Posts in Category: Editing
It’s Spring Break! *flings off bikini, then puts it back on again because NO*
Spring Break is heeeeere!
My poor, poor neglected blog. I still think about you sometimes, and that’s usually as far as I get. I’ve been so wrapped up in life and my characters’ lives that I’m not 100% sure where the past few months have gone.
It all started with National Novel Writing Month in November. Oh my God, that month was killer. I’ve never done NaNoWriMo before, and I’m pretty sure I left my brain somewhere between weeks three and four. But I wrote over 50,000 words. Boom! Some of them are really ugly words, more like a string of nonsense that may have more to do with my waning supply of Pop Tarts than the actual story. But still! Words!
I did learn a few things about myself as a writer through NaNoWriMo though–I can breeze through dialog with hardly a clickety-clack pause. Give me two or three characters with tons to talk about, and I’m set. But for a pantster, someone who writes with only a vague idea of where they’re going, NaNoWriMo will tear your arms off and beat you with them. I did have an outline, but the further I got into the story, the more bare-bones it got. There are many instances where I wrote *something happens here but I don’t know what*. I think I’m going to leave that in and let the reader fill in their own blanks. Just kidding!
Anyway, this book is called Sail, and it’s a New Adult sexy ghost story in space. I’m thinking it will be ready for consumption by Fall 2014.
What else? Oh, yeah! I expect to have edits back on The Grave Winner book 2 sometime this week. I’m excited to jump back into Leigh’s head.
One more thing! See the sidebar on the right where it says Subscribe to Lindsey’s Insider Newsletter? It will be a happy day if you sign up because you’ll get cover reveals (the one for Sail is going to be AH-mazing!) before anyone else, never before seen excerpts, and contests just for newsletter subscribers. It’s different from my blog in that I will actually do something with it! đ
Now, excuse me while I continue licking dishes clean. Hey, it’s Spring Break–I can do whatever!
Bess’s Strength in #ResurrectingHarry
So this is what daylight looks like! I’ve been hunkered down in my editing cave while working on Salt in the Cupboard edits, but I’m done now. I have a chocolate mustache and beard smeared across my face because my editing cave has chocolate, but I think I’m going to leave it there while Constance Phillips talks to us about Harry Houdini and her new book Resurrecting Harry.
Take it away, Constance!
Thank you so much, Lindsey, for having me on your blog today!
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The question Iâm most asked about Resurrecting Harry, is âWhy write a book about Harry Houdini?â
Thereâs no doubt that Harry Houdini was a fascinating person and his persona made for a great character, but for me Bess was even more intriguing.
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While Harry was still alive, she served as his partner â not only in life, but in business. After he passed, she still devoted herself to the legend and legacy by conducting the sĂ©ances on the anniversary of his death for ten years. At the end of that last sĂ©ance, she is said to have blown out a candle that had burned for the entire decade and said, âten years was long enough to wait for any man.â
I have to say I agree.
And it is part of the inspiration behind Resurrecting Harry; that a woman of such strength and character shouldnât have to spend so much time devoted to a ghost.
Though the story is a work of fiction, I hope that I was able to capture the strength that this woman had, and that the Bess that is on the pages of the book, at the very least, resembles the Bess who lived, breathed and stood by her partner on the stage and in life.
Wow! Now that’s dedication! Here’s the book trailer, cover, and blurb for Ressurecting Harry:
Can the greatest escape artist ever known break the grim reaperâs chains to save the only woman heâs ever loved?
In order to save Bess from self-destruction, Harry Houdini puts his afterlife on the line by entering a wager with purgatoryâs keeper. He gives Harry a younger face and body, and a new name: Erich Welch.
Bess clings to his promise to deliver a coded message from beyond the grave, determined to provide the bridge for him to cross, even if that means befriending her husband’s sworn enemy.
Erich needs to help Bess over her loss and put her on the road to healing, but will any good come from resurrecting Harry?
It sounds awesome! Here’s Constance’s bio:
Constance Phillips lives in Ohio with her husband, two ready-to-leave-the-nest children, and four canine kids. Her perfect fantasy vacation would involve hunting Dracula across Europe with her daughter, who also digs that kind of stuff. When she’s not writing about fairies, shifters, vamps, and guardian angels, she’s working side-by-side with her husband in their hardwood flooring business.
Constance is actively involved in her local Romance Writers of America chapter (MVRWA) and the Southeast Michigan chapter of the United States Pony Club. When not writing or enjoying the outdoors, she loves reality television or can be found at a Rick Springfield concert (just look for the pink Converse high tops).
Constance blogs regularly at www.constancephillips.com. You can also follow her on Twitter or friend her on Facebook.
