You know how you try clothes on before deciding what to wear on a date? Do you iron those clothes before holding them in the mirror? I hope not, because that’ll be like undoing your pants to fart. Yet that’s how most writers tend to approach the first draft. They iron their clothes, spritz on […]
How Drafting Longhand Can Enhance Your Writing
Editing is a painful, but necessary process. Blegh.
And to complicate matters, it’s not a process that is easily repeatable from one chapter to the next.
In preparing my manuscript to begin querying agents this year, I am dissecting each chapter, slashing content, adding content, moving content–everything I possibly can to make this novel the best it can be. And in this process, I am incorporating feedback from my critique group as well.
Objective third parties are amazing! If you don’t have a critique group, get one.
Here are my youtube shorts for this month describing the issues I discovered in my manuscript, what I decided was the best method to resolve them, and what my critique group thought about those methods.
There are a few general writing tips in there as well that you will hopefully find useful whether you are writing a new story or editing an existing one.
Please subscribe to my blog and youtube channel for future videos!
Chapter 23 was a total rewrite vs just an edit, which can be tricky when polishing a manuscript as a final draft. Predictably, my critique group found a few residual issues.
Chapter 25 went under the knife! See why moving half of the chapter to another character’s POV was necessary, and why I thought my characters needed major reworking here. This one made me nervous too because there’s a steamy sex scene in it!
What did my critique group have to say about my sex scene and my re-characterization of these two characters?
The small changes I’ve been making so far are beginning to amount to some pretty drastic plot alterations, resulting in another complete rewrite of a chapter, but for different reasons than chapter 23.
My critique group had some great feedback for my edit of chapter 26 here, providing an excellent example of “Author Blindness”. With the right tools, this writer’s ailment can be remedied.
“What do my characters do while they wait for the big battle?” Enter the mid-novel slog and exactly where this chapter lands. This is a BIG issue. Mid-novel slog is never a good thing.
Critique group comments on mid-novel slog and my solution to this problem: add more chapters!
Happy Writing!
~MJ & Petey
Petey says hello!
Sometimes that masterpiece needs a complete rewrite. Here are some reasons why mine did.
If you want to skip to a helpful writing tip, you can jump to 3:18. 🙂
I will be posting a post-critique group video on this same chapter in the future to let you all know what they had to say about it. I’m anxious to learn what my first round of editing missed that they are able to catch. I’m so grateful to my critique group, they truly are an amazing group of writers and are such an incredible resource for me.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe and I’ll see you in a future video!
If this series is helpful for you and you want to learn more about how I can help you polish your novel:
-Check out my writing services
-Follow me on twitter
Happy Writing!
~MJ
What did my critique group have to say about my editing of Chapter 24?
Quite a lot, actually. Click the video below to learn more.
This just goes to show how blinded an author can be to the limitations of their own work, even when they identify and acknowledge issues and try to fix them.
Our greatest challenge is translating what we see in our head to the page, and I’ve found that it’s almost impossible to know if I’ve succeeded in doing that completely unless another person (preferably more than one) reads and critiques it.
Having a critique group to provide insight and feedback is such a great tool and it’s really helped me craft the best version of my story, and it’s what is going to make all the difference in getting this manuscript published.
If you enjoyed this video, please follow my blog and subscribe to my youtube channel, and I’ll see you in a future video!
If this series is helpful for you and you want to learn more about how I can help you polish your novel:
-Check out my writing services
-Follow me on twitter
Happy Writing!
MJ
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlyThe second video of my Editing Series is live!
Chapter 24 is a first draft that I haven’t read since I finished writing it during NaNo 2020. This short video describes the main issues I encountered during editing.
If you want to skip to a helpful writing tip, you can jump to 2:18. 🙂
I will be posting a post-critique group video on this same chapter in the future to let you all know what they had to say about it. I’m anxious to learn what my first round of editing missed that they are able to catch. I’m so grateful to my critique group, they truly are an amazing group of writers and are such an incredible resource for me.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe and I’ll see you in a future video!
If this series is helpful for you and you want to learn more about how I can help you polish your novel:
-Check out my writing services
-Follow me on twitter
Happy Writing!
MJ
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlyAre you struggling with identifying why the novel you completed during NaNoWriMo isn’t ready for publication? Are you curious if other writers experience the same first draft issues that you do?
