I made what I’m sure is a rookie mistake last night in my editing. I revised an entire chapter based on the comments of my editor only to get to the last page and read, “Rewrite the chapter. Nothing really happens…”. There was more to the comment, but I had just spent over an hour tweaking and making everything better based on previous comments. Am I angry? No, not at all. The rewriting process was good and I will be able to use some of what I did. The joke, and it is a joke on me, is that I didn’t read all the comments on the chapter before I started my revision. That could lead to the question: did […]
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Editing Update – Lessons Learned at the Halfway Point
I’ve had the marked up manuscript for “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero” since August and I have been making some steady progress. One of the things my editor, Robert Runte’ said to me before I even saw the edits was, it would be a lot of work, but it would save me a lot of time in the long run (i.e. future novels). Seeing the items he has requested for revision, I would have to agree with him. Three stand out specifically: 1. Rushing Scenes I’ve probably mentioned this before and I’m sure I’m not unique in this writing mistake. I have the bad habit of finishing a scene too quickly. I’ve really looked at it (and myself) to better understand […]
Read moreTrying to Rush the Story
I don’t know about you, but there is a point in my stories where I am solidly down the road and want to see the end. It is at that point that I must be most careful otherwise I rush through scenes that should get a lot more attention. That fact became extremely obvious in my current edits. The first part of the book has very few places where I need to add detail or rewrite a scene. The second part of the book needs quite a bit more attention. I think my biggest sin has been thinking a problem can be resolved in a single effort. I should know better. Any problem I’ve ever faced has rarely been fixed […]
Read moreShock to the System
I received the first set of edits for my manuscript, “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero” this week. I’ve been waiting with baited breath for these edits, not entirely sure what to expect. I had hoped that, with the number of times I’ve actually read and revised the story, it would need minimal changes. Let’s call that my optimistic self getting involved in the whole publishing process. Then there was the more pessimistic side of me that hoped (yes, I said “hoped”) that my editor, Robert Runte (gee it feels good to be able to say that), would request some changes. That hope largely stemmed from conversations he and I had over the course of the “When Words Collide” conference. I knew […]
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