In Which I Collect the Wisdom of the Interwebz...

...just for you, my faithful readers.

There's been a lot of good stuff in the blogosphere lately.  Or, maybe I've just been procrastinating too much, but the fact remains that I have entirely too many windows minimized on my desktop for too long now, and the time has come to disseminate the goods to you fine people.

First, Dawn Rae Miller's love/hate letter to her Kindle made me laugh.

Next, Roni Loren puts the smackdown on the stigma against romance novels.  And I laughed again.

Then, Chazley Dotson compares revisions to building a Lego castle in a cave.  And it was true.

Finally, John Scalzi slays me again with his Electronic Publishing Bingo Card.  So I laughed some more.


And now, your moment of zen:

(Background:  This is a real Bollywood movie, but the subtitles are buffalax's interpretation of what English words the original Hindi sounds like--not the translation.  Hilarity ensues.)

Happy Monday!

- Liz

In Which I Reveal My Weirdest Writing Trick

One of the tips I have heard in about a zillion places as a writer is to vary your sentence structure.  And that's a great piece of advice.  But if you're blazing through the first draft, you might not be thinking about whether or not you led with the subject in every sentence on a page.

So, here's my simple trick:

I try to make sure neighboring paragraphs all start with different letters of the alphabet.  I actually like all the paragraphs in any group of 5 to start with different letters.  (Yes, I know, it's anal.)

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not aiming for all 26 letters to appear on every page.  And sometimes I can't avoid using the same letter multiple times, especially in dialogue.  But, it's a good goal, and it's kept me on my toes as I write.

When I'm really feeling inventive, I try to do it within long paragraphs as well.  It's so much easier to look at one letter than the structure of each sentence.  And I do so love to do things the easy way.

Any more lazy girl tricks for me?

- Liz

Track Changes Have I Loved

Yesterday, I told you all about my torrid affair with Scrivener. Lest you think I am a brazen, convention-flauting hussy, today I want to tell you about my favorite feature of that tried and true elder statesmen of the word processing world, Microsoft Word. (Gentlemen, you might consider removing your hats as a sign of respect.)

Let's face it, Word is still the standard for the publishing world. On those occasions when you have to send attachments to agents and editors, you're going to be expected to send a .doc. Same holds true for most critique partners and beta readers.

(For those of you who are considering the switch to Scrivener, fear not--you'll be able to save your Scrivening as a .doc without any trouble.)

By far, my favorite feature of Word is Track Changes. When you're getting all those valuable notes back from CPs, betas, or--god willing--and agent or editor, this is the BEST way to get them, hands down. Here's why.

Open up a document--No, go ahead, I'll wait. Go to Tools on the Menu Bar, and scroll down to Track Changes. Then Highlight Changes. I always select Track Changes While Editing, and de-select Highlight Changes in Printed Document. You can also use the options menu on this little pop-up to personalize your color scheme and so on.

Here's the brilliant part: Start making corrections in the original text. That's right, just plow right over whatever's already there. Delete things, add words, correct spelling or punctuation. Each change will cause a little bubble to pop up on the right, recording what you did. (Yes, this is the part where you make your precious story look like it's bleeding to death. Or blueing to death, depending on what color scheme you're using.)

Don't worry, any change you make can be restored.

You can also make comments. Select any word, sentence, or even just leave the cursor where it lies. In the Reviewing Toolbar, which should be at the top of your window now, click the New Comment button. It's a little yellow Post-It with a green plus sign in the corner. It will open up another of those bubbles on the right where you can type away to your heart's content, telling your critique partner exactly what you think of something and why. I'm a huge fan of this feature. Probably too fond of it, frankly, but if this blog has proven nothing, it's that I like to be long-winded and find myself fascinating.

But, I digress...

If you've been lucky enough to receive a document that's already been through Track Changes, you have a new set of instructions. Each of those bubbles has a tiny check mark or X in the corner that allows you to accept or reject the changes made. You can also do a sweeping Accept All Changes if you agree with everything your reader has noted. Or, even select large sections of text and accept just those changes.

