Tag: editing

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writer & editor at large

As we start a new week, I find myself very worried about money, but still optimistic overall. I have a little bit of work, with a vague promise of more on the horizon.  I haven’t been paid yet for  my first week, just submitted my hours for the second week, and we embark on the third.

The other job I was supposed to start is on hold, due to the fact that they can not complete the background check, because the courts in San Francisco are not open.  So that means I have space for more editing or writing work, if you happen to know of any work that needs doing.

I’m on Upwork, but will work with folks outside of that as well.

So other than that bit of the work I’m doing for one client, I’ve been working on The Blood Witch.  I hope to have this final edit done by the weekend.  Which is when the work to sell the book begins.  Which starts, as most things do, with research.  Then query letters, which will  hopefully lead to an agent, who can help with that whole selling part.

As I do, I’m also watching a lot of documentaries, particularly true crime documentaries.  I found a motherlode of new-to-me tv shows and movies on Hulu.

I hope you and your families are staying safe and not going a little stir crazy.  Be smart, as we start opening things back up.  This virus has not yet done its worst, and I fear that loosening restrictions too quickly will send a wrong message to too many people, opening us up for a strong resurgence of victims.  Mask up. Wash your hands.  Stay home if you can, and don’t let people closer than 6 feet.  You never know whose life you might be saving.  It could be your own.

I love you, Readers!  Happy Monday!

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does it matter that it’s Friday?

Happy Friday, Readers!  I meant to post earlier in the week, but I have actual, paying work at the moment, so my attention has been on that.

How are you coping?  I’ve had a few bad days, but between work on The Blood Witch and working in my container garden, I’ve found ways to keep my head up.  I hope you can say the same.

I’ve also been indulging in two of my favorite things, Star Wars and Supernatural.  I find it soothing to re-watch something I am so familiar with.

Today though I feel beat up and sore all over, probably from trying to do too much with very heavy stuff last night (ordered a bunch of soup and it all came in one box…like we’re talking 16 cans of soup. I’d have been better off taking a few cans out at a time, but no…like an idiot I tried to move the whole box).  I’m hoping a hot shower can help me feel a little better.

Aside from that, I’m going to try to finish up these edits I’m getting paid to do, if the website ever comes back up. Right now I’m just getting a blank page.  I assume no one in the support team is currently online.

And, maybe some work on the book.  Depends on how long my beat up body can tolerate the office chair.

I hope your Friday is filled with good things!  Remember, kindness matters.  Please be kind to yourself too.

Cover Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

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a plan for the day

There comes a point in every book where I want to chuck it all in and never write another word.  I start to question my plot. I start to think my characters are crap.  I become fairly certain that the whole thing is a steaming pile of garbage left to rot in the sun.

Thankfully, a few days away from the book is usually enough to cure me of it, and then I fall in love with my characters again. I plug up plot holes.  I draw maps to make sure I’m using consistent language and direction when I’m writing about travels.  I fortify character descriptions, using sensual language to really let the reader see the character. I read through the book, making notes on things I need to thread deeper into the story, and then I go back to the beginning and I edit.

I hit the first point the other day, as I was finishing my first edit pass on The Blood Witch. I was pretty sure I was just going to toss it, and the year or so I’ve spent writing it, in the bin and stop calling myself a writer.

This morning, as I sit here sipping my coffee and contemplating my day, I’m reaching the second point.  I know where my holes are and I have good ideas on fixing them.  I have a list of little things I want to carry forward because I wrote them in with good intentions, and then forgot about them completely. I have a deep abiding love for my two main characters, and character notes on how to improve the secondary and tertiary characters.

My one remaining quandary is that my narrator main character is witty and fun in the first half of the book, but some of that bleeds off in the second half.  Part of it is due to the circumstances, and that will remain. But, I know that when I am under stress I get more sarcastic, not less, so I want to work on building some of that back in.

So that is the mission I will embark on today.  After the coffee is gone, the garden watered, breakfast eaten, for at least two hours today, and every day this week, I work on filling in the gaps and making this book something to be proud of.

