It's a rhetorical question, really. Everyone knows that once NaNoWriMo ends we all just catch up on sleep and then go back to life as normal, right?
Only it doesn't exactly work that way. Because for a writer, the wild and wonderful month of madness that is NaNoWriMo has a direct impact on what constitutes 'normal'.
Before NaNo, we didn't have the novel that we spent the month writing. Now that it's over, we do have it. We've been on a journey, met and come to know characters we didn't know before, experienced an adventure we'd never experienced before, and learned things about ourselves as writers and people that we didn't know before.
Post-NaNo Normal is not the same thing as Pre-NaNo Normal.
So what do we do?
Obviously we can't go back to something that doesn't exist any more, so the thing to do is embrace and dive into what normal has become.
For me this year, Post-NaNo Normal means that the pesky inner editor whom I have been unable to rid myself of since finishing the editing of Son of the Shield back in July, is finally silent and subdued, leaving me free to finish the first draft of my WIP, Empathia's Hope, without her snarky fatalist input harping on every sentence, demanding perfection before allowing me to move on.
It means that I now have a completed first draft of my first independently authored steampunk novel.
I've explored character personality types that I had never explored before, and experimented with story twists I'd never worked with before.
It's opened up new ideas, new ways of looking at stories and characters.
A month of no-editing-allowed has gotten me ready to dive back into my WIP at full throttle and turn a half-finished first draft into a FINISHED first draft in short order. It's reminded me how much fun it really is to just roll with the story's adventure, leaving editing for later.
It's reminded me how much fun it is to just make stuff up and go along with it like it's all part of the plan. It's reminded me that writing was fun before it became work.
And that is something I am more than happy to go back to.
What have you taken away from NaNo2012? What are you looking forward to now that it's done?
Showing posts with label Editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editing. Show all posts
December 4, 2012
May 8, 2012
Deadline: June 16th!
Son of the Shield is getting close, my friends. I'm very close to completing the final edit/rewrite/overhaul before it's ready to start showing to publishers. Progress is even starting to speed up, the more I get done, sort of like putting a puzzle together - the more pieces you get put in place, the easier it is to find where the remaining pieces belong.
Still, as just another way of keeping myself focused and motivated, I've decided to set a deadline for having it done. I'm the kind of person who thrives on a good challenge (part of why I love NaNoWriMo), and deadlines have helped me stay focused on projects in the past, so it ought to work now too.
I've chosen June 16th as the deadline for having Son of the Shield finished.
Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One, June 16th is my birthday so it's an easy date for me to remember. Two, June 16th is close enough to be a challenging deadline to meet. Three, June 16th is far enough out to be realistic and allow time for unforeseen disasters such as tornadoes (always a possibility where I live), farming troubles, work or family crises, nuclear war, civil unrest, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, etc.
So, all you noble, faithful followers who have been hearing of and waiting for Son of the Shield for so long, take heart! The time is drawing near!
But wait, there's a task for all of you as well. (You didn't think I'd let you off that easy, now, did you?)
I set a deadline for myself because I wanted to have a goal to work towards. But now that I've shared it with all of you, it's official. And I expect you to hold me to it. I am officially granting permission to each and every one of you to nag, harass, and pester me about it. I'll be posting some kind of progress update on it at least once a week... but if I don't, you may torment me about that too.
And when it's finally finished, I plan on having some fun here at the Lair to celebrate my biggest writing accomplishment so far. I don't know what it will include yet... Some behind-the-scenes looks at the writing of Son of the Shield, perhaps, or maybe even some sneak peeks?... but I guarantee it will be a lot of fun. Your dedication and nagging will not go unrewarded. : D
And with that, I'm off to work on Son of the Shield. June 16th is only thirty-nine days away!
Still, as just another way of keeping myself focused and motivated, I've decided to set a deadline for having it done. I'm the kind of person who thrives on a good challenge (part of why I love NaNoWriMo), and deadlines have helped me stay focused on projects in the past, so it ought to work now too.
I've chosen June 16th as the deadline for having Son of the Shield finished.
Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One, June 16th is my birthday so it's an easy date for me to remember. Two, June 16th is close enough to be a challenging deadline to meet. Three, June 16th is far enough out to be realistic and allow time for unforeseen disasters such as tornadoes (always a possibility where I live), farming troubles, work or family crises, nuclear war, civil unrest, outbreaks of the bubonic plague, etc.