In other words, you can get all those precious grammatical and spelling errors corrected with the press of one button.

I am telling you, this is the single greatest way to get or give corrections to a writer. If you're not already using it, try it with just a few pages and a trusted writing friend. I can pretty much guarantee the light will dawn in your brain in a matter of minutes.

This isn't a special feature, it doesn't only work on Macs or PCs--Track Changes is patient, Track Changes is kind. Track Changes does not envy. It does not boast.... Well, you get the idea. Best to quit before that crack in the earth gets any wider and sucks me directly into hell for my blasphemy.

As dry and didactic as this post is, I hope you learned something. If you're already using Track Changes, I'm sure you've slipped into a coma of boredom by this point. If you're not, you're probably intimidated. Trust me, try it.

So, my writing friends, what other time-and-energy saving shortcuts am I missing in my life? Educate me in the comments!

- Liz

Revision Series - Part 4: The To-Do List and My Unending Love of Track Changes

So, I finished my first pass of my revisions. From Chapter 1 to the Epilogue, with only a few pitstops along the way to make major repairs.

Now, I had 23 documents from one beta reader, at least that many chat transcripts from the other, and dozens of e-mails that had flown back and forth between us. It was time to dig in

for that all important next draft.

Here, I made a mistake--I should have been working on my chapter-by-chapter To Do list all along. I did have an overall To Do list that I'd started amassing somewhere around Chapter 7, but it was a lot of work to go back through all those e-mails and chat transcripts (sidenote: Gmail has saved my ass on more than one occasion, and this was just another. Google, consider me yours.)

In the end, I had a To Do list that looked something like this:

And I started back at the beginning again ("In the beginning, there was Chapter 1...") with my beautiful, beautiful Track Changes notes, courtesy of the eagle-eyed J.A. Souders. When it was a good chapter, it was seas of white with a few helpful notes in the margin.

When it needed help, it looked more like this:

And believe me, I needed everyone of those notes.

Did I make every change they suggested? No. But I considered each one. If you want to read more about my thoughts on the suggestions that come from betareaders (a.k.a. Critique Partners), go here.

And soon enough, I had a final draft ready for the big time.

I think.

Coming up, we talk the nitty-gritties of Querying and Synopsizing. Did you just feel your breakfast urp into your throat? Yeah, me, too. Don't worry, we can do this.

Before that, though, I think I'll go into a bit more detail about Word's Track Changes and do the happy dance about Scrivener. We all cool with that? Excellent.

- Liz

revision Series - Part 3: From Start to Finish, With Pitstops

Today is our third stop on the Revision Tour.

If you've been following along, you know we started with an overview, then I told you all about my first draft review and plot grid technique. Yesterday I talked about the experience of writing and working with betareaders as I went.

Today, I'm going to talk about what to do without all that betareading goodness. Well, part of it anyway. During the rewrites of this particular project, I was usually working about two chapters ahead of where my readers were. Not too far ahead, in other words. So, when I got notes back from them, I would review them right away. Most of the time, I could confidently say, "Okay, I'm on the right track, and I'll do those little tweaks when I go back for a final draft." Once in a while though, I'd get feedback that put on the brakes.

I only came to a screeching halt a couple of times. Notably, the ending, or at least the chapters just before the ending when one of my betas (the one who read the chapter first) said, "Uh uh, no way, this isn't risky enough, this is not dramatic enough. Try again." And she was so right.

On those rare occasions, I'd go back before I could move forward. Those changes had to be made before the rest of the story could proceed. Maybe it's because I'm a Pantser by nature (I don't work from an outline, I just see what happens), but if the Before is screwed up, I don't have an After.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about what I did with the rest of their suggestions, but before I'm gone today, I have one more sermon to preach.

