Solid Story Compass: How to Be Your Own Developmental Editor or Script Consultant, Stop Second-Guessing Your Storytelling Decisions, and Prevent Inconsistencies from Incurring Reader Wrath
The knowledge available…is priceless (especially since I don’t have a developmental editor). I don’t have enough words to thank you! You are one of the reasons for me to reach my dream.
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Having written.
It’s a beautiful feeling, isn’t it?
You didn’t just say to yourself, I’m going to write an amazing story.
No, you sat down, told your inner critic to stop yammering, and pounded out your outline or rough draft.
Instead of staring at a pile of blank pages, you’re looking at something else: pages filled with words.
Lovely.
But then, after you’ve celebrated…you take a second look at what you’ve written.
That beautiful feeling?
Pfft.
It vanishes.
Something’s not working. More accurately, several things are not working. But you don’t know what’s wrong. You can’t put your finger on it.
All you know is that your story is muddled. Awkward. All over the place.
Hence, you can’t fix it.
Basically, there’s a gap (OK, sometimes, it’s more like a chasm) between the story in your head…and the one you’ve actually penned to paper.
This creates a big problem.
If you don’t take corrective measures, audiences won’t engage with your story. Instead, they’ll be too busy trying to figure out what it’s about.
Depending on how uneven your story is, audiences are going to walk away from it feeling anything from minor disgruntlement to major wrath.
Low engagement. Disgruntled audiences.
Clearly, this is not the way to get book lovers or studios to clamor for your work. It’s not the way to jumpstart or sustain a writing career.
To achieve the results you want, you need help.
A Developmental Editor or Script Consultant…To the Rescue?
A talented developmental editor or script consultant can help you navigate all of the aforementioned dilemmas.
They don’t just read through your story and flag miscellaneous problems that catch their eye.
Looking beyond the level of a scene or a sentence, they take a—huge—step backward. With cool objectivity, they assess the big picture and keep tabs on the broad strokes of your story, how it flows overall.
They can eloquently explain what’s wrong, what’s weak, and what’s not working—and dish out the fixes.
Their advice won’t just improve the story you send them; their advice should also improve your craft so that you write better stories in the future.
Finding a top-notch developmental editor or script consultant, however, is about as easy as finding an honest politician.
Not only that, developmental editors and script consultants aren’t cheap.
They can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Until you find your dream editor or consultant—whose sensibility, availability, and affordability suit your needs—what can you do?
You can’t send your story out into the world the way it is, not when it’s a mass of inconsistency that’s sure to trigger negative reviews or brutal coverage.
Nope. That’s not going to cut it.
Until you find your perfect editorial match, you must learn…
How to Edit a Novel or Screenplay—On Your Own
This isn’t easy. However, it’s by no means impossible.
You can train yourself to take a bigger step back than you’re accustomed to, and view your story with the objectivity a big-picture assessment requires.
You can flag the incongruities a developmental editor or script consultant would spot.
Moreover, you can fix them: pruning what doesn’t belong and accentuating what does so that your plot flows as smoothly as orange-blossom honey.
How?
With a 5-pointed story compass.
By breaking down “the big picture” into 5 specific areas, your compass makes it easier for you to evaluate your story and identify what’s wrong with it.
With Solid Story Compass, you’ll learn—step by step—how to construct this crucial editing tool.
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With your completed compass in hand, you’ll spot incongruities quickly.
You won’t just have a vague feeling of unease; you’ll be able to pinpoint—and fix—the source of trouble.
For instance, without your story compass, you might vaguely sense that something’s off about your climax. With your compass, you’ll know that the behavior of the villain’s henchmen needs to be changed since it messes up your story’s tone.
Should a scene be kept…or deleted?
Your story compass can help you there, too. No need to second-guess your decisions. No matter how inventive or well written, if a scene doesn’t adhere to your compass points, it’s irrelevant. It must be cut (or reworked).
Take It Easy—Step by Step
Whipping a screenplay or novel into shape is a daunting task. But it becomes far more manageable if it’s broken down into smaller action steps.
This writing guide does that. Where appropriate, each chapter ends with simple action steps that, together, form a practical, systematic way to improve your story just like a developmental editor or script consultant would.
Here’s a brief sampling of what you will accomplish by following these steps:
- You’ll smooth out your plot and avoid comments like “it was all over the place” or “it unraveled quickly.”
- You’ll answer 2 questions to verify that backstory hasn’t taken over the main narrative.
- You’ll ensure that audiences invest in your hero—instead of in another character (which, sadly, not only happens more than it should…but also causes readers to dock stars from their reviews).
- You’ll maximize genre’s ability to be your personal rainmaker.
- You’ll successfully incorporate romance subplots into your story so that they won’t alienate audiences (who, in this case, didn’t sign up for a romance).
- You’ll confidently tackle 5 types of tonal inconsistencies—and take measures to prevent outside influences from tampering with your story’s tone…undoing all your hard work.
- You’ll use 6 tools to extract potential themes from your story; after which, you’ll polish one of these themes until it shines.
Improve your story without hiring a pro
Ultimately, with your story compass, you’ll bridge the gap between the story in your head and the story on the page.
Consequently, rather than falling into this gap (e.g. trying to figure out who the protagonist is or wondering why your story vacillates in tone), audiences are free to immerse themselves in the world you’ve carefully built up, from scratch.
Buy Solid Story Compass now and become your own developmental editor or script consultant today!
Download the ebook instantly or buy the paperback (free shipping with Amazon Prime):
Amazon (US – ebook) | Amazon (US – paperback) | Amazon (international)
Download the ebook instantly from:
Apple | Kobo | Smashwords