Skip to content

Make it clear

David Gane
David Gane

In Shepherd's Watch, there are some windows in a cabin that our main character climbs through. They made sense in my head, but our editor's idea couldn't understand how he did it. Time was spent clarifying what those windows looked like.

In Wolfe in Shepherd's Clothing, there was a hallway with several doors and a couple of corners. Again the layout was confusing. After a lot of talk and diagrams, we rewrote those paragraphs.

In Shepherd's Call, there was an alleyway and a block... You get the idea.

Sure, it makes sense in your head, but if your reader can't understand it, you need to make it clear.

Blog

David Gane Twitter

Co-writer of the Shepherd and Wolfe young adult mysteries, the internationally award-winning series, and teacher of storytelling and screenwriting.

Comments


Related Posts

Members Public

What's it for?

Seth Godin recently asked two questions in a blog post: "Who's it for? What's it for?" When writing, do you know who it's for? It doesn't have to be an audience with a capital "A." It doesn't have to be for any audience; it can be for just you. But

Members Public

Journey with your characters

Most people can't have the whole story in their heads. Too many pieces, too many moving parts. That doesn't mean you must plan it out. Once your character's story takes shape, then begin. Allow yourself to be surprised and adapt, and let your imagination take you on a journey. That

Members Public

The lies our characters tell themselves

Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon tells the story of a priest and woodcutter trying to understand a murder by listening to the testimonies of the multiple people involved. Ultimately, they struggle to find the truth amongst the lies. A similar type of story occurs within each of us. We tell ourselves multiple