IF YOU'RE NOT USING TRACK CHANGES IN WORD WITH YOUR CRITIQUE PARTNERS, YOU'RE WORKING TOO HARD!!! Yes, I love Scrivener, and I'll climb on my soapbox about that some other day, but when it comes to line edits, there is simply no comparison to Word and Track Changes. It seems too good to be true when you first use it. And when you get your first document back from a reader and the whole margin looks like it's ON FIRE with comments and corrections, you'll feel like a hack. You're not. You just have tunnel vision. We all do.

I'll show you all some screen shots from Track Changes tomorrow, so you can get an idea of how extensive my notes from my betas were and what I had to do for my final draft.

I hope you're all finding this useful!

- Liz

Revision Series - Part 2: Writing with Betas, which is like swimming with dolphins

Today is our second stop on the Revision Tour.**

Now armed with my plot grid and discussion questions, I went back to the beginning of my manuscript and started the actual writing part of rewriting.

There are two things that I found invaluable during this process. The first was Scrivener, a writing program for Mac that is so awesome it makes my teeth sweat. It's so awesome in fact, that it deserves a whole blog unto itself and I will endeavor to do that sometime in the near future.

The second was my beta readers.

As I wrote each chapter, I tried to police my own bad grammar and weak sentence structures. Of course, it's impossible to catch everything. So, I did the best I could and wrote all the new material I needed based on the holes I'd identified in the story during my first draft review. Some chapters came easier than others. There were times I wanted to throw my laptop across the room, and there were times I was filled with doubt about this new chronology.

Thank Heavens for my beta readers. I sent them each chapter as I finished, and in due time, they'd get back to me with notes. Each of them had something to offer, and I'd like to take some time to introduce them so you can get a good idea of what niche each of them filled.

One is J.A. Souders, who is a fabulous detail reader. She was the one who corrected all my weird punctuation, rearranged weak sentences and made encouraging comments in the margins. I can always count on her to take me to task on failure to show emotion and action. I got tons of notes like "What is she feeling here?" "I'd like to know what's going on." She's also got great eyes for finding those spots where characters start acting out of character. She was also open to going back-and-forth in e-mail until we ironed out any sticky issues. Sometimes I'd send her just a revised sentence or two to see if I'd clarified.

The other is Eleven-Eleven, who is like the Secret Squirrel of the writing world. She even has a wonderful blog that no one knows about. You should go there. But I digress. 11-11 is unbeatable for big picture stuff. She didn't give me a lot of in-line notes, unless something sucked so bad she couldn't contain herself. What she did give me was character analysis and accountability to the story arc. Her notes were more like, "Is she purposefully ignoring the 'burden' it might be to her own psyche?" and "Victim of circumstance is not nearly as interesting as boycotting men or throwing herself into the fray to no avail." We had endless chats through gmail, dissecting each scene and making sure those characters stayed true to what they wanted and needed. She talks about the story like it's really happening, which despite sounding insane is actually really helpful, and makes me feel less insane for feeling that way about it, too.

Suffice it to say that I could not have done it without their help, tireless attention to detail, and willingness to suspend disbelief with me for weeks on end. In case they haven't picked up on this by now: THANK YOU SO MUCH, JESSIE AND ELEVEN!!!

Now, tomorrow, I'll tell you all what I did with those copious notes.

Do you have any betareaders or critique partners you'd like to give a shout-out to?

- Liz

** This post is the third in a series about my process for revising a manuscript. Check here if you want to see the first (which was an overview), and here if you want to see the second (which was about reviewing the first draft)

Revision Series - Part 1: First Draft Review, or The Grid

Today is our first stop on the Revision Tour.

When I finished my first draft, it was 63,000 words (not quite long enough for the adult market) and involved a present time-flashback-present time-flashback-etc. format. Some of the feedback I got indicated that flashbacks were weak writing so I decided to go with a chronological timeline.

The concept was overwhelming.

Being a very visual person, I needed to see it laid out. So, I wrote each finite scene on a small piece of paper (I would have used Post-Its if I'd had any) and spread it all out on my coffee table. Each slip of paper only said a few key words, but it was enough to trigger my memory. I wish I'd thought to take pictures at this stage, but I figured it wouldn't be very interesting to anyone else. (It probably isn't - HA!)

