show-stoppers.

The easy, obvious things are grammar and spelling.  The details.  Get them right.  Enough said there.

More difficult problems:

1)  Not identifying the protagonist's problem(s) right up front.  Preferably in the first sentence.  In a different blog, I talked about what elements could be found in the first sentences in Times-Best-Seller's-List books.  They all pretty much stated in the first paragraph, if not the first sentence, what the protagonist's circumstances were and what their problem was.  Here is very memorable first line that really lays it out:

Victor Gischler
From Gun Monkeys
I turned the Chrysler onto the Florida Turnpike with Rollo Kramer's headless body in the trunk, and all the time I'm thinking I should've put some plastic down.

In a lot of unpublished manuscripts, you read the first chapter, the second chapter, and even the third chapter before you finally get a glimpse of the hero or heroine's state of affairs and what their problems are.  Unless you are writing literary fiction, you really can't wait that long.  Get it out there.  Sure, if you're already multi-published, you can take risks and take a leisurely stroll before you get down to business, but a newbie author?  Think about it this way:  a lot of agents and editors won't read past the first line or perhaps the first paragraph.  There.  I've warned you.  Take it or leave it, but you can't say you weren't warned.  If you can't grab your audience by the throat right away and NOT let go, you're done for, baby.  Toasted.

2)  Trying to eke out an entire novel with one small misunderstanding.  You know what I mean.  The heroine thought he was a junkie and he thought she was a hooker.  That may be the initial, starter, conflict or problem, but that's only going to take you so far.  A lot of writers try to eke out one small conflict that really can't give enough thrust to the book to take it through lift-off and into stage 2.  Or stage 3.  What I suggest is that you identify the starter conflict, and then, bim-bam-boom, your hero and heroine resolve that only to discover themselves in deeper doo-doo with a bigger, badder, bolder conflict.  This is the real, meaty conflict/problem that they are going to spend the rest of the book resolving.

Sure, you can start out with the bigger, badder, bolder conflict, but the problem is, this often leads to reader aggravation because about half-way through, they're like:  resolve this frickin' thing already!  That's the beauty of the mini, starter conflict.  About half-way through, you can resolve it (thereby ending any reader aggravation about this never-ending conflict that is getting on their nerves) only to plunger your characters into deeper trouble which will carry your readers, on the edge of their seat, through to the conclusion. 

You know how people talk about "sagging middles" (not middle age, which we know causes sagging middles, but plots...well, you get my point)?  The single biggest cause for a sagging middle is the false security of a big conflict that you introduce in the beginning with the disgustingly smug belief that it will carry you safely through the whole book.  Not.  Get over it. 

I think I've made my point.  You need at least two conflicts.  A baby one to start you out, and the big one.  You can, by the way, have more, I'm just saying you at least need two in a standard, single title manuscript (this is versus the shorter category length novels--I'm not going to explain that further--that's a subject for another blog).

3)  Getting sidetracked.  This can happen a number of ways, but the major way is to allow minor characters to take over the story.  A good way to test for this is to write a synopsis for your manuscript.  If you find yourself HAVING to include secondary characters--by name--then you need to take a step back because they may be TOO important and taking some of the power away from your main character (or hero and heroine).  A classic example of this is in a romance where you have the hero, the heroine, and the evil bitch trying to take the hero away from the heroine.  This is a thin plot and really more of a starter conflict, because here's the deal:  if you have this evil bitch start taking "face time" away from the hero and heroine's interactions, and the evil bitch is around until the end (unless she's around because she's a dead body lying around somewhere) then you may have a problem.  This is obviously for a romance, but that's another thing - you have to keep in mind what you are delivering.  If you're delivering a romance, the story is BETWEEN THE HERO AND HEROINE.  Not the hero and evil bitch, or heroine and evil bitch.  It's the hero and heroine who have to resolve their problems. 

If it's a mystery, then you are trying to resolve a murder and it is best if the hero or heroine resolves the murder.  It's even better if they figure it out instead of just catching the murderer red-handed doing something like destroying evidence or trying to kill someone, but then, that could work, too...you just have to be careful about what kind of reading experience you are trying to give your audience.  Sometimes you want your reader left slightly unsettled (literary fiction does this most of the time) or if you want your reader gloriously satisfied and happy (romances try to go for this gold standard).  If you want gloriously happy, then you want to focus on your hero/heroine and make them actually and actively resolve their big, bad conflict (or murder).

That's three of the more acute things.  I'll add more on another night, but it's getting late....