Tag: editor

Be kind, Rewind! #writingtip

A few years ago, my spouse was starting a new job with a new manager and this said manager kept getting frustrated with my spouse. You see, my spouse has a couple common phrases that he says ALL the time and one of those phrases is “Sure, sure.” So every time this manager would ask him to do something, teach him something, whatever, my spouse would respond with “Sure, sure.”

His phrase used to be “you know?”

The point is we each have phrases we tend to use A LOT, whether we want to or not. We do this in speech, we do this in writing, we do this in texting. If you’re texting (or in messenger) with me, I will type lol ALL THE TIME. It drives myself insane, but the habit is there and I do it.

So the other day, I’m editing away at one of my new pretty little novels that I’ve finally finished working and you know what I found? I found a brand new phrase I’ve been using abundantly along with a few I knew I always used.

What are your go to phrases in writing that you constantly put into your piece and don’t even realize it?

I literally keep a list on notepad in my computer of “words to delete” which are these overused words and phrases I keep typing.

My newest one is “to be honest”.

My list?

– begin/began
– start/started
– quick

Our phrases/words can and will change. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to have someone else read through your piece before it ever gets near publishing. Other people pick up on this stuff, not us. My spouse still doesn’t know he says sure, sure every five seconds of the day.

In editing other peoples works, I’ve put together a list of common words you can easily find to delete/find and rework. Here’s my list for you to start with.

– that
– feel/felt
– says/said
– ask/asked

Start there and then really look for what your personal preferences are in your own work. I guarantee you have them.

Updates from the Beyond

Yes, I have noticed that I haven’t been around in the last few weeks. It’s honestly because I’ve been so busy, and not busy with fun stuff. My blog posts for my author’s corner have dwindled the past three weeks, all failing to be given to me and thus not shared with you. I’ve been traveling a great amount and thus unable to write or post for WIPpet Wednesdays, something I sorely miss. I could probably manage to post, but no way would I be able to manage to actually read my fellow WIPeteer posts, and thus I don’t feel comfortable posting without being able to reciprocate.

So here’s a bit of what’s been going on.

1. I’m looking for people to fill spots for the rest of the year on my blog for Author’s Corner. Right now, I’m only looking for LGBT authors or authors who write LGBT (or both, if someone happens to fall into both of those categories like me). I have a post up and coming next week from James Crawford, and I sincerely hope it actually happens.

2. I’m recently engaged!! Which is crazy exciting, but now think about the fact that we chose a wedding date six months out. Wow…so much planning. And I really hate planning. So now that most of the big things are planned, I can finally start to relax a bit. Also, I’m graduating with my Master’s degree in May, so I’ve been planning for that as well.

3. I have two books of my own that need to be edited, and I thought I would finish at least the first edit on Ashes Fall before I had to start on the final edit of For by Grace. I was wrong. For by Grace comes out June 1st and I really need to get the final edits to my publisher. Sadly, Ashes Fall is once again taking the back seat. These two books are coming out this year, along with a third that I co-wrote. I need to get kicking on writing in order to have anything coming out next year.

4. Due to the desperate need for money, I took on an editing job. Which will be awesome! I’m also searching for a part-time to full-time job in retail, because apparently I think there are more hours in the day than there actually are. This editing job is amazing though. It’s for debut author Tammy Morea and is a YA novel. I can’t wait until she publishes it for you all.

5. I’m still chugging along in school and my other job that doesn’t actually pay anything but gas money.

So this be my life for the past three weeks which I haven’t posted here. No interesting reads as of yet, though I did get started on Kristen Duvall’s Femme Du Chaos which is a great read so far! Wish I’d finished it before life got in the way again. Hope to see you all soon! Maybe Wednesday with a WIPpet post!

My Editing Schedule

Mar 24 – Ch 0, 1 (FbG) Ch 1, 2 (August Moon, TM)
Mar 25 – Ch 2, 3, 4 (FbG) Ch 3, 4 (August Moon, TM)
Mar 26 – Ch 5 (FbG) Ch 5 (August Moon, TM)
Mar 27 – Ch 6, 7 (FbG) Ch 6 (August Moon, TM)

Mar 30 – Ch 8, 9 (FbG) Ch 7, 8, 9 (August Moon, TM)
Mar 31 – Ch 10, 11, 12 (FbG) Ch 10, 11 (August Moon, TM)
Apr 01 – Ch 14, 15 (FbG) Ch 12 (August Moon, TM)
Apr 02 – Ch 13, 14 (August Moon, TM)
Apr 03 – Ch 15 (August Moon, TM)

Here’s to really hoping I’m able to stick to this editing schedule, and yes, I realize how ambitious I am. Either way, in the next three weeks, both these novels will be edited!

Grammar Wednesday: Word Mixups — Further vs Farther

I recently read a book, not to be named, where the author could NOT figure out the difference between further and farther. It occurred to me that this author was probably not the only one with this issue. Both have an essence of distance.

Farther is physical distance.

Further is metaphorical distance.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Rusty the Wonder Kitten looked from the desk to the chair, knowing that it was only a little bit farther than before.

Rusty the Wonder Kitten knew she could push a little bit further and her mother would be charged with insanity.

“It’s only a bit farther,” her father said as she begged to know how much farther to the gas station–she really had to pee.

“If you go any further with that comment, you will lose your job,” his boss shouted.

***

Get it yet? Hope so! Check back here if you have questions.

Grammar Wednesday: TENSES — something that happened

This is where it gets confusing for people. When writing in present tense about something that happened in the past. This is where past perfect comes into play when writing in past tense, and past tense comes into play when writing in present tense.

Examples. Usually the easiest way to figure things out.

PRESENT TO PAST

She flips her phone open and dials the number quickly, waiting for it to ring and the person to answer. Once the line picks up, she starts without so much as a “Hello.”

“You’ll never guess what happened to me.”

“What?” her friend replies.

“I just went online and this chick totally wrote a horrible review. I read it and sat here for twenty minutes, bawling my eyes out. I don’t even think she read the book!”

*** See how there’s a switch from present tense to past when the character is talking about something that happened (also see this sentence). It adds to the depth of the scene.

PAST TO PAST PERFECT

Rusty sat at the desk, reading over what she had written. Her journal from six years before was filled with scrawls and drawings that made little to no sense to her. She barely remembered even writing those words down. But she had written them. Time and time again, she had written about the little boy, Charlie, who she had thought she was in love with and how she had hated her mother for something stupid that had happened.

So much had changed from them to now.

Now she was happily married to Jimmy and had a fantastic relationship with her mother. Time changed so much in her life that she could barely even remember when everything seemed to be going wrong.

*** Past perfect has to do with setting something in the past in already past tense. The “she had written” is past perfect. This one is a bit trickier to master. I still screw it up!!