Then I started shuffling scenes around. All the present time scenes went to the end, and a few of the flashbacks got rearranged into a more workable order. Some of the considerations that went into the placement of scenes:

1. Does this scene push my Main Character (MC) and the Love Interest (LI) together or drive them apart?

2. What changes or growth does my MC undergo in the course of this scene?

3. Is this scene strictly necessary? Does it move the plot along or stall the action? Am I keeping it just because I find it funny/entertaining?

Once I had everything in the order I wanted, I created a table. I used Word, just because I'm comfortable with it. I made it four columns wide with twice as many rows as I had slips of paper.

The columns were labeled from left to right:

The Story

Suggested Changes/Additions

What We're Achieving

What We Need to Achieve

They should be self-explanatory, but basically I used the squares to suggest changes that I should make in the existing chapters as well as any new scenes/chapters/ideas that I should add. The last two columns kept me focused on the overall character arcs and helped me keep the big picture in mind as I revised.

I sent this grid to one of my betas (we'll call her Big Picture Beta, or BPB) with some questions listed at the bottom. She made notes on the whole chart in red so I could see her thoughts.

By the way, she'd read the whole original draft, so she knew the story inside and out. She'd also read the rather extensive editorial letter I got from one agent and had given me her sixty-seven cents (because she's worth way more than two cents).

It should also be noted that I'd already discussed the upcoming revisions with a few people and hammered out some initial ideas in my mind. This was just the first time I wrote them down.

So there you have it. That was the first step for me. It was scary, because I'm not someone who writes from an outline. I have a basic plot in mind, with a few pit stops along the way, but that's all I know when I start a first draft. It was also scary because I knew I had a ton of work ahead of me, but as they say "Writing is rewriting."

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about doing the actual rewrites and working with two betas along the way.

Everybody clear on how this went down? Anyone else have an easier method?

- Liz

How I Became a Grown-Up and Learned to Revise

The key to revisions is feedback. Without it, you can only see so much. In the case of THE SORBET GUY, I got lots of wonderful, cheerleading feedback from readers who loved the story. But, I knew it was too short, and I knew there was a reason it wasn't grabbing the interest of any agents. Luckily, one agent gave me major editorial notes on the complete manuscript. Of course, that hurt, but he had a lot of good ideas.

With all of that information in mind, and having let the manuscript get some distance and maturity in an oak barrel (or, I didn't touch it for well over six months while I wrote another novel, revised a second, and started a third) I went back to it ready for some neutral assessment and adjustment.

Over the next few blogs, I'm going to discuss each stage of the process that I went through. For today, I'll just give you the rough outline.

1. I looked at the overall draft and flagged those areas that needed help.

2. I did rewrites and sent each chapter to two designated beta readers as I went along. One was a fabulous detail reader, who always took me to task on failure to show emotion and action. The other is unbeatable for big picture stuff.

3. If my betas found any issues that would affect the progress of the manuscript from that point, I paused to revise. Most of their suggestions, however, were stuffed back into that oak barrel to wait for my final draft.

4. Next, I created to-do list from all their suggestions, as well as my own thoughts.

5. Finally, I started back at beginning to do final draft.

So, we've got our work cut out for us as I go through this series. And when we're done, I'll talk about the querying process. Because I sincerely hope to be well into that stage by the time I finish telling all of you about this.

Hope you get something out of it!

- Liz

Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

I've been MIA, AWOL and incommunicado on most fronts for quite some time. The main reason is that I've been finishing a major revision on my project The Sorbet Guy. (There have been a few Teaser Tuesdays featuring these revisions.) I'm mostly done now, just doing a final run-through with notes from my critique partners, but that work is easier and lets me venture out of my Fortress of Solitude.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the things I did and learned during this rewrite. Maybe there will be something in it for you, maybe not, but consider it's all I've been up to, I feel the need to put it out there.

I'm also about to get back in the query saddle again, and I'll give you all updates on how that goes as well. Fingers crossed for requests galore.

