“So much snow!” Sally came into the coffee shop stamping her feet. Overnight, the sky had buried our little village in thick frosting. I sat nursing a hot cocoa. “I know. It feels a little overwhelming, thinking of plowing the driveway, the porch, the deck…” “Not unlike doing the macro edit on my novel,” Sally said, unwinding her scarf. “But I think I have the big picture/content edits figured out. What’s next?” Kathy handed her a peppermint mint mocha. Sally sat down, warming her hands on the cup. “Now it’s about looking at every scene to make sure it has enough tension and that you’re building in the emotional layers. I call it: Scene by Scene Editing.” “First, start with the scene structure. Determine if it is an Action or […]
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Conversations: What to do with your WriMo Chapters/How to edit a scene
I found Sally in line for coffee as I entered the coffee shop. She had already dumped her bag onto a chair, had already tugged off her gloves, her wool jacket, and wore her game face. “What’s up? Did you not have a great thanksgiving?” “It was fine. But, I’m 3000 words away from finishing my novel.” “That’s great.” I shed my jacket and motioned to Kathy. She gave me a smile, already on my order. “No so much.” She retrieved her coffee and handed me mine. I nodded my appreciation. “Why?” “Because I only have 46000 words and I’m near the end of my novel.” “And?” “It’ supposed to be an 80,000 word novel! How am I going to come up with 30,000 more words?” “Oh, I see. You […]
Read the RestConversations: Build the foundation of a great scene
Sally was waiting for me as I walked into the coffee shop. The fallen leaves chased me inside and Kathy handed me a spicy pumpkin latte, with whip and a layer of caramel. I sat down at the table and couldn’t help note the frown on Sally’s face. “What?” “It’s just boring.” Her hand rested on a stack of printed manuscript papers. “I mean, the story is good…in my head. But it seems to lack…well, let’s put it this way; my husband fell asleep somewhere between page 87 and 103.” “Oh my,” I said, sipping the latte. Just the right balance of whipped crème sweetness and pumpkin pie spice. “So, what do you think is the problem?” “He says I have a great story, with great storyworld and fun dialogue and even […]
Read the RestConversations: Creating Scene Tension
I could see Sally’s breath crystallize in the air as she jogged up to the coffee shop door. Bruised and soggy leaves layered the parking lot – red, gold, purple. The sun had just baked the frost from the pink chrysanthemums blooming outside. Our little town crouched at the edge of winter – we could feel it in the air. The crisp tension of autumn, when any day we’d wake to a snowfall. The door jangled as Sally opened it. She caught my eye. “Sorry I’m late.” She dropped her backpack onto her chair. “Field trip day at school and I forgot to sign a permission slip. Congratulations on the game Friday night. I heard your son ran for a touchdown, and the other made a sack. I’ll bet it […]
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