So, all you noble, faithful followers who have been hearing of and waiting for Son of the Shield for so long, take heart! The time is drawing near!
But wait, there's a task for all of you as well. (You didn't think I'd let you off that easy, now, did you?)
I set a deadline for myself because I wanted to have a goal to work towards. But now that I've shared it with all of you, it's official. And I expect you to hold me to it. I am officially granting permission to each and every one of you to nag, harass, and pester me about it. I'll be posting some kind of progress update on it at least once a week... but if I don't, you may torment me about that too.
And when it's finally finished, I plan on having some fun here at the Lair to celebrate my biggest writing accomplishment so far. I don't know what it will include yet... Some behind-the-scenes looks at the writing of Son of the Shield, perhaps, or maybe even some sneak peeks?... but I guarantee it will be a lot of fun. Your dedication and nagging will not go unrewarded. : D
And with that, I'm off to work on Son of the Shield. June 16th is only thirty-nine days away!
July 29, 2011
To italicize or not to italicize...
That is the ever-bothersome question, is it not?
Everybody has an opinion on whether italics should be used, and how they should be used, and how often they should be used, and why they should be used. And chances are, writers, if you listen to five different professionals' thoughts on the subject, you'll come away with five different answers. I've heard quite a few myself. Some people say "It's a tool that's there to be used, so use it if you need it." Others say "Let the readers decide for themselves how the words should be emphasized, without you the writer telling them how they should hear everything." Everyone and their dog, it seems, has a different idea of what the proper use of italics consists of.
It's fairly common for young or beginning writers to way overuse italics in their writing. Like, every word that they think should be even slightly emphasized gets put into italics. After all, how are the readers supposed to know how it's supposed to sound if the writer doesn't tell them, right? Don't worry, I'm as guilty of this as anybody else. If you've ever read Emily of New Moon and chuckled (or cringed) at Emily's excessive use of italics, you have some idea of what my early writing was like. I was a proud member of the "It's-a-tool-that-exists-to-be-used" campaign.
However, as I continued learning and growing in my writing, I began to see the truth in the idea that overuse of italics can be a sign of weak prose. Think about it: if you feel like you need italics to make your writing look active, or to strengthen your sentences... well, you're probably putting a Band-Aid on a wound that needs stitches. In other words, work on getting your writing strong enough to stand on its own without the aid of purely visual effects like italics.
Of course, there are cases where italics should be used. The titles of books, for example, should always be italicized. And once in a while, if something really important hinges on the way a particular word is interpreted ("You're the traitor!" versus "You're the traitor!"), then italics are okay. (Jeff Gerke has a great article on this Here on his website.) Also, as an editor, I have to say this: if you decide that a word truly does need to be emphasized, for goodness' sake, just use italics! Don't use bold, or underline, or all-caps, or any combination thereof. Just use italics. Period.
Part of what broke me of my tendency to overuse italics in my writing was hearing the statement "Overuse of italics constitutes micro-management on the part of the author". I don't remember who said it, but it hit close to home for me. Having done time... er, I mean, worked... in the corporate world, where your entire life is micro-managed by your bosses and your bosses' bosses and their bosses who have never even met you but are nonetheless experts on what will make you work most efficiently (I'm not bitter or anything), I'm really turned off by the term 'micro-management'. So if my overusing italics means I'm micro-managing my readers' reading experience, I'm gonna start cutting out some italics, believe you me.
One problem I still struggle with, though, is the area of characters' thoughts. Some, like Jeff Gerke, argue that characters' internal monologues don't need to be italicized, that the readers can tell what is supposed to be narrative and what is supposed to be thought. At the same time, though, in a fast-paced scene where there's lots of action, dialogue, and narrative mixed together, italicizing a character's thought might just make it easier for the reader to sort everything out, I think.
Another issue that writers of speculative fiction have to deal with is mind-speaking, or telepathic conversation, or whatever you prefer to call characters communicating with only their thoughts. I've seen it done in standard font using only quotation marks like a normal spoken conversation, I've seen it done in all-italics, and I've seen it done using both italics and quotation marks. Jeff Gerke condemns the use of italics and quotation marks together, but Donita K. Paul uses it frequently in the Dragonkeeper Chronicles when her characters mind-speak with each other. In her writing, the viewpoint character's thoughts are in italics with no quotation marks, and the other person's thoughts are italicized and enclosed in quotation marks. Personally, I thought her method made thought conversations clear and easy to follow, but there are people I know who disagree with me. Unfortunately, it's one of those issues where there really is no solid right or wrong answer... and we writers are probably doomed to argue among ourselves about it until the Second Coming.
