Craft

A Lesson in Editing and a Disappearing Trick

I can’t believe it’s been five months since I signed my contract and attempted to cut 35,000 words off my WIP. I’ve painfully and faithfully cut 30,000 words and have the last 5,000 to go. Cutting any WIP down has been a challenge. First, I snipped the obvious. Overused words, expression, those darn passive verbs.…

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Editing: Not Much Harder Than Cutting Off A Leg

by Richard MabryAgent Rachelle Gardner has an excellent Agent Rachelle Gardner has an excellent guest post by editor John Upchurch, who talks about “killing your darlings.” Writers know that this term refers to cutting segments from what you’ve written, even though you may think the words are heartbreakingly brilliant (to borrow a phrase from Randy…

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Review: Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken

After years of swearing she’d never be a mother–particularly because she doesn’t want to turn into her mother, who withheld her approval from Meg–Meg longs to adopt a child. She and her husband, Lewis, adopt an older girl from China, desiring both to give Eva a home and to overcome their pasts of emotional family…

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Writing a Great Story

What makes a story great? That’s the goal, isn’t it? To not just write a good story, but to create a great story. But what exactly makes a story great? What lifts it above the rim of mediocrity and sets it on that level reserved for books with that “wow” factor. Well, we know writing…

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Writing Nostaglia

By Carla Stewart For fun, I want you to relax for a moment and think back to your childhood. What perfume did your mom wear when you were a child? Do you ever catch a whiff and feel like you’ve been hugged? Do you remember the song they were playing at your first dance? Were…

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Choosing Words Carefully

You ever talk to someone who just doesn’t know when to shut the trap and wrap it up? People who take five minutes to say what could be said in thirty seconds? Sure you have. We all have. Some people just have diarrhea of the mouth. I’m sorry, I know that sounds awfully harsh, but…

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Sneak Peak at a Labor of Love

Has it been a year or more since I started the redesign and format on Writer…Interrupted? I dare not go back and actually count the days…months I’ve been planning, waiting, redesigning, waiting, fixing glitches, recruiting writers, fixing more glitches because it’s almost time!! (I know I’ve said that before, but really, it’s almost time to…

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A Dream Come True: My First Book Cover

It’s a little surreal seeing my name on the cover of a REAL book! I’ve been dreaming about my first sale for years, and while it didn’t happen the way I envisioned it (look for a post on that later) it happened! I’m still in that semi-conscious dream state where it doesn’t seem real. Sure,…

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Dancing Shoes…

I finally did it! I’m about to cross off something on my bucket list and it involves dancing shoes! When I spent 3 1/2 weeks on the road one of the highlights for me was going swing dancing with Susie May Warren. Dancing with strangers was a little out of my comfort zone, but Susie…

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Opening Night and Playing Catch Up

For those still following and reading this blog, a BIG thank you to you! I know posts have been sparse lately, but it’s been a good break. A much needed hiatus in a sense to break the control the internet can sometimes have on us! But I feel like a change is coming and a…

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