So, I thank you all for your patience with me of late, as I have been a terrible blog reader as well. And a Twitter has-been. I hope to get back to it all with a bit of moderation. Writing will stay my number one priority, but I miss the community, so I'll be around. Promise.

- Liz

Take a Breath

You know what I haven't blogged about in a while? Writing. Kind of ironic, since this is a writer's blog and all.

Here I am, in the home stretch of my big rewrite project. I'm about three chapters from the end, and I'm starting to feel a case of the "good enoughs" coming on. When I'm working on a project, with the end in sight and my energy flagging, I have a tendency to think things are just fine and dandy the way they are. Wall painting is a great example. A few drops on the woodwork? A few thin spots near the ceiling? Who'll notice? If I can live with it, so can everyone else, right?

Sometimes, that's true. But sometimes, the patches the drips and the streaks bother me.

And I'm not asking anyone to pay me for being a wall painter.

So, right now, it's taking all of my will power not to declare the last three chapters good enough and quit. I know they aren't, just like I know my painting skills leave a lot to be desired. There is improvement to be made in nearly every sentence and slacking on the ending will only serve to haunt me.

Let's say I get a request for a full manuscript from an agent. Let's say I get rejected. If I don't give the ending the attention it deserves, I'll always have to wonder if that was the reason for rejection.

It's time to take a deep breath and do what I'm supposed to do. No matter how much I want to get to the next step.

Which begs the question: In writing, when is enough enough?

- Liz

The Way Back Machine

I'm currently revising an older project in the hopes of revitalizing it for agent interest. It's made the rounds once before, without much success--a fate I attribute largely to my poor query letter. This time, the letter is going to kick ass and I'm going to be more careful about which agents I go after. It can be done.

The major task of this revision is changing the timeline. Originally, it was written as a series of flashbacks laid out between present-time scenes. I thought it was a nice structural device. However, I got a very thorough critique from a very nice agent (who no longer has the time to offer such extensive readers, sadly) who told me that flashbacks are inherently weak story telling. He said there is no tension in them, because we already know the characters have lived to tell the tale.

Sidenote: The 3 year-old is in charge of the iPod right now, and he's chosen Kings of Leon. My kid is the coolest.

It's an interesting point. We see flashbacks in movies fairly often. In fact there was a movie a few years back that told its story in much the same way that my project did. It was called Definitely, Maybe. Starring the adorable Ryan Reynolds, it told the story of a man's romantic past as his daughter tried to guess which of the names-have-been-changed-to-protect-the-innocent women was her mother. Not the greatest piece of cinema ever made, but certainly passable. (did I mention Ryan Reynolds?)

There is also an entire sitcom based on this structure. How I Met Your Mother, which oddly, also features a father relaying the story of his dating youth to his (very bored) children. I happen to love this show, but not because of the structure. It's funny, and that's enough for me. Neil Patrick Harris is a bonus, 'cause, you know, sometimes he sings. And I love that.

All of that being said, the mystery agent is correct: we already know these characters have lived to tell these tales. Does that destroy the mystery, or does it just ease the tension?

As I slog through the middle of these revisions, I find myself wondering if I'm doing it all for naught. Part of the reason romance (or romantic comedy in my case) is popular is that readers know what they're going to get. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. We love it. We want it to happen that way. Do flashbacks mean we're not interested in the details? The details are the very reason we're here.

So, I am at a crossroads and I am confused. To flashback, or not to flashback? I just don't know. At this point, I intend to slog my way through to the end in chronological order, because I've started it, and I'm just stubborn enough to see it through. But will I be happy about it? That remains to be seen.

What are your feelings on flashbacks? Clever structure, or weak storytelling? Your input will mean the world to me.

- Liz

SWF Seeks Literary Agent for Long-Term Commitment, Good Times

The other day it occurred to me that the whole pre-publication process is like dating. Maybe this association took me so long to see because I have such a thin dating history myself, and the rest of you are thinking, "Duh," but this is my blog, so I'm going to wax pathetic for bit, capisce?

