Privacy Policy
I’m at the point in my WIP when I need to reread with a critical eye. Where did I leave that thing? I’m out of town on family business, stealing a few hours here and there to work. Because of this, I can’t print the thing out, which is what I really need to do. [...]
I am working on a novel revision for an editor and I expect to turn it in by Monday. But today, as I was reading through one last time to polish everything up–oh, my gosh!–there’s still so much work to do. Last Minute Revisions At this point, it’s not major structural changes or big plot [...]
Do things get worse in your story? Then you are using some sort of progression: good, worse, worst. That’s excellent, because you want the story characters to increasingly feel the conflict and tension of the story. But are you using the BEST progression possible? In my current revision, I am checking my progressions to make [...]
It seems like all I am doing is printing out my WIP right now. Of course. Revising a novel is always a circular process. Get it Right the First Time Some authors get it right the first time; others claim to get it right the first time. For experienced writers, who are used to editing, [...]
Working on a novel revision, I realize that I need to refocus the relationship between two characters. The question is where to start. Grand Entrance for Your Character I once heard the late Sid Fleischman talk about the importance of giving a character a Grand Entrance. Think about a stage play, where a character sweeps [...]
Introduced first in 2007, debut children’s authors have formed a cooperative effort to market their books. I featured Revision Stories from the Classes of 2k8 and 2k9 and this feature returns this year with the Class of 2k11. Class of 2008 Class of 2009 MORE 2k11 On Revisions and The Pull of Gravity Guest post [...]
Introduced first in 2007, debut children’s authors have formed a cooperative effort to market their books. I featured Revision Stories from the Classes of 2k8 and 2k9 and this feature returns this year with the Class of 2k11. Class of 2008 Class of 2009 MORE 2k11 Learning to Respect Revision Guest post by Alissa Grosso [...]
Christina Mandelski Debuts with THE SWEETEST THING Introduced first in 2007, debut children’s authors have formed a cooperative effort to market their books. I featured Revision Stories from the Classes of 2k8 and 2k9 and this feature returns this year with the Class of 2k11. Class of 2008 Class of 2009 MORE 2k11 Revision: A [...]
Do you look at your old drafts? Save! Obsessively, I save old drafts. I number the versions of my manuscript, untill I finally decide to name it something different. I create folders for OldDrafts. But I rarely LOOK at these old drafts. Somehow, it doesn’t seem necessary. Looking Back or Finding What Worked This revision [...]
Sometimes when I read the opening of a manuscript, I’m totally confused. Trying too hard to grab the reader. These openings start with something startling. OK. Nothing wrong with that, except
Privacy Policy