Book review: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is one of my favorite writing manuals that I often recommend to writers during the revise and refine stage of the novel writing process. It is a popular guide among authors that focuses on practical techniques to improve the quality of a manuscript during the revision process.

Here are some of the main concepts covered in this writing manual:

• Show, don’t tell: This classic principle encourages writers to demonstrate emotions and actions through specific, descriptive details rather than directly stating them. The book offers techniques for making scenes and characters feel more vivid and alive, focusing on ways to engage readers with “showing” rather than “telling.”
• Characterization and dialogue: Browne and King emphasize the importance of developing realistic, distinct characters and crafting authentic dialogue. They provide advice on using dialogue to reveal personality, enhance relationships, and drive the story forward while avoiding common pitfalls like exposition-heavy or forced conversations.
• Point of view (POV): The book explores how to effectively manage different POVs, whether first-person, third-person limited, or omniscient. Browne and King discuss how POV choice impacts narrative intimacy and consistency, offering tips on maintaining a strong narrative voice and avoiding POV shifts that can confuse readers.
• Interior monologue: The authors discuss the art of getting inside a character’s head without overloading the reader with thoughts. They suggest techniques for balancing inner thoughts with action and dialogue, helping writers avoid an overly introspective or stagnant narrative.
• Voice and style: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers stresses the importance of developing a unique voice and writing style that feels consistent and authentic to the story. They provide guidance on eliminating unnecessary words, tightening prose, and making each line contribute to the overall tone and atmosphere of the novel.
• Pacing and proportion: Browne and King offer advice on controlling the speed of the story to maintain reader interest. They discuss how to expand or condense scenes appropriately, guiding writers on balancing action with reflection and avoiding excessive detail that can bog down the narrative.
• Dialogue mechanics: This includes discussions on tags and beats in dialogue to control pacing and reveal subtle nuances in characters’ interactions. They highlight how to use “said” or action beats instead of creative dialogue tags, which can distract from the conversation.
• Description and exposition: The book provides insights on writing description that enhances scenes without overwhelming them. The authors discuss how to convey necessary background information and scene-setting details in a way that feels natural and engaging, avoiding the common pitfall of info-dumping.
• Revisions and self-editing techniques: Finally, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers outlines practical self-editing techniques, from reading your manuscript aloud to spotting common errors. They also recommend specific exercises and strategies to help writers approach their own work critically, focusing on elements that can improve readability and impact.

I’ve had my copy of Self Editing for Fiction Writers for more than a decade. While the writing manual could use an update, the core messages remains true after all these years. The text is also filled with exercises, examples, and checklists that guide writers through the self-editing process, making it a valuable resource for both new and experienced authors looking to enhance their fiction. So, if you’d like to have a handy printed guide to editing your own fiction writing, I would definitely recommend this one—at least until I get my own writing manual on the market for you to buy! Get your copy now!

Related

• Self Editing For Fiction Writers: 10 Top Tips (The Novelry)
• An editor’s tips for self-editing a novel (Rachel Rowlands)
• Self-Editing Tips for Fiction Writers (Lisa Fellinger)

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Now that Jack has been forced to reflect on everything he has to lose, he resolves to do better. He’s determined to spend more time at home with his family and repair the relationships that have suffered over the years while he’s been so focused on work. But as Callie’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, Jack realizes he has a lot more room to improve than he realized – and it might be too late to save his daughter after all.