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    Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them
    Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them
    Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them
    Ebook103 pages47 minutes

    Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them

    By Jimmie Butler

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    About this ebook

    This book, Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them, is crammed with practical tips to improve the writing of almost any serious writer. Jimmie told writers in his classes on the subject at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference—and tells readers of this book—that applying these tips can make them better writers immediately. His casual style in providing the information is much like he taught on hundreds of evenings sitting around in critique groups and trying to help others become better writers.
    Jimmie’s background as a combat pilot had trained him to focus on the practical instead of the academic or philosophical. A personal guideline developed during his flying career was that philosophy was okay, but he was more interested in learning practical tips that might help him get an aircraft back under control before it hit the ground. A key was to learn from experienced pilots and other aircrew members.
    A brief look at the table of contents reveals topics a list of subjects that as an experienced writer, he believes aspiring writers need to master to be successful.
    Categories of Major Common Problems
    -----Overwriting
    -----Dialogue Problems
    -----Problems Handling Point of View (POV)
    -----Problems with Openings
    -----Writers Fail to Keep Readers in Mind
    -----Many Writers Can’t Describe their Books Succinctly

    He explains the “why” behind such problems, so writers can better understand when to follow the “rules,”—and when to break a “rule.” Examples of “how-to” and “how-not-to” are sprinkled liberally through the book to clearly illustrate points being taught. Perhaps more interestingly, he asks questions about the craft of writing that most aspiring writers never knew they needed to ask. And he provides the useful tips to answer the questions, thereby giving readers the opportunity to elevate the level of their writing.
    ~~~~~~~~~
    Jimmie became a serious writer of fiction in the 1980s. He bought scores of books on writing—many by successful professionals— and analyzed such books to discover practical tips that could improve his writing. Out of a book of 200 pages, he might pick out 4 or 5 useful concepts to add to his extensive collection of notes and references. Those concepts were further refined through his study with professionals.
    If he had come across Common Problems of Beginning writers, he would have picked practical tips from almost every page.
    He began evening classes at the University of Southern California in 1983, while still an active-duty colonel in the US Air Force. At USC, he met Paul Gillette as a professor of a class in 1984. He continued in Paul’s Workshop for Professional Writers for several years. Jimmie’s thesis project for his 1989 Master of Professional Writing degree was a techno thriller titled, The Iskra Incident. Iskra was his first published novel, selling more than 5,000 hardcover copies and more than 140,000 copies in the paperback edition. The Iskra Incident earned the 1991 Award of Excellence for Aviation Fiction from the Aviation/Space Writers Association.
    In 1993 Jimmie founded the highly successful Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs and was the Conference Director for the first 5 years. He focused the curriculum each year on the conference’s goal of providing “Useful Tips for Writing Commercial Fiction.”
    During his years of being active in the writing community, he judged around 200 contest entries, ran a critique group for 20+ years, critiqued more than 2,500 manuscript segments, headed up writers groups in California and Colorado, spoke at various conferences and writers meetings, contributed to newsletters for writers, and taught a private 24-hour course on Writing Commercial Fiction.
    He has the practical experience to know a lot of what works and what doesn’t. By the time you finish reading Common Problems of Beginning Writers, you will have a better mastery of those subjects, as

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJimmie Butler
    Release dateNov 22, 2018
    ISBN9780463392935
    Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them
    Author

    Jimmie Butler

    Jimmie H. Butler, Colonel, USAF, Retired, flew 240 missions as a Nail FAC in O-1s and O-2s in the Vietnam War. His combat decorations include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with sixteen oak leaf clusters. Since retiring from active duty, he has published two highly successful technothrillers. His first novel, The Iskra Incident, earned the 1991 Award of Excellence for Aviation Fiction from the Aviation/Space Writers Association. Red Lightning—Black Thunder, a thriller involving space warfare, was crafted from his experience as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force Space Division and as a pilot on worldwide missions in C-141 jet transports. While at the Air War College, he wrote a book-length report, Crickets on a Steel Tiger: The Interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail 1966-1968. It earned the Air Force Historical Foundation’s 1980 Award for the best aerospace report of major historical interest. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy Class of 1963, he resides in Colorado Springs where he established the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in 1993.

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      Book preview

      Common Problems of Beginning Writers . . . and Useful Tips to Solve Them - Jimmie Butler

      Common Problems of

      Beginning Writers

      and Useful Tips

      to Solve Them

      Jimmie H. Butler

      Published by Cricket Press

      6660 Delmonico Drive, D-215

      Colorado Springs, CO 80919, U. S. A.

