Category: Revising/editing

• December 20, 2023

  Creative Writing: Don’t force a theme

  Theme is so important. Along with character, if you write an impactful story, theme is one of the two main things readers will remember long after they forget most of the intricacies of your plot. The thing about theme, though: you can’t force it. Some major themes of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope…
• December 9, 2023

  It’s good that it’s painful to read what you wrote years ago

  I hear a lot of writers talking on social media about how much they cringe to read their older pieces–whether, poems, short stories, novellas, or even novels. It’s definitely hard to go back and look at your older work. If that’s you, and you’re feeling a bit embarrassed about stuff you put out in the…
• December 1, 2023

  Combining two characters

  Now that book two is with the editor, I’m going through book three, and I’ve decided for the first time to more or less combine two characters. I’ve deleted a character before (sorry, Hal), and I thought at first that that was what I’d be doing here. Nope. I’ve ended up combining two characters instead,…
• November 24, 2023

  Sending my manuscript to the editor this weekend!

  My editor isn’t scheduled to start working on “The Magic Council: The Fight for Home” until December 1, but I’m so happy to announced that I’m going to be sending the manuscript to her this weekend. It’s as good as I’m going to get it, and I need to get it out of my hands…
• November 20, 2023

  Long or short chapters?

  Do you prefer long or short chapters? One change between the first and second edition of book II of the Herezoth trilogy right now is that I combined chapters to make them about double the length that they were. My beta reader for book two’s second edition didn’t mind it at all. She mentioned that…
• November 17, 2023

  Why I title my chapters

  There are two, pretty quick reasons why I title my chapters. First, I write fantasy, more or less young adult, and for that subgenre of fantasy, lots of writers title their chapters. Secondly, Tolkien and J.K. Rowling titled their chapters. They are responsible for my love of fantasy literature and for showing me how deep,…
• November 14, 2023

  Editing update! Under 109,000 words!

  I’m so stoked. The first edition of “The Magic Council” clocked it at 125,000 words roughly. Certainly, it was between 120 and 125k. Over the years, preparing the second edition, I’ve trimmed a lot of weight while fleshing out a limited number of things that needed more focus, like the king and queen and their…
• November 13, 2023

  The trouble with adverbs

  As I’m editing book two of my trilogy right now for adverbs, trying to cut or rewrite a good number of those, I’m reflecting on the trouble with adverbs. They are absolutely fine in first drafts, and there is nothing wrong with them per se. So why does Stephen King say “the road to hell…
• November 6, 2023

  Tempted to put down book two for now

  This post is a bit of an update. I’m exhausted in general these days. My editor can’t take book two until December 1, and it’s already in good shape. I’m tempted to let it sit until she can take it, but I know it’s worth it to get it in as good shape as possible…
• October 16, 2023

  On first lines

  Before I send book two to my editor, I have three things to do: It doesn’t help that I have a very brief prologue now as well as the start of chapter one. So, basically two first lines. First lines are rough. You want them to be catchy without feeling gimmicky. You want them to…