Friday, December 27, 2013

Round Robin Blog with Ginger #RndRobn1213

I missed participating in Rhobin's "Round Robin" last month, but I'm back again at it again.  As you may or may not know...she provides the topic and the participants give answers.  If you'd like to find out more about Rhobin Lee Courtright, feel free to follow this link.

This month's topic: What have you learned from writing? And what are your goals for 2014 and further into the future?


It would take me well into 2014 to list all the things I've learned from writing.  Each editing session or critique has provided a learning experience, and I personally believe the most valuable lesson is a novel is better shown than told.  Anyone can tell a story, but it takes a real talent to move the reader into the characters shoes and let them experience the story from that perspective.  You can "tell" them a pie is baking, but can they smell what kind it is?  Does the fresh smell of apples and cinnamon waft in the air?  Does their mouth water? You can tell the reader about kisses, but will she/he feel the caress of the hero's breath on the heroine's neck or the shivers that pinprick her spine?   If they mount a horse, will the wind whip their hair and a morning chill sting their cheeks?  These are elements, my debut novel sorely missed and wouldn't have seen daylight without the help of an editor who "showed" me the difference.

If you peruse this blog, you'll find all kinds of bitches and moans about editing and things to avoid.  When you've been writing a dozen or so years, you do learn a lot, and not all of it is crystal clear or a hard and fast rule.  Many things depend upon the publishing house.  Go figure!

As far as the future.  I'm not as confident as I once was about the time I have left.  I'm in good health, and I hope to continue writing for years, but having just turned 68 makes me question how many works-in-progress I have to finish in whatever time the Good Lord gives me.  Writing brings me pleasure when my characters are talkative, but when life impairs your hearing, writing becomes a chore one can't manage.  2013 hasn't been my best productive year, so I'm hoping for some new additions to my back list with the coming year.   I'm so thankful to Books We Love for allowing me to breathe new life into some of my older novels and give them a chance for the exposure I'd hoped they would receive.  I've released a few brand new ones, too, but be on the lookout for more.  That's my goal.

Now...hop on over to Aimee Heil's blog, writing as A.J. Maguire @     http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ and see what she's learned and intends to pursue in 2014.

4 comments:

  1. Isn't it amazing how different editing can be from editor to editor? I've been blessed with some excellent ones. I'm right behind you on that age issue, Ginger. So many ideas and plans but an unforeseen future for sure. I think it has always been that way, I am just more aware of it now.

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  2. Editors teach us tons. I like to imagine the Editor slapping my hand away from the keyboard when I've written a sentence fragment. It makes me sit back and rework the sentence and I almost always come up with something better.

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  3. Ginger, another insightful post. I believe that the Editor edits to the focus of the publishing house. I find the most difficult revision (for me) was to add extensive details, thus slowing the pace of my novel. The final draft proved the Editor was correct but it was a difficult journey for me.

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  4. You're so right about getting the reader to feel the story and be involved. That can be a challenge to the writer. Happy 2014 and I'm sure you have lots of books left in you.

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