Writers' Narrative April 2024

EDITORIALTEAM

WendyH.Jones-EditorinChief-isalsoourExecutiveCommissioningandFeaturesEditor.Sheisthe multi-award-winning,best-sellingauthorofadult crimethrillersandcozymysteries,children’spicturebooksandnon-fictionbooksforwriters.Inaddition,sheisawritingcoach,partnerin Auscot Publishing and Retreats andhoststheWritingandMarketingShowpodcast.

SheenaMacleodisourDeputytotheEditorinChief. Sheoverseestheday-to-dayproductionanddesign. Sheis authorofthehistoricalfictionnovels,ReignoftheMarionettesandTearsofStrathnaver,andco-authorofthenonfictionbookSo,YouSayICan’tVote!FrancesConnelly.

PaulineTaitmanagesoursubmissions.Paulineisaprolificnovelist,children’sauthorandwritingmentor. Shewritesbothsuspensefulromanceandchildren’spicturebooksfor3to7years.

AllisonSymesisourCopyEditor.Sheisanawardwinning,publishedflashfictionandshortstorywriter. Shealsowritesaweeklycolumnontopicsofinterest forwritersforonlinemagazine, Chandler's Ford Today.

Susan McVeyisourContentEditor.Susanwrites dystopianfictionandfantasynarratives,tailoredfor theyoungadultandteenageaudience.ShepublishesunderMartiM.McNair.Herworksinclude Island of Ruin (RuinorRedemptionBook1).

MaressaMortimeroverseesourmarketingandoursocial mediaengagement.MaressaisauthoroftheElabi Chronicles, Burrowed and Sapphire Beach.

EditorinChief

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ContentEditor

Marketingand Promotions Manager

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Writers’ Narrative is published monthly by Scott and Lawson Publishing. Graphic Design by Sheena Macleod. All contents Copyright © the individual authors and used with their permission. All rights reserved.

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36 Self-Editing:TricksAndTipsToGetYouStarted byWendyH.Jones

42 ConfessionsOfAChronicSelfEditor byJeanetteTheWriter

44 EditingWithEditors byJennySanders

46 MarkingUpTheLevelPlayingField byS.M.Aston

52 EditingPoetry byLisMcDermott

20 WritingAChainRhyme byLisMcDermott

MonthlyWritingPrompts

26 WritingPrompts:April byWendyH.Jones andTami.C. Brown

22 Marsh’sLibrary,Dublin byPaulineTait

23 AdventureIntoBooks byPaulineTait

38 TheKansas/MissouriChapteroftheSocietyof Children’sBookWritersAndIllustrators ByLisaHarkrader

40 SteinOnWritingbySolStein

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IcannotbelieveweareintoAprilalready,butI amexcitedtobringyouthismonth’sissue wherewefocusonediting.

Thisissuchanimportantpartofthewritingprocess,yetitisoneareawritersoftenhurry.From self-editingtoworkingoutwhichtypeofediting yourequire,fromprosetopoetry,fromadult bookstochildren’sbooks,wehaveyoucovered. Or,rather,wehaveeditingcovered.

OurfeaturedauthorthismonthistheawardwinningwriterandeditorRozMorriswhogives usexcellentadviceonworkingwithaneditor.

Ofcoursewehaveourregularbookreviews, bookshopofthemonth,libraryofthemonth, andwritinggroupofthemonth.

Lastly,wemustn’tforget,Sophie,theofficedog, whogivesusexcellentadviceasalwayswiththe helpofherowner,PeterThomas.Iamsureyou willfindtheissueuseful.

Pleasedowriteinwithyourviewstowritersnarrative@gmail.comandyoucouldevenfindyou pentheletterofthemonth.

Wendy H. Jones Editor in Chief

Wendy H. Jones Author, Publisher, Writing Coach

Letterofthe Month

Dear Editor,

I'm delighted to see libraries featured regularly in Writers' Narrative. Here in Aberdeen in the north east of Scotland we have recently lost five libraries to council cuts, some of them in areas of the city most in need of not only books and internet access but even somewhere warm and safe to sit during the day without having to pay.

I was lucky enough to be brought up in a house full of books but we also spent hours in our local libraries: almost every writer I've heard of sowed the seeds of their career in the children's section, because for every book written, hundreds and thousands need to be read!

So support your local library! Readers - join up, join in, borrow and comment. Writers - talk to book groups, offer your services, talk about your library. A library ticket is a passport to the world, as long as the doors stay open!

Nick Mills

DearEditor,

IlovetheFebruary/MarchWriters'NarrativeeditiononWritingforChildren.Therearesomany differentaspectsofthistopic:genre,targetage group,vocabulary,themeetcandIwasengrossed,butIalsofoundafewofthearticlesvery moving.

IcouldnothelpnoticingthatJennySanders ('ChildhoodFavourites')hadlovedmanyofthe samebooksasme:MrsPepperpotandPippi Longstockingstandout.Alsoshenotedherearly loveoftheBeatrixPotterbooksandtheLadybird books,andthenlatershemovedontothegreat 19thcenturynovelistsjustasIdid.Thisgavemea realsenseoffellow-feelingforJennySanders.Anotherinterestingnote:Ididn'tread'YoungAdult' booksinmyteens,(thatcategorydidn'texist then);Imovedstraightontotheclassics-the Brontes,ThomasHardy,Zola,Dostoyevsky,Tolstoyandsoon.Evennow,Ibelievethattheearlier youcandevourallthoseclassics,thebetter!

IwasalsoverystruckbyMaressaMortimer'sarticle'ReadingBooksTogether'.Whataninsightand adepthofwisdomanddiscernmentsheshowsin herroleofselectingbooksthatarejustrightfor herchildren.IfoundMaressa'sarticlefascinating. Ialsonoted,fromthespecificrequirementsofher children,thatJacquelineWilsonwouldprobably berightout!

Onceagain,thankyouforagreatmagazine,with somuchinterestandvariety.

Goodwishes

SheilaRobinson

Every month, a £10 book token will be awarded to the selected letter of the month. Congratulations to this month’s winner.

Please email letters to the editor to writersnarrative@gmail.com

InterviewedbyWendyH.Jones

FeaturedAuthorInterview RozMorris

Wendy H. Jones interviews author and editor Roz Morris.

Welcome,Roz,itisapleasuretohaveyou hereandthankyouforsharingyourexpertise.

Let’sstartbyasking,whatexactlyisediting?

I liketothinkofeditingaspublishing’sbigsecret!

Manyreaders–andunpublishedwriters–imaginethatabookcomestothemexactlyasthe authorwroteit.Straightoffthetypewriter,ifI mayshowmyage.Andagoodbookshouldbea polishedexperienceforthereader–perfectly craftedintermsofcontent,accurateinallthe factsthataresupposedtobefacts,impeccable instyleandgrammarandformatting,andfree ofanyotherkindsofmistake.

Butwritersarehuman,andrawmanuscriptsare hardlyeverpolishedenoughtogostraighttoa reader.That’sbecausewritingabookinvolves anenormousnumberofdifferentskills–invention,research,communication,structuring,the abilitytothinklikeyourreader.Thewriterbecomessoinvolved,theycan’tpossiblyseeeverythingasareaderwould,orpickupevery droppedstitch.

Everywriterhasblindspots,too.Sotheediting processtacklesallthis.It’sasequenceofmeticulouscheckingandreworking–sothatbythe timethebookreachesthereader,it’sasgoodas itcanpossiblybe.

Whatisyoureditingphilosophyorapproach whenworkingwithwriters?

Firstandforemost,Iwanttounderstandwhat theiraimwiththebookisandwhichkindsof readerstheyarewritingfor.ThatmeansIcantailormyadviceandchangestodothatjob.

Lisa Turley is from West Virginia. She is on numerous ARC street teams and reads in multiple genres. She is passionate about helping authors get the wordoutabouttheirbooks.

Akeyconceptforeditingwellisrespect.Irespect thehugeamountofworkawriterhasalready donebeforethemanuscriptcomestome.Evenif itthenneedsalotmorework,it’salreadycomea longway.

RozMorris

Howdoyoutypicallycollaboratewithauthors tomaintaintheiruniquevoicewhileensuring clarityandconsistencyintheirwriting?

Imakeapointofnoticingwhattheydowell. That’swheretheirnaturalflairandauthoritywill show.OnceI’vetunedintothat,Icansuggestor makechangesthatwillfitwiththeirstyleand helpthemdotheirjobaswellaspossible.

Howdoyouhandledifferingopinionsorcreativedisagreementswithauthorsduringthe editingprocess?

Bytalking!

Someofeditingisamatterof‘correctness’–an apostropheiseitherintherightplaceoritisn’t. Nobodyquibblesaboutthat.

Otherwise,Idon’tseemyroleas‘correcting’.I seeitashelpingthebookachieveitsfullpotential.Iftherearedifferingopinionsoncreative mattersthat’sactuallyaninterestingsign–a signthatweshouldtalkmoreabouttheauthor’s intentionorthepublisher’sneeds,andthenIcan helpfindasolutionthatfits.

Inmydevelopmentalreports,ifImakeaplot suggestion,Istressthatitisonlyasuggestion, andthatI’mmakingitbecausethere’saproblem that’sspoilingthereader’sengagement.Iexplain whatthatproblemis–forinstance,acharacter’s motivationsmightbeconfusingthereaderina waythatdoesn’tenhancetheexperienceofthe book.Thewritermightdisagreewithmysuggestion,butiftheyunderstandthedeeperissue, theyusuallywanttodosomethingaboutit.

Whattypesofeditingservicesdoyouoffer (e.g.,developmentalediting,copyediting, proofreading),andhowdoyoudetermine whichismostappropriateforaparticularproject?

Icandoallofit!Ialwaysasktheclientwhattheir levelofexperienceis,whatworkhasalready beendoneonthemanuscript,whatproblems

they’dlikemetotackle(iftheyknow)andwhat theirconcernsare.Forinstance,ifthemanuscripthascomefromanOCR,thattellsmeto lookoutforcertainkindsoferror.

Howdoyoucommunicatefeedbacktowriters,andwhatisyourpreferredmethodof maintainingopenandconstructivedialogue throughouttheeditingprocess?

Frequentemails.Withsomekindsofediting,I canshareprogress,forinstanceifI’mrewritinga textbook.OrImightneedtoaskformorematerial,forinstanceexplanationsorcasestudies. Withothers,forinstanceadevelopmentaledit ofanovel,Idon’thaveanythingtoshowuntil I’vefinishedbecauseI’massessingthemanuscriptasawholeentity.ButIknowit’sstressful forthewriterwhilethey’rewaitingsoIliketolet themknowhowfarthroughIamandmygeneral impressions.

I’malwaysconstructive!Especiallyinadevelopmentalreportforanagentorpublisherorauthor,wheremyfocusistheworkneededtoget themanuscripttofinishedlevel.Iseethatasmy job–tohelpthewritercreatethebookthey wanttocreate.

Canyousharesomestrategiesforbalancing theneedforimprovementswithrespecting theauthor'soriginalintentandstyle?

I’maverystricteditor.Iusedtobechiefsubon amagazineandmynicknamewasRozweiler. Oneofmyclientsstillcallsmethatnow.(She’s beenwithmeforawhile,soshemustlikeit.)

SoI’mmercilessandthorough,butthat’sbecauseIwantthereadertohaveagreatexperiencewiththeauthor’swork.AndIlovetostart byunderstandingwhattheauthoristryingto do,whattheirspecialuniquequalitiesand strengthsare,andwhat’smissing,whichIcan add.Oneofmyclients(differentclient)said ‘you candoallthethingsIcan’tdo’–andIthinkthat

sumsupwhatagoodeditingpartnershipdoes.

Howdoyouapproacheditingdifferentgenres orstylesofwriting,anddoyouhaveexperiencewiththespecificgenreorstyleofthe manuscriptinquestion?

Muchdependsonthetypeofediting.Icancopy editandproof-readalmostanygenreorstyle unlessit’satechnicalsubjectI’mnotfamiliar with.Developmentalediting,though,requires anunderstandingoftheparticulargenreorstyle sothatyouunderstandwhatnotesthebook shouldhit.

Whatisyourtypicalturnaroundtimeforeditingprojects,andhowdoyouhandledeadlinesandrevisions?

Itentirelydependsontheproject!Foradevelopmentalreportofa70k-wordmanuscript,I usuallyquotesixweeks.Acopyeditorarewrite mightbeshorterorlonger,thougheverything dependsonthestateofthemanuscript.Ialways askwhatdeadlinestheclienthasinmindand keepintouchwiththemaboutprogressandany issues.

Howdoyoustayupdatedonindustrytrends andchangesinlanguageusage,andhowdoes thisinfluenceyoureditingpractices?

Igenerallykeepmyearsandeyesopen.Ithelps thatIreallynoticeanychangesinlanguageuse orgrammar,sotheyreallystickwithme.And I’maferventchecker.I’malwayscheckingnew verbsetc.

You’retheauthorofthebest-selling Nail Your Novel series.Tellusaboutthem?

Iwrotethemfrommyexperienceseditingand mentoringnovelists–Inoticedtheissuesthey mostcommonlyneededhelpwith.Thefirstone Ipublishedwas Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books & How You Can Draft, Fix & Finish

With Confidence.IwroteitbecauseIfoundIwas oftenadvisingauthorstorestructuretheirplot, orcombinecharacters,ormovescenesaround, andIsawtheirresponsewasabjectpanic.ButI routinelydidthiswithmyownwork,anddevelopedvarioussystemstotakeawaythestress.I realiseditwouldhelpifIputitinabook.I madeaworkbookversiontoo.

ThenIwrote Nail Your Novel: Writing Characters Who’ll Keep Readers Captivated and Nail Your Novel: Writing Plots With Drama, Depth & Heart, whichbothtackledthefundamentalproblemsI wasseeingwithnovelmanuscripts.

Thefullsetishere

https://www.vineleavespress.com/nail-yournovel-series-by-roz-morris.html

Let’sgetpersonal,doyouprefermountain orbeach?

Mountain.Butnottoohighoricy.Ilearnedalot abouthigh-altitudemountaineeringformy novel Ever Rest andyou’dnevergetmedoing thosethings.ButIlovespaceandlightand greatfoldedlandscapes.

