Feedback & Editing (Pt 2) : Case Study Examples from my Debut Novel
In this post I’d like to share some experience of my beta read process – some examples of the feedback I received and what I did to address it. | Read more…
Tag: writing
Feedback & Editing (Pt 1) : Some Thoughts on Process
Editing is difficult because it involves change. While self-editing can be relatively painless, integrating external feedback into your edits can be excruciating. There’s lots of advice out there saying you should get feedback, but less about what to do when you get it. I’m certainly no expert, but here’s my take on | Read more…
Evolution of a Scene
I’m in the process of working through my line editor’s comments on Mime and I thought I’d share a little glimpse into the evolution of one of my scenes. We join Elliot, armed with a fire extinguisher, in the middle of a very improvised rescue… 1st Draft White fog erupted | Read more…
Worried you’re doing it wrong? 5 Writing process myths busted
If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a lot of time stressing over your writing process and worrying that you are doing it all wrong. A lot of famous authors spout advice about writing, but no writer–bestseller, famous or otherwise–has the one true solution that works for everyone, because no | Read more…
Editing Tips: Using Find & Highlight to Address Common Mistakes
One of the most crucial parts of editing is identifying your own habits so you can address them. Repetition, crutch words, over use of adverbs, passive voice etc. This is something I usually address in a final pass — a final polish — after having addressed everything to do with character, | Read more…
Short Story: The Key to No 43
Alice tried to remember who had given her the key. The memory seemed to dance out of reach. Strangely she could remember the rest of the day, but not that one moment. Someone had given it to her for a reason; that much seemed clear. The heavy iron key sat | Read more…
A Tip on How to Handle Edits and Critiques
A little bit of potted “wisdom” based on my own experience of receiving edits and critiques When confronted with edits, you invariably won’t like what the editor has suggested. They may have changed the meaning, or the tone of a sentence in a way you don’t like. But, don’t get | Read more…
On Author Voice vs Editors
What is your author voice? How do you develop it and bring it to the fore? It’s a tricky question and one many authors struggle with. I myself struggle to reconcile what I know to be good writing practice with injecting distinction and personality into my writing. I went to a | Read more…
Know about as many things as you can!
The classic advice to writers is to write what we know, or the more accurate alternative: “Write what you know, or can research.” There’s an inference in the quote above, that information you research is inherently different from information you know. Which, I suppose, may be true, depending on your definition of knowing. | Read more…
What Makes Good Flash Fiction? 5 recommendations for writing short pieces
I’ve been having a think about what makes a good piece of flash fiction, and while I don’t think I can say it any better than David Gaffney does in this article – Stories in your pocket: how to write flash fiction (which came out just before the very first National | Read more…