We’re in revising mode, and literary agent Nathan Bransford posted a Revision Checklist on his blog today. It’s a good list, with lots of things to consider when you’re looking at your work critically. I’ll add one that was in the comments: Have you used all five senses? This is somemthing I mention in critique…
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First, I hope you enjoyed the interview with Danette Haworth on Friday. If you didn’t catch it, click here. Look for more author interviews on upcoming Fridays. Last week, I posted about revising your manuscript and mentioned Holly Lisle’s One-Pass Manuscript Revision method, and one of the interesting things about her method is that, she…
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There’s a saying: Writing is rewriting. This is so true. Rarely is a first draft the final draft. I say rarely because, well, you never know, someone might have been that brilliant at one time in history. But if you think you might be the exception to the rule, here’s some quotes from some pretty…
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First my update, and it ends with a goodie. Last week, I said my revision was zooming along. By mid-week, I was back to feeling insecure about the story. Doubts were cloudy my mind. Will people get it? Will people other than me think it’s good? Will they be entertained? Will they understand everything that’s…
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I must admit, I feel great. I’m on pace to finish my polish by the end of this week, and I can feel the excitement welling up. That excitement seems to also be helping me wake up early to write. I woke up at 6:45 with no alarm on Sunday and 5:45 this morning. It’s…
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I had often heard the advice of reading your writing out loud to truly hear the rhythms. I totally understood this for picture books and dialog for screenplays, but I’ve never felt the need in anything else I’ve written (unless I was trying to focus in the middle of lots of noise). But revising my novel, I decided…
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Christmas is looming and has been keeping me busy, although I’m pleased to report that all my Christmas shopping is done. Just need to the make the mince pies today (a British tradition). I have been keeping up with my writing goals, though. Managed to do two scenes every day except Thursday — an extra…
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Just a quick post tonight. In my check in, I did the revision for chapter 18 and started chapter 19. Tomorrow’s goal: finish chapter 19. I’m still hoping to have this revision by the end of the year, but that deadline’s coming up fast, so my goals are going to have to start getting tougher…
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I finally made it to the end of my unofficial participation in National Novel Writing Month — four days late. I started on Nov. 3 and vowed to work on my rewrite every day for 30 days. As I’m ending on Dec. 7, I must have missed four days in the past 30. Can I do every…
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Whoopee! It feels good to be moving along in my revision. For day 29 in my unofficial participation of National Novel Writing Month, I finished the new early chapter I had planned in my outline/timeline and moved around some other scenes to fit the better flow I figured out. I feel energized about the story and…
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