Ialsolovepaddlingonabeachinwellies,but it’sgottobeanemptybeach.Ifit’srainingand bleakandwindy,evenbetter.

Whatdoyoudotorelax?

TrainmyhorseinFrenchclassicaldressage. Dressageisperfectfordetailnerds.

Howdoyouapproachyourownwriting?

I’vealwaysgotabookgoingon.UsuallyIwrite andeditindowntimebetweenworkforclients, butoncethebookreachesacertainstageI blockofftimeinmydiarysothatIcangiveit concentratedwork.Bythen,itbecomesalodgerinmyheadandI’malwayssnatchingpieces ofpapertowritedownlinesthatwanttobe

included,orparagraphsorscenesthatwantto bereordered.

Tellusaboutyourfictionbooks

My Memories of a Future Life ismyhomageto theverymysteriousideathatwemighthave livedbefore.Ithought,whatifyouwerethe pastlife?ThestoryisaboutCarol,apianistwho cannolongerplaybecauseofaninjurywhose natureismysterious.Desperateforacure,she findsherselfgoingtohernextlife.Orisit?What shouldsheunderstandbyit?https:// books2read.com/futurelife

Lifeform Three ismylovelettertomyfirsthorse, whoisnownolongerwithus.Iwouldridehim intheforestandwonderwhocameherebefore me,andwhetheranyonewoulddothisinthe future.Wouldanyoneridehorsesorwillwejust liveinourphones?

Lifeform Three isaboutthelastremainingpiece ofcountryside,witharuinedcountryhouse, whichiskeptasathemeparksothatpeople canseewhatthepastwaslike.Thenarratoris Paftoo,agroundsmanwhosemindisregularly wipedtokeephimproductive–sothere’salot aboutAIandalgorithmsandhowthey’resubtly inchargeofusall.Onenight,Paftoostartshavingdreamsaboutridingahorse,whichbeginsa questforallthethingshehasforgotten.

Lifeform Three waslonglistedfortheWorldFantasyAward.https://books2read.com/lifeform3

Ever Rest isaboutamanwhofallsintoaglacier andisstillthere,decadeslater.Meanwhilehis friendsgetolderandtrytolivetheirlives.But themanwhofellwasamusician,averyfamous one,andhisfansarestillcaptivatedbyhimin theice,stillwatchingvideosofhimwhenhe wasyoungandbeautiful,astheyimaginehe stillisnow,asyoungasthedayhefell.The wholeworld,itseems,isasfrozenasthemanin theice.

Anduntilhe’sfound,theywillnoteverrest. Ever Rest wasafinalistintheEricHofferGrandPrize.

https://books2read.com/everrest

Ialsohavealightheartedtravelmemoir, Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction. I’manincorrigiblediary-writer,andthisisaseriesofunadventuresandescapadesmostlyin theUK.They’rehiddendramasintheapparentlyordinary,includingmychildhoodhomewitha gardenpaththatmysteriouslywentundernext door’shouse,aunitonasuburbanbusiness parkwherepeoplepreparetofreezeeachother whentheydie,anexperimentinESP,anda Strictly-styleadventurewhenIstumbleintoa jobasaflashmobdancer.

I’mnowwritingthesequel, Turn Right At The Rainbow. https://books2read.com/nql

Lastly,wherecanourreadersfindoutmore aboutyouandyourbooks?

Mywebsite,whichishttps://rozmorris.org/

Also,mynewsletterhttps://tinyurl.com/ rozmorriswriter

Andhere’smyconsultancypageifyou’dliketo workwithme

https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/i-canhelp-you-with-your-book/

Thankyouonceagainforansweringmyquestions.Iamsureourreaderswilllovefinding outmoreaboutyou.

Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books & How You DRAFT, FIX & FINISH With Confidence by RozMorris

ReviewedbyWendyH.Jones

Areyouwritinganovel?Doyouwanttomakesureyoufinish? Willyougetlostandfizzleout?Willyouspendmoretimereadingabouthowtowritethanactuallygettingthewordsdown?

Mostbooksonnovel-writingwillmakeyoureadhundredsof pagesaboutcharacterarcs,incitingincidents,heroes’journeys.It’sgreattoknowthat–butwhileyou’rereadingaboutit you’renotwritingyourbook.

Andwhatthesebooksdon’ttellyouishowtousethislearning andgetthejobdone.

NailYourNovelisawritingbuddy–andmentor-inabook.

In10easystepsitwilltellyou:

*howtoshapeyourbigideaandmakeanoveloutofit

*howtodoyourresearchandhowtouseit

*howtoorganiseyourtime.

*howtoplotandbuildcharacters

*whenyou’regoingtohitproblemsandwhattodoaboutthem

*howtowriteonthedaysyoudon’tfeelinspired

*howtorereadwhatyou’vewrittenandpolishit.

Alongtheway,ThumbnailNotesgivetutorialsaboutstorytellingandstorycraft –strictlywhenyouneed them.Theauthorhaswrittennearlyadozennovelsthathavemadeitintoprint –andthisishowshedid it.

Youdon’tevenneedtoreadthewholebookbeforeyougetstarted.Youreadasection,thendoasit says.And,onceyou’refinallysatisfied,NailYourNovelwilltellyouhowtosellittopublishersand agents.

You’vedreamedofwritinganovel.Don’tprocrastinatewithanothertheorybook.Don’tlaunchin,get stuckandthrowyourhardworkinadrawer.Nailyournovel.

Review

YouknowwhenyoupurchaseaRozMorris bookyouaregettingbothqualityandvalue.

Everycarefullychosenwordofthisbookwill helpyoumoveyourmanuscriptforward.Sheis highlyrespectedandinfluentialinthepublishingindustryasdemonstratedbyherbio:

RozMorrishasnearlytwodecadesofexperiencewritingnovelsandhelpingfloundering authorsfindtheirway.Sheisaseniorbook doctorforamajorliteraryconsultancyinLondon,writesfictionunderherownnameand hasghostwrittenbestsellingfictionforhighprofilewriterswithmajorpublishers,including RandomHouse,PuffinandMammoth.

Sheusesthisexperiencetohelpothersandthisbookisjampackedwithinformationwhichwillhelpyou getyourbookoffthestartingblocks.

Thebookisperfectlyorganisedandpresentedinsuchawaythateveryone –fromnovicetoexpert–will findsomethingthatwillenlightenthemandhelpthemontheirwritingjourney.Everythingisbroken downlogicallyandeachstepexplainedwithoutpatronisingthereader.Anexcellentresourcethatdeservesitsplaceoneverywritersbookshelf.

Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition she is a writing coach, editor in chief of Writers’ Narrative, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.

RozMorris

Nail Your Novel: Writing Characters Who ll Keep Readers Captivated by

ReviewedbyWendyH.Jones

Blurb

Howdoyoucreatecharacterswhokeepreaders hooked?Howdoyouwritetheoppositesex?Teenagers?Believablerelationships?Historicalcharacters?Enigmaticcharacters?Plausibleantagonists andchillingvillains?

Howdoyouunderstandacharacterwhoselifeis totallyunlikeyourown?Howdoyouwritecharactersfordystopias?Howdoyoumakedialogue sing?Whencanyouletthereaderintuitwhatthe charactersarefeelingandwhenshouldyouspellit out?

RozMorrisisabestsellingghostwriterandbook doctor,andaliteraryauthorinherownright.She hasmined20years'worthofwriting,editingand critiquingexperiencetocreatethisbook.Itcontainsallthepitfallsandstickypointsforwriters, laidoutasasetofdiscussionsthatareeasytodip into.Anditwouldn'tbeaNailYourNovelbook withoutagooddoseofgames,exercisesandquestionnairestohelpyoupopulateanovelfrom scratch.

Whetheryouwriteastraightforwardstory-basedgenreorliteraryfiction,thisbookwillshowyouhowto createpeoplewhoenthralreaders-andmakeyouwanttotellstories.

PreviouslytitledBringCharacterstoLife.

Review

ThisisanotherexcellentbookintheNailYour Novelstable.Itcontainseverythingyouneedto knowaboutcreatingcharactersandthensome.

Manytimes,Ihaveseenbookreviewssayingthe bookwaswellwrittenandthestorylinegood,but thereviewercouldnotcareaboutthecharacters. Thisisbecausetheyoftencomeacrossastwo dimensionaloreverycharacteractsandsounds thesame.

Thisbookwillhelpyoutoavoidthosepitfallsand itdoessoinaneasilyreadandunderstoodformat.

Morrisisaskilledwriterandhighlyregarded ghostwriterandshesharestheskillsshehas learnedandhonedthroughmanyyearsofworkingwithinthepublishingindustry.Anotherbook whichshouldbeoneverywriter’sbookshelf.

Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition she is a writing coach, editor in chief of Writers’ Narrative, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.

HowToMakeYourEditorLoveYou

Doyoudreadthereturnofyourdraftfrom youreditor?Pleasedon’t!Thejobofthe editoristohelpauthorstomaketheir booksthebesttheycanbe.We’reonyourside.

WheneverI’maskedtoeditanything,Ialways askmyclientstodefinewhattheymean.ThenI willaskforasampleof,say,2000words,which I’lleditandsendbacksotheycanseewhatI thinktheymeantandwecanresolveanydifferencesinexpectationbeforeI’vespentaweekon it.It’salsoanopportunitytogaugehowlonga bookwilltake.Note:itis not thejoboftheeditor torewritetheentiremanuscript,thoughIhave sometimesbeenapproachedbyauthorswho expectthis.ThisisthepointatwhichIpolitely suggest,‘Idon’tthinkI’mthebestpersonto workwithyouonthisproject.’

Astructuraleditdealswithhowyourbookflows. Atthisstage,youreditormightsuggestchanges tochapterorder,paragraphorder,illustrations, captions:themeatystuff.Legalaspectsmight alsobeaddressed,suchascopyrightissues,and somefact-checkingmightbeneeded.

Thecopyedit(alsoknownassubbingorlineedit)isaword-by-wordcheckofspelling,punctuation,grammarandconsistency.Agoodcopyeditorwillalsopickupanystructuralanomalies thatmighthavebeenmissed.You’dbesurprised howmanypeoplecanreadanovelbeforeoneof

themnoticesthatacharacterchangesname halfwaythrough.

Technicaldevelopmentsmeanthatsometimes editorsstrayintowhatwasformerlytheterritory ofadesigner,andmayhavesomeinputonelementssuchaspositioningofillustrations,what needstobesetinitalics,andstylingofheadings andsubheadings.

Makesureyourbookisinthebestpossible shapebeforeyouhanditovertoyoureditor.If you’resubmittingtoanagentorpublisher,you willfallatthefirsthurdleifyourmanuscriptis litteredwithmistakes,especiallyiftheyarethe sortofthingthatevenabasicspellcheckwould havepickedup.Byallmeansusethespelling andgrammarcheckoptionsthatcomewith yourwritingsoftware,butdon’trelyonthem. Noonewantsacharactertobe‘phased’bycircumstances.

Youmighthaveavisionofhowyourfinished bookwilllook,butthereisnopointindoinglots offancylayingoutwhenyousubmityourmanuscript.Apartfromanythingelse,youarelikelyto haveworkedinA4size,soit’sawasteofeffortto

Julia Thorley shares wonderful advice on getting the best from working with your editor.

JuliaThorley

spendhoursputtinginrunningheads,page numbersandbeautifullypositionedillustrations andcaptions.There’snothingguaranteedto makeeditorssighmorethanhavingtodismantleapieceofworkbeforetheycanstartonthe words.

Ifyouaregoingdowntherouteofselfpublishing,youwillstillneedaneditor.Letme saythatagain: you will need an editor.Beclear aboutwhatyouexpect.Don’tsay‘proofread’if youwantthemtodomorethanspotliterals; don’tsay‘fulledit’andthengetcrossifthey queryyourchoiceofwords.

Ifyou’reworkingtowardsmagazinepublication ratherthanabook,youwillstillhavearelationshipwiththeeditor.Theapproachhereisslightlydifferent,butthestandardsofprofessionalismarejustashigh.Infact,expectationsmight beevenhigher,becauselead-timesareshorter andthereislesswriggleroomforamendments.

HereareafewthingsIinviteyoutotryifyou wanttoannoyyoureditor:

Submitachildren’sstorytoapublisherthatspecialisesinmilitaryhistory.You’vereadtheauthorguidelines,butyoufeelitistimethecompanybranchedoutinanewdirectionandyou’re thepersontotakeitthere.

Interpret‘Thatsoundslikeaninterestingidea’ as‘Yes,that’sadefiniteforus.Senditinand we’llpublishit.’Afterall,ifweliketheidea, we’reboundtolovethefinishedarticle,nomatterhowit’swrittenandwhetherornotyou comeupwiththepromisedillustrations.

Ifyouhaven’theardfromuswithin24hoursof submitting,ringandcheckwhatwe’replaying at,andkeepringinguntilyougetaresponse. Treatdeadlinesassuggestions.Sowhatifwe’ve gotpaperordered,aprinterlinedupandshops standingbyforourproduct.Theyprobably won’tmindwaiting.

Useacurlyfont.Editorslovehavingtoreachfor amagnifyingglasstodecipheryourpearlsofwisdom.

Feelfreetomodifyourhousestyletosuityour ownpreferences.JustbecauseweuseconventionalEnglishgrammarandspellingasspecified byChambersdoesn’tmeanwecan’tuseAmericanslangforyou,or‘WorldWarTwo’insteadof ‘theSecondWorldWar’.

Ifwe’vecommissioneda1,500-wordarticle,but youcan’tsayeverythingyouwanttoinfewer than2,500,don’tworry.Wecanalwaysdrop somethinglessimportantoraddafewextrapages.

Ifyouhavetosubmitanyamendmentstoyour 80,000-wordbook,don’tbothertouseTrack Changes.Welovethechallengeofrereadingthe wholepiecetospotthedifference.

Don’tworryifyoucan’tfindthatdateorrememberthatname.Justmakeyourbestguess,highlightitinyellowandaddanote: ‘Editor: pls chk.’

