I’ve touched on this before, but there’s a reason our stories are our own. And there’s a reason they get royally screwed up if we take every single suggestion a critique partner, beta reader, agent or even an editor gives us–because no one else can write our story. Of course I’ve always known this, but…
revising
A Call for a Few Good Readers
Hello, lovely readers! I’ve never done this before on the blog, but I’m at the point in my writing journey where I don’t want to leave any stone unturned before I send out a manuscript. I’ve been through 2 1/2 rounds of critiques (I had one person read the first 90 pages before the first…
How I Tackle Revisions: Synthesizing Feedback
Yesterday I received comments from the last of my second round readers (thanks, ladies!). I’m itching to jump right in and start revising, but I am forcing myself to take a few days to think through it all and figure out a plan of attack before I dig in. I’ve posted on patience before (here,…
My Writing Process Blog Hop
First of all, the winner of a paperback copy of PARTNERS IN CRIME by Kim Harrington is: Susan Congratulations, Susan! Now on to today’s post. Last week my lovely CP Kip Wilson Rechea tagged me in the My Writing Process blog hop to celebrate the release of Sucker Literary Volume 3. Because you don’t already…
How I Tackle Revisions: Reading in a Different Format
There comes a point in the revision process where you can’t look at your document another minute because it all starts to blur together. I’ve found that the best way to pull the words out of the fog is to look at the manuscript a new way. Here are some ideas on how to read…
How I Tackle Revisions: Crutch Words
So I’ve written about crutch words before. On my last manuscript, weeding out crutch words was my final step before querying agents. I decided to address them much earlier in the process this time, while I was waiting for feedback from my first round of readers. I realize that I’ll be making significant changes to…
How I Tackle Revisions: Let It Go
Like many of you, I have “Let It Go” on a constant loop these days, and I can’t always blame my three-year-old :). But as I was getting ready to write this post, I realized how apt the title is for the current step in my revisions. As I shared in my last post, the…
When Is It Time to Finish Querying?
I touched on this topic once before, as part of a post on timing, and I want to emphasize the distinction between stopping and finishing. I think these are two different things. You can just stop because you’re discouraged or you can finish, leaving no stone unturned. Here are some things to consider if you’re…
How I Tackle Revisions: An Evolving Process
It’s been two months since I blogged about the first two steps in my revision process. Usually I would be at step four or five by now, but life has forced me to slooow down with this work-in-progress, and also to take another look at my process. Patience and flexibility are both a struggle for…
Making Our Characters’ Crazy Actions Believable
Have you ever received the following critique? “I just don’t believe [character] would do that.” I know I have! (Actually, just this week on my WIP :)). And I’ve said it myself, too. It’s not about a character doing a crazy thing. I’m fine with that–as long as the writer makes me believe they would…
How I Tackle Revisions: Getting Inside Secondary Characters’ Heads
Last month I posted about the first two steps of my revision process and said my next step was to write a few scenes from non-main character viewpoints. I’d never done this before, and I don’t know why. I think it just never occurred to me. Well, now that I have, I will definitely be…
How I Tackle Revisions, Steps 1 & 2
It’s been over a month since my last writing post and for very good reason–I’ve been taking the first step toward revising my work-in-progress: letting it sit. I’ve learned to set a first draft aside for at least a month. Often that’s hard to do, but with the holiday season, it was much easier. I…
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