AP:It is Football season. 
Get Ready to Fumble

As you write your first draft you may fumble through it, but when you revise/rewrite your work:

1. Do you have a play-by-play method for revising/polishing your work in order to reach the goal line?

2. Or, do instincts kick in and tell you when you have made a touchdown? In other words, how do you know when it's just right? 

Heidi Thomas
Fumbling through a first draft is an apropos analogy. Since I’m a “pantser,” I do have to feel my way through, sometimes missing altogether and some days running down the field for a touchdown. (I love those days!)

Since I was trained in journalism, I tend to write spare the first time through and then have to go back and “flesh out” the characters and storyline. I’ve come to realize, in a way, that is my outline. I am getting better about developing character and emotion with each book though.

I value the critique groups I’ve belonged to. The feedback I receive helps me to stay on course better and develop my characters more as I go along. Sometimes I will go back right away and do rewrites on that feedback, but most often I save most of it until I’m done with the first draft. Then I go back through the entire manuscript and make changes, based on my critique partners’ suggestions, maybe do some additional research and reading.

I think this method helps me, because I have had a little distance from the work, and can see it with a somewhat more objective, critical eye. Some writers it helps them get started writing again each day to do revisions first, but some get bogged down in the rewrites if they do them as they go along, especially if they are perfectionists. (“I HAVE to get the grammar and punctuation down right before I go on.” Or “This section of dialogue just doesn’t sound right.”) I like to tell beginning writers to just get in down on paper (or on the screen), you can and will go back and change it. My favorite quote about writing is from Hemingway: “There are no great writers, only great rewriters.”

Then, when I’ve finished that rewrite, I usually turn it over to a Beta reader to go through it again. I have a fellow writer who is great at looking at the “big picture” and doesn’t hesitate to tell me where I’ve strayed from the theme or fumbled with the direction the character is going.

After I’ve submitted the manuscript to my publisher, their editor goes through it and I may have to do another rewrite, at least on some portions of it.

Each writer has his/her own way of revision and you have to do what works best for you. This is my method and seems to be the “right” way for me.

Heidi M. Thomas


Visit her Website

Read Heidi's BLOG

COWGIRL DREAMS, (EPIC Award Winner)

FOLLOW THE DREAM, (WILLA Literary Award Winner)

AP 
1. Do you have a play-by-play method for revising/polishing your work in order to reach the goal line?

Terry Persun
A little of this, a little of that. I know what my weak points are, so I might start by double-checking a few things, like: Did I use ‘as if’ instead of ‘as though’? Did I misuse effect and affect? Did I absentmindedly put an ‘s’ on toward? How about then and than? That and which? They’re, their, and there? Your and you’re?

I start by reading what I have and if I see something like the above that I’ve done once or twice, I’ll jot it down and then go back through the whole manuscript with a “find and replace” attitude. After that, I also keep handy my physical detail sheets for each character so that I don’t mess up eye color or height or clothing. No one wants to see a character who wears only a t-shirt suddenly remove his jacket.

Now, down to the real polishing: I look for places where the story slows down, or where I can add depth to the character by adding a few words or a sentence. I look for dialog that sounds a bit off, or doesn’t quite sound like a character, or is actually not something a person would really say.

Polishing takes on different appearances for each novel. One novel I may want to get more and more depth into a character and I’m willing to lose a little action to do it. Where another novel, if it’s about the action, I might actually remove some “slow writing” so I can get back to the gunfire. It’s a personal thing. But it works for me.

AP
2. Or, do instincts kick in and tell you when you have made a touchdown? In other words, how do you know when it's just right?

Terry Persun 
I’ll paraphrase W. S. Merwin here. In a poem he wrote about his teacher John Berryman, Merwin explains how he asked Berryman a similar question: “How can I know my poetry is any good?” Berryman answered by saying, “You can’t. And if you have to know that you’re writing is good, then don’t write.”

I love that. It speaks to two things: the art of writing, and the mystery of writing.

The art of writing is like the art of music, painting, or even automobile design. It basically says that you don’t know what’s good because good is subjective, not objective. Stop worrying about it.

The mystery, to me, concerns that fact that I don’t even know where the words come from in the first place. Who knows what any of us are writing, really. So, how can we judge whether it’s good or not. In fact, how can anyone? We can notice whether grammar or punctuation is correct (most of the time), and if spelling is correct, but that’s about it.

But we must judge. And if so, we judge for ourselves. What I find beautiful, another person finds boring, and visa versa. Case in point: My novel Sweet Song was recently on the top 100 list (made it to #3) in Amazon’s (paid) historical fiction section. It was there for over a week. I received two new reviews of the book after a day or two. One review was a one-star review and the other was a five-star review. So, I looked up a few of my favorite authors and their books. Every one of them had reviews at both ends of the spectrum. There is no knowing what is good writing for someone else.

