“A young adult series destined to become Hollywood
Kevin Buxbaum is talking about the fast-paced Tombs of Terror series by author T. Lynn Adams. The next book in the series, Lair of the Serpent, will be released in June.
“The shock of the assault caught the men off guard, and they struggled to control the American. They wrestled him to the ground, pinning him there, holding him fast, as Sang stood up from the ground. Cursing in Khmer, Sang pointed the gun at Jonathon’s head.”
Jonathon can’t wait to surprise Delia for her birthday. With a little help from Delia’s brother, Severino, he plans to visit them in Cambodia
Determined to find her, Jonathon and Severino plunge into the world’s most heavily land-mined jungle. Hidden deep in a tangle of ancient ruins of western Cambodia
Lair of the Serpent seamlessly blends intense action and suspense with family loyalty and tender romance. The rich setting and colorful characters will ignite your imagination, while the twisting plot and elements of fantasy will satisfy every adventurer’s thirst for exotic quests.
“Lair of the Serpent is full of adventure, memorable characters, and enough suspense to keep you at the edge of your seat.” Heather Ostler, author of The Shapeshifter’s Secret
The book can be preordered online. It will be released in June! More information can be found at the author’s web site http://www.tlynnadams.com/
PLEASE WELCOME T. LYNN ADAMS TO BOOKHOUNDS!
Writing is the easy part. Editing takes work!
I have worked in the publishing industry for years. One head editor had a sign on her desk that read “Editing is a matter of personal opinion—MINE!”
The sign always made me smile because it speaks a truth many writers miss. Everyone edits according to their own individual style.
You can spend 20 years editing a piece to a point of flawlessness and it won’t matter. The first editor who sees it will notice things you did not; so I tell wannabe authors to not get too hung up with catching every edit. Polish the work as best as you can and then let another set of eyes help you polish it some more.
Here are some simple ideas of how I edit my manuscripts before I send them in:
1. Spelling and grammatical errors. (Most computers are good to flag these for you.)
2. The word ‘was’ in the narrative. (I’ll explain why below.)
3. Adverbs in the narrative that end with -ly. (Instead of saying “The phone rang loudly,” it is more interesting to say, “The phone’s ring shattered the silence.”)
4. Sentences in the narrative that begin with a pronoun such as he, she, I, they, it, etc., or that begin with someone’s name. (This is just a personal preference of mine so the narrative doesn’t develop a ‘he-said-she-said’ rhythm or start to sound like a police report…“He opened the door. Sally came in and smiled. He motioned for her to sit down. She did.” Can you see the weakness with that style?)
So—back to number 2—why should you try to get rid of the word ‘was’ in your narrative?
English teachers and editors will tell you it shows passive voice and makes the subject of the sentence the recipient of the action instead of the performer….blah…blah…blah…
Whatever that means!
So, instead, let me SHOW you how to make your writing more powerful by getting rid of ‘was’ in your narrative.
Here is a simply second-grade sentence using ‘was’. “He was tired.”
Remove the word ‘was’ and simply use something else. “He felt tired.”
That’s better but it’s still about a fourth-grade level, so try a more powerful word choice. Use a synonym. “He felt fatigued.”
For even more impact, make ‘fatigue’ the first thing your reader encounters. Flip-flop your sentence. “Fatigue filled him.”
Next comes the fun part. Try to expand that sentence in different ways. “Fatigue ate at his strength.”
“Drained by exhaustion, his body gave him nothing more.”
You can even find ways to make the sentence reflect the setting. “Strength receded from his body like the weak, leftover waves retreating from the shore.”
When you take the time to weed the word ‘was’ from your narrative it opens up an entirely new and exciting level of writing.
T. Lynn Adams’ three YA books, Tombs of Terror, The Lost Curse, and Lair of the Serpent have all been optioned by Hollywood . You can visit her at http://www.tlynnadams.com/
You can find the author:
twitter @TLynnAdams
I agree with you on passive voice, but I still think there’s a place for ‘was’ in writing. When a fellow author ripped me apart for having ‘was’ all the time, I became paranoid and it tore up my writing for awhile.
Once I learned the balance, and to be aware of past participles, it became much easier. Even though passive voice shouldn’t used much in fiction, especially narrative fiction, it still has a place in some situations.