Of course, then the real work happens because it is time to start querying.  Which is vaguely terrifying.

So, off to do those precursor things so that I can get to the words.  Have a pleasant Monday, Readers.  Stay safe.

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and the edit will go on…and on…

I’ve been working all week on my first edit of The Blood Witch. I’m up to chapter 25, which is where I will be starting this morning.  I have so much love for this character. Well, all of them, honestly.

I need to work on establishing some of them a little more, make them stronger side characters with stories all of their own…you know, make them real.  This is particularly true for some of the main character’s family.

As I work through this and build up the weak spots, plug up plot holes and all of that, my muse is already spinning up the world building for the second book, because, yes, this is at least a two book series.

I’ve added over 5,000 words so far, and there are probably another 2,000 to 3,000 to come, which should drop me close to 90K by the time I’m done tinkering.  Then, provided I have the cash, I will be hiring my favorite editor to give it a good going over before I start the terrifying part: querying agents.

Having never done it, and having perpetual impostor syndrome, the thought is terrifying. I think these characters deserve my best, however, and I aim to give it to them…and the best is not just giving it to the publisher you know will take it, but won’t do much to support it once it’s out in the wild.

So, that’s how I’m muddling through the week, Readers.  That and coffee.  Lots of coffee.  Maybe that’s why I’m vibrating?  How about all of you?  How are you hanging in there?

Fancy a bit of “virtual hang out” time with me…and whoever of my friends happens to show up?  I’ll be hosting a Zoom meeting this evening.  No pressure, just a chance to see faces and chat.  I’ll put the details in the Events section over there on the right, or you can check my FB Author’s page for the link.  We did it last week, and there may have only been a few of us, but we had fun!  So come join us!

Okay, coffee’s getting cold so I’m off to slurp it down and get on with that editing business.  Y’all stay safe out there!

Oh, and if you’ve missed any of the Read Along for Through Shade and Shadow, you can find the recordings on my You Tube Playlist.

Cover Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

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the earth awakens

Hey there, Readers!  I hope this Easter Sunday finds you well and in good spirits.  I haven’t celebrated Easter in over 20 years, but I have many friends and family who still do.  I have a complicated relationship with Easter, to be honest.

Living alone, as I do, and not having kids around has done a lot to reinforce the “out of sight, out of mind” aspect of what Easter was for me as a kid, then a deeply religious Christian, then an aunt with small nieces.  Once the kids were old enough to not really care about the Easter bunny and all the attendant hoopla, the holiday just sort of faded from prominence for me.

However, this time of year is so full of rebirth and the absolutely amazing way that nature wakes, making food grow out of dirt, decorating our environment with flowers and greenery, and that is certainly something I can celebrate.

This evening, I plan on celebrating in my own way, with a tasty adult beverage, and reading the second chapter of Through Shade and Shadow over on my Facebook author’s page.  If you missed the first chapter, it’s loaded up on my You Tube Channel, and I’ve put it here for your happy viewing.

I will link them all in a playlist to make it easier for y’all to watch in a continuous stream.  If the weather stays nice this evening, I may even move this chapter outdoors.

I’m knee deep in consolidating feedback from my beta readers on The Blood Witch, and once I have it all noted down in my printed out copy, I plan to do a slow read through it to mark up with my own notes/additions, etc, before I bring it back to the computer.

I really love these characters, and I can’t wait until I can share them with all of you, though that might be a while, as I plan to do the “query” fun to maybe find an actual agent to represent me, because as much as I appreciate my current publisher, I am ready to move beyond what they can provide.

In the meantime, I’m sure we can find other stuff to keep you entertained.

Did you know I have an Instagram?   To help relieve my own boredom, I’ve started an impromptu photo project with a Porg named Joe and his good friend, the Child from the Mandalorian.  The hashtag #theadventuresofbabyyodaandporgjoe will take you to their shenanigans, though I missed tagging the first few.  (Yes, I really am that dork).

