Creating Diamonds from Coal (or self-editing your Speedbo Manuscript)

with guest Iola Goulton.

So you attempted Speedbo? Well done!

But now you’ve got a manuscript or part of a manuscript, and wondering what do to next.
If you’re like me, panic, then procrastinate. Then I need quiet. And caffeine. And chocolate.

I’m from New Zealand, so I’ve brought my favourite Kiwi chocolate biscuits—Mint Treats. A Mint Treat is a plain round biscuit (cookie) with mint crème on top, and covered in dark chocolate. In my unbiased view, New Zealand makes some of the best chocolate in the world.

Once you’ve got those essentials, it’s time to grab a red pen (real or virtual), find your quiet writing space, and get to work.

It’s tempting to start with the ‘easy’ stuff—polishing our spelling and punctuation, the changes that make our manuscripts look better. But that’s not the best place. Think of your manuscript as a lump of coal. It has the potential to be a diamond, but polishing coal is only going to give us shiny coal, not a diamond.

To get a diamond, we need to put our manuscripts under pressure. We need to make sure every chapter, every scene, every word, carries weight. We need to examine our manuscripts, and eliminate the flaws. We need to cut, to get a manuscript that’s the right size and shape. Finally, we can polish and produce a book which shines.  
Let’s get to it.

Putting on the Pressure 

Our first step is what editors call developmental editing: putting the pressure on our plot and characters to make sure we’ve got a novel with the potential to shine:

• We need to make sure we’ve got a solid plot and structure, with constant tension and problems in the right places to capture and maintain our reader’s interest.

• We need an interesting character with a clear goal, and ongoing internal and external conflict which makes it difficult for them to achieve that goal.

Plot 

First, we need a plot—an overall story arc that takes our characters (and our readers) on a journey and answers a story question. As humans, we’re resistant to change. But novels are almost always about change—internal, external or both. Does your story have this big-picture plot? 

Structure  

Next comes structure, which applies at two levels of a manuscript. First, our overall novel needs a structure:

• Act One introduces the protagonist, antagonist and other major characters, presents the time and setting, and includes a change that pushes the main character into the story (often called the inciting incident). Act One usually ends with an event that changes the character’s plans. 

• Act Two develops the conflict, and deepens character relationships. The main character faces a turning point somewhere near the middle which forces them to change from reactive to proactive. Act Two finishes with a major crisis or discovery.

• Act Three includes the black moment where the main character thinks all hope is lost, and the climax, where the main character is victorious (or defeated. Personally, I prefer victorious). It ties up loose ends, except for those that will be covered in a sequel. 

It’s tempting to include lots of backstory in Act One, to explain why our characters are acting as they do, but that’s a bad idea. Too much backstory can mean our plot drags. And that's not good! 

Some writers don’t like the idea of working to a defined structure. They say it feels formulaic. Yet formulas (formulae?) work. Think back to your Oreo cookie or my Mint Treat. It’s made to a formula, and I’ll be disappointed if my cookie is missing the mint filling. We don’t want to disappoint our readers. 

Scene Structure  

As well as an overall novel structure, each scene has a structure. There needs to be a character with a goal, and facing some conflict they must overcome to move the story forward. At the end, there is some disaster which prevents the character reaching their goal. 

You’ll then either have a short transition to the next scene, or a longer (but still short) sequel, in which the viewpoint character has an emotional reaction to the scene which results in them thinking and forming a new goal. 

This decision and goal plunges them into the next scene and the next, each following a pattern of goal-conflict-disaster-reaction which ensures we don’t disappoint or (worse) bore our readers. 

Many writers (including me) find conflict difficult to write. But no one wants to read a nice novel with nice characters who only ever have nice things happen to them. Not even me.

Adding Conflict  

Readers read for conflict and tension, and as authors, we need to make sure there is conflict in every chapter, every scene, every page. As part of her EDITS system, Margie Lawson suggests printing out your manuscript, and using an orange highlighter pen to go down the right-hand-side of the page, highlighting every line that has some conflict or tension. 

A page without any orange highlighter needs revising to increase the conflict. This could be external conflict—a disagreement with another character, or an external event such as a train crash. Or it could be internal conflict, where the character wants to do something they know they shouldn’t do (e.g. not eat another Mint Treat). This internal conflict might come back to the character’s overall story goal.

Characterisation

Then we get to our characters and a question that’s the writer equivalent of chicken-and-egg:

Which comes first, plot or character?  

Writing instructors such as James Scott Bell are convinced you need a clear three-act structure with a pivotal event at the midpoint which forces the character to change. Others such as Jeff Gherke teach that character drives plot, and you need developed characters with clear goals and motivations to drive the plot forward.

