Month: June 2015

My #editor (aka my mom, at booksbyliz.com), hasn’t even had my book for 24 hours yet and I’m already sweating bullets. I know I have a lot of those dreaded -ly words (adverbs–the most hated of all descriptive words in the writing biz), and I worry about the whole show-vs-tell thing (though I think I’ve worked on most of that, or at least what I found of it in my revisions).

I know that yes, my mom may be a tad biased, but she’s also a good editor, and she’ll tell me what’s what. I’m not afraid of the red marks…I’m just ready for the next round of revision. Bring it on, Mom!

Just so y’all know, my mom also offers #ghostwriting services, and she does an excellent job of that as well. I’m not just saying that because I’m biased–I’ve seen her write successfully in a variety of genres.

Well, it’s done. I’ve sent my #roughdraft off to my editor.

I’ll admit, I’m more than a little nervous. It’s my hope to have this #novel traditionally published, and I know how tough that can be in today’s market. Most people who have read the first third of the book thoroughly enjoyed it, though, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

I know this is a long process. It’s not going to get published this year. But I have to keep my outlook positive. Wish me skill (not luck, because skill is what I’ll need). 😉

I’ve finally had a break in the obsession with my novel that has prevented me from producing new #writing material.

New ideas for two #shortstories have sprouted in my mind, and one of them is for the #charity #anthology I’ve been participating in. I considered keeping it for myself, but I decided to be generous and share. Besides, it’s for a good cause. The other one, though, is mine all mine. #Greedy

I still have a little more tweaking to do on the novel, but that will have to wait for now. I want to get at least one short story down today while I have the ideas fresh in my mind. Might as well make the charity one first. 🙂

I think I’m almost there. I’m so close.

I’m almost ready for my first professional #edit.

Still probably a couple of weeks to go yet, but I’m getting much closer. My #critique group has been an immense help, and during my short time away from my #revision I’ve come up with a few tweaks that I think will make the story pop more.

The closer I become to each subsequent step in the #writing process, the more excited I get. I know that it often takes years, but I’m optimistic that I can get this book traditionally published some day. 🙂

What do you do when someone asks for #brutalhonesty in a #critique or in #editing? Do you browbeat them, or do you still sugarcoat?

I, for one, feel that sugarcoating doesn’t really serve any teaching/learning purpose. If I don’t tell you where you’re going wrong, how do you find the right way to go about it?

At the same time though, I feel like a total arse whenever I let it all out. I mean, the people asking for critiques are putting their writing out there, all weak and vulnerable, and here I come with my Review function in Word, clicking and typing away, picking apart the style and grammar and punctuation until there’s nothing left but bare bones. Just little red boxes all over the side of the screen.

Not that my writing is perfect. Far from it. That’s why I joined a critique group, and why I plan on paying my mother to edit it for me (www.booksbyliz.com, check her out). I know that I need to learn, and that I need to improve if I want to reach publication quality.

So back to brutal honesty. I had someone request brutality. And I was, well, I’d say moderately brutal. Not severely brutal–I could have been worse–but brutal enough to piss off the average person. I tried to suggest ways to improve, and tried to explain how certain things would be off-putting to a reader. It was a frustrating experience, to say the least. I don’t enjoy being brutal, but sometimes it’s necessary. This time, it was even requested. So why do I still feel bad?

I guess I’ll find out in the next couple of days if I was too brutal or not brutal enough. The critique is saved and sent, so there’s no turning back now. I may have taught someone something…or I may have made a new enemy.

I’m still working on those critiques. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Normally I get them done the day they’re sent to me, and I still have two to go.

I guess I should have kept up my momentum while I was on vacation. It’s easier to get back to my day job because I have no choice; I have to get up, get dressed, clock in, and get to it. With the critiques and the #writing, which currently brings no income, I have no set schedule and no hard deadline. I try to make one for myself, but I am not my best boss. I can ask others to do things, but when I tell myself to I don’t listen.

Wait… I guess that makes me a bad self employee, not a bad self boss. I’m giving myself deadlines and stern internal lectures after all. I just don’t listen. I’d demote myself, but there’s only one position.

I’ve gotten a few new ideas for my #novel since taking my vacation break, but aside from doing some minor research I haven’t really done any new #writing or #revision on it.

It’s not that I don’t want to. I just don’t have the energy. I’m so wiped out from the break that I need, well, a break. I suppose if I had kept up with my critiques during my time off I wouldn’t be so tired, but I wanted to spend the time with family. Definitely worth it, but I feel guilty for getting backed up (even though I don’t really have a time limit beyond getting finished before the weekend).

Anywho, I think I can make my epilogue stronger by adding in an additional scene. I’m still working out the kinks of who to have come in and talk to the character, but I’ve worked out the genealogy of it (which, when working with supernatural beings, is tricky).

Critiques first, though. I try to put my responsibilities to other projects first. I have my draft written and most of my revision done. I can be patient with that. Besides, I need to save up for an editor. Unless, that is, I want to have my mom edit it, in which case I need to work up the nerve to have her read it. It is definitely not her normal genre lol I would still pay her though, so I still need to save up. Off to get the kitty out of the bathroom trash can now. He’s in a mood this morning.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet about #PhoenixComicon is that my #rheumatoidarthritis didn’t flare up once. It was amazing!

For the past two years, I’ve missed at least one day of each convention due to a flare up. The pain just got to the point where I couldn’t handle walking around between the buildings all day. This year? Almost no pain. Sure, my feet got a little sore. But the unrelenting back pain? The achy knees? The debilitating fatigue? Nope, not there.

Sure, I was tired. My legs felt the burn from walking around for a few days. But I wasn’t in agony. I love that I’ve finally gotten put on the right regimen of medication that seems to be keeping my arthritis at bay. Don’t get me wrong; I still have bad days every once in a while. They’re much fewer and much, much farther between, though.

Tonight my back is a bit achy, which could be a little rebound pain, but with a good night’s sleep I’ll be fine. I’m sure that the way I’m reclining in bed with the laptop isn’t helping matters either lol

I’ve made progress in my #critiques, but am by no means finished. I also have revisions out the wazoo to do on my #novel, but those things will have to wait until I have time. Work beckons in the morning.