OK,thislistisalittletongueincheek,butyou’d besurprisedwhatsomepeoplethinkisappropriate.

Toconclude,letmereiterate:whicheverpath youchoose,ifyouareofferedtheoptiontohave yourbookeditedALWAYSSAYYES.

Julia Thorley is a Kettering-based editor and writer, and author of several fiction and non-fiction books. She also runs workshops, gives talks on writing and is a competition judge.

Editing-DoYouLoveItorLoatheIt?

Allison Symes discusses why good editing is vital for any writer and shares tips from her experience as a professional editor and competition judge.

Doyoulikeeditingorconsideritanecessaryevil?IloveitthoughI’mnot unbiased.Aswellasbeingcopyeditor for Writers’ Narrative, Ieditflashfictioncollectionsforapublisher,editasafreelancer, andruneditingworkshops.

I’malsoacompetitionjudge.Howdoesthat feedintoediting?Easily.Ajudgecantell wheresomeoneislikelytobeontheirwriting journeybecausewecanspothowmuchor howlittleeditingwasdoneonthesubmitted story.

Youwillcorrectlyguessfromthiswecan workoutwhereanauthorhasputtheworkin tomaketheirstoryaspolishedaspossible andwheresomeonehasnot.

Whatchangedmyviewoneditingwasonrealisingagoodeditmakesallthedifferenceto beingpublishedornot,beingplacedina competitionornot,andthechangetomy workmakingitsomuchbetterthanmyfirst draft.Thereisnothingtodislikeaboutanyof that!

Thereisagreatdealanauthorcandotoimprovetheirworkbeforesendingworktoan editor.Havingyourworkprofessionallyedited,alongwithhavingabookcoverdesigned, arethetwothingsallwritersshouldseeas investmentsintheircareer,especiallyifyou self-publish.

Allison Symes

Why?Simplybecausehavingwrittenyour book,polisheditasbestasyoucan,youthen wanttosenditoutintotheworld,right?Fine butyouwantyourworktolookasprofessionalasthebooksalreadyoutthere.Youwant yourstobeatleastasgood.

Wearealltooclosetoourownwork.We shouldbe.Wecarepassionatelyaboutour charactersandstories.That’sgreat.Butthere comesthetimewhenyouneed someone else toseeyourworkwithfresheyes.Theywill lookatwhatworksinyourstory,what doesn’t,andsuggestimprovements.

In2020,Iwasonbothsidesoftheediting fenceatthesametime.Itwasaninteresting experienceandonewhichmayhappenagain. Iwasbeingeditedonmysecondbook, Tripping the Flash Fantastic, atthesametimeasI waseditingsomeoneelse’sflashfictioncollection.Icouldseewheremyeditorwascomingfromwiththeircommentsonmybook.I hoped“myauthor”couldseewhereIwas comingfromwithmycommentsontheirs.

Iwentthroughmyownmanuscriptseveral timesbeforesubmittingitandstillmissed things.Iremaingratefulformyeditorpicking

Lisa Turley is from West Virginia. She is on numerous ARC street teams and reads in multiple genres. She is passionate about helping authors get the wordoutabouttheirbooks.

uponthesepoints.Ithenmadethenecessaryadjustmentstothemanuscriptandit wasthenpublished.

Whenyouedityourwork,youwanttosee thepiecealmostasifyouhadn’twrittenit. YouwanttoseeitfromtheIdealReader’s viewpoint.Youneedtogetyourselfintothat mindsetandthinkwhatwouldsomeoneelse makeofthischaracter,plotlineetc.?

Askyourselfhonestquestions.Arethereany plotholes?CouldIstrengthenhowmycharacterisportrayedsomyreadershaveaclearerpictureofthem?

ThebiggesttipIcangiveisto give yourself sufficient time away from your work. Why? Simplybecausehavingagoodbreakfrom yourworkwillgiveyouthenecessarydistancetoreturnandjudgeitobjectively.

Foranovelorstorycollection,Irecommend puttingitawayforatleastamonth.Iknow. Thatsoundslikeages,right?Butitispreciselythatgapyouneedtobeabletoreadyour workanew.Meantime,ofcourse,youcan draftsomethingelse;maybetryshortfiction, anythingtotakeyourmindoffyourcompletedworkforawhile.

Ifyouputyourworkouttoaprofessionaleditor,giveyourselftimetoreadtheirreport. Remembertheyare not beingcriticalforthe sakeofit.Theyaretryingtohelpyoumake yourbookthebestitcanpossiblybe.That willgiveitthebestchance“outthere”.Ihave beenontheothersideofthefenceheretoo.

Iwroteanovel,whichisstillunpublished, butIputitthroughwhatwasknownasa bookdoctor twice. Itookonboardalmostall ofthesuggestionstoimprovethework.The novelendedupbeinglonglistedforaDebut Novelcompetition.Ihopetocomebacktoit butmeantimemywritinglifetookoffinthe

shortforms-shortstorywritingandflashfiction.

ButIlearnedsomuchfromgoingthrough this.Ithelpedmetoseetheeditingprocess forwhatitis-gettingyourworkuptoaprofessionalstandard.Ilearnedtowork with an editor,whichhasstoodmeingreatstead sincethenformyeditingworkandwhatIdo hereat Writers’ Narrative.

Sometimesaneditorwillpickuponissues.It isnotjustaboutcheckingforgrammarortypos,thoughthatisimportant.Ihadtoaskan authorto not uselyricsfromasongbecause ofcopyrightissues.Theauthorremoved themwhichthenmadethetalemakemore senseastherewouldbethosewhowouldnot haveheardofthesonginthefirstplace.

Agoodeditorwillmakeanauthorawareof thingslikethis.Editorsareyourflagraisers, heretoraisequerieswhichyoucanresolveto makeyourworkstronger.

Thebestthingdecenteditingcandoforany writeristomakeyouseewhatareaderwill makeofyourwork.Seeingyourstorylike thatmakesyouopentoseeingitsstrengths and weaknesses.Youcanthendosomething aboutthoseweaknessesbeforesubmission. Thathastoimproveyourchances.

Putlikethat,editingisn’tsobadafterall,isit?

Allison Symes is a flash fiction/short story writer, blogger and editor based in Hampshire. She runs writing workshops, judges competitions, and writes weekly for writers for Chandler’s Ford Today. She has two flash fiction collections published (Chapeltown Books) with a third in the pipeline.

WritingaChainRhyme

Thismonth,poetLisMcDermottexplainschain rhymesandsharestipsonhowtowritethem.

Themagazine’sthemeofthismonthiseditingso,asIusuallydo,I’vetriedtoshare withyoujusthowIwriteandeditmypoem.

Thismonth’spoeticformisaChainRhyme.

Theendrhymeofthelastlineofeachstanzabecomestherhymeoflines1and3inthenext stanza.

Thesecondlineofeachstanzadoesn’thaveto rhymewithanything.

Thereisnoexpectationonsyllablecount.

Myfirstthoughtiswhatthefocusofmypoemis goingtobeabout.AsthemonthisApril,I thoughtaboutwordslinkedtothat.Aprilshowerscameintomymind,butthenIwondered, whatflowersarearoundinApril?

So,Imadealistoftheflowers:Gardenia;peonies:iris;cornflower;forsythia; freesia;anemone;pansy;primrose;magnolia; camellia;clematis;japonica;tulip;sweetpea; delphinium;ranunculi;rose;peony;Lisianthus; orchidandviburnum.

Next,Ithoughtaboutwhichoftheseflower nameswouldrhymewithanything…theunder-

LisMcDermott

linedflowersandwordsaretheonesIendedup using.

tulips;tips;grips;eclipse; sweetpeas;breeze;ease;sneeze;trees; roses;closes;noses;poses; Lisianthus;plus;fuss; Orchid;mid;rid;hid;amid; viburnum;dumb;glum;plum;succumb;outcome.

Otherwordstodowithgardens:green;been;queen;scene;

Lastly,Ithoughtaboutsynonymsfor‘walk’ - amble; wend our way; outing; stroll; tread between;

Idon’talwaysjuststicktothesewords,butthey givemeastartingpoint,basedontheideaI wanttogowith.

Belowismyfirstattempt.IhadtomakesureI endedthisstanzawithawordthathadrhymes thatwouldsuitmyidea.Forexample,japonica doesn’thavemanywordsrhymingwithitatall andnoneofthemmatchedmytheme.

Theunderlinedwordsinthisversionchangein thefinishedone.

Ratherthanwalksinintermittentshowers, Lookforwardtoafternoonswithfriends, Wanderingroundthegarden,admiringflowers Delphiniums,ranunculiandbrightsweetpeas.

Spendingtime,saunteringatyourease, Takeinthegloriouscolourssurrounding You,asflowersnodtheirheadsinthebreeze, Purples,reds,pinks,andvarioushuesoftulips

Evenvarietieswithcrinkly-edgedflowertips, (1st)

Cannottakeawayfromthemostbeautiful(5th) showofbeautyfromthepeonieswilleclipse (2nd)

everythingandanythingasyoucontinueto treadbetween(3rd)

thefloralbowersandfloweringbedsonpathwaysgreen(4th)

wendingyourwaydeeperintheblossoming sanctuary, Youfeellikeagoddess,anearlybuddingMay queen,

Embracedbytheburgeoningnatureofspring.

Forthelasttwostanzas,Iwrotethelinescompletelyoutoforder–theorderisinbrackets.I knewwhichwordsIwantedtouseastheend rhyme,soneededtoleadintothose.

April

Ratherthanwalksinintermittentshowers, Lookforwardtoafternoonswithfriends, Wanderingaroundgardens,admiringflowers, Delphiniums,orchidsandbrightsweetpeas.

Spendingtime,saunteringatyourease, Takeinthegloriouscolourssurrounding You,asfreesiasnodtheirheadsinthebreeze. Purple,red,pink,andvarioushuesoftulips, evenvarietieswithcrinkly-edgedpetaltips, cannottakeawayfromthemostbeautiful blooms;thelarge,blousy,peonieswilleclipse everythingandanyone,asyoutreadbetween floralbowersanddecorativebedsonpathways green.

Wendingyourwaydeeperintotheblossoming sanctuary, Youfeellikeagoddess,anearlybuddingMay Queen, embracedbytheburgeoningnatureofspring.

Lis McDermott is a multi-genre author, poet and writing mentor. Visit Lis’ website: https://lismcdermottauthor.co.uk

SubscriberNews

Tonominateyourwritinggroup,locallibrary orbookshoptobefeaturedinfutureissues emailwritersnarrative@gmail.com subjectheadedfortheattentionoftheEditor inChief.

Marsh’sLibrary,Dublin

byPaulineTait

Inthisissue,wetraveltoIrelandandtheoldestlibraryinDublin.BuiltbyArchbishopNarcissusMarshinthelateseventeenth,early eighteenthcenturies,Marsh’sLibrarywasthe firstpubliclibraryinIrelandtoopenitsdoorsto anyonewhoneededaplacetoread.Allotherlibrariesatthetimebeingattachedtochurches anduniversities.

Withamissionto‘preserve and maintain its rare books and manuscripts, to acquire similar by donation, to cherish its distinctive building heritage, and to establish Marsh’s as a cultural and intellectual hub for visitors, students and scholars’,Marsh hasbecomeamust-seetouristdestination.

Andwhilemanyvisittotakeinitsarchitecture, thestunninggardensthatwerebuiltforthelibrarykeeper’spleasure,andtorevelinthesheer gloriousnessofsuchanatmosphericlibrary, Marsh’sstrivestobecomea‘must use’ forhistoriansspecialisinginEuropeanhistory,culture,and literaturefromaround1500to1750.

Knownasa‘centre for excellence in the study of early printed books’,Marsh’sLibraryhousesimportantcollectionsthatwelcomevisitorsannuallyfromallaroundtheworld.

LocatedinSt.Patrick’scloseinDublin,themesmerisingeighteenthcenturymarvelisamustsee foranyonevisitingthearea.Withguidedtours availabletoschools,universities,andtourists alike,thereareexhibitionstosuiteveryone.Or,if youwouldprefer,youarewelcometowander aroundatyourleisure.Keentowelcomefamilies, Marsh’sLibraryhasensuredithassomethingto suitallageswithaminifigurescavengerhuntfor itsyoungervisitors.

Pauline Tait is an award-winning children’s author, novelist, and writing mentor based in Scotland. She writes both romantic suspense and children’s picture books as well as mentoring children’s authors. More information on Pauline’s writing, mentoring and books can be found at www.paulinetait.com

AdventureIntoBooksbyPaulineTait

For our Bookshop of the month Pauline Tait takes us to a bookshop in rural Perthshire, Scotland run by Kate and Ralph.

Thismonth,wefindourselvesinbonnie Scotland.NestledinBlairgowrie,Perthshire,AdventureintoBooksopenedjustas weenteredourfirstlockdown.Refusingtobedeterred,owners,KateandRalph,embracedtheir unconventionalstartandhavesucceededincreatingawelcomingindependentbookshopthat’s asbigonatmosphereasitisonsupportingthe localcommunity.

Withawarmwelcomeandapassionforliterature Kate,herselfastrategicwriterforbusinesses aroundtheworld,andRalph,asalmonfarmer andkeyaccountconsultant,havecreatedabook shopthatcaptivatesyouthemomentyoustep acrossthethreshold.

FromregularBookBlethereveningsandauthor eventsspanningallgenres,acustomerloyalty schemeaswellastheirinvolvementinthelocal BOOKMARKFestival,thisatmosphericindie bookshophassettledintothebonesofNo.26 Wellmeadowasthoughithasforeverbeenanintegralpartofthetown.

Thechildren’ssectiongraspsyourattentionthe momentyouwalkthroughthefrontdoor.Withan

BookshopoftheMonth

KateandRalph

arrayofbrightcoloursandtitlestofeedallimaginations,ithasbecomeafavouritewithfamilies, localreadinggroups,andschools.Andwiththe restoftheshelvesbrimmingwithnewreleases andgenresspanningeveryreader’sneeds,AdventureIntoBooksisatreasuretroveofliterary mustreads.