      Copyright © 2014 Jimmie H. Butler. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. The exception being in the case of a brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      This 2016 update corrects a few formatting errors in the original and includes a few other minor changes in the text.

      Other Books by Jimmie H. Butler

      The Iskra Incident (Dutton 1990: 0-525-24898-6) earned the 1991 Award of Excellence for Aviation Fiction from the Aviation/Space Writers Association. The paperback edition published by Signet in 1991 sold about 140,000 copies, a commendable feat for a first novel.

      Red Lightning--Black Thunder (Dutton 1991: 0-525-93377-8) sold well as another techno-thriller during the transition period when the Soviet Union was collapsing.

      A Certain Brotherhood (Stealth Press 2000: 1-58881-005-4) is an unabridged version of the original trade paperback edition self-published under the imprint of Cricket Press

      All three were published in paperback editions.

      eBooks by Jimmie H. Butler available on Amazon

      A Certain Brotherhood

      The Wonder of Newborn Fawns Part 1 (photobook)

      The Wonder of Newborn Fawns Part 2 (photobook)

      Christmas Critters Part 1 (photobook)

      Christmas Critters Part 2 (photobook)

      Table of Contents

      Common Problems of Beginning Writers

      The Whys behind Advice in this Book

      Focus on Helping Publish a First Novel

      Editors are very busy

      No Single Set of Rules exists for Writing Commercial Fiction

      Keep your Readers Reading

      I Prefer Practical Tips on Writing

      Categories of Major Common Problems

      Overwriting

      Dialogue Problems

      Problems Handling Point of View (POV)

      Problems with Openings

      Writers Fail to Keep Readers in Mind

      Many Writers Can’t Describe their Books Succinctly

      Helpful Solutions for these Common Problems

      Do you Overwrite?

      Do these Techniques Really Work?

      Useful Tips for Writing Better Dialogue

      Constructing the right Framework for your Characters’ Dialogue

      Working toward more Effective Content in your Dialogue

      Point of View (POV) Recommendations

      Types of POVs to consider for your Novels

      Some Tactical Choices regarding POV

      Choosing POV Character(s) for your Novel

      Common Problems with Opening Chapters

      Thoughts on Structuring Openings

      Keep Readers Reading

      Hooks

      Some Mechanics of how People Read

      Misplaced Modifiers

      Noun Strings

      Juxtaposition

      Advice for when your Characters Ask and Answer Questions

      What’s your Book about—in two easy Sentences?

      Go Forth as a Better Writer

      About the Author

      Common Problems of Beginning Writers

      Much of this advice is from a popular class I taught several years at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in Colorado Springs. I told attendees that by applying tips I would share, each could be a better writer that night than he/she was when I began the class.

      Apply most of these tips, and you will be a better writer this evening than you are now.

      The Whys behind Advice in this Book

      Aspiring writers often encounter conflicting advice on writing. I did in the 1980s. I learned the importance of understanding the why behind such advice. When you know the why behind contradictory information, you can choose more wisely which suggestion applies to your manuscript. I emphasize the why when I teach, and I do so throughout this book.

      Focus on Helping Publish a First Novel

      Over the years most writers I’ve helped were working toward publishing a first novel. Many recommendations in the following pages have that goal in mind. I phrased many tips for writers on the traditional route of trying to get an editor’s/agent’s interest. That’s a good baseline for my advice.

      In today’s world of iPads, Kindles, and other electronic readers, many writers pursue the independent-publishing and self-publishing routes. A major goal of all of us is to write a book recognized as a good read—and that sells well. These tips will help you write a better book, no matter what publishing route you take. If you publish by an alternative route, your book will be all the better if you write to the standards of a New York editor. You’ll likely earn more sales, as well.

      Editors are very busy

      Imagine you’re an editor with 100 manuscript submissions on your credenza. Maybe twenty are publishable. Maybe you can buy one, or even two if you find two really good submissions. You’ll receive more to review next week.

      What’s your plan? My guess is either consciously or subconsciously, you’ll be looking for easy reasons to say, No.

      As a writer, does your submission mark you as an amateur? Are you making beginners’ mistakes in your pages that give editors (or agents) easy justifications for saying, No? Does your writing give the impression you expect the editor to be your proof reader? If so, you’ve wasted your time—and the price of postage if you submitted a hardcopy by mail.

      Is your plan to skip the big publishing houses and print a similarly flawed manuscript on your own? If so, readers who buy your first book likely won’t buy your second.

      No Single Set of Rules exists for Writing Commercial Fiction

      A number of rules, guidelines, tips, etc., can increase your chances of getting published if you incorporate them—or hurt your chances if you don’t. When advice

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