I got back my MS from one of my CPs. All and all not as bad as I thought. No major plot holes, some little quirks, but the thing that will be the big fix is interior dialogue. I have a very bad habit to write a lot of it. I guess I feel I have to let the reader know what the character is thinking. Now, some is not bad, but beware that it doesn't infect your MS.
Interior Dialogue--What is it? It's that conversation you have in your head, basically with yourself, on your perception of what goes on around you. Your feelings expressed out loud in your head.
In writing, we express our characters feelings through motions (actions), dialogue with other characters, appearance, and inner dialogue. Your characters think, right? At some point they will wonder about something, and, well, will think about it, and that my friends, could wind up on the page. It helps with tension, may answer some questions for the reader, it helps contribute to the character's voice, and hopefully keep the reader reading.
My issue is keeping a nice balance of just enough. I tend to go overboard and what happens is it slows the scene down and/or confuses the reader.
So what's the fix? Good question. For me, my CP pointed it out. Now, I'm going through to see if inner dialogue is repeated (in my case, it makes the character whiny, lessens tension, and slows the reader down), is it contributing to the scene, does it have anything to do with the scene, etc.
Again, like with everything, balance is the key. There is no magic formula. So, I'm going back through and slashing where I can.
Do you have any pointers on balancing inner dialogue?
Links to some interesting posts on the subject:
The Blood Red Pencil--Inner Dialogue
Writing Fiction: Dialogue
Adding Meaning with Internal Dialogue
Stephen Tremp--Inner Dialogue
How was your weekend?
Any goals this week?
Have a great day!