StrongsupportersofScottishauthors,Adventure IntoBooksisagreatpitstopforpassingtourists lookingforgifts.Orramblers,skiers,andholidaymakersheadingintothehills,as,giventheirlocation,KateandRalphhavealsoensuredanample stockofOrdnanceSurveymapsandtravelguidebooks.

Agemofanindiebookshopnottobemissedif youarevisitingstunningPerthshire,headingtowardsRoyalDeeside,orsimplypassingthrough!

Pauline Tait is an awardwinning children’s author, novelist, and writing mentor based in Scotland. She writes both romantic suspense and children’s picture books as well as mentoring children’s authors. More information on Pauline’s writing, mentoring and books can be found at www.paulinetait.com

RedPenWriting:IsTherea‘Right’WaytoEdit?

AccordingtoStephenKing,“Towriteishuman, toeditisdivine.”

Ienjoytheeditingstageofwriting.Tobeginwith, however,thisprovedtobemoreaprocessoftrialanderror.WhenIfinishedthefinaldraftofmy 110,000worddebuthistoricalnovel,Iknewit neededtobeeditedbut,otherthanself-editing,I didn'tknowhowtogoaboutthis.

Gettingthisstagewrongcouldprovecostly–not justinmonetarytermsbutinwastedtimeandin thequalityofthefinishedproduct.Ireadnumerousbooksoneditingandworkedthroughonline blogsandposts,tryingtofindmywaythrough thewealthofeditingadvice,servicesandterminologyoutthere.

Aftermanyfailedattemptstofindthe‘right’way tocarryoutanedit,itbecameclearthatthere wasn’ta‘onesizefitsall’solution.Therewasn’ta ‘correct’waytoeditmywork.Manyfactorswere involved,includinghowmuchIwantedtospend andhowmuchandwhattypeofeditingmywritingrequired.Assuch,Ineededtodevelopmy owneditingsystem–onethatworkedforme.

Choosingfromthewiderangeofoptionsavailableoftenfeltdaunting;fromself-editing,topaid foreditingservicestoeditingtools,tothecosts involved.Developinganunderstandingofthe keyeditingtermsfinallyhelpedmetogetstarted onthisprocess.Likemanywriters,Inowbreak editing intokeystages self-editing,findingan editorfordevelopmental/contentandcopyediting,findingbetareaders(includingsensitivity readerswhenrequired)andthenproofreading.

Self-Editing

Regardlessofwhetherapieceofwritingneedsto besentouttoaprofessionaleditorornot,itis worthcheckingthroughthecontenttomake

sureeverythingisgoodtogo.Icarrythisoutin stagesforfictionwritinglookingseparatelyat, amongstotherthings,dialogue,consistencyof characterandplacenames–particularlyifthese havechangedduringrewrites.Idothesame lookingforpointofviewissues,typos,redundancies,plotholes,missingdialoguetags,useofthe fivesensesandconsistencyissuesincontent suchastheweatherandsoon.Ithenrunthe manuscriptthroughWordandGrammarlybefore sendingitoutforfurtherediting.

Paidforandfreeservices

Thereisarangeofeditingservicesoutthereand it’sworthdoingyourhomeworkbeforecommittingyourself.Someservicescost,somedon’t.To me,thereisadegreeofconfusionamongstsome writersaboutwhateditingservicesentail.I’ve seentermslikebetareading,proofreading,line editingandcopyeditingusedinterchangeably onlinewhenthesearedifferentprocesses.

Findingtherighteditors

Someeditorsprovidemorethanonetypeofeditingservice,butnotalldo.Whenapproachingan editorfortheirservices,it’simportanttobeclear aboutthetypeofeditingyouarelookingforand toaskforthisaccordingly.

Developmental/contentediting

Thisentailsafullreadthroughofthemanuscript, withtheeditorlookingat‘bigpicture’issues suchas,plot,consistency,structure,character

Sheena Macleod discusses her editing process and some of the editing services out there for writers.

developmentandcontentappropriatetothe genre.WhenIpublishedmyfirstnovelwitha smallpresspublisher,Iwasfortunatetobegiven theservicesofaneditortocarryoutdevelopmentalandcontentediting.

Copyediting

Idopayforcopyeditingservicesforbooklength manuscripts tocheckthroughmyuseofgrammar,spelling,punctuationandclarityofcontent. Thecopyeditorwillbelookingatmanyofthe samethingsIhavecoveredduringmyself-edit andmore,butwithafreshandmoreexperiencedeye.Acopyeditorsuggestsrevisionsif somethingisn’tcleartothemandgenerallywill helppolishthework,takingittothenextlevel.

BetaReaders

Iuseasetgroupofbetareadersandvaluetheir contributions.Someareauthorsandothersare readersofthegenresIwritein.I’malsoamemberofawritingcritiquegroupandanonlinebeta readinggroup,soIknowIcantrustthoseIgive mynearfinishedworkoutto.Whensubmitting anMStobetareaders,IincludeasetofaccompanyingquestionsIwouldlikeanswered.

Proofreading

Oncealltheeditchangeshavebeenmade,Idoa finalreadthroughofthecompletework.The processoftrackingandmakingchangestocontentbasedoneditsuggestionscan,frustratingly, leadtofurthertyposandinconsistenciesbeing introduced.Thesecanbepickedupandcorrectedduringproofreading.

Wetendtobeblindtoourownmistakes.Readersaregenerallymoreawareofthem.Utilising editorialservicescanhelpyoupolishyourmanuscriptreadyforpublicationandtakeyourwork tothenextlevel.

Sheena Macleod lives in the East Coast of Scotland. She mainly writes historical fact and fiction, and is the author of two published historical novels and one nonfiction book.

J.R.R.Tolkien 1892–1973

“Itisthesmallthings,everydaydeedsofordinaryfolk,thatkeepsthedarknessatbay.”

J.R.R.Tolkien—The Hobbit (1937)

Popularlyregardedasthe‘father’ofmodern fantasyliterature,EnglishauthorJohnRonald ReuelTolkienwasborninJanuary1892.

HemarriedEdithBrattin1916andtheyhad threechildren.

Aswellasfictionwriting,Tolkienwas anauthorofacademicliterarycriticism.Inaddition topriorpositions,hewasMertonProfessorof EnglishLanguageandLiteratureattheUniversityofOxford,untilhisretirementin1959.

Tolkien’sfantasy booksaboutMiddle-Earth arestillwidelyreadtoday.

IttookTolkienseventeenyearstowriteLordof theRings.Earlyeditionscontainhisownmaps andillustrations.

Tolkienalsowrotechildren’sshortstories.

Hediedin1973,aged81years.HissonChristopherpublishedaseriesofworksbasedonTolkien’snotesandunpublishedmanuscripts.

Tolkien’smostnotableworksinclude:

The Hobbit —1937

The Lord of the Rings Originallypublishedin threevolumesbetween1954–1955

Wendy H. Jones and Tami C. Brown set this month’s writing prompts. Inspired by a theme of spring they provide a range of prompts. Why not give them a try?

(Photographic images by Tami C. Brown)

Written

Springisallaround,yetyourmaincharacter ismelancholy.

Springgrowthremindsyouofthelifegrowingwithin.

Springthroughtheeyesofachild.

Music

HereComesTheSunbyTheBeatles

SpringCanReallyHangYouUptheMostby BetteMidler

TheFourSeasons:SpringbyVivaldi

Image1: Flowersforyoubike~thispicturewasfromaTexastrip

WendyH.Jones

TamiC.Brown

Editor in chief, Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award -winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non-fiction books for writers. In addition she is a writing coach, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.

Tami C. Brown loves to have her camera ready to snap beauty wherever she goes. Her family and friends, affectionately known as the Queenies, are well prepared for random stops along the journey to have a photo op. She’s grateful for all photography opportunities and the adventures that come along with it.

Image2:Springtimebirdsinyouryard

Image3: Flowersforyourbike~thispicturewastakeninChincoteague,VA

WhyWritersShouldRead

John Greeves discusses why it matters that writers read well.

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” StephenKing

Don’tunderestimatetheimmensevalue ofreadinginlearningtowrite.Thetwo activitiesareinseparablylinked.Readingletsyouknowmoreimportantlywhata readerwantsandwhatyouneedtobringto yourownwriting.Throughreadingyou’reabsorbingagreatdealaboutthecraftofwritingaboutthestructureofsentencesandpatterns ofparagraphs,aswellaswordchoices,punctuationandmanyotherelementsofwriting.

ZadieSmithmaintains,“Learningtobeagood readermakesyouagoodwriter”whileGeorge R.R.Martin(Americannovelist)goesevenfurtherbyclaiming;“Areaderlivesathousand livesbeforehedies...Themanwhoneverreads livesonlyone.”Themostsignificantadvantage ofreadingisitprovidesaninsightintoawriter andhowthewritingisdone.Ifyoureadavarietyofgenresbybothcontemporaryandclassic writersyoustarttounderstandandrecognise differentwritingstyles.

Theseoftenfireyourimaginationandultimatelyhelpyoutoformulateandemulatetheseelementsintoyourownwriting.Theprocessisexponential,asthemoreyouread,thegreaterthe opportunityyouhavetodevelopandhoneyour

JohnGreeves

ownanalyticalskills.Whetherconsciouslyor subconsciouslythisinteractionwithreadingallowsyoutoevaluateelementsofcharacterdevelopment,conflict,plot,pacing,tension,dialogue,themesandunderstandingmorefullythe subtext.

Manycomplexitiessurroundthisinteractionbetweenreadingandwriting.Readingenhances vocabulary,butitalsoinvolvestheskillbyauthorstoselectthe‘bestfit’wordsandtheunderstandingofsubtlenuances,whichbringmeaning,fluidityandrhythmtoanywriting.

Wordsremainthelifebloodofawriter.Every wordhasanattitudeandwordchoices,however similarremainimportant.Shouldanauthorfor instancewritea cantankerous child,a wilful child, or obstinate child,whatshadeofmeaningdoes thewriterwanttoconvey?Theseshadesof meaningmightseemsmall,butit’sonlybyreadingdowestarttounderstandhowcrucialword choicesareinaffectingtheoveralldeliveryof writing.

UndertakingourReadingJourney

Weallhaveapersonalreadingjourney,which beginsandchangesaswegrow.Irememberbeingintroducedtothechildren’sclassicssuchas Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan. EventhenIexperiencedthepleasureandpower ofthewrittenword.AuthorslikeMarkTwainin The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn couldin thoseearlydayssetmyimaginationablaze, whilehelpingmeunderstandhowpeoples’lives andideasoffreedomwereverydifferent.

Readingasachildwasn’tconfinedtotheclassics. Just William books,EnidBlyton’s The Famous Five, Biggles, The Boy’s Own Magazine and the Eagle comicallfiguredatdifferent times...butasWilliamFaulknersuggested“Read everything-trash,classics,goodandbad,and seehowtheydoit.Justlikeacarpenterwho worksasanapprenticeandstudiesthemaster. Read!You’llabsorbit.Thenwrite.Ifit’sgood you’llfindout.”

Myepiphanyinreadingcameinmyadolescence whenIrealizedcertainauthorscouldarticulate andexpresswhatIfeltinsidemewhichwasuniversaltothehumancondition.AlanBennettin The History Boys perhapsputsitbetterwhenhe says: “Thebestmomentsinreadingarewhen youcomeacrosssomething–athought,afeeling,awayoflookingatthings–whichyouhad thoughtspecialandparticulartoyou.Nowhere itis,setdownbysomeoneelse,apersonyou havenevermet,someoneevenwhoislong dead.Anditisasifahandhascomeoutand takenyours.”

Later,IreadwriterslikeSomersetMaugham, Salinger,GeorgeOrwelluntilmytasteswereredirectedasastudent.HereIreadexistential writerslikeSartre,SimonedeBeauvoir,Kafka, FyodorDostoevskyaswellasthe‘Beatwriters’ suchasJackKerouacandWilliamBurroughs whoallinfluencedme. AtthetimeKerouac’s workfeltspontaneousandadventurousaswell

ashighlightingautobiographicalexperiences andcontemporarypoliticalsentiments.

Eventoday,thepathwayfeelshaphazard,untraveledorevenrandom,asdifferentpathsdivergeprovidingavarietyofvoices,stylesand ideas,aswellasnewperceptionsformeasa readertoencounter.

Still,I’mneversurewherethesesignpostslead, orhowtheidiomofcontemporarywritingwill change,duetothecultural,socialandeconomic pressuresoftheday,butonethingI’mcertainof isthatreadingremainsthelifebloodofevery writer.

Practicalsuggestionstohelpyourreading feedyourwriting

HarukiMurakamimaintains,“Tounderstanda novelyoumustfirstunderstandataphysical levelhowtoputittogether,”Justasafilmproducerusesastoryboard,soIbelieveyoucan deconstructanovelbysummarizingthekeyelementsfoundineachchaptertoseehowit works.

Forinstance,inchapterfiveofabookyoumight bereading,youmayencounterasecondary characterforthefirsttime.It’s1947andasoldierhasdecidedtoreturntoEngland,twoyears afterhostilitieshaveceased.Hecarriesaletter fromadyingcomradetodelivertotheman’s father;aletterwhichhaslaindormantfortwo years.

Theauthorusesabackstorytobringthischaractertolifeandthreemainsettingsareprovidedinthechapter-thecrossChannelferry,the traintoLondonandtherundownlodgings.Post warausterityisshownthroughthedatedfurniture,thepeelingwallpaperanddilapidateddecoroftheroom.

Londontooisdepictedintheaftermathofwar

anddrawsonconcretedetailsoftheperiodusingcolloquialslang,thecornerpubcomplete withitslatentsmogofcigarettestocreatealate fortiesfeel.

Inundertakingsuchadeconstructionexercise, youmightalsonotehowplot,tensionandpacingismaintainedandhowthewriterdevelops thecharacterwhileminimizingthedescriptionin ordertomovetheactionforward.

Analternativeapproach.

Ifthisseemstooonerous,thenperhapsyou could:

Readwithapeninyourhand,copyoutgreat sentences/memorablephrases,thenlaterdescribethetechniquethewriterhasused.

Considerifthewritinghasengagedyouthroughout.

Commentonthebook’slength,isittoolongor tooshort?

