As I go through the final round of revision and rewriting for Loran Rudder and the Secret Key, I have to say, I am TIRED of proofing this book. I guess that is a good thing. When you finally get tired of that task, it probably means it is ready for publication.
So is there a special way to get this final and much needed task done?
I say yes. I think if you will work on tone and flow, cut down on word count, and polish grammar and spelling, you will have the beast bested.
My big deal has been to eliminate unneeded words. This is difficult stuff, folks. I mean, I am a southerner after all. We are KNOWN for our way of speech. Our slow, dragging-it-out like a molasses string way of speech means using a lot of extra words, and also smooshing words together. I mean, can you say "y'all"?
But if my character is a southerner, I don't want to edit ALL that goodness away, only refine it. There is a difference between editing for refinement and editing until you have a bland, zero voice.
Still, it would be a great deal better to make sentences tighter and still keep the meaning than to have a fat, overwritten book. So, that is most of what I have been doing. Taking out unneeded words. I cut 200 words from chapter one. I didn't feel a thing.
Do you have any proven methods for doing this? Some people look for fluffy words like that, just, all, very, and much. Those are usually okay to cut. Many say adverbs can usually go. I say adverbs behind "said" should go. (ex. I said, glumly)
But what about good, old-fashioned wordy sentences?
I found a lot in my book. I found a lot in this post. Like this one:
Still, it would be a great deal better to make sentences tighter and still keep the meaning than to have a fat, overwritten book. In my mind, I rewrote it like this: Instead, I should make sentences tighter and keep the meaning clear. Yes, MUCH better.
Okay, I am now tired of editing this post. Time to publish. Have a fun Thursday, Murderers.
Showing posts with label loran rudder and the secret key. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loran rudder and the secret key. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Power Outages in Our Writing
by Kim Smith
Potholes are commonplace in the south in winter and spring. They occur due to inclement weather conditions, mostly rain. No matter what they are, they signal worrisome woes on any highway, byway, or road. Literary potholes are no different and when we are on the “Road to Writing a Novel” show up at the worst time, when you cannot swerve around them, and they can hamper your efforts to get somewhere with your writing.
But you can avoid them if you are wise and watchful. Here is a short list of things that will detour your journey:
1. Answering too many emails.
The novel or short story can face power outages if you have more than one email to answer over the course of an hour. Some of the emailers want to chat, some want answers to writing questions, and some want an interview. Taking the time to answer all of these emails and commit to the various requests will make your muse plop down and take a nap.
2. What time did you put down to write?
Your writing was scheduled to begin as soon as you got the kids off to school on Monday, but on Monday your son needed cleats for his ball gear. Then, your husband had a dinner guest coming unexpectedly for Tuesday night, and it was Wednesday before you revisited the calendar. So why hasn’t it gotten underway? Because by now you are mentally anguished and out of resources and cannot write. No wonder! You haven’t put any time aside for you.
3. Let's try this one!
Sometimes "new" ideas come to you and take your mind off the current WIP. It’s okay to do the stop and start thing if you KEEP GOING on the current WIP. Don’t let the idea monster gobble up the idea you are already working on. Put the new ideas on paper and file them for the week after you finished this first draft.
4. Another writer gets a contract and you are eating their dust!
Sometimes when a writer friend of ours hits the jackpot and gets a contract for an agent or publisher, it means the death of our time. We spend an enormous amount of energy either being jealous and not talking to them anymore, or acting like a burr in their sock and wanting to be as close to them as possible to learn as much as we can about the experience. Either way, it is a muse killer and soon our own writing is left behind.
5. Why don't we talk anymore?
When the writing pace decreases, the first place to look is a sagging middle. Most published authors will tell you, it is the middles that will kill writing efforts. My advice to fix a sagging middle or a basic beginning that is going nowhere is to kill someone. Killing off a character will definitely shake things up and get the ball rolling again.
What other things can you think of that will keep your writing on track? Many of you are planning on trying out the NanoWriMo method next fall. If you will keep these things in mind, you may find you are more successful than you have ever dreamed of being.
Potholes are commonplace in the south in winter and spring. They occur due to inclement weather conditions, mostly rain. No matter what they are, they signal worrisome woes on any highway, byway, or road. Literary potholes are no different and when we are on the “Road to Writing a Novel” show up at the worst time, when you cannot swerve around them, and they can hamper your efforts to get somewhere with your writing.
But you can avoid them if you are wise and watchful. Here is a short list of things that will detour your journey:
1. Answering too many emails.
The novel or short story can face power outages if you have more than one email to answer over the course of an hour. Some of the emailers want to chat, some want answers to writing questions, and some want an interview. Taking the time to answer all of these emails and commit to the various requests will make your muse plop down and take a nap.
2. What time did you put down to write?
Your writing was scheduled to begin as soon as you got the kids off to school on Monday, but on Monday your son needed cleats for his ball gear. Then, your husband had a dinner guest coming unexpectedly for Tuesday night, and it was Wednesday before you revisited the calendar. So why hasn’t it gotten underway? Because by now you are mentally anguished and out of resources and cannot write. No wonder! You haven’t put any time aside for you.
3. Let's try this one!
Sometimes "new" ideas come to you and take your mind off the current WIP. It’s okay to do the stop and start thing if you KEEP GOING on the current WIP. Don’t let the idea monster gobble up the idea you are already working on. Put the new ideas on paper and file them for the week after you finished this first draft.
4. Another writer gets a contract and you are eating their dust!
Sometimes when a writer friend of ours hits the jackpot and gets a contract for an agent or publisher, it means the death of our time. We spend an enormous amount of energy either being jealous and not talking to them anymore, or acting like a burr in their sock and wanting to be as close to them as possible to learn as much as we can about the experience. Either way, it is a muse killer and soon our own writing is left behind.
5. Why don't we talk anymore?
When the writing pace decreases, the first place to look is a sagging middle. Most published authors will tell you, it is the middles that will kill writing efforts. My advice to fix a sagging middle or a basic beginning that is going nowhere is to kill someone. Killing off a character will definitely shake things up and get the ball rolling again.
What other things can you think of that will keep your writing on track? Many of you are planning on trying out the NanoWriMo method next fall. If you will keep these things in mind, you may find you are more successful than you have ever dreamed of being.
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