What are your thoughts on the proper way to use italics, especially in non-verbal, 'mind-speaking'-type conversations?
Everybody has an opinion on whether italics should be used, and how they should be used, and how often they should be used, and why they should be used. And chances are, writers, if you listen to five different professionals' thoughts on the subject, you'll come away with five different answers. I've heard quite a few myself. Some people say "It's a tool that's there to be used, so use it if you need it." Others say "Let the readers decide for themselves how the words should be emphasized, without you the writer telling them how they should hear everything." Everyone and their dog, it seems, has a different idea of what the proper use of italics consists of.
It's fairly common for young or beginning writers to way overuse italics in their writing. Like, every word that they think should be even slightly emphasized gets put into italics. After all, how are the readers supposed to know how it's supposed to sound if the writer doesn't tell them, right? Don't worry, I'm as guilty of this as anybody else. If you've ever read Emily of New Moon and chuckled (or cringed) at Emily's excessive use of italics, you have some idea of what my early writing was like. I was a proud member of the "It's-a-tool-that-exists-to-be-used" campaign.
However, as I continued learning and growing in my writing, I began to see the truth in the idea that overuse of italics can be a sign of weak prose. Think about it: if you feel like you need italics to make your writing look active, or to strengthen your sentences... well, you're probably putting a Band-Aid on a wound that needs stitches. In other words, work on getting your writing strong enough to stand on its own without the aid of purely visual effects like italics.
Of course, there are cases where italics should be used. The titles of books, for example, should always be italicized. And once in a while, if something really important hinges on the way a particular word is interpreted ("You're the traitor!" versus "You're the traitor!"), then italics are okay. (Jeff Gerke has a great article on this Here on his website.) Also, as an editor, I have to say this: if you decide that a word truly does need to be emphasized, for goodness' sake, just use italics! Don't use bold, or underline, or all-caps, or any combination thereof. Just use italics. Period.
Part of what broke me of my tendency to overuse italics in my writing was hearing the statement "Overuse of italics constitutes micro-management on the part of the author". I don't remember who said it, but it hit close to home for me. Having done time... er, I mean, worked... in the corporate world, where your entire life is micro-managed by your bosses and your bosses' bosses and their bosses who have never even met you but are nonetheless experts on what will make you work most efficiently (I'm not bitter or anything), I'm really turned off by the term 'micro-management'. So if my overusing italics means I'm micro-managing my readers' reading experience, I'm gonna start cutting out some italics, believe you me.
One problem I still struggle with, though, is the area of characters' thoughts. Some, like Jeff Gerke, argue that characters' internal monologues don't need to be italicized, that the readers can tell what is supposed to be narrative and what is supposed to be thought. At the same time, though, in a fast-paced scene where there's lots of action, dialogue, and narrative mixed together, italicizing a character's thought might just make it easier for the reader to sort everything out, I think.
Another issue that writers of speculative fiction have to deal with is mind-speaking, or telepathic conversation, or whatever you prefer to call characters communicating with only their thoughts. I've seen it done in standard font using only quotation marks like a normal spoken conversation, I've seen it done in all-italics, and I've seen it done using both italics and quotation marks. Jeff Gerke condemns the use of italics and quotation marks together, but Donita K. Paul uses it frequently in the Dragonkeeper Chronicles when her characters mind-speak with each other. In her writing, the viewpoint character's thoughts are in italics with no quotation marks, and the other person's thoughts are italicized and enclosed in quotation marks. Personally, I thought her method made thought conversations clear and easy to follow, but there are people I know who disagree with me. Unfortunately, it's one of those issues where there really is no solid right or wrong answer... and we writers are probably doomed to argue among ourselves about it until the Second Coming.
What are your thoughts on the proper way to use italics, especially in non-verbal, 'mind-speaking'-type conversations?
