Editing!!!!

Avast! New horizons! Last year, I proved to myself that I could write a book. Then I did nothing about it for 2 months. Now, finally, I am editing! This year I will prove to myself (and learn how in the process) that I can edit a book, and turn it into something good. Or, at least, better.

So, here’s my editing plan. Steal it if you want. But thank me in the acknowledgements of your published book.

Miranda’s Evil Plan of Editing Awesomeness

1. Scene and chapter breaks

     a. Placement

            i. Sadly, use a spreadsheet

     b.  Flow

         i. does it leave you hanging/cause you to turn the page?

         ii. Is the chapter too long? If so, can it be split differently, or should something be cut?

          iii.  Are the switches from one storyline and POV character to another smooth, rough, unexpected, distracting? Does it add to or detract from the pace?

2. Characters

     a. Are the characters believable/realistic?

     b. Are the characters likeable?

     c. Do you care about them? Is there one or more character you don’t care about? Why?

     d. Does each character have a clear motivation? Are his/her motives believable?

     e. Are any characters stereotypes: too good, too bad, too pretty, too ugly, etc?

     f. Does each character have a clear developmental path?

     g, What obstacles/conflict have I thrown at the characters? How can I make it much worse?

     h. How does the character need to grow? What does he/she end up learning that maybe he didn’t want to have to learn?

3. Plot

     a. Is the plot as a whole exciting? Predictable? Already been done? Confusing?

     b. Is there any plot point that doesn’t work because: 1: it’s too far-fetched, 2: it’s confusing/unclear, or 3: a major action seems out of character?

     c. Did I drop any plot threads? (Tom Bombadil Syndrome)

     d. Is the pace right? Did you find yourself reading because you wanted to or because you are my friend and you promised me you would? (If the latter: which parts dragged?)

     e. Is the ending transformative? Is it satisfying and meaningful in an archetypal way?

4. Physical Descriptions/Setting

     a. Where exactly in California are we?

     b. While we’re at it, what month exactly are we in?

     c. Is the scene set in such a way that readers can see what I see? (enough description? Clear enough?)

5. Fact check

     a. Did anyone change from a blonde to a redhead? Or change their names mid book? (Especially minor characters!)

     b. Do any of the details of time travel (or the whole system of my “world”) conflict?

     c. Other facts. Like, is the wheel of a plane sufficient to protect you from gun fire? etc.

6. Dialogue

     a. Does the dialogue flow? Could you imagine a real person saying it like that out loud? read it out loud and see.

     b. Is any of the dialogue used as expository and should be converted to narration?

     c. Is the dialogue in the style of the character?

     d. Does each character have a style, or do they all sound the same?

          i. Sayings, phrases, idioms

          ii Patterns of thinking apparent in speech

           iii. Attitude toward others apparent in speech

     e. Is the dialogue too obvious? (ie: should more of the meaning be inferred or read in subtext?) How much can I delete and still get the meaning? Could I show an evocative detail that would say more than mere words?

     f. Is the dialogue confusing? (is: should more of the meaning be said aloud, and less inferred?)

7.  Tone of narration

     a. Does each POV character have his/her own distinctive style? Is the voice overdone/obnoxious? Is it understated? Is it too subtle to detect?

     b. Does each character use language differently? What does their word choice reflect about them?

     c. Is it apparent within the first page whose chapter this is? The first paragraph? The first sentence?

8. Tighten Language

     a. Omit unneeded words

     b. Delete as many adjectives as possible

           i. Use Word’s “find” function. Search for “ly”

     c. Beef up the verbs. Verbs=power!

     d. Are more images needed? (Show not tell)

     e. Vary sentence length and structure. Shorten sentences overall.

9. Grammar and punctuation

Feeling daunted yet?

NaNoWriMo

Yes, that’s right, the annual insanity known as National Novel Writing Month is upon us. The goal is to write a complete 50,000 word novel in one month. I don’t plan to do that. I plan to write 50,000 words of a novel in this month. Or at least try. This is the same amount of work that took me, oh, 6 months with novel 1. But what kind of career novelist can’t pump out a book in two months? (The answer: most of the good ones.)

Ahem. It’s an interesting challenge. And after an entire month of inactivity and watching entirely too much Dexter, it’s time I start producing again. I am posting the first chapter. See what you think.

Humble Pie

Sigh. Go here. Sign up for the e newsletter. (Use a fake email if you want.) Then read the free e-book now available to you.

