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 moreTag: irreverent muse
The Changing Landscape of Books
The fact that the book industry is changing has never been driven home quite as clearly as it was in the last few days. The first epiphany was when I read a post by my publisher, Lorina Stephens of Five Rivers Publishing. She wrote about how Indigo (the 500-pound gorilla in Canada for book sales) is now pushing the small and indie presses around (post found here). Essentially, the book chain has made the decision to supplement their waning book sales by selling giftware. Fair enough. If it helps them survive, all the power to them. But, and here is where the bullying comes in, they are also basically pushing the small presses out. Lorina says it better than me by far, so I […]
Read moreAdventures 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 […]
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