I think you need both, although the balance may depend on genre. If I’m reading women’s fiction, I’m subconsciously looking for a story that’s driven by compelling characters. If I’m reading suspense, I might not notice the characterisation if I’m being carried along by a fast-paced plot.  

The big challenge with character is that every character is unique, just as every person is unique. There is no three-part formula to creating the perfect character. We don't even want our characters to be perfect—we want them to be real and relatable and authentic. This could mean a character facing a challenge they don’t want to face. It could mean a character with a secret.

The Next Stages 

Once you’re confident the overall plot hangs together, that you’ve created compelling characters with goals and fears, and each scene drives the plot forward, then it’s time to drill down into the next stage of the process.

Examining the Diamond 

A diamond expert examines their rough stone to discover the flaws that need to be cut away. The most common flaws I’ve found in manuscripts from unpublished writers are inconsistent point of view, and telling where we should be showing.


Cutting the Diamond 

The first stage of cutting a diamond is eliminating the waste. Most first drafts have a lot of waste—repetition, weasel words, unnecessary dialogue tags, and general wordiness.  This needs to be trimmed before the final stage: polishing. Sandra Leesmith and Rachelle Rea Cobb talked about this last week here at the Seekers.

Polishing 

Finally, we need to check our spelling, grammar, punctuation, and the overall flow of our writing. 

And then we’re done--for now, at least. Which means it’s time for another Mint Slice!

Writers, what’s your blind spot when it comes to making your manuscript shine? And what’s your favourite writing or editing resource? (Apart from Seekerville!)

Readers, how does insufficient editing affect your enjoyment of a book? What would make you put a book down?

For More Information 

It’s impossible to cover everything in one not-so-short blog post, so I’ve put together a free pdf download which covers examining, cutting and polishing our diamond. Visit www.christianediting.co.nz/Seekerville to claim your copy and a free bonus.

Iola Goulton is a reader, reviewer, freelance fiction editor and aspiring Christian romance author. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing and is a member of the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network, Romance Writers of New Zealand, and American Christian Fiction Writers. She won the 2016 ACFW Genesis Award for her novella, Play On, Jordan, and is currently working on the rest of the series.


Today Iola is generously giving away an e-copy of fellow Kiwi,  Kara Isaac's RITA finaling book Close to You, to one commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

Self-Editing Tips for the Indie Author: When do you say ‘Done?’

with guest Helen Gray.

There are standard editing steps that most authors follow—but for indie publishing, there are generally a few more. 

WHY?

Because the buck stops here. We’re on our own. Every writer needs to be a sharp-eyed self-editor, but for indie writers, that’s even more important than ever. We’re the only one responsible for our published output. We have to be more attentive to detail, go a few extra rounds.

While writing a book, I do some editing on chapter one as soon as it’s finished, to be sure I’ve covered necessary elements—GMC, setting, basic story setup—but after that, I don’t edit. I don’t mean I don’t pause to correct typos or simple details, but while I’m working on the first draft, I keep moving forward. I do, however, keep a list of things, as they occur to me, to check when I get done.

Once the manuscript is complete, I make myself shelve it for at least two days, longer if I can keep my antsy little hands off of it. I do something else that’s totally non-writing, like house cleaning, so my brain can take a rest. Then I return to paper-grading mode—pretend I’m back in the classroom, analyzing student reports and business correspondence.

ROUND ONE – The normal stuff most authors do.

I know there are those who insist that all editing be done on-screen, but  like a hard copy to edit. A major reason is that I can flip through the pages easily when I run across what I think are repetitions or inconsistencies that I want to compare in another location. Another reason is that I can read for long periods without glare from the computer screen.

Read it aloud. This exercise can be helpful in identifying awkward sentences, missing and repetitive words, and misspellings.

A. Story Edit

Read through the entire manuscript for structure and content, looking for new ideas and anything that doesn’t fit—plot holes, word usage, redundancies, inconsistent details, and ways to strengthen the story, sentences, and paragraphs. Here’s a checklist:

1. Look up any facts about which you’re unsure.

2. Check formatting.

3. End of scene and chapter hooks.

4. Does each scene move the story forward?

5. Is there plenty of white space?

6. Cut backstory dumps. Weave it in gradually.

7. Have you shown rather than told?

B. Copy Edit

Read for punctuation, spelling, and technical formatting glitches. During this round, check for the following:

1. Run Spell and Grammar Checks.

2. Search out the weasel words—the “pet” ones we say from habit.

3. Check sentence starts. 

4. Trim sentences—probably about ten percent of your words. Write tight. Less is more, and usually better. Watch for repetitions, wishy-washy phrases (in my opinion, it is my belief, etc.), flowery descriptions, too long sentences, and unnecessary adjectives.

