I’m treating my writing a lot like I’ve treated my photography – pick a skill and work on it.  With my pictures, I found it completely overwhelming to try and teach myself everything all at once. 

So, for example, one day I went out and said, “Amanda – today, you are going to focus on capturing the best light for the eyes.”  No, not literally.  I’m not the crazy woman in the park that talks to herself, don’t worry.

If I’d tried to focus on improving all the components of lighting, composition, etc., I would have left the session a defeated mess!  Breaking things down into little pieces made it more manageable and I’ve been able to improve without completely frustrating myself.

So this is the piece of writing that I’m making my focus currently.  My favorite books do such a good job with it and it’s something I want to acheive with my own writing.  I think it’s the essential component of a good story because the reader is able to create the images in their head and mold them to fit their vision.  I like to be lead to see what the author wants me to see without being explicitly told.

I’m going back to my current projects and finding the spots where I explain stuff.  My goal for now is to change it so that these details and characteristics unfold naturally – through dialogue, setting, or whatever.

For example, in my original draft I had this statement:

There were few things about myself I was happy with.  It would surprise most of my friends to find out my self-confidence was this low. I hid it pretty well, mainly with carefully placed sarcasm.

I’ve completely taken this ‘tell’ statement out and am instead going to attempt to ‘show’ this through conversations with her friends that happen throughout the book.  If I’m good at what I do, I shouldn’t have to tell my reader this detail for them to understand it.

Someone suggested this book that addresses this subject, so I’ve added it to my Amazon ‘to-buy’ list: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers