As writers, we should never stop learning the craft. The more we write, the more we learn. I’m very fortunate to work with a brilliant editor who sees the art beneath all my mistakes and gently guides me in the right direction.

Haven recently rewritten a book with my editors guidance, here are three things I’ve added to my arsenal.

Dialog. Yes, of course, I’ve always used dialog. I consider it one of the most important factors of fiction writing, but dialog must count. In 2008, I honed the idea that dialog creates momentum, moves the story forward. Don’t slow it down with paragraphs of description or internal thought. Keep action tags and speaker attributes behind the dialog as much as possible. Of course, the “rule” can be bent, but read what you’ve written. How can you bring the dialog to the forefront?

Everyone has a problem. In going over ways to deepen the characters for the rewrite, I had a light bulb moment. “Every character needs some kind of problem.” It doesn’t have to be huge, maybe not ever really spelled out in the story, but I can use an “off stage” problem to add tension and mystery to my dialog and prose.

For example, I had a teen girl in this last book, who worked for the protagonist, Jade. Mostly I used the girl to add light to Jade’s life, but when my editor suggested I give her a problem, it caused her to deepen as a character. Her problem was she wrecked her friend’s car and wanted to work extra hours to pay it off. She didn’t want to tell her parents. This fact is never revealed, but almost every time we see this teen, Lillabeth, she’s asking Jade to work more hours. There’s a mystery about her and it’s fun.

I also added a problem to the hero. Since this story is about a mother and daughter, I was nervous I’d fall into romance writer mode so I didn’t do too much with the hero. My editor-brilliant suggested giving him an issue in which he could need our heroine, Jade. I created an old problem for him that stemmed from back issues. Again, the depth of the issue isn’t revealed, but we see the tension and feel the secrecy. It makes him a much more engaging character.

Change POV: Sometimes we have it all mapped out which character is going to tell certain parts of the story. I had a scene in Jade’s point of view from when she was twelve. It was suggested to me to write the point of view from her mother’s understanding. Wow, it changed a lot and a good scene became great. IMHO.

I’ve done this in the past with scenes. In Love Starts With Elle, I’d originally written the scene (spoiler ahead) where Jeremiah returned in Elle’s point of view. I mean, shoot, makes sense doesn’t it? But on rewrites, I decided to write in in Heath’s point of view. Why? He had the most to lose. He was falling for Elle. Seeing her drive off with her ex fiance would be devastating. The scene was much stronger emotionally from his view point.

Look at your scenes. Who has the most to lose? Write it from their perspective. Sometimes a scene just feels flat. Changing POV can make all the difference. If it doesn’t, cut the scene! You don’t need it.

Give your secondary players a problem. Even a small one adds depth. 

And remember to keep the dialog moving, unencumbered by prose.