5. Check comma usage.

6. Avoid overuse of punctuation (like exclamation marks).

7. Check for proper use of verb conjugation.

8. Check for unnecessary dialogue tags. Almost always use ‘said’ as a tag. Flowery verbs are distracting. Stick with said and asked, with an occasional replied or answered.

9. Check for passive construction. Use active verbs and nouns.

10. Check tenses. It’s easy to lapse into past tense when writing present, or vice versa.

11. Check for alien movement of body parts (her eyes flew to… His head followed …).

12. Be sure you’ve been consistent with the number of spaces before and after chapter headings and scene breaks. 

ROUND TWO – The indie/hybrid round.

Now that I’ve been through those checklists, more than once, it’s time for a few more steps. Here’s my process.

1. I send the manuscript to an editor. 
2. When the manuscript is returned to me, I go back through it again, adding any more edits of my own to what my editor friend has noted. 
3. Then I send it back to my editor, who proofreads it.
4. When she returns it, I insert her changes.
5. Then I proofread the whole thing again. Mistakes happen even in editing. 
6. I may review and polish again. And again. Then I turn it loose and publish it.
7. Now I have one more opportunity to proofread—when the print proof copy comes. 



Then I HAVE to stop. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It simply means my brain is getting fuzzy and I will probably do more harm than good if I continue. It’s time to QUIT. It’s DONE.

Are there any steps you do that I’ve missed  Any tricks you want to share? When do you know it's time to stop? Share in the comments!

As a giveaway, I’m making book one of my new Lake Ozark Ladies series, Paige’s Proposal, free today. Help yourself. If you enjoy it, a review is always appreciated.

Paige's Proposal

Proposing to a stranger is strange. Right?

Paige Kimball is manipulated into the ridiculous stunt of proposing to the next man who enters the hotel lobby. Shock follows when the Lake Ozark businessman accepts, gives her a ring, and walks away. 

More shock follows when Paige learns that Holt Taylor is the father of the twin girls who are disrupting her band class with their rowdy behavior. When Holt asks her to befriend his motherless daughters and spend time with them outside of school, she can’t refuse the request. But can Paige maintain this kind of close contact and resist falling for a handsome man who doesn't share her faith—or risk repeating the kind of mistake her mother made? 

Can Holt overcome the betrayals he's suffered and learn to trust God and chance love again?

Enjoy these other books in the Lake Ozark's Ladies Series!
Brooke's Bargain, Haley's Hero and Kelsey's Keeper!

Helen Gray grew up in a small Missouri town and married her pastor. While working alongside her husband in his ministry, she had three children, taught school, directed/accompanied church music programs, and became an amateur ventriloquist. Now retired, with the children gone from the nest, she and her supportive husband still live in their native Missouri Ozarks where he roams the woods, hunts, and fishes, and she weaves stories meant to honor God and depict Christian lives and problems as she knows and observes them. Helen thanks God for the time and opportunity to write and considers it an added blessing if her stories touch others in even a small way.

http://www.helenbrowngray.com

Revise, Restructure, Re-submit: What Comes After Speedbo??

Ruthy here! So proud of youse guys, and I'll tell you why:

YOU TRIED.

Sometimes you fell short of what you thought you could do, but hey, NEWSFLASH!!!

We all do.  Big deal!

It's not fallin' off the horse that messes us up.... it's stayin' off that ends our equestrian careers. Same is true of writing. Write, write, write, even when you don't think you have anything to say because you might surprise yourself and at least you're staying in the habit!!! That's huge! Anything you can do repeatedly for a month becomes a habit... And other than praying, writing is the best habit I have!

So when I'm revising, I have one main thought: It's All About the Timing.

Is it the right time for humor? A badly placed joke or jibe annoys the reader because they don't want the hero to say that right then... they want empathy, maybe sympathy, maybe a good, old-fashioned rescue!!! Yee haw! So when you thread humor into a story, make sure you keep the humor... and the timing... in mind. Mary Connealy, Deb Clopton and Nora Roberts are three authors whose humor is seamlessly infused into the story. Copy them. (Don't tell them I said so!)

Should you add pathos? Well, if you're asking, the answer is "no" because you needed to lay the groundwork for that a chapter or two ago! Otherwise it sounds scripted. (I get that it is scripted, darlings, work with me here! We just don't want it to sound that way.) But maybe the pathos works here... If you take the time to go back and lay the groundwork in the preceding chapters.