Okay, on that note, I should get my day going.  My edits are staring at me and my coffee’s gone cold.  I should probably think about eating something too.

I hope you have the best day. Stay safe, stay home and wash your hands!  Love you all!

Cover Photo by Sebastian Staines on Unsplash

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this is not the dystopian future I imagined

Hello, Readers!  I hope you are all taking good care of yourself as we isolate ourselves and hope this virus situation doesn’t get any worse.  I’m trying to stay optimistic, but I’ll admit it can be hard.

It’s so weird to see the traffic map completely green!  I’ve been in the SF Bay Area for twenty years, and I’ve never seen it before!  My town, which is normally filled with people out walking is a ghost town.

As someone who has read a LOT of dystopian stories, I’ll admit, when I considered what our future might look like, how our society would fall apart, I did not have my money on virus-caused-economy-crash.

So, how are you occupying your time, Readers?  I hope you have coffee and good books to read.  I’m still job hunting, and in a time like this there are still a lot of job postings, but not so much with the hiring.  It’s going to get worse before it gets better, so remember to wash your hands, stop touching your face, and take care of one another.

This crisis can make us better people, if we let it.  It is already helping out Mother Earth.  Check in on the elderly and vulnerable in your neighborhoods, and remember to keep your distance.

Meanwhile, I have a short story to write and a novel to start editing.  Hopefully some more editing work will be coming my way soon.  Happy Friday, my friends.

Photo by Jeffrey Blum on Unsplash

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the impostor

My beta readers have started to come back with their feedback on the zero draft of The Blood Witch, a thing that always makes me both nervous and excited at the same time.  A lot of people think that writing the book is the hard part, but for me it is always that first flush of feedback.

This is the time when impostor syndrome ratchets up my anxiety into the stratosphere.  What if I’m wrong and the story sucks?  What if people are lying to me about my ability to write?  What if none of them like it?

Then when the actual feedback starts coming in, I have to work overtime to keep my brain from saying “See, I told you.  You suck.  Even they think so,” when in fact the feedback is largely positive, with the bits each reader thought needed more information, or didn’t quite work, which is, after all, the reason for beta readers.  Eyes other than mine, able to pick out the places where the story needs work.

Some of what I’ve heard so far are things I knew, things already on my list of “needs fixing” and/or “needs work”.  Some of it comes from folks who are not US natives, which helps a lot, because I don’t think about things like “non-US folk won’t know how our foster care system works” while I’m writing.

I’m still waiting for a few folks, so I’m not going to start edits just yet, just update my lists and maybe start a read through of my own to add to those lists as well.

The day job continues to be elusive for the moment, but I’m hoping something is coming my way soon.  Had a pretty decent interview on Friday, and I submitted a bunch of applications in the last few days, including one to Lucasfilm for an editing position (fingers crossed).

Did you remember to spring forward this morning?  It’s later than you think it is!  Time for coffee and a peruse of Facebook and Linked In before I go start some laundry and other fun chores.

Happy Sunday, Readers!  May it rain kindness upon you.

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

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the games people play

Wow, how did we get to March so fast?!  Seems like we were only just sludging our way through the year of January, and now we’ve made a slide into March.  My plans to take over the world have fallen seriously behind.  Something must be done!

No, seriously, while things are ugly in the world of politics and the scare of a global pandemic is emptying shelves in the stores around the country, and the fact that I still do not have gainful employment, I’m doing pretty good.  At least through April, because I have my rent paid that far ahead.  So, I better find something pretty fast.

Honestly, I’d be surprised if some of the sluggishness in hiring is the uncertainty of the world right now.  I’ve seen the same technical writer jobs with the same companies posted and reposted on all the job boards since early in January.  At least one of them every few weeks since last summer, YIKES.

Add to that the fact that I refuse, at fifty one years old, to spend four hours of my day (on a good day) in the car to get to and from a job, and I’m left here trying to manifest a job that has yet to come into sight.  It is out there though.  I’m sure of it.