This little missive on writing will do several things:

1. Make you realize how truly far you have to go.

2. Teach you something.

3. Apparently make you write on your blog instead of editing your novel, which, face it, you don’t really want to do.

 The thing is, I have written my whole life. I have written short stories and poetry and whatnot my whole life. And I never edit them. It’s always been take it or leave it. I would sometimes show them to people and if they liked it, great, and if not, they didn’t know what they were talking about. How could they? I am awesome.

 And now I have written a book. And it needs editing. Overhauling. Rewriting. Throwing in a drawer. Or a fire.

But this little book on Writer’s Digest.com (that I’m only half way through, and that I owe thanks to Joan for showing to me) has helped me clarify several specific problems that have been nagging at me. I knew there was something wrong (several somethings) and now I have a few inklings what they are.  

So…I will continue to let this sit while I focus on something else. Then I’ll reread the beast and see how it strikes me with eyes not so accustomed to it…

Edit it till it’s good

A wise man once told me that the three steps writers follow are:

1. Write a book

2. Edit it till it’s good

3. Publish it somehow. (he may have been more eloquent.)

 

So now I commence step 2. So far I have a solid page titled “Edits to make.” This depressing document lists 7 somewhat major scene rewrites or add ins, then 7 consistency checks to perform, each of which will require its own reading, and two major questions I haven’t had good answers for yet. And this is just from thinking about it tonight. That does not even touch upon the daunting task of weaving in my minor story threads, making one cohesive whole. I thought this would be a simple case of copy and past, but it turns out to be a little harder….at least I only have two threads to weave in.

So. Baby steps, edit your novel. GO!

The Sweetest 585 words EVER

I’ve done it!

Really and truly. First I gave birth to a beautiful child. Now I have accomplished something else.

I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT.

I shouldn’t be so excited considering how much work is left to do….but I SO am!!!! “Write a book” has been one of my life’s goals since time immemorial. And now I’ve done it.

Sort of.

 I didn’t realize at the time the difference between “Write a book” and “Write a good book. Publish it. Become awesome.”  Cause I really meant the latter.

So, new work, here I FINALLY come!!!!

Quick Chronos Update

I am at 113,063 words, 354 pages (double-spaced). I’ve just finished the escape scene and erased 15 pages of failed attempts at writing the escape scene. Sigh. But the blasted thing is now sufficietnly drafted.

I just reread the epilogue and am forcibly reminded of a Lifetime movie. There’s happy endings and then there’s sappy mush. Oh well. I’ll fix it later. Right now I am turning back to Marlow’s story. It is nearly done. I have two months to finish him and Claire, so I can’t bother with revisions now. I will finish by November 12! I must!

WTF?

Crap. I ask for help, this is what I get.

I asked my hubby to help me work out some logistical problems. Basically, when I read, I skip over paragraphs describing what the building looks like, mainly because I don’t care. I create a landscape that works as I read the action. I really care about the people and what they are doing, not about the stupid setting. So, when I write, I’ve been keeping it vague in certain spots that I’m unsure of. (Take, for instance, my constant citing of various places in Southern California, with absolutely no idea whether they are near each other or not. I”ll sort that out eventually…)

So, I’ve been writing an escape from some sort of militaristic facility. So far I’ve defined it as a cement building with a big fence around it…that’s about how much of a tactician I am. So I asked Joseph to help me sketch it out and get a better idea of what’s going on, so I can make it clear.

Well, he comes up with all these brilliant questions: what about the people who work there? they need to live on site. What about the families of the prisoners? Don’t they wonder why they never come back? Why have a smokestack? Wouldn’t that draw attention to the place? Why would the super-rich boss man arrive to the camp in a car when I have jets sitting in the hangar? How could a no-account kid out-maneuver trained men? and so on.

So, we worked on it. And we came up with some good ideas that I think will cover a lot of those holes. But now I have to go back and insert all this information throughout the book so it doesn’t come off as “here’s Clinch explaining his whole evil setup and plan to JJ for no reason. Monologue!” And I want to do it now before I finish the escape scene, cause I don’t want to have to rewrite that scene twice. Rewriting it once is bad enough.

Right. So thank you Joseph for helping me be more accurate. But dang, now I have more work to do!

House Call

So NPR had a writing contest recently called Three Minute Fiction. The idea is to write a piece that can be read in three minutes or less. Stories need to be 600 words or less, and must start with the sentence, “The nurse left work at five o’clock.” So, here’s mine.