Repeat after me:

It should never be too much work to create the best page possible.

(Ruthy pauses to listen, making sure everyone repeats. Satisfied, Ruthy moves on.)

I don't do excerpts anymore because in a poll a lot o' youse found them annoying, BUT... I'm showing you how I examine a freshly written scene to do the initial revisions. This is from an upcoming historical series for our upcoming novella collections, "The Pastor Takes a Wife".

        Hattie pointed from this to that and the other thing, spouting words like muslin, cotton, netting, hooks, eyes and lace.
   Macy got the lace part, the rest was a jumble until she saw the pile of various goods on the counter. “It takes all this to make a dress?” Too late, she realized her surprised tone and foolish words showed her ineptitude. She flinched, hoping the women didn’t catch it, and to her surprise, they didn’t seem to.

Here's the revised version:

        Hattie pointed this way and that, spouting words like muslin, cotton, netting, hooks, eyes and lace.
        Macy understood the lace reference. The rest was a jumble until she saw the stacked goods on the counter. "It takes all this to make a dress?" Too late, she realized she'd revealed her ineptitude. She flinched, hoping the women didn't catch her mistake, and to her relief, they didn't seem to.

I love stories of "fallen women" who are redeemed by the grace of God and the milk of human kindness. Historically (and even now in so much of the world) women are second-class citizens and treated casually by men. I love women who rise from the ashes, take the bull by the horns and get on with life. Macy Evers is one of the "Sewing Sisters" in the "Sewing Sisters Society" and Hattie McGillicuddy is one of those amazing people who reach out to help others move forward, one woman at a time. Nothin' like sacrificial love, right?

Here's another raw section:

          “Now, I’m going to tote these goods home with the two of you helping,” Hattie said as Ginny expertly cut the lengths of fabric in the proper size. “And Ginny, I’ll need three shirt lengths in white, three in blue, three in dark blue and a dozen quarter-inch white buttons.”

            “Threads, Hattie, or are you set on those?”

            “My land, I have more thread than any three seamstresses could possible need in a lifetime, but I don’t have the right shade of pink for Miss Chickie’s gown, so perhaps a spool of light pink would do well.”

And here's the first pass at tightening this!

        "The three of us will tote these things back to the shop," Hattie directed as Ginny cut fabrics to the proper size. "And Ginny, I'll need three shirt lengths in white, medium blue, and that nice serge you've got up top there, and two-dozen quarter-inch white buttons."

          "Threads, Hattie, or are you set on those?"

          "I have more thread than any three seamstresses could need in a lifetime, but I am without the right shade of pink for Miss Chickie's gown, so perhaps a spool of that would do as well."

You can see the method. Examine the sentences, cut extraneous words, remove redundancies, and move on. Now these are out of context, you're not seeing the whole picture, but even a glimpse like this gives you the idea of how to hunt out each sentence... and that's the first pass through.

When I get to 100 pages of a manuscript, I do my first hard-copy read-through. I print it out, read it, and this serves two-fold: It reacquaints me with eye color, hair color, colloquialisms, habits, threads I may have dropped.... and it gives me a much closer look at how the words flow across the written page. I slice and dice here too, making notes on each page to tell myself what needs to be altered, where I need foreshadowing, and where I need to plant seeds for upcoming events. Readers should never discover you have a dog in chapter 14....

Because if you have a dog and don't mention it for fourteen chapters, you've just insulted every single dog lover on the planet!

I love revisions and editing and I don't say that lightly. I can work on writing a couple of projects at the same time (as long as they are light years apart in style) but when I'm revising, I'm on THAT BOOK ONLY until the read-through is done. Polishing and primping works better if I'm totally focused.

And don't ask me why the spacing on this got totally jumbled. It happened after I changed the font on the excerpts, and won't change back.

OH..... BLOGGER!!!!!!!  You silly blog, you!

Come on inside and I'll answer questions or just chat. And if you want to post a short excerpt and see what we'd say about it, be brave and do it! Let's play school!!! Nothing like school in the spring, right?

I've brought Easter chocolate for everyone and fresh coffee to boot! Also, I'm tossing names into the dog dish (blast those cats, anyway!!!!) for five copies of my newest Kirkwood Lake book "Healing the Lawman's Heart", scheduled for release on May 19th!  I could literally just sit here and look at this cover, it's so stinkin' sweet... and the romance in this book, the two wounded hearts God brings together? Let no one even think of putting them asunder, dagnabbit, because they're the best thing that's happened to one another in years! I L-O-V-E this story, and that's all I've got to say about that!

