It Begins

“Editing should be...a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, ''How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?'' and avoid ''How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?” - James Thurber

I got my first round of edits on my latest Wild Rose Press short story, and so it begins.

The good news is, I apparently learned from my first story not to use gerunds to begin sentences and to be wary of passive voice. It's good to know that it's finally getting through my thick skull (both of those things I've known for years, but still applied them without thinking).

The bad news is that I've found new and exciting ways to mess up...LOL. The latest (and something that Darcy mentioned when she looked over one of my contest entries) is my propensity for very long sentences, especially connected by a conjunction or a comma.

As an example, check out the previous paragraph. It's only two sentences.

On the show don't tell thing, I'm running about even. I get it right a lot, but not all the time. I had one very slight POV slip that ticks me off, because it's something I really try to focus on.

Oh... and "try". I really gotta stop using it. I need to remember the wise words from Yoda to Luke Skywalker: "Do, or do not. There is no try."

Stand up, sit down.

I have to admit that the sheer volume of comments in the story were overwhelming at first BUT upon reflection, many were silly typos (forgetting a hyphen, for instance) and others were longer comments that were only about one thing, but look intimidating by their size.

It's a wonderful process. I'm keeping a notepad to write down the things I do regularly in hopes that actually writing them down will make me more aware. I'm telling you, the editors at TWRP are amazing, and very serious about making certain that a good product is being offered. If you haven't checked them out, either as a writer or a reader, you should.

Okay... back to work. There's still a lot to do!

Have a great day.