I am launching a new series on my YouTube Channel: Editing Series (kinda lame name but oh well) which will explore exactly that and offer some writing tips along the way.
I finished a rough draft of my novel during NaNoWriMo 2020 and it needs a lot of work, but I’ve made it my goal to get this novel ready to start querying agents in 2022.
If you are interested in learning how I am going about reaching that goal, and what issues I encounter along the way, please subscribe to my YouTube channel because I will be breaking down each chapter’s issues as I complete them in the hope that it will help me stay on track for my publication goal, and also provide insight into what might be missing from your first draft.
Check out my Introduction video below to learn more:
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe and I’ll see you in a future video!
If this series is helpful for you and you want to learn more about how I can help you polish your novel:
-Check out my writing services
-Follow me on twitter
Happy Writing!
MJ
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlyYou’ve worked diligently on your manuscript for months, maybe years, every word is where it should be, all of your scenes written perfectly to tell the tale. Right?
Wrong.
As you go back through to tighten up your book, it’s natural to find a few things that don’t flow. Maybe an idea you weaved in that didn’t go anywhere. So you tweak, cut, rework. These things are not so hard to part with.
What about entire scenes? Or even plot lines? Or whole characters?
It turns out that the first version of my book, after several beta readers gave me feedback, did not have as cohesive an ending as I believed, and in order to correct this, I’m going to have to cut out and rework some sentimental material.
The main beta reader takeaways were: Too many characters to keep track of, the main characters are scattered all over the map by the end, there’s too strong of a cliffhanger for an ending, nothing is really accomplished, and it feels more like “part 1” instead of book 1.
Ouch.
I’ve done a lot of research into how to end a series book, and there are no hard fast rules. However, there is one overarching guideline: Accomplish something/ tie up a main plot point by the end, reader advised.
This has forced me to reconsider a lot of things that happen in my book, and I’ve come to realize that in situations like this, huge chunks of writing may need to go away. Forever.
Sometimes, especially if you’re writing a series, when you’re really attached to the cut material, you can move it elsewhere. Sometimes in can be saved.
Other times, it just has to go.
“But that character I introduce there is really cool.” Or “that fight scene that happens because of x, y, z is super engaging!” Or “so much information is revealed here.”
I know. I get it. But how do these scenes contribute to the overarching goal of book 1 (or 2 or 3)? Are they really important, or is it fluff? Is it “look at my cool writing skillz”? Or does it reveal too much at once? Is it an infodump?
In my case, I think I can put most of what needs to be cut out in a future book, change some names, etc. Even if I can’t, I have to gulp down my sadness and start slashing and reworking because the end result will be worth it.
My book 1 will feel like a book 1, instead of a part 1. And to my readers who have to wait on book 2, that is an important gift to leave them with as an author: The desire to know what happens next, but closure for the time they have invested.
To sum it up, as an author we need to come to terms with our purpose for writing.
Are we writing for ourselves? Then keep all of your scenes exactly as they are.
Or are we writing to tell a story to other people, who will then want to share it with their friends? Then we’re going to have to evaluate each scene, each plot line, each character, and do some cutting.
We’re all in this together.
Happy writing!
In Evolution of a Manuscript part 1, we discussed scribbling your first draft on the go with gmail (or anything else handy), and then transferring it to your computer to beef it up in your designated writing space. Now, the next step is to take that piece and edit, edit, edit, and edit again.
In this article, I’m going to take you through my process of editing through Microsoft Word and Scrivener, and show you the final product in 6×9, 10 pt font pdf – the closest visually I’m going to get to printed book form. Which is psychologically very satisfying to see as an author–like a glimpse into the future (because my book (and yours) will be published).