An Officer and a Lady 

Single mom Julia Harrison is the last person Tanner Reddington should get involved with. He's promised to stay away from all things baby. But the state trooper's protective instincts outweigh his misgivings when he meets the lovely midwife. Julia is opening a women's clinic in Kirkwood Lake, while raising two small boys on her own. Plagued by memories of the family he lost, Tanner fights the pull he feels toward Julia and her kids. But when an orphaned newborn brings Tanner and Julia together, they begin to consider their future…as husband and wife.

Multi-published, best-selling author of nearly thirty books, Ruthy lives in a big, old farmhouse in Western New York, she loves God, her family, her country, dogs, coffee and chocolate. With a few decades of nametag and hairnet jobs behind her, she's done spot-on research for just about everything... and got paid to do it! Visit her at her website http://ruthloganherne.com or send her a friend request on facebook where she loves to chat, joke and pray with friends, family and her beloved readers!

Tips for Meeting Your Target Word Count with Missy Tippens

Tips for Meeting Your Target Word Count

By Missy Tippens

How many of you have had trouble meeting your target word count on a project? Have you typed The End and found you’ve come out way too short? Or have you finished the story and realized you needed to cut 10,000 words?

I’ve actually done both. And neither is fun.

On my first several books for Love Inspired (the target for a contemporary LI is 55-60,000 words by computer word count), my first drafts came in long. Anywhere from a couple of thousand words over to nearly 20,000 over (I had been targeting a single title line that Harlequin had closed).

When you’re talking about cutting 20k words, you have to take drastic measures. In my case, I made the cuts before I made my first sale. The editor said I basically had two endings so to cut one. :) Um, yeah, I hope I’ve improved since then! She also had me cut out a good bit of one subplot. Both those changes cut a large chunk of extra words. From there I made lots of smaller changes that helped whittle down the words.

Tips for Making Large Cuts in Word Count

--Cut subplots that may not be needed.

--Cut secondary characters you may not need (combine characters to allow one character to do more).

--Cut scenes that don’t pull their weight. Make sure the pov character has a goal for that scene that ties in to the story length goal and that he is pursuing it. If nothing changes, no matter how fun or sweet or thrilling it is, then cut the scene.

--Don’t drag out the ending. No matter how much you love your characters, you eventually do have to tell them goodbye. :)

photo credit: Crestock/yuriz

Tips for Making Small Cuts in Word Count

--Do a word search and cut your pet words. It’s always fun for me to see how many times I cut the word “just” out of my manuscripts. :) Make a list of your pet words, keep it on your computer, and print a copy each time you edit a manuscript. Also add to that list any other problems you need to check for. Then search and destroy. Ask your critique partner to help you create a list.

--Cut descriptions you don’t need. Make sure the descriptions you keep do more work, such as showing emotion.

--“Don’t walk the dog” (as Janet Dean tells me when reading some of my scenes). You don’t have to include every step a character takes. On one manuscript, Janet suggested I cut the hero getting the baby ready to leave the house, making the decision to buy lunch for the heroine, then going to buy sandwiches. She suggested I open with him showing up at the heroine’s office with the bag in hand. The scene now works so much better (thanks, Janet!).

--Don’t start scenes like a dated journal. Jump right into the action, anchoring the reader with action and dialogue.

--As a last resort, I do what Mary Connealy once suggested. Divide the number of words you need to cut by the total number of pages. That will give you the number of words per page to cut. Need to cut 2000 words from a 250 page book? Just cut 8 words per page, which shouldn’t be too hard.

photo credit: Crestock/Feverpitched

After a few years of writing books that kept turning out long, thinking that was the very worst thing that could happen, I experienced my first manuscript draft that ended up too short. And then I decided that was the very worst thing that could happen. :)

In fact, when I finished the first draft of my most recent manuscript (turned in the end of June, hallelujah!), it was 48,000 words! Remember, it’s supposed to be 55k. OUCH.

Now, typically, my first drafts grow about 2000 words as I do second and third drafts. So coming in a little short is good for me. But 7000 words short? NOT GOOD.

So, I started through the process of revising. It grew some before I sent it off for critique, but it was still short. As I finished making changes after the critiques, I went over the 55k mark. Relief!

Photo credit: Crestock/MasterofAll686

Here are some ways I learned I can fill in and lengthen a manuscript…

Tips for Increasing Word Count

--Make sure to describe each new character as he/she comes on stage. Just keep in mind that descriptions are often better done by another character (the hero describing the heroine instead of the heroine looking in a mirror or thinking of her own description).

