Eclectic. Different. Tunes for the week. It’s more about the song, Rolling in the Deep, than it is about the artists. Enjoy.
The first is Linkin Park singing Rolling in the Deep LIVE. It’s an awesome cover. OMG.
And now here is Adele’s original version.
And finally, here is a piano/cello instrumental version. Awesome. Seriously.
I normally don’t write a whole lot about my writing process. While I think writing is endlessly fascinating, I don’t think non-writers think that at all. Not a lot of action happens when I write, well other than typing my ideas into the computer. lol So I try to make this blog about more interesting things. Things that interest me. But every once in a while, I like to share what I’m writing as well as how I write. Today is a process piece. It’s all about editing.
This is not an advance class on editing. It is my technique for editing. I do one big edit and then I am done. I use a combo of Holly Lisle and Rachel Aaron‘s technique. Do what works for you. Like both of them, however, I do believe there is such a thing as over editing and diminishing returns on additional edits.
I print out my manuscript. That’s right. I don’t do a computer edit, not at first. The print out lets me switch from writer to editor mode in my brain. I become the teacher with a red pen. Then, I let it sit for at least 24 hours. Other people let it sit for weeks, months, etc. I can’t do that. I have a driving need to finish what I start. And having a polished, edited manuscript is the end of writing that book. For me at least.
1. Read the entire document through. Either underline or put check marks by misspelled words. Every time you see a time- day, hour, month, etc., reference write it down in a separate notebook making a timeline. On another sheet, write down plot holes, things that didn’t explained, characters introduced but not developed, etc. Big huge glaring things. Add a note of the page number.
2. Now read through again. Start scene analysis. Do this scene by scene. I write primarily romances. So I ask the question: Does this scene further the romance? Does it develop either character? Does the scene further the conflict by my heroine/hero? If not, mark it out. Fix timelime issues. You will be able to see them from the timeline you made. Fill in plot holes, explain the unexplained, remove undeveloped characters or add stuff to develop them. Remove extraneous words. Is the scene a mini-story? Could better words be used? Your pages on paper should look like it is bleeding red. lol
3. Start on page one and start making your corrections into the computer version of your document. If you found some stuff as you correct, if it is little things… fix as you go. If not, write it down. Make all your corrections from the earlier notes. Fix time and place issues.
4. Do another read through. Write down any errors you see and add it to your list. When you are done, go back and fix all the things wrong on your list by page. Do not start at the beginning again. Just fix your list mistake by mistake.
5. Do a final spellcheck. I usually do a concurrent grammar check as well. But this is fiction so there are a lot of exceptions. Many of you will and can skip adding in the grammar checker.
6. Now, let it sit for 24 hours. Either load your document onto a kindle or make a pdf file. Read it through from beginning to end like a reader. Use your reader brain. Does it work? Do your words flow? Is it a good story? Make logical sense?
7. Fix any errors caught on the read through like a reader reads. lol Do a final spellcheck.
8. Put the frickin thing away as you send it out into the big, wide world. 🙂
Viola, you are finished. And that is how I edit.
It used to take me two weeks to edit a manuscript of 20-30K words because I didn’t plot out my stories. Then I started using a vague basic outline and my editing time diminished. Now, I write using a detailed outline and my editing time is cut almost by half to two-thirds. Why? Because I normally don’t have huge plot gaps anymore, or timeline issues- they got resolved in my outline already. Sometimes my characters do something I didn’t outline, so I just put it into my outline, work out further problems later in my outline that occur as a result and viola, back to using my outline for my story. I just started doing this for my last manuscript. The difference is AMAZING.
An outline also helps in writing a synopsis. I already have the bones to the synopsis in the outline. Easy peasy. I will never write without a detailed outline again. Not only does it help with my writing, it is invaluable at the end when I am editing. Cuts my work time in half.
Start another manuscript while your finished manuscript is marinating. Then you can either edit straight through or write half the time/edit half the time. The choice is yours.
Okay. I like the internet. It has made my life infinitely easier. Not better. Just easier. So here are some more places for you to visit when you’re on your computer and need to waste a little time or just want to find some cool crap.
Ill Will Press has some of the funniest videos that are so wrong on so many levels, you can’t help but enjoy it. Some of them will make you just laugh out loud, for realz. 🙂
Touch the Sky has tree camping. That’s right, you read it here… TREE CAMPING. I didn’t even know this existed. Now I can’t wait to do it. I found them through a magazine article. Then I looked it up and there are several outfits that do this. How cool is that?!?! I bet there’s even one in your area.
Rusty Moore is a fitness trainer in Seattle. He helps a lot of people look fit but not like steriod pumped people. He has a program specifically for women, who don’t want to look like a mini Arnold Schwarzenegger. Its his Visual Impact for Women. Click the link, listen to his video and decide if the price is right. I think it is.
