Working on the timeline

If you've read my blog before, you might remember that I have trouble with my timeline management when I write. I've tried several different "hacks" to keep on the straight and narrow, and I'm doing better, but...

One of the hacks is starting off each chapter with what day it is. I even started keeping a calendar beside me so I can put down what is happening on what day. Figuratively, if not literally. That works, until I then screw up the time of day, The last book, I got my days right but lost track of time of day. If X happens at this time of day, Y can't happen in the time span I've laid out. I don't know WHY it's such an issue for me. 

As I'm doing my editing passes on the new book, I'm starting with the timeline pass. In spite of best efforts, I've proven it's a necessary step. I have consciously avoided using days of the week, largely because they aren't important to the time in this book, and yet, aren't they? As I began the pass, I made notes. Day 1 - No date reference. Day 2 - no date reference. But then I noted something else. Elle is working at the store, and the store is only open four days a week, so that constitutes a time stamp. Likewise, she ISN'T working on Day 1, so that's also a time stamp. Right off the bat I need to pay attention to the dates I didn't think I needed to pay attention to. But THEN "something bad happens" that disrupts the timeline. So maybe it DOESN'T matter. (but it always does). At any rate, I've completed the timeline pass. The book encompasses approximately two weeks and three months, respectively. Now that I've highlighted what day is which and why it matters, I need to go back against a calendar and make sure it tracks. That should be the hardest part. Then, on to the copyediting phase. 

I'm still on track for an April release, and I'm still liking the working title - A JANE DOE GHOST. You like?

And now, I need to get back to work. I've had more distractions than usual this month - more on that another time.

The inspiration

History repeats itself

Every time I finish a book, it's the same thing. History repeating itself.

This post might get a little rambly, so apologies in advance. 

The good news - I've finished the first draft of my next book (due out next year. Watch this space for more information). I have a date with the editor and I've contacted my cover artist. 

The bad news - this is when the real work starts. My editor doesn't want a sloppy first draft. She wants a "clean" version, which means the self-editing begins in earnest. The usual passes for continuity, filler words, overused words and phrases. Also keeping a sharp eye out for comma splices and dangling participles.

Finishing the writing part means I feel less guilty about taking reading breaks, and I have several books sitting in my TBR pile that I'm falling behind on. One series in particular has three books waiting for me. So I dug into the first one.

And here's some of that rambling. As an author, I've struggled a bit during the last year and a half thanks to the news cycles and isolation, as have many other authors that I've spoken with. Somehow, I'd like to believe the big names aren't having issues with lockdowns and social issues since they continue to produce, but based on the book I just read, that doesn't appear to be the case. As I enter my own self-editing phase, I am more aware of structure and format, and generally I try to turn that editor off when I read for leisure. 

The book I just finished reading, by one of my favorite authors, has again proven that rules are meant to be broken--rules that I don't want to break myself. I guess the reason I'm making this point of reference is because in seeing what she's done "wrong," I sympathize with the struggles we all go through as we put our stories together for consumption. The writing clearly reflects the same lack of focus we're all struggling with right now. She can get away with a lot more because she is a "big name," but along with the hiccups that might jar, she gets all the details right, which makes the story more grounded. Both of these things are lessons to carry with me into my editing process. Stick to the rules (except where it makes sense to break them, and don't be lazy) and pay attention to the details. 

So off I go to clean up the story I've created! 

Tell me, what books are you reading right now?

Why Hire an Editor?

There are times I get all cocky and tell people I used to be an editor, so what do I need to hire one for? I have a firm grasp of the English language. I know how to put sentences together. I have programs that help point out usage that I might have overlooked. And did I mention I have a stellar critique group? Well, here's the thing.

Nobody's Perfect

This is especially true when it comes to reviewing your own work. Humans are flawed, and as such, mistakes will be made. Even with top-notch skills and a strong support group. Things get overlooked. Threads get dropped. 

As I prepare my next Hillendale novel for publication, I'm addressing comments I got back from my editor. The one I hired. Because she sees all the things I miss. Is she perfect? No, but her input elevates my work. As an example...

• I have a thread in the current novel that isn't neatly tied up. "What happened to that one person?" Truth be told, I knew it was hanging out there, but I'd sort of thought maybe no one would care. That was mistake number one. If I don't care, that means my character doesn't care, and that makes her uncaring. Forget the fact this is a made-up person in a made-up world. People should care what happens, especially people we are willing to take the time to invest our energy and emotions into. "That one person" has now been taken care of.
  