--Do a read-through looking for flow. Do scenes seem to be missing? Maybe you skipped a scene you thought might not be necessary but realized on reading that it’s actually needed. Add it.

--Add the difficult-to-write scenes. Sometimes I’ve summarized a painful scene thinking it doesn’t need to be on screen. But consider including it (as long as it’s appropriate for your target readers). Does the hero need to have that painful discussion with his father about his mother’s death? Does the heroine need to tell the hero about giving up her baby for adoption? Don’t shy away from it. Add it.

--Layer, layer, layer. My first drafts are typically talking heads (although I’m getting better at filling in as I go). I won’t go into this deeply because we’ve had many great posts on layering here in Seekerville. Recently, Glynna Kaye did a 3-part series on layering. Here’s a link to several of those posts: click here.

--Show, don’t tell. We’ve always heard this. But one benefit is that it often increases word count. Instead of telling that Betty was sad and avoided the grief by sleeping all the time, show Betty walking into a quiet room, looking at her deceased husband’s empty recliner, then immediately avoiding that room by heading to bed early, trying to focus on a book but re-reading a page for the fourth time.

--Have you brought all plot threads through the whole story? Tie up any loose ends.

--Make sure the story comes full circle. Show how the characters have changed and earned their happy ending.

--Consider adding an epilogue.

I hope this was helpful! I’d love to hear your experiences with writing short or long. Can you add any tips?

I’ll be giving away IOU’s (should arrive sometime in August) for FIVE copies of my upcoming book from Love Inspired. The Guy Next Door is available for pre-order now! I’m really excited about this book. I had so much fun writing it! Please LET ME KNOW in the comments if you’d like to be entered.

www.missytippens.com

The Guy Next Door

From Friend to…Fiancé?  

Stalwart and steady, Darcy O'Malley has been by Luke Jordan's side since childhood. She has seen him through trials and tragedies, romances and breakups. They've been everything to each other—except boyfriend and girlfriend. Why ruin a good thing? What Luke can't explain, however, is why suddenly Darcy's presence is making his heart beat so hard. Something has changed since he left Appleton, and it's making him uneasy. Is it possible his best friend is meant to be something more? Dare he risk their perfect friendship in the hopes of finding his perfect wife?

What Do You Do When You Have Finished?

Sandra here on Monday instead of Tuesday. Pam was a dear friend and traded with me since I'll be on the road tomorrow. So today I'm here with a hot pot of chocolate velvet coffee and on the sideboard we have a variety of teas and hot chocolate with whipped cream.

I also have a crystal dish filled with Sees Candy for a chocolate pick-me-up.

Please join me while we get down to brass tacks with our Speedbo project.

Sandra signing books at the
Tucson Festival of Books
March 16, 2014
My Speedbo interuption

One week to go and we hit the finish line.

What are your plans when you finish that rough draft manuscript???

Here are some of my recommendations and some helpful hints from past Seekerville posts.

1. Set that baby aside. Put your manuscript into a file folder and don't open it. If it is printed, hide it under the bed or in the closet.

Anyone want to venture a guess as to why this is number one on the list???

It helps to let the story sit and rest.

Most of us don't have the luxury of doing that because of deadlines.  If you do have a deadline, the ideal scenario is to finish the rough draft early so you do have time to let the manuscript sit.

The reason we do this is so we have fresh eyes and a clear head when we read over the first draft. I don't know about you, but when I write, the characters are so real in my head that I think what is there in my head goes down on the paper.  Well it often doesn't.  If I've let the manuscript sit for awhile and the characters have gone home, then I see the problems.

2. Give the manuscript to a critique partner. If you have a critique partner that has been working with this all along, then you might want to find another critique partner or beta reader that has fresh eyes.

Click here for some past posts with some great tips for working with critique partners.

You can also have the manuscript professionally critiqued.  Our own Tina does this.  Check out her website page My Critique Partner.

3. Self-edit.  While your critique partner is reading over the manuscript, you can start to edit the manuscript yourself.

Looking in the archives I found several articles on self-editing. Click here to find all nine articles.

Last December Tina wrote The Unauthorized Cheat Sheet of Self-Editing Tips for Writers.

Ruthy and Mia Ross teamed up to post Trim Your Novel Like You Trim Your Tree.

Last April, Glynna Kaye wrote an excellent post Deep Cleaning Your Manuscript.  I really paid attention to this article because Glynna writes some of the cleanest manuscripts I've ever critiqued. She really knows how to self edit.  I am sure that is why her editors love her.

