I talk a lot about revising fiction here and when I visit with people. I teach novel revision, especially in my novel revision retreat. Recently, I've been trying to reconcile the different ways talk about revision and understand the differences. It seems to me that there are several distinct differences, each with its own strengths. ...
Fiction Notes
Believe in Your Story
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The Heart of Revision: Finding Your Own Answers
I've written before about revising based on critiques and editorial letters covering both the emotional upheaval and the how-tos. Revise Second Draft: 419 Specific Comments Do you get MAD at Editors? I Do Don't Follow That Revision Letter: Here's Why To Revise or Not to Revise: Who are you revising for? DECISIONS: What and How to Revise I Don't Want an ...
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Science Fiction and Fantasy Worldbuilding: Timeline Adds Crucial Details
One of the first tasks in revising my current WIP has been to nail down a firm time line for my story. When does all this stuff happen? I had it vaguely placed in the 21st century, but I didn't want to nail it down specifically. It's the EveryMan problem. Some writers try to create an ...
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In Praise of the Humble Sentence
Voice is the quality of writing that lets a reader see the author behind the work. It's what makes a piece of writing unique so that you and only you could have written this piece. I don't look at it as a mystical thing; instead, I look to the tools that writers have to work ...
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The Editorial Dance: Finding the Right Editor
I talked with an editor earlier this week about my new novel, The Blue Marbles, a sff YA and found that editorial input comes in two forms--and these are so important to finding the right editor for your story. Positioning in the Market Place The first thing we talked about was our visions for the story, to ...
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Copyediting: Style Manual for Your Story
Here's a question about punctuation, with an answer about style. Which of these is correctly punctuated? I like oranges, apples, and bananas. I like oranges, apples and bananas. The answer is it depends on the style manual that you use. In school, you were probably taught certain rules about punctuation, and your teachers told you that the rules were the ...