DEGENERATING GENERALITIES, by KC Heath [originally published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Jan 2006]
As the book market tightens even further, desperate authors are turning to alternative means of publishing. As a genre reviewer and novel writer myself, I see this as a mixed blessing. Yes, more voices are being heard, but unfortunately the quality controls are not as strict and thus the bad apples might sour the whole bunch. Already the senior editor where I submit my work has posted a stern NO PODs! on our submission guidelines page. I still look at alternatively published books but turn down most for review. I would rather send a polite refusal to the publisher or author than post a review that could ruin an author's career. Occasionally, however, one does get a great read with alternative publishing, so I keep considering them for review if the story piques my interest.
So what, in my editorial capacity, sticks out as one of the biggest mistakes most of these writers are making? Generalities. This is an especially big no-no in science fiction where specifics to the decimal point mark your work as fiction based on science. I just turned down an offer to review one such work that had the words "seemingly impossible" on nearly every other page. Real research scientists would never get grants for their work if they ever let those words slip. No. Scientists use numbers and facts. Hard facts. If they hypothesize, they better have a lot of data to support that hypothesis or they will be laughed at by their peers.
Another generality many authors fall into is the easy use of "he", "him", "she", "her", "it", "them", "this", "that", etc. "Which that?" I am always asking people in fast conversation. It's important because the "that" he is thinking about might not be the same subject I am thinking about. Likely he got tangential and changed the subject without notification. That's how a lot of arguments get started. Generalities lead to confusion. I am currently reading a book for review that has a chapter where two queens are speaking to each other. It took me four pages to figure out which "she" is which because the author didn't take care with his character labels. When there are two or more characters of the same gender in the same scene, you as a writer can keep straight which "he" is which, but your reader might get confused if you don't keep her tied down with specific description. And it doesn't have to all be in the dialogue tags. The best way to cement your reader to your story is with descriptive action. If you haven't already read it, one of the best books from which to learn this is WORD PAINTING: A GUIDE TO WRITING MORE DESCRIPTIVELY, by Rebecca McClanahan, Writer's Digest Books, 1999.
So, bottom line: edit the generalities out of your story. Your readers will thank you, and you just might land that big deal!
KC Heath
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