Be sure and check out the other articles and learn more ways to self-edit that finished gem. Because when you are done with that project we go to the next step.

4. Pay a professional editor.  This is an option if you want to impress a traditional publisher's editor, but it is an absolute necessity if you want to self-publish.  There is nothing worse than a poorly constructed book and there is simply no excuse for one--not with the excellent resources we have available to us.  Be sure and find one that is recommended by some person or organization that you trust.  Audra invited Sandi Rog to write about finding freelance editors here.

You can find professional editors listed in most writer organizations. If you can recommend any, please feel free to do so in the comment section.  I personally hire Amber Stokes of Editing Through The Seasons.

Amber Stokes of Editing Through The Seasons

5. Have your manuscript copy-edited.  Do you know the difference between story edits and copy edits?  A story editor will read through the story for inconsistencies, plot problems, word usage, character development, etc.  A copy editor mainly looks at the final draft for punctuation, spelling and technical formatting glitches.  A copy editor is not reading the story. A copy editor is strictly reading for technical accuracy.

We have several articles written by the Grammar Queen that can help you with copy editing.

We all know who the Grammar Queen is don't we???

5.  Ready to publish.

When you have completed all of these steps your "baby" is ready to publish.  How exciting is that??


Sure hope these recommendations and past posts help you refine that "baby" you finished during Speedbo.

If you have any other recommendations and or helpful suggestions please share them and  your name will be put in the puppy dish for a drawing.

Winner will receive an e-copy of my new release LOVE'S PROMISES  and  a paid for professional edit by Amber Stokes of the first ten pages of your new manuscript.

For Monica Scott, building her late father’s house at Lake Tahoe isn’t an option—it’s a necessary distraction from confusing memories and an uncertain future. But a handsome planner working for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is keeping Monica from moving forward with the project. Never mind that he’s young and charming with a great sense of humor. No one is going to stop Monica from making her father’s dream—and her own—a reality.

All Greg Linsey wants is for his work to mean something. His job at TRPA gives him the opportunity to fight for the environment he loves and make a difference in his small corner of the world. But with the sophisticated Monica Scott’s arrival, his dedication is tested as never before, especially when Monica turns to his unscrupulous nemesis for assistance.

As Greg and Monica’s animosity turns into something far sweeter, can they learn to appreciate each other’s goals and avoid the growing danger to their lives and hearts?

GO SPEEDBO

GO, GO, GO 

FINISH, FINISH, FINISH

HOORAY!!

Trim Your Novel Like You Trim the Tree!

Merry Christmas, Seekerville!

 Ruthy here, with my buddy Mia Ross and yes, we've got yet ANOTHER writing analogy for you! 

(cue the applause and the tinned laughter!)

I prefer to think of it as a parable, I mean what's good for Jesus is surely fine by me, but any way you want to cut it, I love laying out the principles of writing for folks to see.  You never know when some little thing will be that light bulb moment, that AHA!!!! experience. 

We are surrounded by the beautiful images of Christmas in December. And often we talk of "keeping Christmas with us" throughout the year. If we take those same principles of beauty and joy and apply them to our novels, we can deepen our stories and offer those "Reader Rewards" our friend Vince Mooney talks about. Here's Mia to start us off:

 Merry Christmas, Seekerville! Since this kind of thing is always more fun with a friend, Ruthy and I are doing a tag team this morning. We were chatting recently and came up with the crazy notion that writing a book is a lot like putting up a Christmas tree. Don't believe us? Read on.

In the Ross family, we go for real trees. I know they're expensive, and they need water and drop needles, but we do it anyway because we enjoy the tradition. The first step is to find the right kind of tree. It takes us awhile because this is our main Christmas decorating project and we're VERY picky. We tramp through the tree farm, searching for one that's the perfect shape and fullness, and won't blow through the ceiling. Then we cut it down and bring it home to stand in the living room. Mmm...I can almost smell those fresh pine boughs and hear Charlie Brown Christmas in the background.

Right now, you're probably thinking, "Sure, Mia. Whatever. There must be a metaphor in here somewhere." And yes, there is. When you start thinking about a new story, the first thing you do is figure out what kind it will be. Romance? Thriller? Mystery? That's like picking out the right species of tree. Once you decide on that, you need to find the right shape for your idea. Will it be set in a big city or small town? That choice not only sets up your cast of characters, it also drives the plot. For instance, a murder in a quaint village has a different vibe than one that takes place in Manhattan. Similarly, a towering ten-foot blue spruce is okay in a great room with a cathedral ceiling, but if your ceiling is like ours, a six-foot one is better.

