Author's Blog

Simple is Better

While in the process of editing my novel, I’ve come across areas where I need improvement, and one of those areas is my word choice. Even my editor, Pat Lobrutto, stresses to me to keep my writing simple.

I think all of us like to show off now and then, but in writing, it is something you can’t afford to do. So now, I’m searching my manuscript for areas where I need to simplify.

Writing should be invisible. By invisible, I mean that readers, as they read, don’t notice the words but grasp only the idea the words relay.

Typewriter

Invisible writing is simple writing.

As I comb through my work, I’m looking for areas that have too much complex wordage, areas where I can say things in a simpler way that makes it effortless for the reader to comprehend.

As usual, editing your own work is a difficult task. We don’t always see our own mistakes. To try to catch the areas in my work where I have overdone my words, I go through the following steps:

Take out big words and replace them with simple ones – I try to remove unusual or uncommon words in a sentence. If I need or want to use an unusual or uncommon word that happens to suit well, I make sure to limit one of those per sentence.

Write for your audience – I try to write my sentences with the idea in mind that regardless of who is reading it, they will understand what I’m writing. Gearing my writing to approximately a grade nine reading level ensures everyone understands.

Clarify unfamiliar words – In fiction writing, especially in fantasy, where some words are “made up”, the reader needs to know what those words mean – no dictionary will tell them. I try through dialogue or added information, to explain the meaning to the reader. Specialized terminology or abstruse words, I think are often better replaced.

After taking away complex wordage, it is amazing how it makes not only the writing more understandable but also the story better.

Chapter Stories

I had two main objectives in mind with my website: one, a venue to communicate with you, my reader, and two, a way that I could give something back to you. That was how my chapter stories were developed, an awesome idea that my web designer helped me come up with – thanks Alex for your ingenuity.

Chapter stories are stories that I release one chapter at a time, every few weeks, free, for your entertainment. The chapters are available in various convenient formats such as eBook, mobile, audio, and YouTube. I am thrilled to have my chapter story available in audio form, and I would like to thank my narrator, John Harada, for his voice-over, which made it possible.

The Sussex Deal

The Sussex Deal - Chapter Story By Alandra CL

My first chapter story is The Sussex Deal. There were a few reasons why I picked this particular story to share with you. It’s not a fantasy, like the book I’m publishing, but a contemporary novel. I love various genres, and this chapter story allows me variety in my writing while I finish my book.

Another reason that I picked The Sussex Deal was its setting. The book takes place in the area of where I live, a city that I love, a city with many cultures and diverse localities, metropolitan Toronto, Canada. I hope, through my writing, you will gain a glimpse of this beautiful city.

I also chose this particular chapter story for its storyline, one filled with corruption, romance, and most of all intrigue. The main character, Dominic Lombardi, a real estate tycoon, discovers that nothing in his life is as it seems, and he must fight hard and clever to escape a brewing conspiracy against him, or he risks losing everything, including his life.

The story and its characters are fictitious; however, a person that impressed me with his achievements, high work ethics, and kindness towards others, inspired the main character. I believed ideal people like him didn’t exist, and I’m glad that he proved me wrong.

I am excited to be writing these chapter stories for you, and I hope you enjoy the first of them, The Sussex Deal, that I picked to share with you.

Regards!
Alandra CL