One Minute Editor: Four Questions Every Author Should Ask

Got a Minute? Introducing the One Minute EditorTM: Quick Tips for writing and polishing your manuscript from the editors at Pelican Book Group. Here's today's OME by Nicola Martinez, Editor-in-Chief Four Questions Every Author Should Ask About Every Scene When it comes to polishing that finished manuscript, it’s sometimes difficult…

Got a Minute?

Introducing the One Minute EditorTM: Quick Tips for writing and polishing your manuscript from the editors at Pelican Book Group.

Here's today's OME by Nicola Martinez, Editor-in-Chief


Four Questions Every Author Should Ask About Every Scene

When it comes to polishing that finished manuscript, it’s sometimes difficult to cut through all the tiny imperfections so that the story can shine. Here are four quick questions authors should ask about every scene. If the answer is “no” or “I don’t know” it’s time to get out that proverbial red pen and rework the scene until the answer is a clear, “yes,”. . . or if a yes can’t be had, consider cutting the scene completely. One word of warning: the questions are quick…the editing may not be!

  1. Does this create conflict?
  2. Does this reveal something about the main plot? (i.e. the mystery, the romance, the spiritual journey, etc. — whichever your genre or plot dictates.)
  3. Does this reveal something about a particular character's motivations/fears/hopes/desires/dreams?
  4. Does this resolve a conflict?

If each scene has a clear purpose, your story will shine.

Other Articles of Interest

M. Jean Pike on Why She Wrote Key to Christmas

M. Jean Pike on Why She Wrote Key to Christmas

Small towns are a lot like snowflakes -- no two are the same. But there is one thing they have in common. They all love their festivals! When I was growing up, our town’s fall festival was the highlight of the year, a time to celebrate the beauty of Western New York...

read more
Kirsten Clark: On Becoming a Writer

Kirsten Clark: On Becoming a Writer

I was a precocious child. At age four, I was inexplicably drawn to the light-blue boxed set on the top shelf in our basement that was the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and convinced my mom to read them to me. At first she tried to explain...

read more
Pelican Book Group Official Blog