A query is like a blind date with someone you met through a personal ad or an on-line dating profile. You might be able to learn a little bit about them, or maybe even a lot, but in the end, you're still left to put yourself out there and hope he or she likes you.

When an agent asks for a partial or full manuscript, a writer sort of feels like she's just been asked to go steady. An agent is probably seeing this as more of a second date. I suppose in the world of He's Just Not That Into You, writers are like women and agents are like men. (No offense intended to either gender in this instance.)

That grand shining moment when an agent offers representation can best be compared to a marriage proposal--every writer wants one, and the ones that have an offer and just as girly-squirrely as a newly engaged women. Trust me, I know two of them right now (the fabulous J.A. Souders and Kelly Gibian) and they're giddy. They practically have the vapors. And like a terminally-single friend of a newly engaged woman, I am thrilled to death for them, but not a little jealous.

After the wonder and glamour of the engagement/agenting, the writer "moves in" with her agent, digging deep into revisions and bringing her manuscript to a high gloss. And, together, they start planning the wedding, er, going out on submission. This is when the agent beings his or her own querying process, offering up the project to editors and hoping for that nibble of interest. Or better yet, those dozens of nibbles that lead a book to sell at auction.

So, now you've got a planned release date for your book (a.k.a. your wedding date), but what you never saw coming was how many details there are in planning a wedding. Quite frankly, I'm a little fuzzy on this part, since I'm still in the blind-date phase, but from what I hear, the work has only just begun once you've got a fiancee, I mean agent.

A lot of this is probably self-evident. (Thank you, Captain Obvious.) We could probably overlay any number of application processes, or relationship-based models onto the pre-publication phase. The reason that the dating metaphor rings so true for me is seeing how I, and my writing friends approach the querying process. We really are like women deep in the trenches of dating.

We check our e-mail obsessively, we stalk prospective agents on-line, we dissect every word over every rejection with our friends. We are filled with hope when we get asked on that second date and devastated when a partial or full request ends in rejection. Probably we could all do well to read He's Just Not That Into You and realize that some writer-agent relationships are just never going to work. Both people have to be just as interested in one another. And as any sensible woman will tell you, begging, insulting or continued stalking are not welcome by the object of your affection. It's time to move on.

There are plenty of fish in the sea.

- Liz

Anyone care to extend this metaphor? Share a story of agenting heartbreak?

What Music Can Teach Us About Revising

I was listening to one of my favorite songs, Mr. Brightside* by The Killers the other day, and I was suddenly struck by the proverbial bolt from the blue. There is much to be learned about editing from popular music.

Although I’m sure the same could be said about poetry, I’m going to restrict my analysis to music because…well, I get it. And most pop music is poetry at the level I can understand, whereas good poetry starts to get entirely too literary for my simple mind. A lot of literature is too literary for my simple mind, let’s face it.

But I digress…(it’s one of my special skills)

The point is, the musicians are story tellers, and they tell their stories with an economy of words that novelists would do well to pay attention to. To wit, I’ve got an uber-short story I wrote based on my interpretation of the lyrics of the afore-mentioned Mr. Brightside.** (Please don’t bother sending me e-mails with alternative interpretations. I’m well aware I could be wrong, but it works for me, so leave well enough alone, mmm-kay?) Below that, you'll find the relevant portion of The Killers' lyrics. My story doesn't even cover every line of the song and is more than twice as long.

Now, I'm not a poet for a lot of reasons (unending suckitude being the primary), so I can't say that I'll ever adopt a free verse style of story telling, but I will certainly be thinking a lot about some of the great songs I hear and attempting to dissect what it is about certain lines that reverberate for all eternity. A fiction writer could die happy if even one of her sentences went down in immortality like some of the great song lyrics that run in our blood.***

MY STORY: (292 words, if you’re interested)

Her rustling movements were enough to wake me. She was getting dressed. I should have expected it, but I still couldn't help looking at the clock. Not quite midnight. Earlier than usual.

"I have to go," she whispered.

