No joke, Padawan, I sat down to write a blog post and I was like “characters!” And I was all excited because out of everything, characters are my favorite. But then I was staring at my blank screen and was like… dude… where do I start? Characters are so much more complicated than a single post could ever possibly explore. Seriously! So then I was like all sad, because I was thinking I couldn’t write what I wanted to and…
Greetings again, grasshopper! I’m very excited to share with you my very own character map, created with my own hands…well, fingers, considering I typed it all out. I assembled this precious document after scouring the interwebs and failing to find one that satisfied me. If you google ‘character map’ there are TONS of examples out there, but none that cover everything I think needs to be covered. Some were really long and contained extra information that wasn’t really necessary. Others…
Let’s talk beginnings, young padawan. There are some out there in Storyteller Land that will say the ending is the most important part. But I disagree. I think the beginning of a story is more critical. Why? Because I say so 😁 But really, I have reasons. Good reasons. Are you ready for them? Of course you are, because you’re still reading! Are you? Please say you are… #1: The Hook Any story worth their salt has a killer hook….
What does a developmental editor do? Lucky for you I have a fantastic answer… Stuff! A developmental editor does stuff 😂 Not what you wanted to hear? Fine. Because I *really* like you, I’ll go into more detail, just this once. A developmental editor examines a manuscript and analyzes it for story-centric strengths and flaws. That’s the over simplified answer, but fundamentally what a developmental editor does. As a developmental editor, I would take all those words crammed into sentences…
Some folks will insist there are actually four types of editing, but I’m in the “three types” camp, so that’s how we’re going to roll. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking you’ve got to be joking, right? Three types of edits! Nah, editing is editing! Alas young Padawan, there ARE actually three main types of editing that a manuscript can go through, and three specific pieces of information you need to know for each, so here goes: Content/Developmental editing What does…
The age-old struggle of writers all over the world. Can you imagine Tolstoy, Tolkien, or Sanderson smashing their head over and over on the keyboard? I can’t. Because…queue dramatic music…I don’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in being creatively drained, sick and tired of a specific story or character. I believe in being unable to think coherently due to lack of rest, stress, or crappy eating habits. I believe in being depressed or anxious. But do I believe…
If you’ve read my In The Beginning post, then you’ve seen the first paragraph of my first attempt at writing a book. That beast is bad, bordering on atrocious :/ Did you spot the inconsistencies? There are several, in just one paragraph. And the grammar (and the punctuation, or lack thereof), also left much to be desired. I mean, if that’s not atrocious I don’t know what is. To be fair though, as I was writing that first story I wasn’t thinking…
Padawan, now, if you’re a part of the writing scene on Twitter, I’m sure you’ve seen the controversial tweet from an editor about ways a “broke” writer can get their book professionally edited. My feed has been swamped with with folks on both side of the issue. Here’s the tweet that started it all: Ways “broke” writers can get their book professionally edited: 1. Ask someone wealthy who believes in you and your book to invest in you 2. Get…
Let’s start out with a story… A young girl always liked stories, and would tell fantastic tales of escapes from museums and babysitters. That girl grew up, but she still lived in stories. She would sit at her computer, turn on some music, and start typing. Great tales about horses, princes, running away, and fancy bedrooms. However, there was another side to this story, for the girl was ashamed of her writing. For some reason, whenever a knock came at…