Tearing up the Pages

Not literally. I’m talking about editing—that painful process that every written work must go through. During this latest round of self-edits for FROM RISING FLAMES, I’ve become picky. Too picky, I suppose. While I’m used to critiquing every word, scrutinizing every phrase, and adding/cutting sentences here and there to improve the flow of the story, something I didn’t expect found its way into my work—the voice of my editor.

I’ve never met my editor, nor have I heard her voice, but it’s in my head. I hear her telling me that a scene doesn’t make sense and I see little notes on the side of my word document, questioning my reason for a certain plot point. It’s like she’s here, over my shoulder, challenging me while I work. I don’t know that I like it.

In a few weeks, she’s going to get the manuscript and will have the opportunity to tear my book to shreds while she makes it shiny and bright. She’ll get her chance. So why is she in my freakin’ head? You know the answer and I know the answer: I’m self conscious and doubting the work I’ve done. It’s inevitable, I suppose, that I would feel this way, and I think the feeling is a good thing. Fear tends to make me more alert and focused. It heightens my senses and allows me clarity I don’t generally possess.

While working on this round of edits, voice in my head and all, I’ve made changes that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s an odd sensation, which is why I’m not sure I like it. This morning, I took a pleasant happy scene and added a bunch of tension because that voice in my head told me to. That’s my dilemma. I liked the scene the way it was before; however, I understand the reasoning behind the tension. Which leads me to this: later tonight, I will post the before and after of this scene I mentioned. I want to receive your input on both versions. Tell me what you like/don’t like. Tell me what you hate. Tell me that I’m crazy. Tell me anything about this scene that you want to. Tell me which version you prefer.

ONE NOTE: The scene is about 60 pages into FROM RISING FLAMES and does not take place in Aisling. I know you’ll have plenty of questions about where Rhiannon is, why she is there, why people are acting a certain way toward her. These details are explained in the chapters and scenes before, which I won’t be posting. Thank you in advance for your comments and look forward to giving you a fantastic sequel to ON FALLEN WINGS. 'Til tonight.

~ Jamie

WIP It!

After a 3-week reprieve from my Work In Progress, I’m back. I must say, it’s refreshing to see it again. Even though it needs a lot of work—I’ll repeat that: A LOT OF WORK—I’m enjoying seeing my characters again. There’s so much I had forgotten and much more that I can’t believe is on the pages—that’s a good thing.

During my time away from my WIP, I polished up On Fallen Wings, sent out a couple queries, researched, and took some time to think about where I want this story to go. In my head, I have four books, based on the current story and characters, outlined, making this a series. On paper, I have three books outlined.

I’ve noticed quite a few writers who create stories, titles, and even trilogy names before finishing, or even starting, their books. I’m jealous of that. While I’m good at planning, I’m horrible at names—I’m worse at naming books. It took so long for me to finally come up with On Fallen Wings that I’m struggling with a sequel title to match the tone. I’ve also thought of adding a series name to the titles, but the one I’ve chosen creates a huge dilemma—it gives too much away.

I’ve also thought a lot about the genre of my books. I originally wrote them as YA, with fantasy elements; however, the YA market seems to lean more toward current stories about high school kids experiencing paranormal or fantastic events—hence the name of the genre. While my characters are high school aged, they aren’t current. They don’t live in New York City, or attend the local High School, or didn’t just move to a new town; they live, breathe, and die in a place very far from what we know. My story is fantasy. It’s not high fantasy, it’s not epic, just fantasy. It’s about Faeries.

So, while my mind struggles with names and genres, I continue editing my WIP. Still unnamed, still needing work, and still needing a home, it keeps me occupied and engaged. I love this journey and, while I strain to solve some elemental problems about publishing, I’m still working hard, hoping to give you all a fantastic adventure to read soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a little link to an 80s band that didn’t do so much. They are the inspiration to the title of this post. Please enjoy the You Tube video by DEVO.

Cut the "ly" and "then"...

In March, I attended the LDStorymakers Writing Conference in Salt Lake City. To say it was wonderful doesn't give the conference enough credit. It was more than wonderful. For the first time in my writing life, I experienced a taste of the business and learned that I'm not alone in this endeavor.

When I registered for the conference, I signed up for a "writers bootcamp". I'm grateful that I did. Some of the most powerful feedback I've received to date came from that bootcamp.

I never took a writing class in college. I don't have an advance degree in English literature. I didn't spent years in a writing program, learning the craft and perfecting my skills with careful planning for a future career in publishing. I studied business. I learned how to run a successful company, and how to manage people. That puts me at a huge disadvantage as a writer, I know that. All I began with was a story and a keyboard.

Now that I've finished its sequel, I've had some time to go back and polish On Fallen Wings, based on the feedback from the bootcamp. I'm getting it ready to send out again, to brave the waters of the querying world, and discover if anyone wants to represent my novel. Step one: I added a few scenes. Nothing major, just tiny little scenes to fill plot holes here and there. That part is easy. I can write. Step two: Cut the unnecessary adverbs, the "ly" words.

Wow! I never realized I had so many adverbs. When all was said and done, I trimmed 600 useless adverbs from my manuscript. 600! That's only about 2 per page, but it blew my mind when I saw the word count once I finished. I read once that English teachers lover adverbs, but readers don't. I agree with the saying. When I reread some of the passages, after cutting, the story was cleaner. Cutting the adverbs also had a side effect. When I couldn't elaborate on an action with some silly little "ly" word, I had to find a better verb, a stronger verb. My writing improved one tiny notch. Yay!

Step three: I use "then" and "and then" a lot. I blame Microsoft Word for this. During my earlier edits, every time I used "and" or "then", my writing program would underline the words with those evil little red lines and tell me I was wrong. Hey, I'm new to this. If the computer tells me its wrong, I must be wrong, right? Wrong. All those "thens" and "and thens" cluttered up the pages and kept the flow of the story looking like instructions for building a treehouse. I cut them when they weren't needed. The result was another 400 words shaved.

So, now I have a leaner, more polished book, one that's ready for another review before I send it off to agents. I'm learning. It's a real life degree in editing. I'm grateful for feedback, and am excited about the direction my books are taking me. I promised before that I intend to present the world with the best writing I have to offer. When all is said and done, that's what you'll be getting.