Was Had Were

Ms. Snark Says:

Any time you see "was" "had" "were" with another verb you can probably remove it and spiff up your writing 100%.

Word Count - 1769

Just a Little Off the Top

I have finished the first edit of Chapters 1 & 2 of DS. I started by taking a critical look at the prologue, admiring my genius in backstory, then whacking it off. I continued my mad quest by hacking away at the first chapter, leaving only about 10% of it, and cleaning up the second chapter, which is where the story really started. I may have to work in a few of the details later, but 5,000 words are gone - right off the top.

If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing. ~ William Safire

Back In the Chair!

The holidays and taxes took more out of me than I thought they would, but I'm not sorry for the break. My current WIP has morphed into two: A couple of hours a day doing the first edit on the first novel (DS) and starting the rough draft on a completely new novel (CV).

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Taking a Holiday

Burn-out has reared it's ugly head. I've decided to take off through the holidays, let my rough draft stew, and enjoy the family for a while. I'll try to get back to it by January, but I won't kick myself too much if I don't get to it until I recover from tax season.

“You’re through. Finished. Burned out. Used up. You’ve been replaced. . . forgotten. That’s a lie!” ~ Chuck Swindoll

Master of Magic Clothes Changing

During my editing session today, I was highly amused to discover that my heroine was a master of magic clothes changing! She started out in a mint green jogging suit, morphed into jeans and a t-shirt, and ended up in her professional clothes. All in the span of a few minutes. Nice talent.

It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly. ~ C. J. Cherryh

Cracked Return Book Trailer

Percentage Bar

Progress Bar Maker

Printed Manuscript Arrived Today!

Four hundred four pages of printed text - spiral bound and ready to be edited. I opted to have a printer run it off for me because the cost of the ink and paper for my printer was actually about the same - and this way it gets a cool glossy cover and a nifty spiral binding. Spiral binding is a good idea for me. That way I don't lose the pages or get them out of order and spend hours putting them back together. All neat and tidy and when I'm done for the day I can close my two notebooks, cap my pen, and it's all ready for me tomorrow. As a bonus, when I'm done I can throw it in an archive box and have forever posterity of my first draft.

All first drafts are shit. ~ Ernest Hemingway

Stressing over structure

johnaugust.com

As you’re figuring out the story you want to tell, ask yourself a few questions:

1. What’s the next thing this character would realistically do?
2. What’s the most interesting thing this character could do?
3. Where do I want the story to go next?
4. Where do I want the story to end up eventually?
5. Does this scene stand up on its own merit, or is it just setting stuff up for later?
6. What are the later repercussions of this scene? How could I maximize them?