Tag Archives: Editing

This Weeks Goals 7-13th May

Posted on by

I started working with daily goals last week, and I have to say I failed miserably. So this week I’m going to try working to a weekly list 🙂

So what’s on the agenda this week?…..

My aim this week is to have the whole of my WIP spellchecked, set out properly and printed off for the next stage of editing (from 1 to 5). I’ve decided not to write any more short stories for the time being, I’m determined to get this novel into some kind of finished state before I start the next one in November.

Sooooo, the to do list with the novel is:

1. Finish the spell check (and do it again incase there’s something I’ve missed).
2. Check that’s it’s set out correctly (ie paragraphing and indenting dialogue).
3. Check punctuation (I have a tendency to forget all about it during dialogue).
4. Change tense where needed (one of my worst habits, I tend to flit between past and present during a longer piece lol).
5. Print off to start the re-write (I’ve decided to change a few things quite considerably).
6. Do the research needed.
7. Write the ending (GULP).
8. Write a synopsis.
9. Decide who to pick on as Beta readers lol (edited to add: Think of questions to ask Beta readers)
10. Think about what to do with it next (depending on Beta readers comments, I could be starting back at number 1 lol).

So, any advice? Is there anything I’ve missed?

For your viewing pleasure, these are my piles of “working” writing stuff on my dining room table lol

20120503-202545.jpg
It was only 2 piles until I decided to start all those extra notebooks lol

So, I’m hoping, that sharing my plans for the week with you guys will mean that I’ll stick to them. You have my permission to beat me with a large stick if I post next Monday that I failed 😉

What are you writing plans for the week? Do I need to find a large stick to use on you? 😉

Fishing…For Ideas

Posted on by

20120314-114912.jpg

You can’t force an idea can you. William Stafford once said that the creative process is like fishing. You cast a line and then sit patiently, waiting for a nibble. You have to be still and quiet because if you make too much noise the fish won’t bite. With time and experience, you learn the right moment to land that baby.

That kinda goes against what we want as writers. We want results and now. We want proof we are making progress and being productive. We want finished pieces and strive for each one to be better than the last.

So what if, we took one day…..Just one day a month as an Ideas Day? To go fishing, metaphorically rather than actual in my case 😉 No actual writing, but you’re allowed to write ideas in a note book.

If you could have one day a month as an ideas day, what would you do?

Me? I’d spend the day at an art gallery or sit on the sofa watching old black and white films all day 🙂

Ahhhhh….. Peter Jones would be so proud of me!

I don’t often suffer from writers block, I have too much whizzing round in my head, what with the daily prompts 😉

But…..if you ever find yourself staring at a blank page, try the 7 Minute Story technique by the Limebird Writers Blog. Brilliant 🙂

I spent most of yesterday editing 2 stories. I want to send one off to a competition and the other to a magazine. I also spent an hour or so on Title Ideas (post on that tomorrow).

Yesterday’s prompt was about being lonely, so I came up with a story about a woman who has everything apart from one thing…..love…..sounds like that Beatles song lol. Today’s prompt is write about sinking. Gawd, this is all very depressing isn’t it lol.

The “Place” Experiment Part 2

Posted on by

The second place in my experiment 🙂

Location: One of the piers at Chatham.
Time: 11am
Date: Monday 12th March

I listened to the seagulls sqwarking (sp? Lol) overhead and watched the small group of swans on the edge of the mud banks stretching their wings. They eyed the passing tug boat with suspicion. In the distance, the silent cranes rise up through the mist, waiting for the next cargo ship to arrive. There’s an eeriness to this place. I could imagine sitting here, developing the plot for an intricate thriller. A body, washed up on the mud, it’s bare white limbs a stark contrast against all the shades of grey. The whole area seems frozen in time. It could be 2012 or 1912, I don’t think the scene would have changed. Embedded in the mud, an old shopping trolley, the only trace of modern life. I was intrigued by the wreck of a small fishing boat, it’s mast and a small part of its hull poking out through the mud. I wonder what happened to it. Did it set adrift on a stormy night? Or a more sinister explanation. Regardless of the reasons it’s fated to stay embedded, a reminder to all of the dangers of the river and mud banks.

WOW….. This was a great place to write 🙂 I’m not sure it would have the same eery feeling on a warm summers day, so I’m really glad i went when it was misty. It was freezing though, so I didn’t stay long. Definitely inspiring, not for a romance, but if I was writing something that needed lots of atmosphere, this is the place to come…. I will be returning 🙂

20120312-121256.jpg

I managed to get both of the prompts done yesterday. The one about the voices in the night prompted the start of a sorry tale about an overweight woman who’s husband leaves her. My hubby gave me that idea as he said about food calling you from the fridge in the night he he he 😉 The one about a ceremony was fun (as I expected), I now have the start of a story where a woman is attending the wedding of her ex, the one that got away if you know what I mean 😉

