Tuesday Ramblings

Edits!

Need I say more. I love the building of the story. How the germ of an idea grows into a blurb and then into a novel. The characters start to take on their own personalities and then they become your friends. By the time you write The End. They are your family and it's hard to let them out into the world.

But you need to, it is time for you to move onto your next story.

Not!

No, now you need to edit. Catch all the holes in your story. Find all the 'telling' instead of the 'showing'. You need to add layers to your characters, make sure the emotion is there. You don't want your characters cardboard cutouts of each other.

Yes, the easy part is writing the story. The hard part is making it a masterpiece that an editor or agent can't put down.

And it's dang hard because in the back of your mind you've got that little germ of an idea for your next story fighting to niggle it's way out. You have to pull in on its little reins and say 'hold on to your horses, your day will come'.

Not to mention how vulnerable you feel as you're trying to accomplish this task. Did you make it layered enough? Did you make your characters likable/lovable? Unless of course they're your villains.

At times like this who has your back? Because you need someone to give you a pep talk. And not your mother, because you know she's going to tell you how wonderful it is. Even when it sucks dirt!

Tell me who your cheerleader is?

Mine is Kim. My critique partner, she is always there to tell me it's okay or wrong. And to point out where I need more depth or what doesn't make sense, etc. And lately, Tiffinie. She shares the same agent. She's helped me through the uncertainty, "Am I doing what my agent has asked?" She understands since she's been asked to do the same things.

It helps to have someone in your corner who knows you, and knows the industry to help you through the rough edits!

So who has your back?

Comments

stanalei said…
Hey Mary,
It couldn't be more true about finding the right person to work with when it come to feedback. Thank you!!!
Where can I find me one of those "kim" persons?---Tongue-in-cheek.
Mary said…
I don't know because I've been looking for a 2nd one and they are no where to be found. Which means I'm doubly grateful for Kim!

And another very nice person pointed out how much the original post needed to be edited. Not just stories, everything needs to be edited several times before it's presented to the world. Now I'm truly embarrassed. But it did prove my point!

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