Working on the draft synopsis showed me where my plot holes are, so back to the drawing board I go.ģ. While I was doing my homework for my synopsis class, I added on-just for myself-some practice at writing a synopsis for my second novel. Complete a draft of my second novel by December 7, 2019: Now I feel more energized about approaching my editing.Ģ. Before I started the class, I couldn’t fathom that drafting a synopsis would help me tighten up my plotline, but it certainly did. The instructor, Sharon Mignerey, provided excellent materials and thoughtful feedback. I also took a two-week online course with RMFW on writing a synopsis. Panels included “Finding Your Unique Writing Approach,” “Self-Publishing,” and “Marketing for Writers.” A one-on-one with Corinne O’Flynn, who helped me lay out the equivalent of an elevator speech on the novel I am currently editing, was elucidating. Edit my first novel into a coherent manuscript by December 7, 2019:ĭuring the month of April, I attended the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ full-day Education Event. You don’t want them to be critiquing your sartorial mistakes as they read, so do your homework and write accurately. As you write, you want your readers to be able to imagine your characters in a believable way. The character dressed more like a farmer from the Midwest. The clothes he wore were completely wrong from the viewpoint of someone who grew up in a ranching community in the West at the time the film was supposed to be situated. I recall a famous movie about a gay cowboy. This would have been a terrible faux pas for a true hippy.Ĭostuming must match the time and place or it is jarring. The other day, I saw a twenty-first-century version, but the flowers were made from iron-on patches. For example, in the 1970s, the time of the “flower children,” embroidered flowers were common decorations on bell-bottom blue jeans. Mistakes could cover any egregious mismatches of the categories named above. It is important not to make blunders in describing apparel. For example, when I look back at old photos, I am even surprised by what I was wearing at the time. We forget how much fashions change or what folks were wearing during a certain period. Because our memories are feeble, it is important to make use of local library or museum collections, the web, photo albums your parents had, or photo albums you have kept for yourself. Integrating Sartorial Elements into Your DescriptionsĪccuracy requires research. A good example of a quick and dirty class distinction is beautifully done by Tommy Orange in There There, when he describes Bill Davis as wearing “light blue latex gloves … and a clearish-gray garbage bag.” The reader understands that Bill is a janitor. In fantasy and science fiction, they have the liberty to create new sartorial trends-which may appear at the next Met Gala!Īccuracy and descriptiveness depend on gender, age, class, culture, jobs, education, and of course, the personality of the characters. If the novel is set in a future period, authors can be more playful and creative about their character’s attire. If the writer is dealing with the past or present, being accurate about the clothing individuals wear is essential. Sartorial Points to Keep in MindĮvery novel is set in a time period, whether it be the past, present, future, or even a parallel time frame in science fiction. In Outlander, how Claire and Jamie are dressed changes dramatically as they flit between countries, cultures, and centuries. Leia could not be dressed like Rapunzel even though they are both princesses. Tiny Tim could not possibly be dressed like Harry Potter although they are both English. Thus, thinking about the description of how characters are dressed in a novel requires thought, research, and attention to detail. Even though the words themselves don’t vary, their manifestation changes from year to year, from period to period, from country to country. Dress, clothes, costumes, tailoring, patching, mending, sewing, weaving, stitching, knitting, embroidering, crocheting are all terms within the sartorial category required to write fiction.
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