Howwastheendingexecuted?Someendings canbevague,confusing,dissatisfyingoreven abrupt.Atypicalployusedbysomeauthorsisto killoffcharactersjustasthebookreachesits end,whileotherendingscanseemimplausible anddetractyoufromthemainpremiseofthe book.

Lookatthepacingofthestory?Isthebookponderousduetoexcessivenarrationorprotracted sceneswhichdolittletoenhanceit?

Areplotpointssatisfactorilyandproperlyresolvedbytheendofthebook?

Isthereconflict,oristhisoneofthesenarratives wherenothingappearstohappen?

Isthedialoguestiff?Uninteresting?Toowordy?

Doesitfiteachcharacter?

Whoistellingthisstoryanddoesthisremainconsistentthroughout?

Whatworksforyou?Doyouhaveafeelingof completionandresolutionbytheendofthe book?

Thentherearetechniquesandelementsofstyle like‘showingratherthantelling,’AsAntonChekhovsaid,“Don’ttellmethemoonisshining; showmetheglintoflightonbrokenglass.”

TheRuleofthreeisanotherdeviceyoumayfind, whichpresentsinformationinlistsofthreesuch as:“Life,liberty,andthepursuitofhappiness”(DeclarationofIndependence)or‘Blood, Sweatandtears(Churchill’sspeech1940)and eveninTesco’swellknownadvertof“Everylittle helps.”Anothernarrativetoolanauthormayuse isthe Flashback.Hereanauthorcantakethe readeroutofthepresentstoryandjumpintoan earliertimeperiodinacharacter’slife.

Atthemicro-level

Possiblyyourreadingconcentratesontheactual micro-levelofthesentence.Indifferentsentencesawritermayturntoalliteration,assonanceor usecolloquialismorjargontocreatearegionalor localidentityinthewriting.Theuseofdiction, goodorpoor,isanotherdevisewhichcanbe usedbyauthorstomimictherealworldalong withtheubiquitousmetaphorandsimileorrepetitionofphraseswhichcreateothernuancesto theauthor’sbook.Rhythmandrhymearenot onlyfoundinpoetry.Exampleslike Under Milk Wood byDylanThomasshowhowthistechnique abounds.

Inoneofherfamousletters,VirginiaWoolfwrote thefollowing:“Styleisaverysimplematter:itis allrhythm.Onceyougetthat,youcan’tusethe wrongwords.ButontheotherhandhereamI

sittingafterhalfthemorning,crammedwithideas,andvisions,andsoon,andcan’tdislodge them,forlackoftherightrhythm.”

Syntaxisimportanttoo.Wordordercanmake thesentenceactiveorpassive,justasthelength ofasentencecancreateoralterthepaceofthe actiontakingplace.Elementsofstylearecharacteristicsofmanydifferentgenre.Thewayin whichawriterusestheseelementshelpstocreateadistinctivevoice.

YoumayalsofindanauthorusingForeshadowing,thisprovidesanindicationinthenovel aboutwhatwillhappenlater.

Otherauthors,poetsandplaywrightsmayuse imageryandsensorydetailtovividlydescribe experiences,actions,characters,andplaces throughtheirwrittenlanguage.

Sometimesamotif,arecurringsymbolanda commonliterarydevicewillbeusedtogenerate athemeormood.Goldingin The Lord of the Flies usesaconchshelltorepresentdemocraticorder,whileHemingwayemploysthemotifofwatertosymbolizelife’sstrugglein The Old Man and the Sea.

ManywriterssuchasShakespeareandEmily Bronteturntopatheticfallacy,wherenature mirrorsorreflectshumanemotions.In Wuthering Heights,EmilyBrontewrites:'Theskyis darkening,andalightwindisrisingfromthe moors.’

SatireisanotherdevicewriterssuchasJane Austin,JonathanSwiftandGeorgeOrwell’suse inahumorouswaytoridiculethepowersthat be.

Haveyoueveryreadanovelwhichappearsto givetheappearanceofbeingtrue,thenyou’ve encounteredverisimilitude?Atypicalexample is Moby Dick,whereMelvilleusesrealwhaling termsanddescriptionstocreateaplausiblereality.

Ethos,pathos,andlogosarethreestrategies whichplaytheirpartinstorytelling.

Ethosfocusesattentiononthewriter’sor speaker’strustworthinessandcredibility.It’s importantbecauseitmustbepresentforyouto trustthewriter.

Pathosappealstotheaudience’scompassion andempathy(The Crucible byArthurMiller).

Logosisthepersuasivetechniquetoemploy logicandreasontoswayanaudience.Agood exampleis To Kill a Mockingbird,byHarperLee.

Thenwehavejuxtaposition,aliterarydevice thatinvolvestheplacingoftwocontrastingor opposingideas,words,phrasestohighlight theirdifferences.In A Tale of Two Cities,Charles Dickenswrites:“Itwasthebestoftimes,itwas theworstoftimes”

StephenKingdescribedbooksas‘uniqueportablemagic.’Asareaders,weshouldrelishthis interactionwithreadingandwriting.Thetwo processesareinseparable-readingprovidesan entrypointintothehumanconditionandopens adoorwayintooursoul,whilewritingprovides themeanstoemulatethebestandtodevelop ourcraft.

John Greeves originally hails from Lincolnshire. He believes in the power of poetry and writing to change people’s lives and the need for language to move and connect people to the modern world. Since retiring from Cardiff University, Greeves works as a freelance journalist who's interested in an eclectic range of topics

What

Editors Do byPeterGinnaReviewedby

LouiseCannon

ASIN: B075B77RHJ

Publisher: TheUniversityofChicagoPress

Blurb

Editingisaninvisibleartinwhichtheverybestworkgoesundetected.Editorsstrivetocreatebooksthatareenlightening,seamless, andpleasurabletoread,allwhilegivingcredittotheauthor.This makesitallthemoredifficulttotrulyunderstandtherangeofroles theyinhabitwhileshepherdingaprojectfromconcepttopublication.

What Editors Do gathersessaysfromtwenty-sevenleadingfiguresin bookpublishingabouttheirwork.Representingbothlargehouses andsmall,andencompassingtrade,textbook,academic,andchildren’spublishing,thecontributorsmakethecaseforwhyediting remainsavitalfunctiontowriters andreaders everywhere.

Ironicallyforanindustrybuiltonwords,therehasbeenascarcityofwrittenguidanceonhowtoapproach theworkofediting.Servingasacompendiumofprofessionaladviceandaportraitofwhatgoesonbehindthescenes,thisbookshedslightonhoweditorsacquirebooks,whatconstitutesastrongauthoreditorrelationship,andtheeditor’svitalroleateachstageofthepublishingprocess arolethatextends farbeyondmarkinguptheauthor’stext.

Thiscollectiontreatseditingasbothartandcraft,andalsoasacareer.Itexploreshoweditorsbalance passionagainsttheeconomicrealitiesofpublishing andshowswhy,inthefaceofarapidlychanging publishinglandscape,editorsaremoreimportantthanever.

Review

Authorsandpeoplestudyingtobeaneditorwilldiscoveratreasuretroveofusefulinformation,taking peoplerightbacktowhateditorsactuallydo.Therearefascinatingessays,alllaidoutinaclearandconcisemanner,sheddinglightontheprofessionaswellaspracticaladviceforauthorstoconsider.

Thiscollectionwillbeinvaluabletoauthorsandthosestudyingtobeaneditor,alike.

Louise Michelle Cannon lives in Central Scotland with family and a cute but wily cat. She writes a blog – Bookmarks and Stages, reviewing books, theatre, festivals and conducts the occasional Q&A sessions.

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill byC.S.Robertson

Reviewed by Sheena Macleod

Review

ASIN: B08TTH4VSL

Publisher: Hodder&Stoughton(January2022)

Blurb

Deathisnottheend.ForGraceMcGill,it'sonlythebeginning.

Whenpeoplediealoneandundiscovered,it'sherjobtocleanup what'sleftbehind-whetherit'sclutter,bodilyremainsordarksecrets.

Whenanoldmanliesundetectedinhisflatformonths,itseemsan unremarkablelifeandanunnoticeddeath.ButGraceknowsthateveryonehasastoryandthatalldeathsmeansomethingmore.

ASTAND-OUTNOVELWITHAUNIQUENARRATIVEVOICEANDANUNGUESSABLEMYSTERY,YOUAREGUARANTEEDTOREMEMBERGRACE McGILL.

Adisturbing,fascinatingbutoriginalcrimethrillersetinthewestofScotland. I’maddingatriggerwarningforswearing,mainlyduringdialogueinsomeofthecontent.

IwassearchingforsomethingabitdifferenttoreadwhenIcameacrossthismystery/crimethriller.Andit certainlyisdifferentfromthenorm.Thirty-fiveyearoldGraceMcGill,livesalonewithhercat.Shecares deeplyforthosewhodieforgottenandaloneathome,andalwaysensuresthatshediligentlycarriesout thelastaspectsoftheir‘care’inherroleasforensiccleaner. WhatIfounddisturbingwasn’tsomuchany graphiccontent,butthesadrealityofthelonelinessexperiencedbymanywithinoursocietyandthepeoplewhodiealoneandthenlieundiscoveredwithintheirhomesforlongperiodsoftime. Sucheventsare alltoorealandformthebackdroptoaseriesofmurderscarriedoutinGlasgowthatnooneapartfrom GraceMcGillseemstonoticehappening,includingthepolice.Thischaracter-drivennarrativetakesus fromGlasgowtoButeinsearchofanswers.

Astrange,hauntingmysterywithatwistthatIdidn’tseecoming.Thisisn’tabookforeveryone.Itaddressescomplexsocialissuesandcanbedarkandslowmovingattimes.Iwon’tforgetGraceMcGill.

Sheena Macleod lives in the East Coast of Scotland. She mainly writes historical fact and fiction, and is the author of two published historical novels Reign of The Marionettes and Tears of Strathnaver, and one nonfiction book, So! You Say I Can’t Vote. Frances Connelly: The Working Class Woman’s Route to the Vote.

Children’sAuthors:WhyUsingaChildren’sEditorisEssential

Children’s Author and mentor Pauline Tait discusses why, if you’re writing for children, you absolutely do need a children’s book editor.

Asauthors,weknownevertounderestimatethepowerofoureditors.Theyare ourlastlineofdefence.Ourprotectors whenwehavebecomewordblind.Oursaviours whenconfusionhasreignedbetweentheem dashandtheendash.Quitesimply,editorsare anessentialpartofourauthorteam,andwecannotdowithoutthem.

Intheworldofchildren’sliterature,thisisno different.Itcannot,however,betreatedinthe samewayasfictionornon-fictionforthegrownupsamongstus.Children’sliteraturemustspeak toitsaudience,anditmustdosobeyondthe writtenword.

Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenwritingchildren’spicturebooks.

Asamentortochildren’sauthors,I’moften askedtoreadthroughmanuscripts,andIcan usuallytellquitequicklywhenamanuscripthas beeneditedbyaneditorwithlittleornoexperienceinchildren’sliterature.

Don’tgetmewrong, children’s editors knowexactlywhattheyaredoingandareexpertsintheir field.Buteventhemostseasonedandsought aftereditorsofothergenrescanbeunawareof thespecificsneededwithinchildren’swriting.

Toclarify…

Knowingyourpunctuation

Anexcellentexampleofknowingyourpunctuationisthesemi-colon.IfIcomeacrossasemicolonwhenI’mreadingthroughamentee’s

manuscript,it’susuallyafterithasbeenreturned fromtheireditor.

Icanalwaysseewhytheeditorhaschosento insertasemi-colon.Fromthepointofviewof sentencestructure,itmakesperfectsense.But, andit’sanimportantbut,semi-colonsareaNO whenitcomestochildren’spicturebooks. Why?Because,asauthors,wewantchildrento bepickingupourbookswhentheyarelearning toread.Fingerpointingalongourtextasthey soundoutanddecodethelettersonourpages. Theywillbesomewherearoundfourtosixyears old,dependingontheirstageandwheretheyare inschool.Theywillhopefullyknowtheirletter sounds,knoworarelearninghowtoblend,and manywillrecogniseafullstop,capitalletter, andacomma.

Asemi-colon,however,willbenothingmore thananundecipherablesymbollurkingonour page.Theywillhavenoideaofitsmeaning.A simplesolutionistoreplacethesemi-colonwith afullstop.Thewordingmightneedtweakeda little,butthisisoftenthemosteffectivewayof keepinganauthor’sintendedmeaningwithout rewordingawholesentence.

PaulineTait

Childrenareinitiallytaughtthatasentencebeginswithacapitalletterandendswithafull stop.Theywillalsohavelearntorbelearningto readaroundacomma.Semi-colonscomelater, sowesavetheseforearlychapterbooksand beyond.Childrenofthesestageswillexpectto findthemintheirreadingchoices.

TrickyVocabulary

Trickyvocabularyisacommonissueandone thatisoftenoverlooked.It’snotuncommonfor editorswhoareinexperiencedinchildren’swritingtoswapsimplerlanguagewithwhattheysee asabetterwordchoice.Orequally,notspotting whenanauthorhasusedlanguagebeyondtheir audience’sunderstanding.

Thisisfarmorewidespreadthanmanyauthors andnon-children’seditorsrealiseandissomethingIoftenworkwithchildren’sauthorstoresolve.Itcanresultinanagentorpublishernot pickingupanexceptionalARCbecausethelanguagechoicewillmakeitunsuitablefortheauthor’schosenmarket.

Theymay,iftheyreallyliketheconcept,havea discussionaroundtheauthorworkingontheir choiceoflanguage,orpointtheminthedirectionofatrustedchildren’seditor.Butitismore likelytoshowthemtheauthordoesnotknow theiraudience,andtheirmanuscriptwillsimply fallintothe no pile.

Vocabularyisabalancingact.Asamentor,Iencourageauthorstouseexcitinglanguage.Words thatwillcapturechildren’simaginationsand helphookthemtothestory.Afterall,wewantto wordpaintforouryoungreader’svividimaginations.Butwemustalsoknowthelinguisticlimits ofouraudience.

