I have an amazing announcement.
This news is so exciting, it is hard to believe and if you write, you will understand the significance of this announcement.
My novels, all of them, are completed—fully edited and absolutely perfect.
That’s right.
There isn’t a single word, comma, piece of dialogue or description I can improve or change. Three months from now, five years down the road or in twenty five years, I will be able to read my novel and there will not be a single cringe worthy passage. I will never roll my eyes or possibly consider a forceful palm slap to my forehead… because my writing is perfect now and will be perfect then.
If you haven’t picked up on the theme of my blog, check the calendar.
APRIL FOOLS!!!
Shocking news flash – my writing is not perfect.
No matter how many times I read a sentence, paragraph or novel, if I come back to a piece of writing after a break (especially if it is published), I will invariably find words to improve. The truth is, writing is a skill that like us can improve, mature and have broader meaning over time.
However, just as it takes effort to improve yourself, for your writing to improve, you will need to invest and burn some brain calories.
Over time, we learn lessons from our mistakes and we change as the new people in our lives teach us about the world and ourselves. It is the same for our writing.
As I attend writers meetings and conferences, share my writing with critique partners and network through social media, I am searching for ways to improve and apply what I have learned to my writing. The exciting (or depressing) fact is that as long as I keep learning and working on my craft, I will never be done editing.
Let’s be honest. Editing is at times overwhelming. As an apology for my April fool’s joke, I’m going to share with you a few ways to dive into your editing project. I have been collecting simple strategies over time by bookmarking my favourite Twitter Posts.
Most have heard about removing the words, ‘that’ and ‘just’.
In Joe Bunting’s blog, ‘Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words’ https://thewritepractice.com/better-writer-now/ he clearly states how writers need to BE MORE SPECIFIC. In every instance, he encourages the replacing of overused words to make your writing more vibrant. To apply this, start with a ‘FIND’ fest. Search out these words and replace them; one of, some and variations (sometimes, something, someone, somewhere, somewhat etc), thing, ‘to be’ verbs (am, are, is, was, were, being, been) especially before verbs ending with ‘ing, very, adverbs that end with ‘ly (loudly, painfully, beautifully), leading words like so, mostly, most times, in order to and often.
Naomi Davis https://twitter.com/lovetaza?lang=en https://twitter.com/naomislitpix?lang=en shared how filter words can be a common problem. She suggests searching for; felt, realized, thought, decided, understood, knew, saw and to replace them with stronger verbs to reduce distance between the reader and character.
Then, you can work on raising tension. Delilah S. Dawson https://twitter.com/DelilahSDawson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, wrote a #TenThings thread about HOW TO RAISE TENSION IN YOUR STORY. Delilah shares that increasing tension is something to layer into your later drafts. She recommends adding a ticking clock and then raising the stakes. What will happen to the thing your character loves if the time runs out? The motivation of your character is what drives your plot. The TENSION comes from not knowing if things will be okay. “Think of everything that could get in your character’s way and THROW IT AT THEM….Tension – OH GOD WHAT IF SHE FAILS. Make it hard. Make it personal”
I love this quote that Eric Smith https://twitter.com/ericsmithrocks?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor shared in a tweet, “A problem that a character can get way away from, is a book a reader can walk away from.”
In a tweet by Emily Rodmell https://twitter.com/EmilyRodmell?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, she shares that in order to increase the pace of your writing, you should search and destroy the following; long conversations, lack of action, too much time spent in characters’ heads, too much explanation/back story, filler scenes that don’t advance the plot.
Finally, to dive really deep, you can ask yourself the questions posed by Rachel Policom in her blog, On Editing – 57 Questions To Ask When Editing Your Novel https://rachelpoli.com/2017/05/10/57-questions-to-ask-when-editing-your-novel/ In this blog there are extensive intriguing questions about plot, setting, character development, writing style and general topics about all aspects and then opinion thoughts that delve into the moral of your story, favourite characters and impressions.
When I discovered I would be posting my blog on April first, I must admit, I was tempted to announce a six figure book deal or my signing with a famous literary agent and then recant by saying ‘APRIL FOOLS!’, however, I nostalgically want to save those words. It feels good to dream and just like a child’s hopeful gaze out the window at a flash of light in the sky on Christmas eve, I am optimistic of better things to come.
For now, I will continue learning from others as I edit… and edit… and edit again.