"Yeah," I grunted.

She didn't offer any further apology or explanation. We both knew where she was going. I sat up to watch her as she pulled on her boots. She sat on the edge of the bed, facing me with a soft smile.

"Thanks," she said, and kissed me.

I caught the back of her neck and stole another kiss before she could pull away.

She smiled again, and scraped her nails over my late-day beard growth. "Bye."

I said nothing, letting her go, as I always did. There was no point in protesting. She'd already called her cab, and she would stand on the street to wait for it. Enough time to smoke at least half a cigarette. The acrid smell of tobacco would cover the foreign scent and taste of me.

She had to get home to him. To reassure him with a smooth hand against his chest. He would kiss her, tasting only the brand they both smoked, and reach for the zipper on the back of her dress. She would let him, because she had to. I suppose it's possible that she even wanted him to.

She didn't leave him, after all. Just offered me a few hours and her body. I took it, like an addict, because I wanted her. I had brought into an affair with a promise of no commitment.

I never counted on the jealousy. I was too busy counting the ways I could get under her skirt. There was cold comfort in my victory.

THE KILLERS’ STORY: (117 words)

It started out with a kiss

How did it end up like this

It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss

Now I'm falling asleep

And she's calling a cab

While he's having a smoke

And she's taking a drag

Now they're going to bed

And my stomach is sick

And it's all in my head

But she's touching his-chest

Now, he takes off her dress

Now, letting me go

And I just can't look its killing me

And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea

Swimming through sick lullabies

Choking on your alibis

But it's just the price I pay

Destiny is calling me

Open up my eager eyes

'Cause I'm Mr Brightside

So, what do you think? Who told the story more effectively? What song lyrics have stayed with you?

- Liz

*Incidentally, Mr. Brightside was partially the inspiration for my unpublished novel The Sorbet Guy, click here for a playlist of this and other songs that formed the soundtrack in my head during the writing of said novel.

**The irony of my increased verbosity in a blog about brevity is not lost on me. Or curable, apparently.

***Some prime examples here:

"And she's buying a stairway to heaven."

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone..."

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners are much more fun."

Revisions, Or...What Was I Saying?

Boy howdy, Christmas slowed down writing on all fronts for me. No editing, no blogging, no new chapters...not even any reading, for that matter. It’s probably no excuse, but it’s what I’ve got. So, here you go:

*hands over excuses* Mea culpa.

Anyhoodle. I said in my last entry that I might talk about revisions this time. Turns out, that’s a swell idea because I just so happen to be in the middle of the revisions process as we speak. Er...type. Well, except, I’m obviously not revising as I type because I can only type in one document at a time. (Ahhh, would that I could type in multiple documents at once...)

I’ve lost track again, haven’t I?

Well then. Let’s begin with the fact that I am emphatically pro-revision. This is one of the few areas of writing in which I actually have a process--namely, chronological order.

I start at the beginning of a book and write my way all the way through to the end. Even if details emerge that will require changes in the beginning, I DO NOT go back until after I’ve come to the big, fat THE END. Why? Well, the first reason would be that I’m easily distracted. If I stop concentrating on the flow of the story it’s entirely possible that I’ll forget it. The second is that I could drive myself nuts making every minor change in the beginning dictated by the middle, but the end could very well make all those changes moot. (Or is that Moo? It’s like a cow’s opinion. It doesn’t matter.) I need the big picture before I can concentrate on the details.

After I reach THE END the first time, I shut the project down for a bit. Sometimes a short time, sometimes a long time. I need this time to forget all the little things that were going on in my head when I wrote the story in the first place. I need to read it with fresher eyes. Often, the best solution is to head straight into another project. Start with a brand new Once Upon a Time, if you will. If that one comes easily, I head for THE END. If it doesn’t, I wait until I’m thinking too hard about it and then put it on the back burner.

Then it’s back to the beginning on an older project that’s been left to mature in an oak barrel in my basement. (By the way, are you enjoying this hearty serving of mixed metaphors? Yum, yum.) And once again, I go from page one to THE END. In the revision process, I’m a little more capable of moving around in the chronology, but in general it’s a front to back order.