Ifabookisfulloftrickywords,ouryoungreader’sattentionwillbelostastheyjumpoutofthe story.Theywilloftenasktheirreaderwhatthe wordsmeanandifthishappenstoooftenina book,itprobablywon’tbechosenforasecond read.

Ihaveseenperfectlygoodmanuscriptsgooffto

editorswhodon’thavethelinguisticknowledge ofthetargetedagerange,onlytocomebackas fartoocomplicatedareadfortheintendedaudience.

Apartfromthefactthatthishasbeenawasteof theauthor’stime,ithasalsobeenawasteof theirmoney.

Agoodchildren’seditorwillhavetheskillsto edityourworkaccordingtoyourintendedage group.Theywillknowwhenanauthor’sword choiceisinappropriate,andtheywillknowto keepthepunctuationsimplewheneditingpicturebooks.

Equally,anauthor’schoiceofvocabularyinearly chapterbooks,chapterbooksandYA,mustalso reflecttheirreader’sexpectations,althoughthis islessofanissueinYA.Anauthorcanresearch thisbyscouringtheshelvesofbookshops,readingthelatestbestsellersandthebooksmajor retailersarewillingtogiveovertheirmuch sought-aftershelfspaceto…asthesearethe booksthatarenailingit.

Therearemanyfantasticeditorsoutthereand, inmoderntimes,distanceisnolongeranoption. Theworldisouroyster,astheysay.Thosespecialisingsolelyinchildren’sliteraturemostoften knowtheirchosengenreinsideout.Othereditors,whospecialiseinmultiplegenres,including children’sliterature,willoftendoso,too.

Inabusyworldwherelifecanbeajugglingact,it canbemuchsimplerforamulti-genreauthorto staywithaneditortheyknowandtrustwhen branchingintochildren’swriting.But,inmyexperience,itisworthresearchingbeforechoosing theirchildren’seditor.Itmightjustsavethem timeandmoneyinthelongrun.

Pauline Tait is an award-winning children’s author, novelist, and writing mentor based in Perthshire, Scotland. She enjoys writing both romantic suspense and children’s picture books as well as mentoring children’s authors. More information on Pauline’s writing, mentoring and books can be found at www.paulinetait.com

Self

-Editing:TipsandTricksToGetYouStarted

Wendy H. Jones provides some tips and tricks to get you started with self-editing.

Aswriterswealllovetheprocessofwriting thatfirstdraftandthesatisfactionoftyping‘theend’.Unfortunately,wesoonrealisethattyping‘theend’doesn’tactuallymeanit istheend.Inessence,thisiswherethehard workstarts.

Therearetwoschoolsofthoughtastowhat shouldcomenext;onesaysleaveitforafew weeks,theothersaysstarteditingimmediately. Thereisanargumentthatleavingitgivesyou spacetostepbackfromthemanuscript.The otherargumentis,oftenwriterswillstartanothermanuscriptandtherecentlycompletedone getsforgotten.Ofcourse,thereisanotheroption thatyouhaveaholidayandcomebacktoitrefreshed.Whateverwayyouapproachit,these tipswill,helpyouthroughtheprocess.

First,whatisself-editing?Itistheprocessofgoingthroughyourmanuscriptlookingformistakes,plotholes,honingyourchoiceofwords andlookingattheoverallstructureofyourmanuscript Knowingself-editingispartoftheprocessallowsustowritefreelywithoutcensoring ourselvesintheprocess.

Whywouldwewanttoself-edit?Ihaveheard manypeoplesay,‘That’swhattheeditorisfor.’ Theysoonfindoutitisnottheeditor’sjobto sortoutthewriter’sfirstdraft.Mosteditorswill askforasampleofsay,tenpages,andifthey feelthejobisgargantuan,theywillturnitdown. Self-editingisourchancetonotonlytidyupour firstdraftbuttogiveitabitofapolishandsend itgleamingintotheworld.

Whereisthebestplacetostart?Agoodstarting pointistoprintthemanuscriptandreaditover inprint.Thisallowsthebraintoprocessthestoryinadifferentway.Then,readitaloud.Again, thisallowsthebraintoprocesstheinformation differently.

Youcanalsoget Word toreadthetextaloud.Doingthisallowedmetorealisethatoneofmy murdersinmyfirstbookhadnotbeeninvestigated.Readingandlisteninglikeareaderisa crucialstep.

Readusingthefollowingguidelines:

Doesthestorymakesense?

Doesitflownaturally?

Isthereanythingthatpullsyououtofthenarrativeandyoufindyourselfquestioning?

Aretherenameswhicharesosimilaryouarebecomingconfusedwithwhotheyare?Thereis onecaveatforthis–ifyouarewritingfiction basedonrealcharactersfromhistorytheremay besimilarnames.

Arethedialoguetagstrippingyouup?Ifyou’ve

gotahundreddifferentversionsofdialogue tags,thenyoumaywanttothinkaboutsimplifyingthings.

Showingnottelling.Thisshouldbebalanced–notalltellingbutnotallshowingeither.

Isitallpassivevoice?

Areyouusingactionstoshowthefeelingsof yourcharacters?

Areyourcharactersdifferent?Dotheyhavetheir ownquirks?Wouldyouknowwhotheyarefrom theirdialogueordotheyallspeakinasimilar manner?

Sentencestructure–aretheyallofasimilar lengthleadingtoasenseofmonotonyorare differentsentencelengthsusedtoslowdown andspeedupthepace?Varyingsentencestructurekeepsthingsinterestingforyourreader.

Tense

Anotherimportantpartoftheeditingprocessis ensuringtenseiscorrectthroughoutthebook. Often,wewillfindourselvesbouncingbetween pastandpresenttense.Decidewhichoneyou willuseandsticktoit.

Useofstrongverbsiscrucialtoavoidweakwriting.Insteadofsayingverygood,useoutstanding orperfect.Tiedintothisistheuseofwordsendinginly.Theseareoftenusedtopropupweak verbs.

Examplesare:

Reallynice–beautiful

Awfullyimportant–crucial

frightfullycold–freezing

Whilstthesearesimpleexamples,theydemonstratehowremovingadverbsandreplacing themwithstrongverbscanstrengthenournarrativeandmakeitmoreinteresting(orshouldI sayfascinating)forthereader.

Tone

Makesurethetoneisconsistentthroughout.For example,startingoutwithahumorousbook thatturnssinisterhalfwaythrough.Unlessthisis aplotdevice,whichisusedwithskill,allyouare goingtodoisconfuseyourreadersandoften thiswillbethepointwheretheyputthebook down.Now,Iamnotsayingitmustbeallhumourorallsinister,infactthereshouldbebalance.Thisgivesthebookrealism.

Cliches

Avoidclichésliketheplague–unlessyouare specificallyusingthemforeffect,asIhavejust done.Youmayhaveacharacterwhotalksinclichesanditcanbeusedtomakethemthreedimensional.

Fillerwords

Somewordscanberemovedfromthemanuscriptalmostintheirentiretywithoutchanging themeaning,andstrengtheningthestoryoverall.

Examplesoftheseare:

Just That Really Absolutely Currently

Forallintentsandpurposes

Therearemanymorebutbrevityinthisarticle(I wastemptedtouseforthepurposeofbrevity) meansIcannotincludethemall.Therearemany bookswhichwillhelpwiththisoraGoogle searchwillassistyou.Theseareregardedasfillerwords–theydonothingmorethanfilloutthe wordcount.

(Continued on page 39)

WritingGroupoftheMonth

TheKansas/MissouriChapteroftheSocietyofChildren’sBook WritersandIllustrators

Our writing group for April is the Kansas/Missouri Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Lisa Harkrader tells us about this writing group and how it has helped writers and illustrators connect with each other and the publishing world.

TheSocietyofChildren’sBookWritersand Illustrators(SCBWI)wasfoundedin1971 byagroupofchildren’swritersinLosAngeleswhowantedanorganizationthatspecificallysupportedtheirkindofwriting.

Overthenextfivedecades,ithasgrownintoan internationalorganizationofmorethan22,000 membersand75+chaptersworldwide.

ThemainSCBWIorganization(www.scbwi.org) offersmyriadresourcesforchildren’swritersof alllevels,includingpublications,onlineworkshops,awardsandgrants,andbothin-person andonlineconferences.Eachchapteroffersadditionalresources,manyaccessibleonline.

I’vebeenamemberofSCBWI andtheKS/MO chapter(www.scbwi.org/regions/ksmo),made upofmembersinthemidwesternstatesofKansasandMissouri sinceIbeganwritingin1993.

Intheearlyyears,asanovicewritertypingalone inhersmall-townbedroomoffice,thechapter critiquegroupandnewsletter(atthattimeapapercopymailedonceamonth)werelifelinesfor metothewiderworldofchildren’sbookpublishing.

TheconnectiontootherwritersandthepublishingworldisalsowhatWilliamMockry,ourcurrentKS/MOCo-RegionalAdvisor,valuedwhen

hefirstjoinedSCBWI.“Ihadonlyeverwrittenin isolationbefore,”hesays.“Ikindofassumed that’swhatrealauthorsdid.Iquicklydiscovered thebenefitsofconnectingwithotherwritersand allowingotherpeople’sinputintomywriting process atallstages,notjustafterthemanuscriptwascomplete.”

InthethreedecadessinceIfirstjoined,ourchapterhasgrowninboththenumberofmembers andthenumberofactivitiesoffered,including workshops,retreats,aspeakers’bureau,anda monthlye-newsletter.“WehostayearlyMiddle oftheMapConference,”saysWilliam,“adayof workshopswhereauthors,illustrators,agents andeditorsallspeakabouttheartofcreating children’sbooks.

Peoplegatherfromallover,andIknowpeople whohavefoundtheiragentsfromtheseinpersonevents.Wealsohostshoptalks,inwhich featuredauthorsandillustratorsspeakontheir craft.

LisaHarkrader

Ourcritiquecoordinatorjuststartedupaspeed onlinecritiquesessioninwhichwritersgatherto givefirstimpressionsofoneanother’swork.

Thosearefun,fast-paced,andhavegottena goodturnout.Wecanalsoconnectfolkswitha critiquegroup,aregularsmallgroupthatmeets monthlytogivemorein-depthfeedbackoneach other'swork.Andatourin-personsocialevents, membersgatheratarestauranttomingle.”

Eachyearthechapteralsoofferstwomentorships,oneforwritingandoneforillustration. Foreachmentorship,apublished,established writerorillustratorispairedwithaprepublishedwriterorillustrator.

Asthe2024middlegradewritingmentor,Iam workingwithaverytalentedaspiringwriter.Diggingintohisnovel,helpinghimshapeandrevise it,hasgivenmealotofinsightintomyownwriting.Iwasalsoinvitedtobethekeynotespeaker atourMiddleoftheMapConferencelastfall, whereIspenttwodayswithotherchildren’s writers,illustrators,agents,andeditors,talking shop,attendingworkshops,and Ihope impartingsomeinsightandinspirationtoothers.Evenasaspeaker,Ilearnedmoreatthe conferencethananybitofwisdomImayhave givenout.

“ItoftenseemsasthoughalltheworkingauthorsandillustratorsareoffontheEastCoast,” saysWilliam,“butreally,therearealotmoreof ushereintheMidwestthanonemightrealize. Andit’sfuntobandtogetherandrealizethe communitywehavehere.”

(Continued from page 37)

Thereisanexception–isn’ttherealways–they canbeusedtogivedialogueamorenatural sound.Veryfewpeoplespeakinperfectgrammar.

Homophones

Wordstolookoutforare:

Their,they’re,there

It’s,Its Where,wear Grizzly,grisly Your,you’re

To,too,two

Accept,except

Again,therearemanymoreandIwouldadvise buyingabookorsearchingonGoogle.

Whilstthereissomuchmoretoeditingthanthis, Ihopethishasgivenyousomewheretostart.Of course,onemustalsolookatproofreading whichisawholeothergamealtogether.

Goodluckwithyourediting.

Wendy H. Jones is the multi-award-winning, best-selling author of adult crime thrillers and cozy mysteries, children’s picture books and non -fiction books for writers. In addition she is a writing coach, editor in chief of Writers’ Narrative, partner in Auscot Publishing and Retreats and hosts the Writing and Marketing Show podcast.

SubscriberNews

Lisa Harkrader is the author of more than 40 books for children, including Airball: My Life in Briefs, winner of the William Allen White Children’s Book Award, and The Misadventures of Nobbin Swill, a fairy tale detective trilogy starring a dung farmer’s son who becomes the hapless Prince Charming’s assistant in crime-solving.

NevermissanissueofWriters’ Narrative

Signupforournewsletters subscribepage.io/WritersNarrative

WritingBookoftheMonth

Stein on Writing bySolStein

Reviewed by Sheena Macleod

Blurb

Yourfutureasawriterisinyourhands.Whether youareanewcomeroranaccomplishedprofessional,anovelist,storywriter,orawriterofnonfiction,youwillfindthisbookawealthofimmediatelyusefulguidancenotavailableanywhere else.

AsSolStein,renownededitor,author,andinstructor,explains,"Thisisnotabookoftheory. Itisabookofuseablesolutions howtofixwritingthatisflawed,howtoimprovewritingthatis good,howtocreateinterestingwritinginthe firstplace."

Youwillfindoneofthegreatunspokensecrets ofcraftsmanshipinChapter5,called"Markers: The Key to Swift Characterization."InChapter7, SteinrevealsforhefirsttimeinprintthewonderfulsystemforcreatinginstantconflictdevelopedinthePlaywrightsGroupoftheActorsStudio,ofwhichhewasafounder.In"Secrets of Good Dialogue,"thepremierteacherofdialogue givesyoutheinstantlyuseabletechniquesthat notonlymakeverbalexchangesexcitingbut thatmovethestoryforwardimmediately.You won'tneedtostrugglewithflashbacksorbackgroundmaterialafteryou'vereadChapter14, whichshowsyouhowtobringbackgroundinto theforeground.

Writersofbothfictionandnonfictionwillrelish theamphetaminesforspeedinguppace,and themanywaystoliposuctionflab,aswellas howtotaporiginalityandrecognizewhatsuccessfultitleshaveincommon.You'lldiscover literaryvaluesthatenhancewriting,providing depthandresonance.

