Welcome to My Blog/Newsletter
Why subscribe?
To read about another writer’s journey through writing, revising, querying, and learning
To see photos of my dogs 😉
To read about specific craft issues from the point of view of a book coach/experienced writer who wants to help other writers improve their craft
Feedback on Your Novel Can Be So Motivating
A week before Christmas I had a Zoom call with a book coach in training. I was serving as a practice client for her as she completed her practicum on a full manuscript evaluation.
Kenda read the whole draft of my middle grade zoo mystery, which is about 250 pages or 60,000 words. Her feedback included detailed comments and questions on the first 20 pages and an editorial letter.
Her editorial letter provided that big picture view that’s so hard to give yourself about your own work.
Revision Complete … For Now
Woo hoo! I have finished revising my MG dog novel and sent it to my agent. My goal was to finish by the end of August. I missed it by a day. I wrapped up on Sept. 1. It felt so good!
Revision: Like Driving in the Dark with Your Headlights On
Revision is my favorite part of writing a novel. Even so it can still feel like an overwhelmingly huge project at times.
When Slow Is Good
But now, moving slowly and strategically through the story to revise Shadow scenes, I’ve discovered that a number of these walk-on characters can either be cut altogether, or I can give their dialogue to Shadow instead.
Writing a Synopsis Is Not Fun—Why You May Want to Anyway
When I was actively searching for an agent, I deliberately avoided querying agents who required a synopsis because I dreaded writing one so much.
A synopsis is supposed to reveal the whole story, including the ending, in roughly 500 words or so.
A (More or Less) Orderly Revision Process
I’ve been a distance runner for decades, since right after high school, but I’ve never been formally coached. Instead, I’ve tried different training plans from Runner’s World magazine and from books.