July 11, 2011
Dialogue Puctuation 101
Hands down, the most common mistake I see in writing is in the way people use punctuation and capitalization in dialogue. As an editor, it bugs me. As a writer, I want to make sure my writing is as good as I can get it, and that includes proper punctuation. So in this post I'm going to outline the proper use of punctuation and capitalization in dialogue based on the mistakes I see most often. And to make it fun, I've used real-life quotes from things my family and friends have said.
Dialogue Tags
Incorrect: "I think Lady Luck is my arch enemy." Caleb said.
Correct: "I think Lady Luck is my arch enemy," Caleb said.
Incorrect: "I'll be right back," Mom said, "Don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
Correct: "I'll be right back," Mom said. "Don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
- or - "I'll be right back," Mom said, "don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
Incorrect: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board," Caleb asked.
Incorrect: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board," Caleb asked?
Correct: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board?" Caleb asked.
Beats
Incorrect: LoriAnn peeked through the door, "It sounds like tribal chaos in there."
Correct: LoriAnn peeked through the door. "It sounds like tribal chaos in there."
Incorrect: "You can't plan these things, you have to be spontaneous," Dad raised an eyebrow, "I am a beacon of spontaneity."
Correct: "You can't plan these things, you have to be spontaneous." Dad raised an eyebrow. "I am a beacon of spontaneity."
Incorrect: "Never trust a man who wears a bow tie of his own free will," James shook a finger at me.
Correct: "Never trust a man who wears a bow tie of his own free will." James shook a finger at me.
More Beats, Breaks, and Pauses
Note: An em dash (—) signifies that someone has been interrupted, stopped speaking abruptly, or paused clearly mid-sentence. It can also be used to mark a break in the character's speaking to insert an action beat, as in the first example below. There should not be spaces between the em dash and the words before and after it. Ellipses (...) [only three dots, no more, no less] signify a less defined pause, or that someone has trailed off in their speaking.
Incorrect: "I know this is a very touching and teachable moment," —Katrina shook her head— "But it makes me laugh."
Correct: "I know this is a very touching and teachable moment—" Katrina shook her head. "—but it makes me laugh."
Incorrect: "My name has now been changed," Karri paused for effect... "to Kenneth Rogers."
Correct: "My name has now been changed..." Karri paused for effect. "...to Kenneth Rogers." (assuming a superhero persona at age 5)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you struggle with dialogue punctuation?
Dialogue Tags
Incorrect: "I think Lady Luck is my arch enemy." Caleb said.
Correct: "I think Lady Luck is my arch enemy," Caleb said.
Incorrect: "I'll be right back," Mom said, "Don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
Correct: "I'll be right back," Mom said. "Don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
- or - "I'll be right back," Mom said, "don't let anything interesting happen while I'm gone!"
Incorrect: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board," Caleb asked.
Incorrect: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board," Caleb asked?
Correct: "What is that purple monstrosity on the ironing board?" Caleb asked.
Beats
Incorrect: LoriAnn peeked through the door, "It sounds like tribal chaos in there."
Correct: LoriAnn peeked through the door. "It sounds like tribal chaos in there."
Incorrect: "You can't plan these things, you have to be spontaneous," Dad raised an eyebrow, "I am a beacon of spontaneity."
Correct: "You can't plan these things, you have to be spontaneous." Dad raised an eyebrow. "I am a beacon of spontaneity."
Incorrect: "Never trust a man who wears a bow tie of his own free will," James shook a finger at me.
Correct: "Never trust a man who wears a bow tie of his own free will." James shook a finger at me.
More Beats, Breaks, and Pauses
Note: An em dash (—) signifies that someone has been interrupted, stopped speaking abruptly, or paused clearly mid-sentence. It can also be used to mark a break in the character's speaking to insert an action beat, as in the first example below. There should not be spaces between the em dash and the words before and after it. Ellipses (...) [only three dots, no more, no less] signify a less defined pause, or that someone has trailed off in their speaking.
Incorrect: "I know this is a very touching and teachable moment," —Katrina shook her head— "But it makes me laugh."
Correct: "I know this is a very touching and teachable moment—" Katrina shook her head. "—but it makes me laugh."
Incorrect: "My name has now been changed," Karri paused for effect... "to Kenneth Rogers."
Correct: "My name has now been changed..." Karri paused for effect. "...to Kenneth Rogers." (assuming a superhero persona at age 5)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you struggle with dialogue punctuation?
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