You'llblessthedayyoureadChapters32and33 anddiscoverwhyrevisingbystartingatpageone canbeaseriousmistake,andhowtorevisewithoutgrowingcoldonyourmanuscript.

Inthepagesofthisbook,nonfictionwriterswill findapassporttothenewrevolutioninjournalismandaguidetousingthetechniquesoffiction toenhancenonfiction.

Review

In Stein On Writing aMasterEditorshareshis crafttechniquesandstrategiesforwritingfiction andnonfiction.Inthis1stEdition,SolSteinprovidesapracticalguidethatwillprovetobea greatadditiontoanywriter’sbookshelf.

Forme,thisisoneofthemosthelpfulbookson writingIhaveread.Igot mycopyagoodfew yearsagoandregularly dipinandoutofitwhen needbe.Inadditiontomanyotherchapters, therearechaptersoncreatingfirstsentences andparagraphs,developingdramainplots, dealingwithflashbacks,andchaptersonrewritingandrevising.Withthethemeofthemonthon editing,thisbookhitsthespot.

NobbinSwillSeries

byLisaHarkrader

ReviewedbyWendyH.Jones

Book1: The Misadventures of Nobbin Swill

ForNobbinSwill,lifeisnofairytale.Hisfamilyhasbeentheking'sroyaldungfarmersforgenerations.It's astinkyjobandsomeonehastodoit,butNobbindoesn'twanttospendhiswholelifeasadungfarmer.

Onadark,cloudynight,Nobbincatchesaflickerofmoonlightglimmeringoffsomethinginthedung.It couldbeabuttonorabuckle,somethingthatmightfetchhimacoinfromtheshoemaker.Butitturns outtobeaveryvaluablering theking'sring,andonethatcouldofferNobbinalifefreefromdung!But Nobbinisn'tathiefandwouldneverstealfromtheking,sohemakeshiswaytothecastle.Whenhetries toreturnthering,thingsonlybecomemorecomplicated,andheendsuphavingtohelpthehapless PrinceCharmingsolveamysterywhenthewoodcutter'schildren Gretel,andheryoungerbrother,Hansel gomissing.Willthetwobeabletosolvethecase?

Childrenwillenjoythishilariousmystery,withtwo-colourillustrationsthroughoutbyauthor/illustrator LisaHarkrader!

IamgoingtoreviewallthreebooksintheseriessofarfornootherreasonthanIlovethesebooks. NobbinSwillisafabulouscharacterasiseverysinglecharacterinthebook.Theyallhavetheirownpersonalitiesbasedonfairytales.NobbinmovesfrombeingadungfarmertoPrinceCharming’ssidekick andwhatapairtheymake.HowCharmingevermadeitthroughlifebeforeNobbincamealongisoneof thegreatestmysteries.

Themysteriesaregentle,aswouldbeexpectedinamiddlegradebook,buttheyareintriguingnone-theless.Thebooksarehilariousandperfectforthemiddlegradeaudience.Ialsoenjoyedthehumourasan adultandfoundmyselfliterallylaughingoutloud.LisaHarkraderisaskilfulwriter,andthiscomesacross inthewayinwhichsheweavesaspectsofclassicfairytalesintothenarrative.Individuallythesebooks areafunandengrossingread.Takentogethertheytransportyoutoadifferentlandandtakeyouona magicaljourney.

ConfessionsofaChronicSelf-Editor

Jeanette the Writer looks at what editing is and why it should be treated as a separate task to writing.

Thisisgoingtobeoneofthose“dowhatI say,notwhatIdo”kindsofarticles. That’sbecauseIamhorribleatselfeditingproperly.Oh,Iknowthemethods,for sure.Asacopyeditorwhohasbeenintheeditingfieldforyears,Iamwellawareofthe“right” waytoedit.Ijuststruggletodoitthatway.And I’msurethereareothersouttherewhostruggle aswell.

Thisone’sforyou.

WhyEditingShouldBeSeparatefromWriting

IfyoureadtheJanuaryissueof Writers’ Narrative,thenyouunderstandwhywritingandeditingneedtobeseparate.Weusedifferentmindsetsforeach:writingisdoneinserviceofthe authorandeditingisdoneinserviceofthereader.Switchingbetweentheseviewpointsdoesn’t happeninstantaneously.

Notonlythat,butfirst-timewritersmaynot havetheknowledgeorexperiencetoknow whatmakesforgoodediting.Therefore,editing aswewritecouldbeanexerciseinfutility.Does thefollowingsoundlikeyou?

HowThisEditorSelf-Edits

Iwriteasentence.Iwriteasecondsentence.I writeathirdsentence.Igobackandreread

thosesentencestomakesuretheymakesense together.Ieditafewwordsforclarityormovea fewcommasforgrammar’ssake.Iwriteafourth sentence.Iwriteafifthsentence.Icompare thosetwonewsentencestothefirstthreealready-editedones.Ieditthefourthandfifthsentences.

Onandonitgoesinanever-ending(andvery slow)cycleofwrite,reread,edit,writemore,reread,edit.

Thisisnottheway.

HowToDoItInstead

LikeIsaid,thisisa“dowhatIsay,notwhatIdo” article.Tounderstandwhyweshouldeditdifferently,weneedtounderstandwhat“editing” means.Forthepurposesofthisarticle,we’re talkingaboutdevelopmentalediting,lineediting,andcopyediting.

Developmentaleditingisbig-picturestuff. Lineeditingissentencestyleandorder.

Copyeditingisgrammarandpunctuation.

JeanettetheWriter

Everythingwewrite,fromemailstonovels, shouldgothroughallthreeofthesestages in order.Ifyourprocessislikemine,thenyouare spendinganinordinateamountoftimeconsideringandfixingwordsthatmaynotevenendup inthefinalmanuscript.

Let’stakethisarticle,forexample.Thebestway tohavewrittenitwouldhavebeentogetallmy ideasdownfirst,typingwithoutjudgmentor shockofallshocks evenbackspacing.Then,I wouldswitchfromthemindsetof“WhatdidI wanttosay?”to“Whatdoesthereaderneedto hear?”

Fromthatpoint,Iwoulddevelopmentallyedit, removingparagraphsthatdidn’taddtomy pointandexpandingsentencesforclarity.This typeofeditingassessestherelevanceofeach sectiontoremoveredundanciesandensuresthe remaininginformationiscompleteandcorrect.

OnlyafterIconfirmedthattheinformationpresentiswhatIwantwouldIgointolineedit,rephrasingforconcisenessortoenhancemyvoice andtone.Thisstageofeditingalsolooksatawkwardphrasing,gluewords,consistency,and more.

Finally,onlyafterIknowIhavetherightwords onthepage,wouldIgointocopyedit,fixingand changingspelling,punctuation,andgrammar. Thisensuresanalreadygoodpieceofwritingis furtherpolishedandprofessional.

Notfollowingthesestepsinthisordercould meanquibblingwithyourselffortenminutes overhyphenationonlytoremovethatsentence inalaterdraft.Ifyouaren’taseasonedselfeditor,thenyoucouldbedroppingintoineffectivepractices.

HowtoFindYOURWayofEditing

So,whydoesthisprofessionaleditorself-edit the“wrong”way?Well...becauseitworksfor

me.Iunderstandthedownfallsandnuances.I alsohaveenoughpracticeasawriterandeditor thatthesameself-editingprocessthatpreviouslytookmedaysnowtakeshours.Ihavelearned howtomakemyprocessworkwithintheconfinesofediting“bestpractices.”

Andyoucantoo.Ifyou’restuckontheendless merry-go-roundofrevisions,thenconsideraskingthefollowing:

What does my current self-editing process look like? Inordertodobetter,youhavetoknow yourselfandownuptoyourcurrentprocess.

How does your process compare to the three stages of editing and their order? Onceyouknow whatitisyoudo,thenyoucancompareittoothereditingpracticestoseeifitisworkingwell.

How can I change my editing process to produce better results? “Producebetterresults”could meanchangingeverythingaboutthewayyou edittoaddefficiency,oritcouldmeanrealizing thatyouneedtoeditinyourownordertoget thebestfinalproduct.

Intheend,wemustacceptimperfectionsinearlydraftstofocusoncontinuousimprovement throughtheeditingprocess.Approachselfeditingwithabalancedmindset,abundleof knowledge,andsupportivetools.You’llfindthe rightprocesssoonenough.

Jeanette is a writer and copyeditor based in Dallas, Texas. When not moving commas around, she enjoys scuba diving, grammar blogging, crafting, and annoying her cats by trying to make them famous on Instagram.

Editing/Editors

JennySandersdiscusseseditingandeditorsand looksatwritingfordifferentpublishers.

There’sahushintheroomsothickyoucan almosttasteit. Surgicallightsglare;all focusturnstotheoperatingtable. Gownedexpertstakeuptheirassignedplaces, brownsfurrowedinconcentration,eyesbright, masksadjusted,glovedhandspoisedtowield thearrayofsterilisedinstrumentsgleamingona preparedtray.

There’sacombinedmentalshiftbytheteamas theydigdeeptocallontheircollectiveskills. Theanaesthetistadministersthecorrectdoseto thepatient.Colouredsheetsexposetheareaof attention.Agruff,‘Scalpel!’fromthesurgeon;a swiftresponsefromanexperiencednursewho passestheutensil.Briefly,theknifehoversover thepatient.Expectancyhangsintheair;time takesabreath.Smallredbeadsescapeasthe firstincisionismade.

Inthiscase,thepatientisyourlatestmanuscript bleedingslowlyunderthescrutinyofyoureditor. Astheycutthroughthelayersofyourtoil, youmaywishyou’dhadanextradoseofanaesthesiayourself.Willthisprovetobeastraightforwardoperation–aswiftcutandclose–returningthe‘patient’totherecoveryroomfor simplepost-operativecare,oramajorinterventionrequiringhoursofsurgeryandthedistinct possibilitythatthispatientmaynotevenmake it?

Whenyou’vespentmonths,evenyears,ona pieceofworkitcanbedifficulttoentrustitto anyoneelse.Mostofusknowmomentswhenwe werefartoopossessiveofourbookbabies;reluctanttoletthembeyondourreach.Nevertheless,forthelong-termhealthoftheoffspring thisisanecessaryprocedure.Sure,it’shardto seeallthoseunderlinings,questionmarksor notesinthemarginwhicharegoingtodemand

severalmorehoursofyourattentionandagreat dealmorebrain-stretchingslog.You’relessthan excitedabouttheprospectofback-breakingsessionsdoublecheckingyoursourcesandcitationswhenyou’dratherbeimmersingyourself insomethingfresh.Youmaybeembarrassed aboutaninconsistencythatnolongerregistered inyourbrainafterseveralhundredhoursof workandtheeighty-seventhreadthrough.You willprobablybeirritatedtodiscovertyposthat youreyeshavehoveredoverassiduouslyyet mysteriouslyfailedtoregister.

However,ifyouwantyourbooktobethebestit canbe–andyourpublisherandeditorwantthis asmuchasyoudo,knowingthattheirreputationisalsoontheline–itwillbeworthit. IremembertheheartfeltsighofreliefandselfsatisfiedfeelingofaccomplishmentIhadwhenI finallycompletedthe+/-85,000wordsofmyfirst non-fictionbook.SpringingfromanideathatI hadhadapproximatelytwentyyearsearlierit feltlikeamonumentalachievementtohavesecuredacontract,organisedthematerial,typed theclosingwordsandpressedthe‘send’button. IhadclimbedmyEverest.Arrivingbruised,batteredandexhausted,Iwasreadytodrivemy flagintothesummit,celebrateandsearchfor newhorizons.

Youwillnotbeassurprised(orasdisappointed) asIwastodiscoverthatfarfrombeingover,the journeyhadsimplyshiftedincharacter.

JennySanders

ThismagazinecarriedanexcellentarticleoneditinginthebumperJan/Febissuewrittenby ‘Jeanettethewriter’,inwhichsheexplained howeditingrequiresthatweshiftfromwriter modetoreadermode,thusseeingourwordsin afreshandmoreobjectiveway.Wemayhave StephenKingscreaminginourears:‘Killyour darlings!Killyourdarlings!’,andwithamodicumofcouragewewilldojustthat.Butthere’s more.

IhadameticulouseditorandI’vejustbeenfortunateenoughtoworkwithheragainonanothernon-fictionbook(Polished Arrows willbepublishedby Instant Apostle thismonthornext).Our relationshipwasforgedduringthatfirstproject onagooddoseofmutualrespect.IfI’mbeing brutallyhonest,Ifoundsomeofherqueries overlypickyatthetime.Herinsistenceongettingpermissionfrompublishersforallmy quotesratherthanjustcitingthemcausedme anynumberofheadaches.Shehatedsomething I’dincludedandwhileIwouldn’tbudgeonthe point,Iheededhercautionandwasableto softenthetonewithafarbetterexplanationof whatIhadoriginallysaidsoclumsily.Wehear onethinginourheadsaswewrite,butit’sall tooeasyforouraudiencetoreaditinadifferent toneofvoice. (This,ofcourse,iswhyemailsand ‘DearJohn’letterscangosohorriblywrong.)I followedheradvicetocutoutthemajorityof thequestionsIhadposedattheendofthe book.Lessis,sooften,more.Carefuldissection andredistributionattheendofeachchapter wasafarbetteridea.Wedidn’tagreeoneverythingintermsofcontent,buttheconsequence ofhereagle-eyedworkmeantthatIendedup withamuchimprovedmanuscript,andabookI was,andam,veryhappywith.

I’vefounditchallengingtowritefordifferent publisherswhohavevariationsinstyle.Some lovetheOxfordcomma,othersseemtothinkit’s fromthepitofhell.Someliketheirnumbersup toteninwordsnotfigures,othersonlywantfiguresafterthirteen(13),orninety-nine(99). SomecapitalisepersonalpronounsforGod(He/

Him),othersdon’t.I’mcontinuallyreferringback tothestylesheetstoensureIhaven’tmuddled whowantswhat,andthechancesareI’llstill havemissedsomething.Hurrah,foryetmore editors!