Fullness comes next. Novella or epic novel or something in between? You also need to figure out if it's going to be a taut, intense story with lots of action, or more hearth and home. Even when you've got all that together, the original tree might not be quite right for your living room, so you'll have to do a little trimming here and there to make it work. That's a lot like revising your draft to make sure it's the best book you can possibly write. No matter what anyone tells you, you can't really cover up flaws with garland, no matter how sparkly it is ;)

When you're done with the basics, it's time to make that tree the centerpiece of your holiday decor. That's where Ruthy the decorating elf comes in!

(In comes the elf!!!!)

Mia's anal about her tree... With me, it's the lights. Yes. I am "that person". The person who strings thousands of lights on innocent trees so when they're plugged in they sparkle from within. And when I see this effect in a novel, it makes me smile. 

As you can see, I was not afraid to use the sparkling elements of small children and twinkle lights to sell PUPPIES!!!  How stinkin' cute are these guys????? Yes, shamelessly exploiting kids and small animals is my forte!

A good story sparkles regardless of genre. A great story shines from within, those tiny, intrinsic rewards of poignancy, warmth, sadness, joy and hope. Equate plot-thinning or rushing to leaving off two or three-hundred lights. Out of 1200, it might not seem like much, but the slightly dimmer tree can't light up your characters' paths the same way.

Plot points are our ornaments. Are we going total 5th Avenue glitz... (and I was there last week but my phone died so I couldn't bring you pictures, but just so you know: the lights and displays were GORGEOUS, darling!!!)

Or country barn theme simple? Are they paper like so many of the ones we use on our tree? Precious items my kids made thirty some years ago? Or are you a Hallmark writer, looking for the quaint, cute and quintessential all in one?

As we layer in plot points, each one distinct, we have to thread the characters through, like cranberry and popcorn garland.

 If you drape the garland carelessly, the tree isn't as pretty from across the room. But if you let it rise and fall with the flow of evergreen branches, the red and white pattern offsets the green perfectly. And that's how your characters' journeys need to flow, smoothly.... in an understandable (but not necessarily predictable) line. If you keep them in character, the garland stays where it belongs. But if you suddenly insert a hissy fit into a calm, rational heroine, then you should either make it Mary Connealy funny or Tina Radcliffe cryptic. Jarring the reader out of their comfort zone without the proper tree skirt padding is gonna' hurt someone! 

We don't want readers mad at us or our trees. Wait. Do we want the trees mad at us? 

NO!

We want everything just so, scenic and pretty, a range of emotions rising and falling with evergreen branches. 

Of course around here then a dog or a kid is going to come along, snag something on the garland, jump and run when I yell and knock the whole kit and caboodle down.  Which is why I re-enforce the trees with fishing line and cleverly disguised nails in the window frame because Ruthy trees must withstand an activity level just shy of nuclear holocaust. 

I buy REALLY STRONG fishing line. It works!

And when all is said and done, cozy-ing up by the fire, the tree winking at us from its special spot of honor, the feeling is very much like polishing a novel, giving it that last tweak and trim. Satisfied, happy and a little tired.

Hey, we've got some sweet Christmas reads for youse today! 




Mia and I are giving away copies of our December Love Inspired releases!!!

 "Jingle Bell Romance"  (note the CLEVER link for those of youse who simply cannot wait to buy this delightful four-star read!!!!)

and "The Lawman's Holiday Wish"!  (DITTO!!!!!)

Come on in, set a spell, grab some punch or some eggnog and be sure to try the pumpkin roll... it's to die for!  Leave a comment to have your name tossed into the cat dish (freshly cleaned for yesterday's Herne Family Christmas Party!).

Merry Christmas, Village!!!! We love you!

About Mia Ross: I love great stories. Whether the characters are fictional or real, I enjoy getting lost in a different place and time, but only for a little while.  Because my reality is pretty sweet.

My hubby and I met in college and now have two fabulous kids who keep us hopping. We live in Upstate New York where summers are short, winters are long, and the crocuses remind us that, yes, spring is coming. Eventually.  Visit me at www.miaross.com 

Ruth Logan Herne has over half-a-million books in print, she's anything but reclusive although she's tucking in

for a long upstate New York winter with over a foot of snow the past two days! She loves God, her country, her family and dogs and she spends the middle of the night hunched over her laptop, spinning heart-warming stories of faith, hope and love.... Visit her at her website http://ruthloganherne.com or on facebook where she is unafraid to shamelessly exploit small children and pets to sell sweet books!