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Website/blog: http://constancephillips.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6470282.Constance_Phillips
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConstancePhillipsRomanceAuthor?ref=hl
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CPhillips
Buy links
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Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Resurrecting-Harry-ebook/dp/B00BLBKDDQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361977605&sr=8-1&keywords=Resurrecting+Harry
My Editing Cave Has Chocolate
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| photo by FotoosVanRobin on Flickr |
If it seems like I’ve vanished, I haven’t. I’m still here, hunkered over my keyboard editing The Grave Winner until it’s all sparkly. Actually, I’m done editing. Now I’m just reading through it for the millionth time to see if everything flows and makes some kind of sense. This might be the last time it’s in my hands before it grows up to be a real book. *sniff, sniff*
I’ve read this story so many times now that it’s hard to know if the setting is described perfectly, if character actions and reactions are realistic, or if the plot stemmed from the brain of a crazy person. Oh, wait – it did come from a crazy person! So yeah, that writer self-doubt is creeping in big time.
My solution? Chocolate. That stuff can cure anything. Do you have a papercut? Smear some chocolate sauce on it. Headache? Take two doses of chocolate chip cookies and chase it with chocolate-flavored coffee.
I did crawl out of my editing cave long enough to pitch a novella to three editors from three different publishing companies. Two requested to read it. I’ll let you know how everything pans out with that.
Okie-doke. I’m heading back now. Peace out.
Editing, Or Putting a Chopped Onion Back Together Again
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| From OpenClipArt |
So I wrote my first romantic horror novella in July, and I plan on pitching it to a few editors in a few weeks. That means it’s time to edit like a crazy woman. Whenever I edit, I imagine I’m putting a chopped onion back together again because I’m adding the layers (character, plot, setting, dialog) to make a complete story. Each layer has to fit together just so to make the perfect whole.
You may not hear from me much while I hunker down and fling onion pieces around. But I’ll soon be finished and smelling like dinner!
Bingo Is Not A Four Letter Word
Say what? Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. I used to have a t-shirt in high school that read Bingo Is Not A Four Letter Word. People would read it, look at me, read it again, and go, “huh?” I would give one of two explanations, depending on how blank their stare was:
1. “Well, Bingo really isn’t a four letter word” or
2. “You shouldn’t be ashamed if you play Bingo.”
But what if someone has read one of your stories and gives you a blank stare/doesn’t get it? That could be a problem. Could be. Ask yourself these questions before you freak out:
1. Are they really literate?
2. If yes, do they read fiction?
3. If yes, do they read your genre?
If you answered yes to all three questions, don’t freak out yet! See what other readers think to see if they all say the same thing. If they all look at you with blank stares/don’t get it, one of two things has happened:
1. IT’S THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! IT’S TIME TO FREAK OUT!
or 2. You need to do some serious rewriting/clarifying. You’re allowed to freak out a little, but soon your story will be fixed and you can go back to playing Bingo.
P.S. Last week, I really wanted to wear this t-shirt because it fit my state of mind:
Dear Book I’m Writing: A Hate Letter
Dear Book,
Remember when I posted on my blog about how lovely it was editing you? How I had Pearl Jam’s “The Fixer” running through my head? How I was having tons of fun because the “hard” part was over?
What was I thinking????
There aren’t any songs running through my head now because I’ve lost my mind. (see scary picture below)
Now I’m doubting your characters, your plot, and your entire existence. Nothing makes any sense any more. I wish you would write yourself.
Sincerely,
(I feel better already) Your Writer
Editing + Revising = Fixing. I’m The Fixer!
While I edit my latest YA novel, the following song repeats again and again:
Yay, Pearl Jam!
My first draft felt rushed in some ways, and covered in a thick layer of dust in others. As I begin editing and revising, I’m slowing it down in places and polishing my computer screen with LemiShine. It’s working, I think. My house smells like lemons, anyway.
Knowing how the story ends has helped the editing process. I completely changed my original ending from one of Everyone is Skippy Happy to It’s Over, But Gee Whiz, Is Everyone Alive? I like the new ending better; it fits the entire tone of the book. What was I thinking with that original ending?
I’d like to pump up the word count, but it seems to be dropping. All the fluffy flowery writing has to go, though. Out with the unnecessary speech tags when the character’s action does the trick. Wave goodbye to”I looked, I watched, to me, at me.” They’re all gone. But when I get to the action parts, I’ll be like that Pokemon character named Slow Bro. Action sequences are difficult for me to write because I’m trying to keep up with how it plays out in my mind. I have to remember that no one else is seeing exactly what I’m seeing unless I describe it to them in perfect detail. Well, maybe not perfect, but as close as I can get.
Editing is hard, but super fun. I like my story enough, (who am I kidding – I love it!) that I’d revisit, play with it, revise it forever. As long as “The Fixer” keeps playing, I’ll keep fixing.