The revision process has been a series of aha moments for me. The latest one has to do with how two of my characters come together and form a bond. The book I’m revising is, of course, “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero” and the bond I’m talking about is that of a superhero and his sidekick, or, in this case, a boy and his dog. Let me set the stage: Mik has just been given a puppy by his parents. Except, the puppy doesn’t want to do anything except mope around the house. Mik and his mother discuss how the puppy has just been weaned and is homesick. It might help if Mik and the dog spend some quality time together. […]
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Adventures in La La Land
I usually have a laser-like focus for my blogging, podcasting and writing. Note, I said “usually”. Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty scattered. I think it has something to do with work and the number of other projects I’ve got on the go. To make matters worse, when I’m doing something besides my actual writing and revising projects I feel guilty and cannot even enjoy periods of relaxation. So, I decided to step back for a couple days and try to clear my head. The problem is, I stepped too far back and totally forgot to do my regular post. I also owe a couple people guest posts and there is the whole book revision thing too. But, I do think […]
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 moreGetting Into It – Starting the Revision Process
I have to confess, I was nervous about the revisions for “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero”. It’s a book I’ve put a lot of myself into. What kinds of changes would my editor (and, by extension, my publisher) require? I was pretty lucky, actually. My editor, Robert Runte’ sent me the manuscript with all the revision requests marked PLUS an extra comments sheet. I think he was handling me with kid gloves so I wouldn’t spontaneously combust when I saw the edits. 🙂 I was grateful for his comments, but at the same time a little worried. What horrors awaited me? I waited a day before I opened the actual manuscript and, while there is some work to do, it wasn’t […]
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