So, earlier this week I talked about tanking my first scene. I’ve spent the intervening days making necessary tweaks to chapters 1-5 to account for this lack of first scene-age, but there’s still one remaining problem. The first sentence of Scene 2 is now the first sentence of the book. And while it’s a perfectly…
Category: Revision
Comfort With Discomfort
I’m thinking today of Sons of the Wolf, a wonderful Gothic suspense by Barbara Michaels (AKA Elizabeth Peters) that I read years and years ago. I remember this one scene where the protagonist was locked in a tower, and outside her room was a large, muscular, violent dog. She needed to get out to help…
The Third Book
One of the lines I like to use with my friends is that “Writing a book is like writing three books.” If they need an explanation, the shorthand is this: “It’s just so much more work than you think it’s going to be.” But in fact, the three book analogy is a little more apt…
Wednesday
I’m blaming the lack of a Tuesday update on Mark.
Monday
This would look better if I’d quit adding cards.
Sunday
We are entering the home stretch, folks. The cards indicate things I have left to do for my book. On the left, tasks not yet completed. In the middle, tasks in progress. And on the right, tasks already completed this week. Getting there.
Jane’s Guide to Editing in the Tub
Put your hair up with a chopstick. This not only keeps it dry, it looks writerly. Think ahead. If you tend to accumulate almost-but-not-quite-out-of-ink pens, scribble test before you get soaked. Keep a washcloth nearby so you can keep your hands (and pages) dry. You can tolerate a much longer, much hotter bath if you…
New Scenes
As revealed in my last post, I am adding ten new scenes to my book during the revision process. They are: 1. Kitty Meets Fiore 2. The Magic Playhouse 3. Nino Says No 4. Aunt G, Kidnapper at Large 5. Big Boss Man 6. Lawyer Up 7. Getting an Earful 8. Gladys Takes a Licking…
Revision Plan
Well, the book is done, but there’s done and there’s DONE. Right now we’re sitting at Stage #1 Done, where all the scenes have been written but there are a few things that don’t add up, a few characters that could be stronger, and a few major plot points I sorta forgot to mention in…