Now for a writer page or two. 🙂 These are the pages I use when I am editing. Or in other words, ripping apart my manuscript so that I can put it all back together again better than before. Many people use Holly Lisle’s One Pass Manuscript Revision. I also like Rachel Aaron’s Editing for People who hate Editing. I use a combo of both. I took what I liked from each of them and used them together. And in life, as in most things like writing, that’s the way it should be. Take what you need, leave the rest.
Doing AW‘s June Blog Chain again. Might the last for a bit. I got a lot on my plate right now.
This month’s prompt:
BugsYep. Bugs. Simple and easy. Prose, poetry, play. Fiction, nonfiction. It’s all good, all bugs.
Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. I’ll let you know in this thread when it’s your turn. Once your turn comes up, you have two days to complete a blog post using the prompt. When you are finished, please add a link to your post on the thread.Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible.
“Don’t let them escape,” she cried.
“I’m tryin’ not to,” he answered.
“Oh my god. Get them.” She was horrified.
Silas wasn’t a very forgiving overseer. Not even a drop of compassion flowed through his veins. She and Orrin would be written up and their pay docked. The last thing she could afford was to have her pay docked.
“Hurry and get ‘em back into their containment units, Chessie,” Orrin’s tone was forceful while his voice was low. “Mebbe they won’t notice. Or mebbe we can tell ‘um they died in the unit.”
“That won’t work Orrin. They added the unit weight monitors yesterday. The units just got calibrated,” her voice held the resignation she felt. “It’s useless. I’ll file the report.”
“Shit.”
It wasn’t a minute after she hit send on the report, the communicator on the console started beeping. She didn’t want to hit the green button, but she did.
“Ms. de Marco?” asked Silas.
“Yes, this is she,” she answered, albeit reluctantly.
“I see from the report, your team lost a little under a gross of cockroaches,” he said. His voice held neither disapproval or approval.
“Yes sir. That’s correct,” she said. “It was my fault, sir. Mr. Abernathy bears no fault.”
“I noted that on the report as well,” he stated.
“It’s the truth,” she said emphatically. “Although Orrin helped me when I tried to get them back. They ran, sir. We couldn’t catch them.”
“The loss of the gross will cost the company just under $10,000 dollars, Ms. de Marco. How do you propose to rectify this situation?” Silas asked her.
“Well, I’ve given it some thought, sir. I would be willing to be docked half pay and work over time for the remaining portion,” she suggested.
“Acceptable,” Silas told her. Again, no inflection in his voice to indicate emotions running one way or another. “Computer please note the date and time of the agreement.”
“Agreement noted and entered,” a chipper female voice acknowledged.
“Will that be all sir?” she asked miserably.
“Yes. Good day,” Silas sign off. The communicator beeping one long beep to indicate the call was over.
“Crap,” she cursed.
“Doan worry, Chessie. I kin share my rations. I know you need ‘em,” Orrin offered.
“This can’t go on Orrin. We need to figure out a way to get the overflow when we open the units,” she said.
“How kin we do that if the company hasn’t?” Orrin asked.
“The company doesn’t care Orrin,” she said. “They dock the workers pay if any of those bugs get out. So they don’t have a profit loss. No profit loss equals no motive to fix the situation.”
“I guess that’s true,” Orrin agreed.
“Well we might as well eat lunch while we think about it,” she told him.
“Alright,” he agreed readily.
Orrin hit a series of buttons. Two bowls appeared with grayish extruded paste in them. He handed one to her and kept the other for himself.
“Hot sauce?” he offered her the bottle.
She took it. While the paste was nutritious, it tasted bad.
“Thanks. I can’t stand the taste plain,” she told him. “Since I started working here. Seeing how they live, I have to put something on it.”
“I just like the hot sauce,” Orrin grinned at her. “Even if the paste didn’t taste like shit, I’d put some on there.”
She didn’t say anything in response. There wasn’t really anything to say. So they finished their meal in silence. Each lost in their own worlds. She was pretty sure they were two vastly different worlds, but still, Orrin had his moments.
He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but he was funny and nice. He was real nice. He’d helped her out on more than one occasion.
“Do you think we’ll ever get anything else to eat?” she wondered out loud. “I read about all the food that didn’t survive and I can’t imagine what they’d taste like.”
“I dunno, Chessie. Mebbe someday, the ground will grow things again. Or they’ll find somethin’ sides us and the bugs survived,” he said. “Until then, at least we kin eat all we want. Working with the food gots some benefits.”
“Yeah, at least my kid won’t starve,” she said sadly. “He just won’t have much besides food for a while.”
“Naw, girl. I told you I’d help out. And I will,” he said good naturedly.
“I can’t let you do that Orrin. You’ve been helping me out too much,” she said. “Who knew taking care of the food was so difficult?”
“They’re just particular. They don’t want ‘em to get out in case some other folks start to breed ‘em too. Then if everybody could grow ‘em and breed ‘em, the company’s profits would go down,” he said in a surprising moment of insight.
“Yeah. That makes sense,” she said. “It was just easier when I work part time in the office before Eric died, you know?”
“Yeah. I do,” he patted her shoulder. “Welp, it’s time to water the little buggers. Got to keep ‘em plump so they weigh more for sale.”
“Better than feeding them,” she shivered. She hated feeding them. Hated dealing with the corpses. The cyclical nature of the how they bugs ate human corpses, getting fat and then the bugs were ground into paste to feed living humans. Well, it just kind of freaked her out. If she’d never worked in this department, she wouldn’t have it in her face. She could have pretended. But when you’re the one feeding the damn things, it was real hard to pretend.
“Now ain’t that the truth.”
“You’re right. Let’s get back to work,” she sighed. “But one of these days, I am going to figure out how to get them from one unit to another without losing any of them.”
“That’d be a good thing, Chessie. Help us both out,” Orrin grinned at her.
Micro-farming cockroaches was essential now they were the only source of protein left on Earth. Well other than humans. But no one wanted to go there. At least not yet.
Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Diem_Allen – http://mindovermistakes.blogspot.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post) <————————–me
Lady Cat – http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.ca (link to post)
U2Girl – http://ancatdubh.org (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
SuzanneSeese – http://www.viewofsue.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
robynmackenzie – http://iwanttobeawesomewhenigrowup.com/ (link to post)
Sunwords – http://susannedoering.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
susanielson – http://somesemblancethereof.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
HistorySleuth – http://historysleuth.blogspot.com (link to post)
SRHowen – http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Lyra Jean – http://beyondtourism.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
xcomplex – http://arielemerald.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
milkweed – http://www.thistlequill.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Gonna do something a little different for my smutty sunday recs this time. Normally, I try to give recs in various genres so that there’s a little something for everybody instead of just for the smut and smex readers.
But I got an advance copy of Kristen Ashley‘s book Fire Inside, her second Chaos Novel from Netgalley. It rocked. Seriously great reading. But before I go into all the reasons why this book rocked, I have to let you know that it is really the third Chaos novel. And we have to talk the the first two before we can talk about this one.
The first Chaos novel was Motorcycle Man. It was the last of her Dream Man series and probably my favorite in that series. It wasn’t my favorite because there were hot dudes on motorcycles. Although, that fact did add to its overall goodness. It was good because the characters in the book were great. I like Tack. And I like Tyra. I would want to know them in real life. They were interesting people living out an interesting life. Sure they had some shit to overcome. That’s called plot. This book also introduced me to the Chaos Motorcycle Club dudes. And what fascinating dudes they were. What I really like most about this book though was that Tyra had her dream life planned out. And she was going to go for the brass ring. She wanted it all, she let people know and then she made it happen. She didn’t want to compromise any component in that dream. She didn’t. Tack was her dream man. He was also good with giving her all the components of her dream life. So it all turned out good but it went bad before it could get there.
The second Chaos book was Own the Wind. It is the first in the Chaos series. It is about Shy and Tabitha. They had secret crushes on each other. Hid those feelings which brought other lovers into their lives. Were enemies at one point and then became friends. It wasn’t until much later they became lovers. Full circle. I didn’t like this book as much as Motorcycle Man or Fire Inside. But it was still a good read. You can’t like all books to an equal degree cause it is just impossible. some you just like more than others. The female character in this book wasn’t one I connected with as well as the other two. So there you have it. I gotta think the dude it hot. But I also have to like the girl. I liked Tab, I just didn’t like her enough. If you see what I mean.
Now, we get to Fire Inside. This is Lanie and Hop’s story. Hop is a Chaos brother and Lanie is Tyra’s best friend. Lanie’s old boyfriend, Elliot, got killed in Motorcycle Man. Lanie has taken years to come back to herself. Hop has been there watching it. They are attracted to each other. But it isn’t until Lanie propositions Hop that they get together. There’s drama in this book. But it’s the good kind. Where there’s personal growth, facing demons and becoming a bigger person. Living large instead of getting by small. I really liked Lanie. I really, really like Hop. And I really liked Fire Inside. Get it cause you’ll be rooting for Lanie. But you will be totally cheering for Hop. I liked the girl character in this book as much as I liked the guy character. So buy it and love it like I did.
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