Diary of a Writer – April Prompt

London

Will this edited photo of me, taken by my Uni friend, Miranda Kennet, inspire anyone?

Well, firstly, Miranda is an artist, Miranda McArthur, and was keen to try out the softwear she’d been sent by a friend. Secondly, she thought the pics of me available online at that time were uniformly bad. (Hides head in shame) I must say, I do like the slightly more sophisticated appearance given by her softwear. Maybe it will inspire me to think myself into circumstances worthy of a story.

Scottish Association of Writers Conference

At the conference last month, I attended Olga Wojtas’s workshop on creating fiction out of historical fact. It, too, involved changing one’s view of oneself. In the workshop, Olga invited us to remember an event which had an emotional impact on us. Then, before writing it up, to change our sex. So, girls became boys and boys became girls. Did this distance us from the incident enough to make more objective decisions? Did it empower us to answer the perpetrator differently?

I hadn’t answered at all in the incident I chose, but others did find becoming male made them more assertive, for example.

I imagine everyone finds themselves furious with themselves from time to time when wrong-footed or left gasping over a verbal insult. Why didn’t I say…

Writing fiction, we have ample opportunity to craft perfect replies for all situations. Let’s get to it. Bullies, verbal and physical, beware the power of the pen.

Synopsis writing has at last turned the corner. Being confined to my study while a new carpet was laid on the landing and staircase was a material factor.

Really enjoying the Daily Serial manifestation of City of Discoveries.

How are things with your writing?

Anne

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Diary of a Writer – Coping Mechanisms 4

Visits to the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh have become an important part of the ‘coping mechanisms’ mentality here in the Writer’s Study. Nature carries on carrying on and yesterday there were many lovely rhodies to be seen.

There’s currenty not a lot of writing taking place! Maybe the brain has had enough of keeping up and keeping cheering up. Instead, I’ve begun the process of finding surfaces. One bag of paper ready for the re-cycling (includes some MSS!) and several piles of books ready for the next opportunity to send to a sale or take to a shop.

Looking forward to the online conference of the Scottish Association of Writers this w/e. Stellar line-up of speakers and adjudicators so maybe that stimulus will kick-start something.

I find it very hard to describe people. I love showing their characters and actions but describing them remains a real problem. Yesterday I set myself the task of describing the heroine of a Scottish Regency I’m toying with. Achieved three sentences. What do we know so far? She’s short and blonde.

Um!

Mother’s Day last Sunday was a lovely boost with flowers and a delivered Afternoon Tea. It was so nice to talk to my children and really looking forward to seeing them in person. I feel for those of you who are separated by oceans.

Curious Find – From the tidying – up is that elastic bands dry out and crack.

How is it going in your study/kitchen/workroom?

Anne

ps Takeaway par Excellence from Hickory at Home is a big help. St Patrick’s Day coming up and we’re trying the Vegetarian option.

Round Robin – How do you self-edit your work?

How do you self-edit your books before submitting or publishing? This is the question Rhobin asked us to consider in March.

 

 

 

 

 

Self-editing is a complex process and I’ve taken a few days of thought to work out what I might say here.

I have a degree in English Literature and Language and very good language and editing skills – BUT, I’m not perfect and I HAVE NO ILLUSIONS that I might be.

Without or before outside editorial help, what can one do?

RULE No ONE:

Always, always, leave the work to read again. Short articles or blogs, irritated letters to your publisher – you might get away with an overnight gap. Anything longer, a minimum of a week. The reason for setting a MS aside is that you come back to it with the eye of a reader.

RULE No TWO:

Put into Find and Replace a hair colour or the words green/blue/grey eyes in the hope your inability to remember the hero/heroine’s hair or eye colouring will have remained consistent throughout. In my case, it won’t. While you’re doing Find and Replace check out your word tics. My major one is redundant ‘thats’. Great way to reduce a tight word count.

RULE No THREE:

Write out a timeline for all the major characters and find out whether two of them have slammed a door, fallen off a horse, whatever. Good plot ideas have a tendency to hang about.

In General, I start each day with a read-through. Of a novel, this will be from the top for a while, but eventually the words have piled on and time doesn’t permit. I do benefit from the red spelling warnings, but find the purpley ones hinting at grammar issues less useful.

As regular visitors know I’m in a group called Capital Writers. One of our members, Jane Riddell, has produced this helpful guide – Words’worth 

I wrote the bulk of Bella’s Betrothal during my one stint in Nano-Wri-Mo. The advice was to avoid self-editing in order to get the word count up and the words on the page. It was quite a departure to normal practice for me, but that book is full of energy. It has also been edited by me and by the wonderful Judy Roth.

Fellow Robiners are listed below and perhaps you’d like to pop across and read their thoughts. Tweets and FB shares really appreciated, folks.

I’ve left the household to themsleves on the domestic front and will be at the Scottish Association of Writers weekend school when this post goes up. Apologies if it takes me a while to get back to your wonderful comments – How do you cope with self-editing?

Anne

Skye Taylor

Diane Bator

Beverley Bateman

Connie Vines

A.J. Maguire 

Dr. Bob Rich

Victoria Chatham

Helena Fairfax

Judith Copek

Rhobin L Courtright