Sending out a completed manuscript of the most stellar work is a priority that every writer should be ready to do one day. Whether you are emailing a few chapters to a literary agent or self-publishing your novel online, you need to make damn sure your work is the absolute best you can produce. To help you with this process, let’s continue with John Gardner’s “The Art of Fiction,” as I will be exploring several ways authors can fix common writing errors themselves before publishing their novels.
Common Writing Error #1
“A scene will not be vivid if the writer gives too few details to stir and guide the reader’s imagination; neither will it be vivid if the language the writer uses is abstract instead of concrete.”—John Gardner
Reviewing Gardner’s quote can make it seem as if a writer is hopeless regardless of which option he or she chooses. If your detail is too scarce, it will take the reader out of the fictional dream. And likewise, if the writer tries to wow the reader with decorative language, it could strip away the fictional dream, too. So, is there an answer to this common writing error?
According to Gardner, the answer to fixing this common writing error lies somewhere in between. Gardner provides an example:
- “Turning, she noticed two snakes fighting in among the rocks.”
- “She turned. In among the rocks, two snakes were fighting.”
Can you guess which is from the rookie writer?… That would be the first.
The second example, although separated into two sentences, not only forces a flow easier on the eye but also removes the “she noticed.” By removing the “she noticed,” it takes away the effort of putting the reader at a stated distance of what she was noticing and instead directly shows the reader what she saw.
You might think the “she noticed” does the opposite. By putting in moments like “she saw” or “she knew” or “she noticed,” writers might believe it is creating a needed link to the character and the reader. Gardner disagrees, however. The removal of them does not alter the link but solidifies the link because it keeps the fictional dream.
Common Writing Error #2
“Sentences beginning with infinite-verb phrases are so common in bad writing that one is wise to treat them as guilty until proven innocent…”—John Gardner
Sometimes, when a writer is trying extra hard to vary his or her prose, they will take chances. Short sentences here. Long sentences there. This is fine. However, eventually, the writer will use sentences starting with infinite verbs. Gardner warns of this method as it doesn’t inform the way the writer intends.
To use Gardner’s example:
- “Firing the hired man and burning down his shack, Eloise drove into town.”
To many, this sentence seems normal. Gardner, however, sees a problem here. He views each action as happening at the same moment as Eloise is driving. In one instant, she fired someone, burned his house, and drove away. It is bad writing because it doesn’t make sense. While remembering to not write like this important, knowing why is the key. It’s impossible to do each action at the same time.
Common Writing Error #3
“Another irritant is accidental rhyme.”—John Gardner
Basically, it is any deliberate or accidental effort to write with alliteration. We hear this rhyme frequently in poetry, music lyrics, and especially in Hip-Hop. However, moments of deliberate rhyme there is warranted and necessary because those particular art forms are specifically created to benefit from rhyme. The same is not for literature. In the novel, an author’s primary goal is to tell a vivid and engaging story. When the author falls prey to rhyme schemes in his or her prose, it detracts from the storytelling elements and shifts its focus to its obvious rhyming—a meta element that will whip the reader from the fictional dream.
Gardner uses the example:
- “When the rig blew, everything went flying sky-high—me too.”
This example starts off rather innocent. We understand that it is likely an oil rig of some type. The strong verb “blew” immediately follows the subject “rig,” which keeps the momentum going. The sentence begins to lose traction when the writer uses “everything” as a way to consolidate any and every item that would be on an oil rig, which is lame and lazy writing. The “flying sky-high” is where the author reveals his lack of originality. The three words each possess the same rhyme as if they were in a children’s book with pop-up pictures. And then the sentence is bookended with “me too,” referencing the rhyme from the start of the sentence.
The good thing about alliteration is that it is easily noticeable in your prose. When you self-edit, keep an eye out for any rhyming prose and immediately rewrite it.
Common Writing Error #4
“Careless shifts in the psychic distance can also be distracting. By psychic distance we mean the distance the reader feels between himself and the events in the story.”—John Gardner
For example:
- It was a cool summer night. An exhausted basketball player walked out of the arena.
- Jake Watson pondered leaving the game for an office job.
- Jake lost the passion to play pro ball.
- He despised the constant pain in his knees.
- Sharp pain every day. Causing spasms during a game, while on defense, becoming insufferable so badly you just want to die.
None of the above examples are wrong. They all serve a very important purpose. Each one is fine when used at the correct time. And most of the proper placements of psychic distance will likely be done during the editing process. That is, unless, you can manipulate your prose early on. To do this, you must use the psychic distance properly in conjunction with the current situation of the narrative.
Whether having a simple dialogue between two characters or describing the interior monologue of your protagonist during an explosive climactic scene, you need to know when to shift the psychic distance.
The closer you get to an important moment—whether a character is alone or dealing with others—then the psychic distance should get closer as well (#5). If you are simply narrating a setting or detailing the backstory of characters that haven’t been given the chance to speak yet, stay far away (#1).
Think of these suggestions as just guidelines for when you arrive at certain points in your novel that you deem more important than others. Especially during the self-editing process, take significant note of this. By using the psychic distance properly, you will tell a much smoother and more enjoyable story for the reader.
Common Writing Error #5
“Practically nothing need be said, either, about the cloddishly awkward insertion of details.”—John Gardner
This is a personal pet peeve of mine. There is nothing wrong with details. Every novel needs detail, of course. The problem arises when an author places them when they don’t need to be there. Timing is everything. And nothing screams “newbie” than a writer who suddenly writes a large info dump about an irrelevant setting during a climactic scene of disarming a nuke or a heated argument with the protagonist and his cheating wife. You need to know when to hold back on the details.
Honestly, the majority of setting details and character details will come during the first act of the story. Normally, once the writer has those details out of his or her system, they can spend the rest of the novel diving into character depth and plot progression. In my humble opinion, sudden detail of irrelevant landscape or a character’s wardrobe needn’t be said during the third act. By then, the reader has invested fully and wants to see where your story is going because they are anxious to see the fate of the characters.
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