I received back three chapters from my beta reader. I was so thrilled when she told me, that one of them had nearly made her cry
Am I cruel for punching the air with joy?
No!
The chapter in question was a sad one, I had achieved my goal, my reader had felt the emotion I had tried to get across.
Editing is going well and my new opening has completed written beside it. Yes, I have moved on from Chapter 1 and have no urges to go back and change a thing. I spend a weekend studying and brushing up grammar. This is something I had intended to do sometime before the book idea reared its head.
I then spent Monday working through many, oh so many errors.
Satisfaction = Glynis at the moment.
I read so much about removing words such as: Was, the, as. Endings ing and ly. Then I read books, and guess what, they have all the things I have mentioned, dotted throughout.
My decision is that I will be guided, learn and put into practice that I believe to be fact. I will take my lessons from a few published authors, and editors I have met through blogging. They are doing it, they must know.
Some of the advice I came across on the Internet was written back in 2004. I had written notes for about half and hour, when I came across the date. Time wasted. Never mind, I calmed down, found what I was looking for and moved forward.
I am also enjoying Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass.
What are you up to? Where do you draw your advice from?
19 Comments:
That's fantastic, Glynis! I get advice from all over the shop. Couldn't really pin-point one particular place. Blog land is a good place, though! :)
Congratulations! That's wonderful news. I also like knowing I gave my readers an emotional reaction! Best of luck on the rest of the edits!
Jen
How exciting for you. You're making great progress, it sounds like.
BTW: your quote by Og Mandino reminds me how much I like him. It's been a while since I read some of his books, but now I'd like to read some of them again. They're so motivational.
Keep having a good day in that beautiful setting! I love this photo of your HOME.
Jessica, Jenn and Ann, thank you so much for visiting.
Your support is appreciated. I feel I have grown so much in recent weeks.
I find it strange to be happy about the tears someone nearly cried. LOL
Ann my home and Og Mandino are great inspiration. As Jessica points out, blogging world is a great place to inspire as well.
That's fantastic! I'm glad the beta reader had the response you were looking for--and I see nothing cruel about punching the air in joy! haha!
I'm glad you've decided to just write the way you write. I think all writers get caught up with the ly and ing thing because every writer is told they are "evil"!
I revolted and used them as much as I wanted when I realized that the writers I enjoyed reading the most used them all the time. Then I was told that published authors could get away with it, because they were published.... hmmmm...maybe the reason they are published is because they DO write that way and don't sanitize their voices to sound like everyone else.
Trust your gut!!!
Thanks Loribeth. I found I was losing my voice. My work became alien to me. So I went back and added me back in, with a sprinkling of friendly advice.
Lovely to see you. Hope the wedding plans are still going strong. :)
Some ly and some ing are acceptable, it's when it's overdone. Same with was. I am happy to hear you made your reader cry. No easy feat! Keep up the good work.
That's awesome! Go Glynis go! I agree - adverbs are OK used sparingly.
Trust your instinct. After all, you have to like the finished book too.
That's great! An emotional response is exactly what I'd want, too.
I did a blog post a couple months ago, asking about all the grammar rules and why I see so many books break them. Two who answered were editors and they said newbie writers need to write clean and break the rules out of ignorance while established authors have a bit more free rein and break rules out of style.
Guess I'll keep writing clean until someone tells me I'm established.
Fantastic, Glynis! That's what I strive for, too; I want my readers to feel the gamut. If they don't, I've been unsuccessful.
Go you!
I'm glad you did what you intended with that chapter. Your beta reader gave you the ultimate compliment.
Elizabeth, yes I realise that now. I had read they were not acceptable at all. I panicked and removed them. I then had a huge task on my hands putting my MS back to my way of writing.
Thanks for your encouragement.
Thanks Talli, I found areas where I just had to use them. I gave in and feel OK about it now. :)
Thanks for your support.
Loree, yes I was thrilled. It meant so much. It is the little things that keep me going.
Thanks for your support.
Alex, that is interesting. I will do as you, write clean until told go with your style now. ;0
Thanks for your encouragement.
Janna, I must say I felt I had achieved a huge goal when she told me.
Thanks for taking time for me. I know you are still grieving, so it means a lot to me.
Yes Ratty, a huge compliment. I am clearer in mind now. I will strive forwards. Thanks for visiting me today.
That's awesome Glynis! You touched a chord. :-)
I get advice from all over, but if a writer's advice conflicts with an editor's, I'd take an editors. They usually don't conflict though. :-)
Post a Comment