I spent yesterday afternoon editing and rewriting a couple of stories, and then submitted them for comps. So my “out there’s” now stand at 17 *squeals* Today, I’ll be trying to make that 20 😉

Editing

Posted on by

The last part of my OCA course is regarding editing *groan*

Why do I hate it so much? My palms get sweaty, my mouth goes dry….well, ok, perhaps it’s not that bad but, I do tend to avoid it. I never know exactly where to start 😦 The OCA has given me this handy little list to use while I’m editing, although I have added a couple of my own tips. Perhaps I need to print it out and stick it on my wall lol

1. Put the piece away for a relative period of time. A short story for 10-15 days, a novel for 6 weeks or more.

2. Retrieve it. On reading through try to think of it as someone else’s piece of work, try to be objective.

3. Read through. Have a highlighter pen and a red pen to hand. Use the highlighter to build your confidence by highlighting things you like, the good bits.

4. Use the red pen for:
Anything that makes you cringe.
Adjectives, adverbs, abstract nouns or cliches you spot.
Too many metaphors or similes.
Dialogue that does not flow or sounds stilted.
Characters that seem one dimensional.
Search for places where you “told” rather than “showed”.
Search for drama, have you got enough conflict?
Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.

Look back over the highlighted sections. Sometimes it is necessary to tighten up the parts you liked best.

Put the work away for a couple of days.

Redraft and read the new version. If it feels smoother and more dramatic, call it quits, if not, start the process again.

Give it to someone else to read. Ask them not only to critique the story, but to point out any mistakes they may find.

Read it aloud.

Well, that all seems very easy…..now, where did I put those Stabilo’s 😉

Forgot to say *grins stupidly* I’ve been chosen as a giver for World Book Night on April 23rd 🙂 I got my first choice, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens even though I’ve never read it (I will now). My reasoning behind choosing the Dickens is because of where I live 😉 Dickens loved Rochester. He wanted to be buried here, in the grounds of the castle, but when he died Queen Victoria overruled his wish 😦

So I am thoroughly looking forward to giving the locals free copies of one of his books 🙂

Yesterday’s prompt was a real hard one 😦 I did a bit of investigation and discovered that the quote came from Rimbaud’s poem entitled Bottom. Its to do with Shakespeare’s Bottom character from A Midsummer Nights Dream and is about the loss of love….I was a bit stumped lol, but then I came up with the start of a short story. A guy who’s ex is due round to get her stuff, opens the front door and is hit over the head by someone. As he lays on the floor barely conscious, all he can see are shadows.

Todays prompt is stolen goods so that should be interesting 😉

Self Sabotage

Posted on by

*shudders*

I hate editing…..with a passion 😦 lol

But…..I know it’s got to be done.

So this article will come in handy today I’m sure 😉

I spent yesterday continuing to type up some more short stories and today I will try to do some editing. The plan is to have at least 2 or 3 pieces ready to send out on Monday. Not too sure that’s gunna happen lol 😉

So along with editing, I was reading about self sabotage last night, and that a lot of the time we don’t even realise we’re doing it….for example:

Comparing your writing to others I am so guilty of this.
Allowing others needs & wants to get in the way of your writing time Easy to do when you have a family.
Stopping when it gets hard or you get stuck How many unfinished pieces have I got exactly?
Setting your standards & goals too high Perfectionism?
Thinking that if a piece is rejected it means you’re no good A classic….anyone who’s had a rejection letter will know exactly what that feels like.

A few times recently I’ve just thought, shall I just jack this all in? Is writing really for me?

The prompt about the counting breaths turned into a story about a heavily pregnant woman who’s fiancé is in the army, posted to Afganistan, but my mind went blank on yesterday’s one about the skin on her cheek. Today’s one is driving a gravel road which instantly brought back some childhood memories 🙂

Playing Catch Up

Posted on by

Ok, so I’ve caught up with both my prompts. The first one about describing something unfamiliar, I went for a gun…..because I went along the lines of thinking that if you put your hand into a bag and couldn’t see what you were touching, surely, most people would know the feel of a gun. Now, I have no way of testing that theory, so if anyone has, don’t hesitate to let me know 😉

Yesterday’s prompt, a place where wings unfurl, I came up with the idea of an old lady sitting in a tree, and all the people who walk by, not noticing her. Don’t ask me who she is, or how she got there, but I liked the image of it 🙂

Today’s prompt is what is seen through open windows

I’m liking that 🙂 and I already have some thoughts…..will tackle it later though, as first things first…..editing my assignment *groan* 😦

I hate editing! When I’m rich and famous cant I pay someone to do that for me?

And talking about being rich and famous lol, I’ve decided…..I’m going to finish my OCA course and then rather than enrol on anything else I’m going to concentrate on competitions and submissions. At the moment I feel that I’m writing what I’ve been told to write, instead of what I want to write 😉 I’m not sure I really am a potential ‘novelist’ I think I’m probably a potential ‘short story writer’ 🙂

Got sent this link through another Blog I subscribe to. It gives me hope that it not too late 🙂