Fiction Writing Consistency

A fiction writer's competency and experience (or lack thereof) can be easily gauged by an Editor by the standard of the submitted manuscript. Lack of consistency in the text is like taking out an ad that reads - "I am a sloppy editor and proofreader. I don't want to be published yet!"

Editors choose the best manuscripts in terms of story elements, writing proficiency and, very importantly, near perfect manuscript presentation in terms on text input. The reason for this is that most publishers use the writer's own manuscript document as a basis for typesetting prior to publication.

Typical consistency errors I have seen
I have reviewed hundreds of manuscripts and if I had to choose the worst case of inconsistency, it would have to be a book character named Vanessa who suddenly became Rebecca half way through the story. If a writer can't even get the name of the leading lady correct, that person has a lot to learn about editing and proofreading - and fiction writing consistency.

When it comes to character names, I have also seen a character's Christian name spelled three different ways in the manuscript - and a surname that switched from one spelling to another often throughout the story.

Another writer, describing an outback Australian scene, gave a vehicle three different names on the same page. A Land Rover became a Land Cruiser, then a Toyota. A Land Cruiser is a Toyota model. A Land Rover is a totally different brand of 4-Wheel Drive vehicle. This scenario was repeated many times throughout the book, including calling the vehicle a "Jeep".

Eyes always seem to be a problem with writers and I have read of a book character having sparkling blue eyes in the beginning chapters and suddenly, the hero was staring into her dark brown peepers.

This type of inconsistency needs to be nipped in the bud. Beginning writers need to learn at the outset of their quest to become a published author that an Editor's job is not to correct every little error a writer presents in their submitted manuscript.

Consistency is like continuity in a movie
One of the things you will see on a movie's credits is who did the continuity. This person is responsible for ensuring everything in the movie is consistent. One of my favorite pastimes is spotting continuity glitches. This can be as simple as a character wearing two different dresses in the same scene or a missing ornament in a room.

It's no different when writing a story or book. You need to adopt a consistent approach to how you input text for various items.

How to rid your writing of consistency errors
My advice to all fiction writers, whether they are writing short or book-length stories, is to use a Consistency Style Sheet. This is a simple document (I use a 2-column table setup) that gives me a place to record the preferred way of describing certain things and any reference notes. For instance, there are 5 different ways to describe a television set:

Television : television : TV : Tv : tv

Pick one (I prefer TV), record it in your Consistency Style Sheet, and use it throughout your manuscript. To check consistency, do a search for "tele" and "tv" and check each instance to ensure it is stated as "TV".

Other things to look for:

Mr. Jones - always put a full stop after Mr. - or leave it - but be consistent. Again, use the search facility to double check your work.

Phrases that have to be repeated (hopefully not too many times) should also be consistent.

Ensure the age of your characters is always correct. If Sally is 27 at the outset of the story, don't have her celebrating her 26^th birthday a few chapters into the book.

Before you start writing your book, decide how you will show your chapter headings. I suggest the use of - Chapter 1 - as the best option. If you book is published, the Editor will change to a different style if necessary. Check your manuscript to ensure you haven't suddenly stated a chapter heading as - Chapter Seven - instead of using the alpha/numeric style. While you are at it, search for the word "Chapter" to check if you have numbered your chapters consecutively. This should be double-checked before you submit a book manuscript.

Using a Consistency Style Sheet doesn't mean you can downgrade line editing and proofreading
Just because you use a style sheet and you're almost certain you've maintained consistency throughout your manuscript, it doesn't mean you can lower the standard of your editing and proofreading. Consistency is just one element of proper manuscript editing, checking and proofing. When you can be consistent while actually writing (on auto-pilot), that is one less thing you'll have to worry about with your fiction writing.

Source:
This article is an extract from an instructional book I am currently producing to show writers how to fast-track their projects to success with a publisher.