Hi everyone, I'm new to this site, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I've been trying to write a novel series for quite some time now, but I have two major issues. The first issue is that my subject matter leans more towards young-adult/adult fiction, but my writing tone feels more like preteen fiction and I'm not sure what I can do to work on that. The second issue is that I tend to give the reader too much explanation for things all at once rather than leaving something to the imagination. I know it's better to tease the ideas first, but I always feel the need to fully explain or describe something, even though it's unnecessary. Does anybody have any suggestions or tips? And is there somewhere that I can post fragments of my story so that people can give me feedback with these issues in mind?
Hi Alyssa The first issue - hard to say without seeing your writing. There is somewhere you can post examples (the Workshop) but first you need to be here for two weeks, make 20 posts, and give two good critiques in the workshop to other authors. The time will fly by! The second issue can be easily fixed. If that's the way you write then my advice is carry on with it until you finish the first draft. You can remove unnecessary information, or convert an 'infodump' into an interesting reveal, in the editing stage. Don't get hung up on it and let it stop you writing. Once you've got a full draft it would be a good idea to put the opening chapter in the workshop and let the readers tell you what information is unnecessary and if they felt too 'dumped on'.
The first issue may depend on your own age. It also depends on what you've read. If you are a teen or pre-teen, try reading some quality adult literature to get a sense of the language. As for the second, that's a common issue among new writers and it takes some practice and analysis to get it right. Again, comparing what you've written with what others have published will give you a yardstick to go by. A novel series can be quite daunting, especially for your first project. Focus on the first volume as if it were to be a standalone novel. That will allow you to focus better. You can think about how to make it into a series later on. Best of luck.
Thank you both for your feedback. I honestly began writing this series in middle school, but in my graduating year of high school I began doing a lot more work on it in terms of editing, removing plot holes, and overall just increasing the amount of details that I had. Now I'm combing through even more and trying to make it as perfect as possible, but as I get pickier about my own writing, it becomes harder to do. I was trying to find a live chat so I could show someone examples and get feedback right away, but all I was finding were tutoring websites. Hopefully the Workshop here will help me once I can begin using it.
Going back to edit a piece you wrote in middle school is difficult, because as you mature, so does your language, your understanding of human relationships, even your grasp of what is plausible and what isn't. You might actually be better off taking the original story idea and rewriting it.
