Recent posts tagged editing
2023
How Not To Talk Yourself To Death In Your Writing
When questions come to mind while writing a work, I have strategies for keeping them from growing without bound.
According To Someone, Somewhere, I Am Writing A Bad Book
No matter how much work I put into any one book, it's going to be "bad" according to someone, somewhere, and there's not a thing I can do about it.
The Big Red Pencil
I'm almost done with editing the proof copy of Shunga-Satori, and I found ... well, a fair number of things that somehow managed to elude me in previous drafts.
2022
Head Above Water
Barely. (More on writing draft 2 of "Shunga-Satori")
Campbell's Folly
"The 'three-act structure' and the 'hero’s journey', are editing tools, not writing tools."
At The One-Third Road Marker
A third of the way through the major rewrite of a new book, and some lessons learned.
Half Step Dance
Welcome to draft 1.5 (so to speak) of "Shunga-Satori".
The Dizzying Whirl Of The Perfection-Go-Round
That last long stretch of finishing up a book is often taken up with nattering about the kinds of details only you and one other jerk can see.
2021
These Things Always Look Better On Paper
On editing the paper proof of "Unmortal", always a radically different experience from a digital edit.
Tweaksmanship
On getting hung up finding the right word.
Too Many Books In One
I've got one of those projects in mind that needs paring down.
OK, We're Finished Here
"The ability to know when something is done is a skill."
Roll With It
Your job when writing a story is to listen to what this material is telling you it needs to be, and go there.
Pace Yourself
It took a year to produce a first draft of "Unmortal". It was worth the wait.
Shoehorn Pt. 2: The Shoehorning
It's easily to write badly. It's even easier to write badly when everyone else gets away with it.
The Shoehorn And The Scissor
Two different ways of making a story complete in terms of what it addresses.
2020
Drafts Just Point The Way
Drafts of a work are experiments. They just point the way, and help you narrow it further.
The Temptation Of The Scissors
I had to fight the urge to make changes to 'Flight Of The Vajra' in its new edition.
The Fix(-Up) Is In
Proof edits on 'Fall Of The Hammer' almost done. It was worth it.
The Dead-Tree Difference
In re the magic of editing on something other than a screen.
These Last Few Touches
'Fall Of The Hammer' inches yet closer to release. Just a few lingering changes, and a lesson learned from same.
The Answer Print Stage
If I was a filmmaker, my latest book would be at what could be the "answer print" phase. Done, but not quite *done*.
Kindly Educate Me About My Suckage
More on how most writers are not good givers of writerly feedback. Few people are.
By Hook Or By Book Or By Crook
On how my friend and fellow writer Matt is against the idea of the "hook" as a narrative mechanism.
The Me Agenda
I'm not on anyone's schedule but my own, although it's sometimes hard to remember that.
