If I had a dime for every person who said to me, “I want to write a book,” I’d have ten dollars! I smile and encourage those with big dreams! I love big dreams. But the moment I start to speak the realities of writing a novel, smiles fade, light dims from behind the eyes, and I can see I’ve killed hopes. Why do we love dreams without substance? Why is it we think dreams just come to us? Most dreams are the result of very hard work. American Idol winners aside, most singers, artist, musicians, writers spend hours and hours on their craft. On a recent drive to visit family in Tennessee, I listened to a book, Outliers. The author, Malcom Gladwell, looked at societies and individuals to see […]
Read the RestArchive | Editing Basics RSS feed for this section
Dropping the bomb – A MyBookTherapy Moment
Well, we’re back to blogging! It was great seeing so many of you at the ACFW conference in Denver. Please make plans to attend the conference in Indianapolis next year. For those of you who attended our continuing education class, thank you. It was great to have such a large, lively group. I wanted to bring some clarification on “dropping the bomb.” In the class on Saturday, I talked about not hording a plot point, but going ahead, getting the “big news” out there and see where the story ran from the “explosion.” Here’s what I mean. If you’re telling the reader your heroine is pregnant outside of marriage, but the hero doesn’t know, GO AHEAD, tell him, see what the fall out would be! Don’t “horde” the point. Or […]
Read the RestChapter 2.2, Luke’s POV, RH suggestions with SMW comments!
RH comments highlighted in grey SMW comments highlighted in yellow Changes highlighted in blue Ch 2.2 – Luke’s pov Fate knew how to make a man suffer. It wasn’t enough that Luke had sacrificed his pride nearly sprinting out of the nursing home. Or that he’d managed to get his mug in the paper, again, after rescuing his rascal-of-a-nephew from traffic. But now, fate RH: who is it? Who wants him to replay his past? A bit more detail? wanted him to replay his past, everything he’d spent the past five years hiding from. Couldn’t the world just leave him alone? (Apparently not.) RH: Suggest deleting this. The previous sentence sets it up for the reader well. Luke stood at the window, cupping his (DELETE: microwaved,) […]
Read the RestChapter 2: Line Edits by SKD
Oh, this is good stuff by Susan! One of the things she wanted me to mention is, like with all editors, authors have feedback on all suggestions – because that is what they are, suggestions. But, as evidenced by this edit, Editors really know what they are doing, and it has to be something I feel strongly about if I am going to disagree. Great job on this piece, SK! I’m going to accept changes, make a few more tweaks and it’ll go in the hopper! Chapter 2.1 Rough Draft C with SKD line edits. “It just feels like running to me, Greg, and the truth is…I never run.” [SKD: I had to read this sentence over a couple of times before it sank in that she wasn’t […]
Read the Rest
