Today my guest is C. Patrick Schulze, someone I met on Twitter. As he is in the final stages of editing his current manuscript, he offered to pass along some of his insights into the craft of editing. In addition to providing this post, he's also got a podcast version. Welcome!
I'd like to thank Terry Odell for allowing me to guest host today. It was kind of her to offer me the opportunity to meet all of you.
What makes a writer? You'd think it might be his writing. The truth of the matter is it's rare that one's writing makes the writer. For most of us, the craft of writing develops its true strength only after we learn the craft of editing. It is within our editing that our true writing emerges.
So, how does one put the craft of editing to work? Without doubt, it's a laborious undertaking but one that's mandatory if you wish to success with your writing. As with the craft of writing, the craft of editing is a process that's unique to each writer, but here's what works for me.
First of all, I complete my rough draft then set it aside and write something else for a while. When I pick my rough draft up a month or so later, I begin my first revision.
I'll read through my rough draft at least seven times and, with each read, edit for one or two related concepts. I also find it useful to record my manuscript as I read. (I use the free software from Audacity.com.) Further, my wife reads it aloud to me at least once. It really helps to see how others read it.
Here's my editing process.
Don't Forget!
I have an ARC of When Danger Calls (which I'll personalize for you) to give away. The deadline to enter is Monday, August 31st. Details are on my website. There's a simple question to answer, and the answer can be found on my website as well.If someone asks single mother Frankie Castor to clear a room, she'll smile and find a vacuum cleaner. Ryan Harper uses a gun. Can they work together when their lives depend on it?Frankie’s returned to her childhood home in Montana to help care for her mother. Her biggest worries are balancing the budget and the upkeep of an aging home. When she offers a man a ride home from the hospital, she never imagines she’ll end up having to choose between her daughter’s life and matters of national security that could cost the lives of millions.Ryan returns to his family home to find a way to prove he didn’t leak vital information on a covert ops mission gone south. As he searches for the meaning of a file he’s kept hidden from the mission, he has no idea that international mercenaries have been searching for it—and him. When the mercenaries come after Ryan, he’s torn. Fighting for his country wars with fighting to rescue people he loves.Set against a Montana mountain backdrop, When Danger Calls is a story filled with action, adventure, and romance, where the stakes keep getting higher and higher
Today's the day. I've learned the Cerridwen site isn't updated at the stroke of midnight, and am waiting patiently -- ok, moderately patiently, if I can be forgiven for two adverbs in a row -- for Starting Over to show up.Meanwhile, there's a new Free Read on my website. Every couple fights now and then, and Colleen and Graham are no exception--even though they're not even a couple yet. Take a peek at their first spat. It's in the Free Reads section -- "Their First Fight."
Then, keep checking the Cerridwen site for the official release.
