The same word!

It occurred to me that many times we’ve mentioned editing, proofing and polishing but there hasn’t been a great deal of pointers diving a little deeper into it.  I am not fabulous at self-edits, so anything I suggest in this area I have learned the hard way in the last few years.

One thing to watch for beyond the spelling mistakes and comma mishaps is over using the same words.  It might seem completely necessary to use the word ‘smile’ as often as you do or ‘look’ while you’re writing the story but when it’s finished it distracts or possibly bores the reader to see the same words close together.

A quick way to check for this in MSWord when going through your manuscript is to do this:

Click Ctrl F and then type in your word.

 Put a check in the box that says “Highlight all items found in:”   

Click <More>

Check the box that says “Find whole words only”

Click <Find All>

Choose a highlight color on the top right of your menu.  

Close your Find box and look through your document to see how often you have used the same word.

I was completely thrown the first time I did this.  After proofing the ms ten times I thought surely I’d found all the words that appeared too often.  I was wrong.  

   

The Waiting Game

Once you’ve gone over your manuscript with a magnifying glass, received feedback from your betas and crit partners, typed up your synopsis, finessed your blurb, and compiled your submission package, the road can seem a little empty. You hit “send” to your selected publisher (or publishers), receive the automated receipt for your submission, and sit back and wait.

Response time varies from publisher to publisher. Some turn around within a matter of days with a yes or no. Others quote a time period of anywhere from two to six weeks. The publisher to which I sent my latest manuscript quoted a time of 12-16 weeks. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s three to four months!

I submitted at the beginning of November. It could be March before I hear anything. What do you do in the interim? You could submit to another publisher, but if you’re anything like me, you have the one you really, really want.

So what do you do while waiting for a response?

Don’t think about it.

It’s hard not to think about it. It’s hard not to hold your breath every time you login to check your email. Believe me—I’m a month deep, and this post is as much a lecture to myself as anything else. Do whatever you need to do to get your mind off the wait, even if you have the patience of well, me (that’s to say not any).

So here’s what I’m planning to do in the wait.

1) Write!
2) Read
3) Outline

There’s a sense of completion that follows the end of every story. I like to ride that high as hard and fast as I can. Take the time between now and whenever you receive word from one publisher as a free period for your muse. Who knows? You might just love the outcome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I planned on talking last week about short cuts in Word that can help you while writing your manuscript. I'll get back to that next week. After a very long drive last Friday and Saturday, we finally arrived at my in-laws in Florida. So Happy Thanksgiving from the Sunshine State! All those dealing with harsh weather, please be safe and have a happy holiday.

Pushing Through

We’ve talked about writing roadblocks and exercises, and getting through those times when words don’t come as easily as you’d like. It can be excruciatingly difficult getting anything committed to paper, much less anything you consider good writing.

If you're anything like me, you come up with little scenarios for stories all the time -- sometimes knowingly, but not always. These aren't always obvious, but the writer's mind never rests for want of creativity. Maybe it's while you're in line at your local bank drive-thru, and you wonder why the car ahead of you is taking so long to complete its transaction. You then envision a robbery happening inside. What-ifs are great starting points for a good story, and even if you don't turn it into your next masterpiece, these small distractions can prove endlessly useful in overcoming whatever is otherwise blocking your muse from speaking.

So next time you're at a loss for words, try writing something fresh based on your own particular what-if. Don't worry so much with semantics or how feasible it is; just try to get the blood flowing. Also, keep your expectations reasonable and realistic. Author Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words, and only 500 words, each day. That might not seem like a lot, but he published more than thirty books this way, so he obviously found a method that worked for him. Your method may be better; if you find something that works, stick with it! It'll lead you where you need to go. Something is always better than nothing. And who knows? Maybe one of your what-ifs will turn into a real barn-burner. Inspiration is a tricky thing. You might want it aimed at a certain project, but it keeps driving you to something else. Listen to your muse and allow your creativity to take you where it will. You won't be disappointed.

Do you have a CP?

I'm in the midst of edits on two books - along with finishing up another for submission - so I'm time crunched at the moment but I wanted to give a brief shoutout to my critique partners (or CPs.) They've helped me so much. Taryn has been there from the beginning and has saved me numerous times, while some of the others are newer but still so helpful. It's so nice to have another couple sets of eyes to go over your story before you submit. And believe me, editors appreciate authors who have others give their manuscripts a read before they hit send! Even the most seasoned author is too close to their story to see all the potential holes. True, sometimes it's just not possible to have someone take a look before you sub, especially once you're a published author with close deadlines. But whenever possible, it's a good idea. They'll see things you never thought of...and if you're lucky, help you make your book the strongest it can be before it has to compete with all the other books in your editor's inbox.

Do you use CPs or beta readers? Have they helped you along the way?

Happy weekend!

WRITING LIFE FILMS PRESENTS: Amazon Reader Reviews

I'm so sorry I'm short on time, but this says it all about reviews. Hope you enjoy! ;-)

Smokin' fingers!

I know I missed my day last week - at least I

think it was last week. This month is a blur for

me so far.

I had to attend to some details in life that we

always would prefer not to have to handle.

But such is the real world outside of writing.

Of course after that I fell into NaNoWriMo

(National Novel Writing Month) and my fingers

have been smokin' since then.  

November is the one month of the year many

writers around the world try to forget proper

formatting and constant self editing and see

if they can make that goal of 50,000 words in

30 days.  I'm roughly half way there - which 

reminds me I need to update my word counter.

Does anything ever come out of this?  Besides the

nifty 'finished' certificate at the end, yes many 

actual novels are the result of challenging yourself

to meet this goal.

My own 2008 NaNo novel was published in

September - as are many others.  There's a list

under media kits on the NaNo site.

www.nanowrimo.org

Sometimes it's just wonderful to forget all the 

details and HAVE FUN writing.

Has anyone else accepted the NaNo challenge

this year????

See you at the finish line!