Shrunken Manuscript Reveals Novel’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Shrunken Manuscript Technique Helps Visualize Problems
Following my directions for shrinking, marking and evaluating a novel, here are some recent examples:

Scene Tweaks

How to Tweak a Scene
When revising a novel, it’s essential to check each scene and tweak it so the reader stays interested. Here’s an example.
Scene: Choosing Paint Color
In this relatively minor scene the Main Character (MC) comes home to find Mom and the Painter choosing paint colors. Painter has been making minor repairs and it’s [...]

Goal disaster in Novel Revision

A scene goal must have a showdown
I’m revising my WIP novel and I’m at the end of the first section of the story. In this section, my character lays out a specific goal, and of course,

CA Retreat

I’m just back from a Novel Revision Retreat in San Rafael, CA. What a great time. I always learn so much from other writers.

My suite-mate wasn’t taking my class, but I watched her

Endless Revisions?

How Many Times Do you Revise?
When do novel or picture book revisions ever end? I’m always a new person, with a bit more knowledge and a bit more life under my belt. I could always make changes to the story. When do you know it’s time to submit your baby?

My Best. When I’ve done everything [...]

Fran Cannon Slayton: 2k9

This entry is part 6 of 10 in the series 2k9Introduced first in 2007, authors debuting children’s books have formed a cooperative effort to market their novels. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9 authors [...]

fall retreats

Speaking Schedule
Here’s an update on my speaking schedule for the rest of the year.

Novel Revision Reteat. SF & North & East Bay SCBWI, San Francisco, CA. July 16-19, 2009 (SOLD OUT)
Novel Revision Retreat. Louisiana SCBWI. St. Joseph Abbey, Covington, LA. Download flyer for the LA retreat.
Arkansas SCBWI Fall Retreat, Ft. Smith, AR. September 25-27. [...]

POV and Voice

L asks: “Do you think an author’s ‘voice’ is easier to establish when a novel is written in 3rd POV omniscient than in 1st POV?
Just asking because in the writing of my current WIP novel, I felt that I had to find and stick with the MC’s voice, and now in the polishing – revising [...]

Novel Secrets Retreats

Novel Secrets Series
Author Nancy Sharp has designed a series of three retreats, which is unique in the writing world. It takes writers from an initial idea to a finished manuscript and an evaluation by an agent or editor–in JUST ONE YEAR. Awesome!
Cynsations website is running a series of interviews with the speakers. One of [...]