  
• Wasn't this different in the last book? See, that's the thing. I keep a series bible. In fact, I wrote a program to make it easier, but in order to keep the facts straight, I have to refer to them. Often. Example #1 is the backstory I presented at the end of Interrupted Magic which "magically" isn't the same as what's presented in this next installment. Well, heck. That isn't going to work, and thinking my readers won't pick up on it? That's just careless. My editor, who has been with me through 17 books now, keeps track of all that stuff. And speaking of continuity...
  
  
• What was the name of that place? Yes, this is also in my series bible, and I KNOW I've referred back to it more than once, but wouldn't you know I STILL wrote the wrong name? Rock Falls/Rock's Edge. And speaking of series bible, here's something you might not know. When I was writing Brian Benson's book for the Epitaph series, I misspelled his name. For 6 books, his name was Brian. Now that he's taking center stage, he's suddenly Bryan. How does that happen?? Well, my editor was on top of it.

As an editor in business, we were often told that internal controls meant you didn't edit your own work. You handed it off to someone with fresh eyes. The three examples I cited are prime reasons that this is good practice. It doesn't matter how good you (think you) are. The main problem with checking your own work is that you become blind to the mistakes. The value of an industry professional with specialized knowledge is well worth the investment. 

I'm expecting ENCHANTED MEMORIES (Hillendale 5) to release on August 3. It should be hitting the stores for preorder this week. Here's the first look at the cover.

Buy it here

Writing Boom and the value of a good editor

When I made my appointment with the editor for my next book, she told me there has been a writing boom. Every author or would-be author has been taking advantage of the enforced downtime to be creative. Getting onto her schedule has required more planning than in the past. I'm delighted for her (she's an excellent editor). For me, that means working to a deadline more than I have in the past. Normally, I'm ahead of my deadlines anyway - a good position to be in. Now I actually have to figure out how long it will take me to write the next book and "book it" months in advance.

I have been with my editor through "sweet" sixteen books. I've tried other editors randomly, one at the beginning (we were NOT a good fit) and another one somewhere in the middle. The thing about editors is having a relationship where you trust their judgment and their industry knowledge. I have an excellent critique group that frequently catches my miscues and has helped me refine my craft, but we are a diverse group. We write different genres, so some of the comments I get don't "cross genres." As with any form of criticism, I often furrow my brow and grumble under my breath until I realize the value of what they're trying to tell me, but sometimes they're just flat out wrong. How much of that is arrogance on my part? That right there - that's where I value my editor the most. I've been writing long enough to know when a critique is spot on (whether I like it or not) and when to disregard the comment. Then there are times when I second-guess myself, and having an editor in my genre who knows "the rules" I'm supposed to abide by is invaluable. For those comments that make me grumbly and I disagree with, it's nice to have validation. 

Editors provide different services, and the other thing about finding "the right" editor is one who complements your skills. No one person is infallible. I have been known to make mistakes, as one of my former coworkers so kindly pointed out on one of my previous blog posts. Editors fall into that category, as well. As a proofreader at the day job, I often ran across instances where five different people overlooked the same mistake. It happens. For that reason, I proof my books several different ways - on screen, on paper, with a narrator. And when I'm done, I read it again. Almost every pass, another mistake will pop up. It happens. I like to believe the multiple passes with the varied ways to force myself to either see or hear the words instead of skimming (because I know what it's suppose to say) help to eliminate the majority of them. Proofreading is a strength of mine. I lean on my editor for different skills - developmental editing and industry knowledge. As a matter of course, she will point out the mechanical errors as well, as she runs across them, but I don't rely on her to catch that stuff. She becomes "the second set of eyes." 

With all that being said, I can say without any hesitation that my books are better for having a professional editor. Thanks, Kelly. And happy sweet sixteen.

What's wrong with this sentence?

When you write something, anything, and then you check it over, often your brain deceives you into seeing what's supposed to be there rather than what's really there. I read my work, I double check my work. My crit partners read my work. My editor reads my work and then I read it again. STILL, there's always something that sneaks through. The same is true in any job, anyone who has to write something, whether it's a technical brief or a legal opinion or a financial report. Multiple eyes on a project and still something will sneak through.

I recently got an email from a friend who pointed something out to me. I swear, it took me reading it three times to realize what was wrong with this sentence, because I know what it's meant to say (but that's not what it says).

They sliced cheese to drink with their wine.

Facepalm.

In this age of technology, the error is easy to fix, but holy cow. With all the people who have read this, you'd think someone would have noticed sooner. One must always factor in for human error.

And now, back to work on the second Hillendale novel. Have you picked up FAMILY ALCHEMY yet?

