You know how we speak of someone’s being well-read? In some circles, I’d be the opposite of that: terribly-read. I can hold forth on plot and character of a great many classics so convincingly, you’ll come away from our tête-à-tête thinking I’m all sorts of brilliantly literate. You won’t know that when it comes to classic literature, I’m kind of a fake…
Tweet Yesterday I talked to you about your book’s big, bad rewrite. I gave you one example of how it might go, and then started into a bit of a pep talk. Now it’s time for me to tell you about application, to tell you how to do your rewrite. That’s a tricky task. I […]
Tweet For nearly a year now, Trish has been participating in a monthly book club with our friend Becca and several other ladies I don’t happen to be familiar with. She has really enjoyed it, as much for the opportunity to get out on her own and hang out with grown-ups at least once a […]
Tweet So. We’re reworking your novel. What exactly does that entail? It entails voice and style. It entails characterization and foreshadowing. It entails hooks and cliffhangers, suspense and resolution. This is the point in the story where you put in all the beautiful little things that will go unnoticed by your reader even as they […]
Tweet I started this week with a story about my creativity in the kitchen. It all really boils down to finding a prepackaged dish I really like, and adding some chili powder. Usually black pepper, too, but that didn’t make it into Tuesday’s story. It’s a solid metaphor for what we’re doing with our novels, […]
I’m not afraid of the Dark. But this past Sunday, I got to a point in the story where I knew the Dark Stuff was coming. I looked at my computer screen, watched the cursor blink at me a few times, and said aloud, “I don’t want to write this.” I closed the file and walked away. I was in dire need of rescue…
Tweet So now that you know what you’re supposed to be changing, and what you’re supposed to watching for, you’re ready to get started revising your manuscript. Dive into a second read-through, and start making your book better. You do know what you’re supposed to be doing, right? I only ask because I understand the […]
Tweet Okay, if you’re following orders then at this point you’ve read through your finished book, cover-to-cover, and discovered the story you actually ended up telling. Maybe you read through it with a red pen, maybe you fixed some things, but your primary focus was on discovering what was there. Now it’s time for revision. […]
Tweet Today is December 14th. That means Thursday is going to be December 16th. I know, I know…I’ve just demonstrated that I’m a brilliant mathematician. Or…calendarist. Something. There’s a special significance to December 16th, though. Around here, anyway. Thursday will be the official anniversary of Unstressed Syllables. One year ago Thursday, I wrote my first […]
Tweet We’ve been talking about “debugging” your book — about committing to a cover-to-cover review that will make up the first stage in your document’s rewrite. With any luck you’ve had enough time by now to catch your breath. With any luck, opening up the book no longer feels you with the anxiety and frustration […]
