Spotting an Author's Potential

After reading thousands of submissions and working on hundreds of author’s written works, I can easily spot an author’s potential.

Hint: It’s not about grammar.

I say this because a lot of authors worry about their grammar, and while this aspect of writing does help you with publishing, that’s not how I spot potential.

An author’s potential is related to their storytelling skills.

There are rarely walk-in souls who can write a great first draft, so authors need to practice writing and storytelling to hone their skills.

I can tell those authors who have written and read a lot by their stories alone.

Point one:

They understand when to tell and when to show most of the time.

For newer authors, this is a sticking point, as our default setting is to ‘tell’ a story.

But too many times, I’ve read openings where the author tells the reader all about the world, the world’s backstory, the main character(s), and their backstories.

That’s not good storytelling, and the setup will bore readers.

It’s tough to hear, but in most genres, describing everything upfront isn’t interesting. Readers want to have questions they need answered in order to keep them reading.

High fantasy is one exception, as the genre conventions are to start with detailed setting descriptions and a brief overview of what came before the story is to begin. I still caution authors to keep this short and mix in some action that helps the reader follow a character, so it’s easier for the reader to understand why what the author is describing is so important.

Authors with potential start is some sort of action or an intriguing situation.

Hint: There’s nothing exciting about waking up or standing or looking. Try a beginning where your reader has at least one question they need answered with the first line or two.

Point two:

The conflict between characters pushes the story forward, and the conflicts set in the main character’s way are essential to the plot.

I’ve come across a lot of novels where just about everything comes easily for the characters. This will also lead to boredom.

Conflict excites readers.

Readers can relate to setbacks and roadblocks. They’ve had many of those in their lives, and want to read about other’s struggles and how they overcome setbacks and deal with conflict.

Conflict helps readers relate to the story and become a part of it. It helps them be involved in your character’s journey.

The lack of conflict is also unrealistic.

Do you know anyone who has everything come easily? Do you like them? Envy them? Or hate that their lives are so easy?

Characters need conflict for the reader to believe the story.

Conflict leads to interest and the reader will continue to find out how the characters get out of sticky situations.

Point three:

An author with potential has deep and relatable characters.

Characters should have depth. They should have clear wants and needs, and a wound that’s held them back for a long time. They should have flaws like everyone else, and sticking points, values, and a moral code. And they should have emotional responses to most situations.

I shouldn’t have to guess what the character’s deep wound is, but I should have to guess how they will heal that wound in the story.

I shouldn’t have to guess what the character wants. That should be clear throughout the book as they are chasing what they want and ignoring what they need.

So many times, I’ve finished manuscripts without knowing what the character wanted when the story began. The book wasn’t satisfying. I never felt like part of the character’s journey. I felt distant.

That distance usually stems from a lack of emotional responses. When we react to a situation, we do so emotionally. (If your main character is an unfeeling robot, the lack of emotions will work, but be careful with this concept. It needs to be consistent.)

Note: While some genres, like crime fiction, are more plot based, the characters should still be deep and wounded in some way from their past and they need to heal that wound during the course of the book or at the very least during the course of the series.

To hone your skills, practice. How much you practice will be evident in your product.

Try writing short stories before you write a novel.

Short stories need a beginning, middle, and end, and relatable and likable characters, just like a novel.

Short stories usually have more telling than novels, as you need to pack so much into a limited word count.

Short story writing is excellent for newer authors for these reasons.

Reading craft books and taking writing courses or attending writer’s workshops are also helpful with increasing your knowledge of storytelling.

These are the top three ways I can spot an author’s potential.

You can be a grammar master, but if you don’t understand storytelling, your potential is limited.

All the copyediting in the world isn’t going to improve a story’s quality, only the technical aspects of writing.

Want more specific advice? Contact me.

Happy Writing and Revising!

Kristin

Speculative and Crime Fiction Ghostwriter and Editor

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