So, what am I looking for when I revise? Everything. But, if you want data, I’ll give you a list.

1. 1. Technical errors. Grammar, spelling, missed words, typos, formatting mistakes, rogue italics...you get the idea.
   

2. 2.Weak writing. Repeated phrases, repeated words, passive voice, unnecessary wordiness.
   

3. 3.Characterization. I want a consistent personality among my characters. Sometimes I find that they’ve said or done something out of character and I have to get rid of it, or reassign it.
   

4. 4.Insufficient backstory. This includes beefing up the role of any minor characters that turned out to be more important in the end than the beginning.
   

5. 5.Humor. I think I’m hilarious. But, sometimes my jokes don’t work. This is an area where I rely heavily on other readers, because I always think I’ve gotten the humor across. As I’m sure any comedian would tell you, the audience never gets all the jokes. Those that sail over their heads should be revised or eliminated.
   

6. 6.Information dumps. Or as Maureen Johnson calls it, “fact-meat.” This is when a writer tries to give you all kinds of salient facts on a subject in a very short time. Often in an unnatural way that completely stops the action and makes readers yawn, or skim. Information is best revealed in small doses, by characters interacting, without resorting to lecturing or weird, stilted dialoge. (“My, it’s unexpectedly warm here in the Taj Mahal in India.” “Alabaster is an excellent insulator, my dear.” “But how did the ancients know that, Peter?” “Well, darling, for that answer, we must turn to the pages of Herodotus.” Etc, etc, ad nauseum.)
   

7. 7.Page closers. This is the opposite of a page-turner. In a book that you can’t put down, every chapter ends with a feeling of promise. The reader should find it nearly impossible to stop reading, even to eat. If I finish a chapter without a sufficient tease, the reader is going to put in a bookmark and come back later. Page closers can crop up in the middle of a chapter, as well. No matter when it happens, I want to get rid of it.
   

I could probably go on with this list until I was curled up in the fetal position beneath my coffee table. But, I think you get where I’m going with this. A first draft is NEVER good enough. No matter how great you might feel when it’s done. No matter how many first drafts you turned into your teachers for History, English, or Journalism. What you wrote the first time is bound to be full of errors of all kinds.

It takes some serious humility to admit that you didn’t do it perfect the first time. It takes even more humility to let someone else tell you that. The ideal scenario would be to write a first draft, go back through it yourself to find everything you’re capable of finding, then hand it off to some trusted beta readers who will find everything you couldn’t. Because YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO YOUR OWN WORK. You will not find all the mistakes--even the spelling errors, trust me. You will never see what jokes don’t work. You will never know what crucial information you left out because it’s all inside your head. Every sentence you write is based on knowing what you know. Your reader doesn’t. So, your beta readers will tell you when they are left holding up mismatched puzzle pieces.

A writer never has to follow every bit of advice given by a beta reader, but she should most assuredly take it all in and do some considering. This is an area I see a lot of new writers falling down on. They are happy to fix technical errors, most of them are even willing to rephrase a confusing or wordy sentence, but a lot of them will fight with beta readers who suggest that an area is confusing or weak. They will defend their writing, and say “You just didn’t get it.” That may be, but if your readers don’t “get it,” you’ve failed. The whole point of writing is to share a story, a world, a new idea. Communicating. If the message isn’t being received, you might as well print it out and read it aloud to yourself, or use it to wallpaper your bedroom, because you’re the only person who’s ever going to want to read it.

Wow, that was soapboxy. I think I should probably walk away from the keyboard before I get riled.

Stay tuned. In the new year, I’d really like to start using this blog to share a bit more about myself as a person, not just a writer. Not everyone is hear to “listen” to me drone on about a craft they may never want to pursue. Of course, there’s not guarantee that anyone will want to “listen” to me drone on about anything else, but we’ll give it a shot.

So, Happy New Year! I’ll catch you in 2010!

- Liz