House Call

By Miranda Mann

The nurse left work at five o’clock. She checked her watch as she left the hospital, her left thumb instinctively rubbing her bare ring finger. Five o’clock. The same time he used to leave work. As if that meant something. As if half the people in the country didn’t get off work at five. Might as well find significance in the blue car in the parking lot—he always hated blue cars—or the white sneakers of a passerby—his favorite brand.  Selene reached her car and sat heavily into the driver’s seat.

Three months. Three months, and she still wasn’t used to going home to an empty apartment. She felt the sting of tears, and pounded the steering wheel.

No! It was right! I was right. I can do this.

The drive home was becoming automatic. She didn’t notice the bulk grocery store as she passed it, nor the giant statue of an Indian’s head at the city park. When she reached the Chinese buffet, she turned right without a thought of egg rolls or lo mien. A left at the movie theater brought her to her complex. And there she sat, in her car, as she had done every other weekend for three months, summoning the courage to walk to her apartment. An apartment that was devoid of husbands. An apartment that was empty of sons.

The knot in Selene’s stomach was growing tighter. Instinctively she glanced into the back seat. An empty car seat, a blue dog with a rattle in it. Her heart raced in alarm. How could she have been so careless? Ryan wouldn’t be able to sleep without his blue doggy. He’d cuddled it every night of his short life. True, he was now in preschool and no longer used the binkie, but the doggy…the doggy was sacrosanct.

She reached for the toy, feeling the silk on one side, the soft fuzz on the other. Selene closed her eyes and rubbed the silk against her cheek, just as Ryan always did. Her breath caught in her throat, and suddenly she was sobbing. Ryan. Little baby Ryan, so small in her arms. And him, standing with his arms around them both. She hugged herself.  Josh.

Josh who she barely knew. Josh who she’d married. Josh who she couldn’t stand.

Mistake. All of it. Wrong, stupid, over.

She should have known. The ring told it all. When Josh proposed, he gave her a small diamond on a bare band. She loved it. Until her sister pointed out the stone’s large flaw. Then that was all she could see. The stone no longer held any beauty; she returned it. Josh had to borrow money to buy the one she chose for herself.

Selene blinked furiously, clearing the unwelcome tears from her eyes. “I’m never enough for you!” Josh had often yelled. And in the end, she had to admit he was right.

She looked again at the dog she held in her hand. Ryan needed his lovey. Dutifully Selene reached for her phone. She pressed the number 1. “Josh,” the screen read.

Still number 1?

She snapped her phone shut. Josh would just have to deal with a crying Ryan on his own. If he wanted her help, he knew her number.

But she stopped with her key in her apartment door. She pictured Ryan. Ryan crying. Calling for mommy, daddy, doggy, binkie. Crying. Confused. Suffering.

She shook the doggy, rattling in her ringless left hand.

She grit her teeth and dialed Josh.

Old Project

I am going to finish Chronos!!!

This I pledge to thee, oh World Wide Interweb Readership (if any). I will complete my entire first draft of Chronos/Time Colony by November 12, 2009. This is my birthday, and what greater gift than the realization of a life-long dream? (I have always dreamed of writing a book. Publishing one? That’s a completely different challenge… : ) )

Also, this date will mark one year since I began work on my first novel.

My goal is 500 words a day. I merely need to give the book my attention each day. Then I will be able to finish it.

 I will do it! I will finish! Victory is mine!!!

New Project

Hi. So I am moving on to book #2. Not to say in anyway that I am done with book #1. But it needs so incredibly much overhauling, I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. The story is alright and some of the plot points are interesting but the characters are rubbish and the descriptions lacking. The main problem is that, having finished JJ and Bria, I’m losing momentum on the other storylines. I already know what’s going to happen, and I can’t seem to bother to finish it up. And if I do, the whole thing is so rough I’ll have to go over it and over it till my eyes bleed and i honestly don’t know if it can be saved. Alas.

So, in order to not give up writing entirely, I am starting my next project, tentatively titled Mindswap. I am going to follow the snowflake method on this one, and see if that strikes my fancy. Here is my one-liner:

A nursing student must prove her identity and the guilt of the rapist whose body she now inhabits.

So, yeah. I’ll keep you posted on that. And on my activity or lack thereof on Chronos/Time Colony.