Here’s the truth: I want to reach my readers. They are their own people, but for some reason they like what I write. That’s who I’m after. So, to get back to this question, only I know, ultimately, what’s best for my work. If I let myself read the manuscript as an outsider (which most often means I’ve let the work sit for a few months so that I can come back to it fresh), then I’m the only one who can judge whether it’s good or not. Trust in your own abilities and you’ll eventually find your voice and your readers. And that’s what we all want anyway    


Terry Persun Website

An interview with Nicole Persun


AP
As you write your first draft you may fumble through it, but when you revise/rewrite your work:

1. Do you have a play-by-play method for revising/polishing your work in order to reach the goal line?

2. Or, do instincts kick in and tell you when you have made a touchdown? In other words, how do you know when it's just right?

 


Nicole Persun:
Well, my first draft is always fairly rough. Think of it like the first day of practice. I know the game and how it works, but there’s still polishing to do. That’s where the editing comes in. It’s where I refine my form and practice the more difficult plays. As I get better, I get closer and closer to game day—the finish date.

When I start in on the editing, I usually have a handful of notes from the first draft. These can be as simple as “Make sure such-and-such a character’s eyes are the same color all throughout the book,” to as complicated as adding and cutting chapters and redefining character motivations. Normally, when I’m done with the first draft, I organize my notes chronologically. That way, I can read the book from the beginning and edit as I go. I suppose that’s my play-by-play method, simple as it is. I also look to the coach—my editor—for guidance as well. He always has suggestions to help me better my game.

The rest of it is instinct. I listen to my teammates—the characters—and figure out where the storyline feels unnatural. Then I make changes as I go. It’s a pretty organic process, but that’s what I love most about the game. You never know what’s going to happen when you get started, you just try your hardest to make sure that you’re prepared for even the most unexpected plays, so that when it comes time for game day, you’ve got it down. 


Nicole Persun
Website

UGH!  Should You Beat Your Head Against the Wall (DIY), or Hire Someone...

The Self-Publishing Dilemma

When it comes to getting your book ready for the variety of self-publishing markets now available, do you do it yourself? Or, hire an expert?

Many authors want to save money and do it themselves. It is what I refer to as, the Costco/Walmart mentality, save money, buy cheap. But, do you really save money? Hiring an expert can save time, therefore saving you money, and ultimately costing you less in headaches. Each of the big eBook sites (i.e. Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, etc) all require different file formats. Each come with their own set of problems. This means having multiple versions of your book created and multiple formats to learn and fight with. No two are alike, nor does the process work flawlessly each time.

Many authors think they can just do a quick and easy conversion of their Word files. All you have to do is upload it and it will instantly look fantastic. If only that were true, but then there would be no need for small businesses like us. Or, worse yet, there are the authors that don’t bother doing anything and upload their Word documents not caring how it looks. 

There is actually a great deal more to the process then what you hear, or read. It isn’t quick, most of the time. And it most certainly isn’t always easy, usually. Once in a while, you will get lucky and it will be simple, but the next time it is maddening and uncooperative. Just avoid it all - hire someone. 

Focus on what you do best - WRITE! Leave the headaches to the professionals. 

Preparing for Print:

1. Hire a professional for the layout. A professional can do the layout, format it for print and work with the print company to provide a file that works.

2. Professionals understand page layouts, correct page numbers, chapter headings, headers and footers, table of contents, index, and more. If you have ever tried using Word to set margins or format, you understand what a pain this can be, not only for you, also for the printer.

3. Different printers may require different file types. Hire someone that can work with the printer (this includes CreateSpace) to provide the right type of file for your project.

4. Fonts may not always match. The fancy little font you used in parts of your book may not always be compatible and would need to be substituted. This may throw of the format and the layout of the book. 

5. Images, graphics, photographs - all create their own unique complications. You need someone well-versed in working with these specific file types. Preparing them for print requires another skill set best left to the professionals. You can’t just place an image and that’s it, there is print resolution, size, placement and more to consider. 

Ebooks create their own set of problems and frustrations. Author friends may tell you it is so easy to do it yourself, just upload your Word document and it will be fine, but it is not always fine. Creating an ebook that is pleasing and easy on the reader is both challenging and critical. Good enough is not always good enough.

For you DIYs, more power to you. For those that just want to write - there are companies who specialize in services, they work with you to help create your MASTERPIECE. 

Do It Yourself vs Hire A Pro!  Frustration vs Peace of Mind! Either way, do what is best for your story, and for your readers.

Number 4 and 5 are a must. 
 I will never admit to #7. 
 And I hope to experience a lot of #10's.

Where did the idea for My Undoing come from? Believe it or not, it started with a dream. Heavily installed into dreamland, something woke me at 1:00 am. The dream, still vivid in my mind, intrigued me. It was the young girl and the dialogue that captivated me. Too tired to do anything about it then, I went back to sleep forcing my mind to replay the dream over and over and over.