In the meantime, I write, I rummage and ransack job boards, I keep lists of places and jobs I have applied to, and I have rediscovered my love for story based video games.  I suck at them (as an example, I spent almost two hours yesterday trying to defeat the first serious “boss” in Jedi: Fallen Order…and gave up for the day without doing it…got her down to about half health a couple of times, but I’m not coordinated enough to dodge and stuff, and she’s wicked fast).

I am considering developing an online course for writers struggling with the concepts of Point of View and maybe a few others like it, but I have no concept of what to charge for something like that.  I’ve been coaching and beta-reading for years, but always in areas I can’t claim on a resume, so I’m thinking maybe I could formalize what I’ve been doing.  I’m also going to revamp my editing offerings, make them simpler.

Plus, it’s time for Pride to ramp up.  Had my first management meeting yesterday.  Got some exciting new ideas flowing there.  I hope it pays off.

For now, the coffee is hot and I need to start my daily haunting of Linked In and Glassdoor and Indeed…I’ve stopped using Monster (because holy hell the crap recruiters try to shovel in my direction from there) and even Career Builder (for much the same reason) which used to be my go-to sites for job hunting.

Happy Wednesday, Readers.  May kindness find you!

 

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words and witchery

This week I finished the zero draft of The Blood Witch!  It is currently in the hands of my first beta reader. No matter how many times I finish writing a book, it always comes with a thrill of accomplishment.

This book was born two years ago while at Sirens.  The main character, Thána Alizon, came to me fully whole.  I knew who she was, what her backstory was, and where the story would take her.  I wasn’t sure how we were going to get there, but that’s what the writing process is all about, getting from here to there.

Thána took a back seat for a while as I worked on another project, which got shelved last November when I decided to make The Blood Witch my nanowrimo project, just to see if I could get it up on its feet.

NANO was a success, pushing The Blood Witch to within spitting distance of the final climax and resolution.  December, however, when I wanted to be writing, there were a bazillion obligations and stresses that kept me from writing.  The same for January.  I guess the blessing in not working right now was that it afforded me the time to finish.  I wrote the last ten thousand words over the course of about two days.

Of course, writing a book is only the beginning.  The hard work comes after the last word is on the page.  There’s beta readers/critique partners who are the first to see the raw manuscript, a first edit pass, a second edit pass, then comes submission time, and this time around I plan on querying agents to try a more traditional publishing path, which I’ve never done, so I have no idea how long that will take.

Once the agent sells the book to a publisher, there’s another round or two of edits, cover design, etc.  It can take a year to go from purchased manuscript to a book out in the wilds.  The road is long, and the pay isn’t great, if you get paid at all, unless you manage to hit it big.

But, the satisfaction in finishing that zero draft is still there, even if it never sells.

Happy Thursday, Readers.  I’m out of coffee, so I guess that means it’s time to get some stuff done on the job hunting front.

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taking the next step

I’m sitting here in the dark, quiet morning, sipping on coffee and getting words down on the page.  In a little bit I will go dig at the job boards and such for new, exciting places to submit my resume to, but for now it’s just me and my story.

Yesterday was a good writing day with close to five thousand words by the time I was done, and that was largely the climax of the book.  I love when words come so easily.  I’m not far from done with my zero draft now.

My love for these characters is large.  My MC is more like me than any other character I have ever written, or maybe she’s more like the me I wanted to be.  Either way, she is maybe my favorite character since Amara in Forever.

Once I’m done, I’ll compile the project (I’m working in Scrivener as an experiment) and export it to a word or pdf document and have a couple beta readers give it a good read to identify anything too out there, too unbelievable and plot holes.

Then it will be time for my first edit pass.  After that, I’ll pay a professional editor to give it a good working over.  And another edit pass.  At that point, I’ll be ready to start querying agents, which I’ve never done and is rather terrifying. But it’s time to take the next step in my writing career.

Happy Monday, Readers!  I need more coffee.

Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash