Lately, I have been selecting posts from my blog to post on fb. I try to chose ones that have themes that can be applied to things other than writing or to life in general.
Like most writers, I edit everything I write. I sometimes have to force myself to use common abbreviations when texting or posting things on fb, but whenever I can I spell everything out correctly, use proper punctuation and grammar. Unless I'm tired or in a hurry, I meticulously re-read and edit even my short, personal emails.
So when I read each blog post as I am considering which ones to choose for fb, I am always surprised to have to edit them - again. I find punctuation, spelling and grammar errors, typos and awkward sentences.
We never stop learning how to write better , but our editing skills must improve continuously as well.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Learning From Mistakes
My friend Karen (mywritingloft.blogspot) has begun a series of blogs on 366 lessons she has learned about writing. In one of them she says that every writer should have a process and in another she explains what her process is. Lucky for her, she learned her process while writing a screenplay and was able to apply it successfully to her novel.
I have completed two novels, (not counting ones that are finished-but-not-finished because I never revised them enough to consider them as good as they can be - but have not given up on and plan to continue working on again in the future), and I don't think I have a defined process yet.
I have learned a few lessons about the way not to do things. On my first novel, I wanted to get the bones of the story down first, so I wrote the whole thing, concentrating on just the main plot. This left me with a 35,000 word (barely a novella) manuscript that was a very simple story. Then I created a few subplots and set about weaving them into the main plot.
It was a nightmare. Two thirds of the way through, the 3 or 4 strands of the story were a hopeless snarl. I had to virtually rewrite the whole book, going back to the bare bones and starting again. The main thing I learned from this was that I am not a good enough writer yet to manage a complex story plot, or even more than a main plot and two uncomplicated subplots. I am in fact now working on revision 5 (or 7) of that book and almost have all the tangles out. Maybe a process would have helped me avoid this.
What I ended up doing with this first book was adding the subplots into the main plot in a staggered manner so I never had more weave together than I could manage. This worked well in my second book also and I was able to add the subplots or complications to the main plot at intervals and avoid the mess I made of the first book.
I followed the generally accepted advice of setting aside each book when I was done with the first draft and going on to the next project. When I'm done with final revisions to book one in a couple of weeks, I will begin the second revision to book two. I'm hoping it will not need a half dozen revisions (and two years) to complete. Then maybe I will learn more about developing my own process.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
I have completed two novels, (not counting ones that are finished-but-not-finished because I never revised them enough to consider them as good as they can be - but have not given up on and plan to continue working on again in the future), and I don't think I have a defined process yet.
I have learned a few lessons about the way not to do things. On my first novel, I wanted to get the bones of the story down first, so I wrote the whole thing, concentrating on just the main plot. This left me with a 35,000 word (barely a novella) manuscript that was a very simple story. Then I created a few subplots and set about weaving them into the main plot.
It was a nightmare. Two thirds of the way through, the 3 or 4 strands of the story were a hopeless snarl. I had to virtually rewrite the whole book, going back to the bare bones and starting again. The main thing I learned from this was that I am not a good enough writer yet to manage a complex story plot, or even more than a main plot and two uncomplicated subplots. I am in fact now working on revision 5 (or 7) of that book and almost have all the tangles out. Maybe a process would have helped me avoid this.
What I ended up doing with this first book was adding the subplots into the main plot in a staggered manner so I never had more weave together than I could manage. This worked well in my second book also and I was able to add the subplots or complications to the main plot at intervals and avoid the mess I made of the first book.
I followed the generally accepted advice of setting aside each book when I was done with the first draft and going on to the next project. When I'm done with final revisions to book one in a couple of weeks, I will begin the second revision to book two. I'm hoping it will not need a half dozen revisions (and two years) to complete. Then maybe I will learn more about developing my own process.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
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