When I woke the next morning, I quickly scribbled down all that I could remember. It felt like the beginning of a story, the birth of a character and a idea for a series.

The dream started with a young girl chasing a man, dressed in a yellow hazmat-looking suit, through an old abandoned military base building. He disappears. She then encounters a man who turns out to be a not-so-good guy. While running away from this not-so-good guy, she runs smack dab into another man, Thuron, who saves her life. But it was the dialogue in the dream that intrigued me, most of which ended up in the beginning of the story.

I then sat down one day and her story unfolded as I typed. She took us both on a journey, one that I think neither she, nor I, was expecting. Her voice, her character, took over as she told me more about herself. At first, I tried to tell the story in third person but it didn't feel right. The story, needed to be told from her point of view.

She told me her name, Janee (spelled like Jane but with an extra e and pronounced JAH-NEE). She introduced me to Mr. Wong, her life-long friend and teacher. It was when she bumped into Thuron, and he saved her life, that the story took a turn and added a twist, for both of us. What he unveiled shocked us both, neither of us expected the story to go in that direction.

I envisioned how the story would end, but that was not how it ended. I typed a line of dialogue, from Janee, and knew that we had reached the end of My UNDOING. But, no worry, her story continues in short story #2 - This Time Tomorrow, hopefully it will be out by November.




THE DREAM
Why is he running?  How can such an old guy run so fast. And what’s with the yellow hazmat-looking suit?

I rounded the corner and came to a screeching halt. Stretched out before me was a long depressing gray hall with only one door at the far end. And Mr. Wong had disappeared. The building, located on an old military base outside of old Las Vegas, like everything else after the war, was abandoned. The only inhabitants now were small creatures that scurried into hidden corners afraid of their own shadow.

“How’d he do that?” my voice ricocheted off the walls, startling me. 

I crept down the hall, hesitating before turning the knob. My instincts warning me to use caution. I slowly opened the door to a cavernous room, a graveyard of standard issued, gun-metal gray old desks, chairs and file cabinets, long forgotten.  The room smelled of dust and mold, making my nose twitch. Small windows, high up on the exterior cement wall, allowed enough daylight into the room so I didn’t bump into things. A grunting sound, followed by a clanging metal noise in the far corner, caught my attention.

A man dressed in old army fatigues was tossing a large metal case onto a cart. He stopped and turned towards me, his menacing look caused me to take a step back. 

“Sorry, I must have taken a wrong turn,” I said as I slowly backed out of the room.  Not wanting to stick around, I scurried back down the hall, which now seemed like the length of a football field. 

Behind me the door opened and I turned around to look. The army-fatigue man stood just outside the door, tense and alert. The closing of the door behind him echoed down the hall like thunder, making me flinch.

“You didn’t happen to see a yellow guy?” I asked, wanting to break some of the tension.

He started towards me with what appeared to be a weapon in his hand, apparently not interested in a friendly chat, I turned to run. The sound of his boots pounding on the concrete floor drowned out the sound of my beating heart. I glanced around to see him gaining on me and thought of those side-view mirrors, which warned, “Objects are closer than they appear.”

I slammed into a solid wall, a wall which sprouted arms and reached out and slung me behind it.  As I peeked around the corner, a loud noise went off and the army-fatigue guy exploded, green gel-like gunk splattered all over the walls and floor. 

“Wow,” I yelled. “That was so cool! There really are green guys. Well, technically he was green on the inside, but still.”

“Let’s go,” he ordered.

I took one last glance before I turned to follow. 

“Where are we going?” The wall, my savior, was actually a man. He stood a good foot taller than me, making him a little over six feet. And man was he packing - not just muscles, he was loaded with a mini armory, some weapons I didn’t recognize.

“Somewhere trouble doesn’t follow you.”

“Trouble doesn’t follow me.”

He stopped and gave me one of those raised eyebrow looks. “Really?”

“Ok. Well yeah. But only sometimes. Sometimes the trouble is already there, so it isn’t always technically following me.”  I tried to explain, at the same time wondering why I was following a complete stranger. Was it because he just saved my life?

Shaking his head he continued on. 

“What was that green guy?” I asked.

“A Melatroid.”

“A Mela what?”

“What was he doing in that room?” he asked, not answering my question.

“Stacking large metal cases on a cart. Do you suppose he was stealing them?”

“That means he is not alone. We should hurry.” His long strides made it difficult to keep up.

“But, I am looking for someone. I can’t leave without him.”

“Who?”

“A guy, he is wearing a yellow suit.” I started to giggle like a little school girl.

“What’s so funny?”

“I asked the green guy if he saw my yellow guy. Do you think he noticed and thought that was ironic?” My giggling turned a bit hysterical.

“Get a hold of yourself,” he ordered. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?” I hiccupped.

“To find this yellow-suit man so we can get out of here.” 

MY UNDOING
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