"The main characters Brynn and her aunt Nora, with their supernatural powers, grab you by the heartstrings right from the start and keep hold until the very last word." - Jennifer L. LeClair

You can buy it here!

Channeling Julia Childs? When to begin the editing process

When you finish cooking something, a roast for instance, quite often you'll let it "rest" after you've taken it out of the oven to finish cooking. Or sometimes with baking, the cooling period is part of the cooking process, giving the creation a chance to set. Or gel. Well, you get the idea.

While I'm always eager to present my work as a finished product, I'm in that "resting" period to give it a chance to breathe. Part of me wants to plunge ahead with the next project, part of me wants to jump into editing mode, and yet another part of me needs to take a mental breather. I'm still in deadline season at the day job, and these next two weeks are going to be mayhem, so the smart thing to do is step away from the story. The distance provides a fresh perspective. I will forget parts of the story in the time I spend away from it, and as I go back to edit, I'll be more likely to see things I need to fix. With the distractions of deadlines, it's too easy to overlook important details.

Stephen King advises taking a month after you've reached "the end" the first time. The time gives you perspective. You move out of the creative mode and into the critical mode which is so essential to the editing process. Questions like "does this move the story along?" "Can this sentence be tighter?" Not to mention the critical overused and filler words that pop up once you've had a chance to step away from the WIP. I've been told I've overused the word "and" in this particular story. I'm hoping the time apart will make those things more obvious to me when I go back at it. Every work seems to have it's own unique repetitions. Another word I felt I'd fixated on was "recriminations," even though it only appeared three times in the original draft. It is, however, a "highly visible" word in my mind, so I have gone back to address that one.

THE SELKIE - Epitaph 5, is slated for a June/July release. I should have the cover art in the next week or two, and I'm planning to share it over at Booklover's Bench next month. I'll keep you posted!

Nose to the Grindstone - Getting a book ready for the editor

Just my luck. The weather is turning into summer finally and I'm still finishing up Rekindling.

I took a week off of this book to do some copyediting. The funny part of that story is that I'd only expected the copyediting to take a couple of days. It was much more in-depth than I'd expected. I took this detour, however, to give myself some distance from the current work in progress so that I could come back to it with a fresh eye. That part of the plan worked.

I'm doing my final story edits for Rekindling. Working with my critique group. Making sure it all follows (which raises my point du jour - I thought everyone knew what a one-inch punch was. Clearly, I'm mistaken! Funny how we take certain phrases and idioms for granted . . .  but I digress). The next step, once the story edits are done, is copyediting. Again.  This is what I'm good at, but editing your own work is tough, folks.

You may have seen some of those memes where a phrase is upside down, or backward, or the vowels are missing or some letters are misplaced. The purpose of the meme is to see if you can read what it says anyway. Yep. I can. And that is the reason it's too hard to edit your own work.  You know what its supposed to say. Nevertheless, I have to take the first cut. What does that mean? Here are the top three things I look for during this phase.

1.  Cut overused words.  One of my big offenders is the word "back." Another popular one is "just." I have a list that I work my way through. There is software out there that will help with this process, but for me, it's like working a crossword puzzle. You do it for the mental exercise.

2.  Check for passive voice. This sneaks in when you least expect it, and there are several different checks for this. One is by looking for verbs ending with "ing." They don't all indicate passive voice, but it's worth the second look. Another is by adding in extra words that distance you from what the character is feeling. "Felt. Wondered. Thought." Most times, you can show those things in a more active voice.

3.  Cliches. They're so much a part of our language that sometimes you forget how overused they are. Again, there are usually better ways to describe something. Something more original.

Typos fall into this part of the editing, too. Anything that slips through this process is caught in the final proofreading stage. You may think you've made all the corrections, that you've corrected everything that's wrong, but until you've read through the thing one last time, you haven't finished the job. I ALWAYS find mistakes in the final proofreading stage. Double words when I thought I'd deleted one. Deleted words when I got overzealous. And those pesky typos. Hey. We're human. It happens.

After I've gone through all of this, then I send it to my editor, and she starts the process all over again. Everything I missed/forgot/overlooked/pushed through anyway, she ferrets out. The end result is usually a much stronger, more readable story.

Between work and editing, I spent most of last week with my butt glued to the chair in front of my computer. Nose to the grindstone. I finished my editing project, and then I took a couple of days to catch up on "life." Played with babies. Cleaned the house. Did some gardening and even made some homemade strawberry jam.

This week I'm back to work on Rekindling. It's "oh, so close" but still requires lots of fine-tuning and copyediting. And so I'm back to work at it.

Hasta.