fiction editing

Finding Inspiration in the Waiting Period of Writing

/ Lisa / Leave a comment

Otherkin has been through the editing process and it wasn’t as brutal as I’d feared. It’s also passed muster with two beta readers. It’s now waiting and gestating. I need one more read-through after all the changes and then will start the publishing process.

In the meantime, I’m in that fallow period between stories, waiting for one to come through. This can sometimes be a stressful thing as fears surface. Will I get another story? Oh my god, what if I never write again?!? In other ways, it can be like a vacation, where you can let go of all the word – work and just let your mind wander.

One thing I’m doing is reading The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad, and what a wonderful way to keep writing flowing in between projects.

Waiting to catch the new story

So…I was enjoying the rain and thunder and all the beautiful fall colors yesterday, and I came up with a theory and decided to do some research.

The theory is, that a person’s preference for silver or gold is tied to their favorite season. It make sense, right? For example, fall and winter are my favorites. As is silver. The color is like rain and snow and gray days. That also kind of ties into my favorite gemstone, which is garnet.

Shaggy Mane fall mushrooms

For research, I did a broad study by asking a sister, and of course, she blew my theory out of the water. I thought for sure summer would be her favorite, because she likes gold. But no, it’s winter. In some ways her choice of season makes sense because she hates bugs and extreme heat. But how can she like gold when she doesn’t list the yellows and golds of summer as her favorite season?

Maybe she’s just an anomaly.

Or maybe it’s my theory.

Still waiting

Universal Editing

/ Lisa / 4 Comments

I read a blog today by a woman who just had her work edited. She was discouraged, felt like she was a horrible writer, and questioned whether to continue writing or not. This woman has a fantastic blog that I absolutely love reading, here on wordpress, called Intergalactic Writing Inc. This is a drawback of the internet because I wish I could reach out and give her a hug. What she experienced is not what editing is about.

She said she assumed some parts were good because there were no comments. There were only comments where things were ‘bad’. Oh, my blood pressure is rising. It is equally important to have the things that work (‘good’) pointed out, too. A good editor comments on what works, and explains why. We writers learn as much from those comments as we do from having problems pointed out. Second, an edit should never focus on negatives. Even when something doesn’t work, it doesn’t deserve negatives, it deserves suggestions, support, and work between the editor and the writer.

I always say a good edit leaves a writer enthusiastic and excited to jump back in and work. If I’ve been edited and the result leaves me discouraged or feeling like a failure as a writer, I feel that’s actually a failure of the partnership between the editor and the writer. Nothing infuriates me more than seeing a writer give up because of a negative edit. Especially when, more than likely, the negative edit is the opinion of only one person.

Edits should be respectful, positive, educational, and productive. They should not kill the love of words, the love of the writing craft, or the spirit of the writer. I’ve had my work edited by professional editors, where I paid a lot and writing friends where I paid nothing. Each and every one has taught me something. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t end up with an editor like this person did. If so, I’m not sure I’d be where I am on my writing path.

Okay, I’ll climb down from the box now before this turns into a rant. The point is well taken I’m sure. So what kind of editing results have you had? Have you been left raw and bleeding or uplifted and excited to be a writer?