The Stages of Writing

I got the outline for the Nano romance put together over the weekend, and it came in at 45 scenes, which is about what I was aiming for. Some of the scenes will be a ton of fun to write, too, so I’m starting to get excited about November. However. (Isn’t there always a however?)…

We’ve all heard about voice. We even (kind of) know what it is. What we struggle with is how to find our own. Wikipedia says: Writer’s voice is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice was generally considered to be a combination of a writer’s use of syntax,…

You know how sometimes you think you know what’s coming next? Life is predictable but not boring. It’s pretty good, in fact. That was last week. You know how sometimes a 180 degree pivot feels like you’re going backwards? I mean, that’s what the symbol refers to, isn’t it? But you know how other times,…

I’m finally getting my brain wrapped around revising Marks of Repentance. It helps that these chapters are amongst my favorites. You wouldn’t believe how many *was* I’ve squashed, though. And *this*. And prepositional phrases. I think the things breed when I’m not looking. Onward ho. One quarter done this pass!

It took three days of wrastling with words, but the massive rewrite chapter (3269 words) is in place. At least the first draft of it is. Now I can finish up the last few chapters, in which I don’t think there are any huge problems, just minor adjustments. At least in comparison! Then it will…