Here it is in Word:
Immediately we see squiggly lines indicating bad grammar or misspellings. After fixing these, I was still highly unsatisfied with this opening. It doesn’t put me there enough, it’s too wordy, and I don’t feel like I am Gadnor the way that I want, and visually there is too much white space, it looks unfinished and it reads the same. Also, there are some disjointed sentences about Lithaneva–the “reaction was rooted in something far more complex than surprised guests”–just doesn’t seem very relevant, too vague and wordy and honestly, it doesn’t add to the story much, it doesn’t tell me anything about her. So, I go back to Scrivener, tweak, and here is what I came up with:
This is much better, less white space, there is more happening in the scene. Now, with the addition of audience actions I can get a sense of the room, whereas before I was only getting very wooden “she did, he said” type things and little substance. I still don’t like the first paragraph. “Perplexed” sounds complicated, too much to digest within the first two sentences, and I’m still not feeling as though I am Gadnor. There also seems to be a disjointed organization of people and paragraphs. So, back to Scrivener, and this is what I come up with:
There, now I feel like I have conveyed the awkward feeling well, you know the one where everyone in the room is waiting on someone to say something and they just don’t. I feel like I have captured that now, and I feel like I really am Gadnor. I have also (hopefully) managed to give the reader the sense that Gadnor feels partial to the Princess in a way that is natural, without having to actually state that.
There are some things I still don’t like. There is too much happening in the second paragraph, too many actions by too many people, and the “reveling in it” and “gloried at the spectacle” are rehashes of the same vibe. So, I tweak that a bit and call it good, and now here it is, edited to the point where I’m comfortable with a peer review, in 6×9 10pt font.
It’s very satisfying looking at how it might appear when published. Don’t you think? I encourage you to try this if you haven’t already. When you get your scene how you want it, format it like this and just see how it looks. Read it over, make a change if you feel it’s necessary, and then keep going with the next scene.
Use this visual as a reward for your hard work and a sneak peak at when it all pays off.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Feel free to post in the comments some of your own editing/motivational tricks.
Happy writing!
I’d like to take you through my iterations of a draft, from first conception to final product. I’ve chosen one paragraph to do this way and dissect–the opening of my latest scene as of 7 March 2020. Hopefully, you will come to the determination that the final draft is a good one, and one that is as close as possible to being publish worthy.
Gmail draft: Gmail is an excellent conduit for writing on the go. When you’re not in front of your desk or designated writing area, gmail is at your fingertips anywhere and everywhere, and will save your muse’s life. It’s accessibility from any device is a godsend. Boring meetings? Pull up your draft in Gmail. Bad gas station sushi? Pull up your draft in Gmail. On hold? Pull up your draft in Gmail. Listening to your boss drone on in a meeting? You get the idea.
Here is the conception of my on-the-go draft in Gmail:
Rough huh? Yea…
Here it is again, copied into Scrivener and polished up a bit sitting in my designated writing area–my lovely desk in a room full of windows with a view at my lovely garden–this an important distinction for every writer:
This is less rigid, a little more sensory, and a bit less disjointed, but it still feels choppy. There are several bits that don’t flow as smooth as I want. Also, the POV, Gadnor, comes off too creepy in the first paragraph, and the sentence about Princess Lithaneva being wary doesn’t exactly seem to fit–wary of what? There really isn’t anything mentioned yet that warrants that reaction. The last sentence is also very wordy and redundant.
Also, this draft feels like it’s from the POV of an onlooker, and my goal is to transport the reader so they become the main character, and this doesn’t quite feel like I’ve done that.
So, with a few changes with those bits in mind, here is what I came up with:
It’s not at all ready, but it’s on it’s way to becoming something I feel good about showing to the world. I’ll sleep on this and take another look tomorrow. Stay tuned for part 2 of Evolution of a Manuscript.
I’ve made some excellent progress this week and exceeded my goal to fill in the missing pieces of the scene. The pieces are in and I’ve started my editing process. I’m currently on step 5.
Every step reveals something that needs changing, something that doesn’t look or sound right, or something that’s still missing or would sound better restructured, cut, or moved somewhere else. I cannot stress the importance of self-editing enough.
The original v12 version had a dream sequence before this particular scene I’m writing happens, and I’m seriously debating putting it back in. It might be important for character development…not necessarily for the plot at this point though, which is why I wanted to cut it. It’s a bit of a dilemma, but I think I’m going to add it back in. It does reveal to the reader a little something about this character, and also throws a little mystery in there too.
So my goal for this week is to finish up editing this scene and get it sent off to a peer for review, and also get the first paragraph of the dream sequence written. I won’t have a chance to write much this weekend so hopefully I’ll be able to accomplish this!
Happy writing!
