What do you look for when editing?

I've done numerous blogs on editing, and every book it seems I approach it "just a little bit" differently.

I'm pleased to tell you I've finished the next book! Well, almost. Aside from editing. The difference in this book lies in the fact I haven't been doing "interim" editing. Generally speaking, there comes a point where I get stuck and have to refresh my memory, so in the writing process, I very often will go back to the beginning and read what I have to get a running start. And sometimes, my characters take an unexpected turn and lead me another direction, which means going back to the beginning to adjust for their poor sense of direction. In any event, by the time I finish my first draft, it isn't unusual that I've read the book a couple of times already in various iterations. That wasn't the case with this one.

I had a fairly clear plot line, and I'm working with characters I know. Yes, I had the occasional "I didn't see that coming," but nothing that required a do-over. I didn't have to go back and readjust the course of the novel. That's good, right? Well, maybe.

As I got to the end, I decided I'd better go back to the beginning and read for continuity and "holes." One of my standard editing passes. Because I haven't been backtracking along the way, I found a lot of sloppiness! I took my time, filling in holes and fixing the careless errors, and got pretty close to the end before I found "THE HOLE" that would require backtracking and foreshadowing. It was the one part of the story that as soon as I'd written, I sat back and did a "Whoa! Didn't see that coming!" Yes, even as the one making this stuff up, my characters still surprise me. Despite having a general idea where I'm going and what's going to happen, every now and then the words come out unexpectedly. Even after I'd written it, I didn't stop to consider readers would want some sort of heads-up. That's the point of an editing pass. Seeing those kinds of issues. It's a reference back to book 1 (Horned Owl Hollow) but I'm willing to bet a lot of readers wouldn't remember. It was a small point, after all. It became a much bigger point in this book, and for those readers who didn't read book 1, they aren't going to have any idea what I'm talking about. Not to mention returning readers will want a reminder. So the "memos for next time" (the next editing pass) include dropping in hints about the "Whoa!" moment. Foreshadowing. 

With that pass completed, it will be on to see how I did. Does the foreshadowing work? Or have I overdone it? Does the story flow? "Regular" editing will ensue, the proofreading end of things and "scrubbing" of unnecessary words. 

I'm looking at a September release date. In the meantime, Horned Owl Hollow is out in audio (in case you want to refresh your memory while you're waiting). 

Is Artificial Intelligence Intelligent?

On my soapbox today.

You see the stories everywhere. Is AI safe? Will it take over the world? Will computers finally replace humans on the planet?

There are very few applications for AI that I think are necessary. One person's opinion. Already, computers are doing things for us that diminish our ability to think and create and process information. I used to know the phone numbers of all my friends and family. Now, I hit a button. If you asked me for one of those numbers, I'd have to look it up. I do NOT think that is a step in the right direction. What if I don't have my phone with me and I'm in trouble? What if I need someone to call my family for help? I can't tell them the phone numbers, because I don't use them anymore. A computer does it for me. 

Yes, I believe computers can be helpful tools, but they have gone so far beyond helpful. Now they are intrusive to the point where we don't always know what the truth is (because AI is so convincing) and people don't have to think for themselves. We NEED to think for ourselves. 

Here's the link

With all that being said, I don't want to be left behind and ignore progress. I will NOT use AI to write my stories for me. It's my imagination, after all. But recently I was given the opportunity to have AI read one of my books into audio format. Why not? I mean, it was worth checking out, right? So I did. The narration of Heart for Rent, With an Option isn't horrible, although I'll admit I haven't listened to the whole darn thing. It's only available on Apple, but you're welcome to give it a listen. I'm not an audiobook kind of person, personally, and of the handful of audiobooks I've attempted, I've only actually enjoyed one of them--and that one was read by an actress who was VERY engaging. We're talking some of my favorite books, and I was only able to stay awake through the one. 

So where does that leave me? It was an experiment. I can't see myself using AI for the rest of my books. Where is the artistic control? I really should listen to the whole thing to see if they were able to pronounce some of the French in the story, or if they emphasized words in the right places. While the voice isn't "flat," it doesn't carry the same engagement. It's someone reading the story to me. I'd rather have someone acting it out. 

What do you think? Is AI going one step too far? Is it useful in some scenarios? Or are we moving into an Isaac Asimov story where AI takes over the world? 

Ghosts in the sidewalk

While I was "out and about" the other day, I came across handprints in the sidewalk. Not unusual, really, but it took me back to a time when I was very young, when I imagined all sorts of macabre things. 

There was a house on the corner, a big, old house with an apron under the porch that had a hatch for access. Heck, our house had a hatch, too, but I never imagined what my parents might keep under there, although it made for excellent storage (my parents didn't use it for anything other than access to the addition on the back of the house). I probably only saw the hatch on our house open once or twice in my entire life. But that house on the corner...

The family had two sons, both older than me and my sisters (or maybe as old as at least one of my sisters, although I don't remember for sure. I only remember they were much older than me). The one son, Doug, had long hair, and for whatever reason, I can remember watching him dry it in front of a fan. Keep in mind, this is back in the days of the song from Hair about "long-haired, freaky people," so he was a bit of an anomaly. Nice enough guy, as much as I remember. What does all this have to do with handprints in the sidewalk?

In the sidewalk that ran beside their house, their older son had carved his name in the wet cement. Because we're talking so many years ago, I can't recall if there was also a handprint, but I remember seeing the name and asking the people who lived there, as an inquisitive young child might do, whose name it was. Turns out Doug had an older brother, one who'd died, forever memorialized by his name in the cement of the sidewalk. Other than that small piece of information, no one ever told me anything more. I don't suppose there was more to the tragic story. I remember tracing the letters he'd left in the wet cement and trying to conjure him. In my vivid imagination, I imagined all sorts of things, starting with the hatch under the porch. Was he buried in there? This idea probably came from watching the old Peter Cushing / Christopher Lee Dracula movies. I can't imagine why else I would have dreamed up such a thing, and yet the idea stuck with me. For years. 

That family moved out, and another family moved in. I grew up and became the babysitter for the new owners' tribe of children. Few things made my uneasy growing up - I wasn't easily spooked - but once I'd decided the older son was buried under the porch, I never moved past wondering who was buried behind the hatch under the front porch. Even when I knew better. I'm quite sure I even saw that hatch opened a time or two, but guess who stayed far away from it? 

This author.

"Normal" people see handprints in the sidewalk, or other markings people leave in wet cement and see them for what they are. Vandalism. Hah. Well, maybe, but most people see them as remembrances. Or ways to mark their territory. Like taking chalk to create hopscotch, only more permanent. *Sigh* I suppose I was never normal. 

 

The long awaited excerpt

I know, I know. I've been promising you a teaser for weeks, but it's still under construction, doncha know. But a promise is a promise, and so here is a taste of the new book. What do you think?