Justwhenyouthoughtitwassafetobringyour breathingandyourbloodpressuretoacceptable levels,it’smorethanlikelythatyou’llspyanotherintimidatingemailinyourinboxrequiringa second,thirdoreven(Lord,havemercy)afourth roundofedits.

Insteadoffindingallthisdemoralising,itreally doeshelptoregardthispartoftheprocess,as aninvestmentofyourtime.Onceyourbookis outthere,there’snopullingitback.Typos, clunkysentences,imprudentwordchoices,poor punctuationandinconsistencieswillshriekat youforevermoreifyoudon’tfixthemnow.

Iamsogratefultothebetareaderwhodiscovered(evenafteraneditingprocess)thatoneof thecharactersinastoryinmychildren’scollectionhadbeenmisnamedhalf-waythrough.How embarrassing!Ihavenoideahowbothaneditor andIhadbothmissedthat;itseemedglaringly obviouswhenIwentbacktoit.Thankgoodness itcouldbecorrectedbeforeitwenttopress. I wouldhavebeenmortifiedhaditslipped throughthenet.

So,waveyourbookbabyoffthoughthedoorsof whicheveroperatingtheatreyouarefortunate enoughtofindyourselfat,andbegratefulthat thereareskillsatworkbeyondthemthatarelabouringforthebenefitofbothyouandyour cherishedoffspring.

Spiritual Feasting is Jenny’s faith-based exploration of authentic living in tough times. She has two collections of humorous children’s stories: The Magnificent Moustache and other stories and Charlie Peach’s Pumpkins and other stories. She is available for author visits for creative writing sessions with Key Stage 2 children in the UK

MarkingUpTheLevelPlayingField

S.M. Aston discusses how we can make the task of self-editing and writing easier.

Istaredconfusedatthecomputerscreen.The lineeditorhaddeletedawordandreplacedit withanidenticalone,orsoitseemstome.I knowtheywouldnotdothisunlessthedeleted onewasmisspeltoroutofcontext.Isizeupthe typedMSfromtheusual14ptto18pt.Ah,the‘e’ andthe‘a’inthedeletedoneareinthewrong order.WhydidInotnoticeitwhenIeditedthe manuscript?Becauseitisaclassicdyslexictrait. ThatiswhyIuseaneditorbeforeIgointothe querytrencheswithamanuscript.

Formanywriters,self-editingisamustwhileengagingtheservicesofaprofessionaleditorisoptional.Forwriterslikemyself,whoaredyslexic orhaveavisualimpairment,itisanexpensive necessitytogetyourworkpolishedforsubmissions.Iliterallycannottrustmyeyeswheneditingdespiteusingagrammarprogramme.

The Society of Authors UK estimates464(3.7%)of its12,331membersarewriterswithdisabilities. Theysuspectthetruefiguretobehigher.Toput itintoacontextin2021 The Publishers Association ranadiversitysurveywhichfoundthat13% ofrespondentsidentifiedashavingadisability.A 2%increasefromthe2017survey.

YouAreNotAlone

Itisnotonlythewriterwithsightlossordyslexia whofaceschallengeswheneditingorwriting.

“AftermystrokeIhadtolearntowriteandspeak again.Itakealongtimetorespondtopeople

andfivetimeslongertowrite.Ican’tprocess thoughttoscreenandviceversaeasily.Editing isarduousandtakesforever.”SW,aUSwriter explains.

LMhasfibromyalgiawhichisoftenaccompanied with‘Fibrofog’acognitivecondition.Shedescribesitashaving‘brainfog.’Shehasproblems withconcentrationandmemorythatcanleadto confusion,losinghertrailofthought,forgetting, ormixingupwordsordetails.Editingherwork mustbedoneinsmallchunksandoftenentails goingbackoverthematerialeditedtocorrect previousedits.

Theseexamplesshowafewofthechallenges writerswithdisabilitiesface.Whateverthedisability-ME,chronicillness,sensory,mobilityor neurological-theissueswillbedifferentbutthe factremainstheplayingfieldisunevenwithin anindustrythatsimplywon’ttolerateanything lessthannear-perfectworkrightfromthestart, especiallyfromunpublishedwriters.

Thankfully,wecantakeinspirationfromauthors likeJonathanBryantobeassurednothingisimpossibletoovercome.Jonathanhasseverecerebralpalsyand‘locked-in’syndrome,acondition

S.M.Aston

thatmakeshimincapableofvoluntarymovementorspeechyetheisfullyawareoftheworld aroundhim.Hisbook, Eye Can Write,waswritten byusinghiseyestospellouteachwordbygazingatanalphabetboard.

DysgraphiasuffererAgathaChristiedictatedher novels.ChristyBrowntypedusinghistoes. GeorgeBernardShaw’swritingtimewasoften cutshortduetohisADD.Therearemanyothers –Hawking,Scott-Fitzgerald,OctaviaEButlerand ChristopherNolantonameafew.

Sohowcanwemakethetaskofself-editing(and writing)easier?OverandabovethegeneralGSP programmeslike ProWriting Aid, Grammarly, and Hemingway, both Microsoft and Apple havefree accessibilityfeaturesbuiltintotheirprogrammesincludingspeechfunction.

Aquickonlinesearchwillproducearangeof speak-to-textsoftwarethatwilltypewordsonto pageorgivecommandsforyouifyoufindusing akeyboardortouchtypingdifficult.Mostwill readbackyourworktoo.Specialistscanprovide adviceandguidanceoncommunicationaids whileothersonfurnitureorequipmenttomeet yourneeds.

Allwellandgoodbuttheyoftencomewitha pricetag.Forexample,IusePWA.Thereisafree limitedversion.Thefullversionis£120forthe one-yearsubscriptionandthelifetimesubscriptionis£399(2023prices).Thepopularvoice recognitionsoftware Dragon Speak rangesfrom £200forthehomeversionto£699fortheprofessionalversion.(Therearefreeappssuchas Google Docs Voice Typing).Thenthereisthe hardware.Agoodplacetostartonwhattogetis tocontactoneoftheadviceagenciesrelevantto yoursituation.

Ifwritingisyourchiefoccupation,youmaywish toexploreifthereareschemesinyourcountry thatofferpracticalorfinancialsupport.IntheUK thegovernment’s Access to Work Scheme can

helpindividualswhoareself-employedoremployedbyprovidinggrantsforequipment,and supporttomakecarryingoutworkeasier.

Forexample,ifyouaredeafandwouldbenefit fromhavingasigneratyourbooklaunches/ interviewyoumaybeeligibleforaworkertobe funded.(Youwillneedtoprovideevidenceof whatyouneedandwhyinyourapplication,and befullyawareofanylegal/taximplicationsas youwillbetheemployer).

Writingcanbeasolitaryoccupation.Otherwritersinthesamesituationcanbeasignificant sourceofsupport.Ifyoubelongtoawriter’ssocietyorguild,checktoseeiftheyhaveadedicatedgroupforwriterswithdisabilities.TheUK Society of Authors hasone(AuthorswithDisabilities &ChronicIllnesses).Therearegroupson Facebook and Twitter.YoucandownloadanInformationSheetdownloadedfrommywebsitegivenbelow.

TheFutureLooksBright?

Thereishelpyetnotintheoneplaceitshould be-thepublishingindustryitself.Whattheindustryisdoingnowinthewayofdedicated competitionsandcall-outsbyagents/publishers forsubmissionsfromwriterswithdisabilities (andotherunderrepresentedgroups)though admirableallfocusedontheposteditingstage.

Whatisneededishelptoaccesssupporttoproduceworktostandardrequirements.Onlywhen thatisavailablewilltheplayingfieldbeanywherenearlevelforwriterswithdisabilities.

Sheelagh is a freelance writer of short stories, novels and articles who lives in the north-west of England. To download the Information Sheet go to https://www.sheelaghaston.com/ and click on ‘The Write Life’ Tab.

RecentReleases

Title: Anna’s Promise byPaulineTait

ISBN-10: 1739244338

ISBN-13:978 1739244330

Publisher : (March2024)

Blurb

Anna’sPromiseisthesecondbookinTheMarenBayseriesafterAbigail Returns.Asuspensefulmystery(romanticsuspense),it’ssetonthestunningScottishIsleofSkye.

Strugglingtocometotermswithlosinghermother,Annaembarksona journeytouncoverthetruthaboutherfamilyandhermother’shidden past.

Andwhilealetter,aphotographandtheOldLodgeleadherbacktotheIsleofSkye,Annaisshockedto discovertheislandshehadholidayedonsooftenasachildhasbeenquietlykeepingthesecretsher motherhadleftunsaid.

Hamish,handsome,quiet,andmoody,seemsunnervedbyAnna’spresence.Ben,acityslicker,outof placeanddeterminedtohelpAnnainherquest,provesinvaluable,butishispresenceontheisland merelycoincidental?

Meanwhile,anewlydiscoveredfamilymembermaynotbeacauseforcelebration.

Annamustfindthestrengthanddeterminationneededtofightforwhatistrulyhers,allwhilewondering ifhernewlymappedoutfutureiswhatshetrulywants.

Arivetingandunmissablenovelaboutnewbeginningsandthepowerofloveoverloss.

Title: 365 Poems For Life compiledbyAllieEsiri

ISBN-10: 1529088399

ISBN-13: 978-1529088397

Publisher : Bluebird;MainMarketedition(October2023)

Blurb

Thisnourishingpoem-a-daycollectionoffersreadersabriefmomentof escapefromdailylifethroughsomeofthewarmestwordsintheEnglish language.Whetheryou’researchingforwisdomorlookingtoboost yourwellbeing,dipintothisanthologytosharewithothersorenjoya quietmomentofcalmeverydayoftheyear.

Exploreawiderangeofpoets,includingMayaAngelou,CarolAnnDuffy, KaeTempest,DylanThomas,OceanVuongandmanymore.Theperfect giftforpoetryloversandnewbiesalike,thisbeautifulanthologybringsa momentofsolaceeverydayoftheyear.

RecentReleases

Title: The Bool of Doors byGarethBrown

ASIN: B0C5CGYC4Z

Publisher : TransworldDigital(February2024)

Blurb

Ifyoucouldopenadoortoanywhere,wherewouldyougo?

InNewYorkbooksellerCassieAndrewsislivinganunassuminglifewhen sheisgivenagiftbyafavouritecustomer.It'sabook -anunusualbook, fullofstrangewritingandmysteriousdrawings.Andattheveryfront thereisahandwrittenmessagetoCassie,tellingherthatthisistheBook ofDoors,andthatanydooriseverydoor.

WhatCassieisabouttodiscoveristhattheBookofDoorsisaspecialbook

thatbestowsanextraordinarypowersonwhoeverpossessesit,andsoonsheandherbestfriendIzzyare exploringallthattheBookofDoorscando,sweptawayfromtheirquietlivesbythepossibilitiesoftravellingtoanywheretheywant.ButtheBookofDoorsisnottheonlymagicalbookintheworld.Thereare otherbooksthatcandowondrousanddreadfulthingswhenwieldedbydangerousandruthlessindividuals-individualswhocravewhatCassienowpossesses.SuddenlyCassieandIzzyareconfrontedbyviolenceanddanger,andtheonlypersonwhocanhelpthemis,itseems,DrummondFox.Heisamanfleeinghisowndemons-amanwithhisownsecretlibraryofmagicalbooksthathehashiddenawayinthe shadowsforsafekeeping.Becausethereisanamelessevilouttherethatishuntingthemall...

Becausesomedoorsshouldneverbeopened.

Title: The Last Dance byMarkBillingham

ISBN-10: 1408726351

ISBN-13: 978-1408726358

Publisher : Sphere(January2024)

Blurb

MeetDetectiveMiller:unique,unconventional,andcriminallyunderestimated…he'sadetective,adancer,hehasnorespectforauthority­andhe'sthebesthopeBlackpoolhasforkeepingcriminalsoffthe streets.MeetDetectiveDeclanMiller.

AdoublemurderinaseasidehotelseesagrievingMillerreturntowork tosolvewhatappearstobeacaseofmistakenidentity.Justwhywere twocompletelyunconnectedmentakenout?Despiteasomewhatdubiousrelationshipwithbothrealityandhisnewpartner,cantheeccentric,offbeatMillerfindanswerswherehiscolleagueshavefoundonlyan impossiblepuzzle?

WouldYouCareForADrinkAndAnOstrich?

Sophie the office dog, ably assisted by Peter Thomas, discusses the importance of having distinctive voices in our writing.

Thedogbarked–butwhatdidshesay?

Wasitwoof,orruff,orgrrr,oryelp,or squeak?Nexttoaninspiredandintriguingplot,themostimportantelementinany storyisbrilliantdialogue. Conversationsdo muchmorethancarrythenarrativeforward. Theyrevealtheinnerthoughtsandemotionsof thecharacters.

Thewayspeoplespeakrevealwhethertheyare confidentornervousorforcefuloranxiousor pompous.Theprecisewordschosendemonstratepersonalitiesanddiscloserelationships. Simplethingslikethegreetingsandtheterms ofendearmentemployedinstantlyunveilthe backgroundsofthespeakersandtheformality orintimacyoftheirconnections.Hey.Yo.Hello Sunshine.MorningGuv.WotchaBro.What’soccurringAngel?Y’alrightPrecious?

Everyanimalspeakswiththeirowndistinctive voice,butsodoeseveryindividualhuman.We canseethisinsuchthingsasvocabulary,grammar,sentencelengthandpreferredwaysofreferringtothemselves.Peoplehavetheirfavouriteturnsofphrase.

“Every animal speaks with their own distinctive voice.”

ArthurDaley’sfamousmisquote,“Theworld’s yourlobster”,stillleadssomepeopletosay, incorrectlyofcourse,“theworld’syourcrusta-

cean”.Everybodyhastheirquirksofspeech,like mispronouncingspecificallyaspacifically,orusingloofytomeanaloof,orsaying“dampsquid” andfor“allintensivepurposes”.

Linguisticscallsthistheidiolect,definedinthe Oxford English Dictionary as“thespeechhabits peculiartoaparticularperson”.Courtsanddetectivesusethescienceofforensiclinguisticsto analysewhetheragivenstatementisconsistent withaspecificindividual’suseoflanguage.

“In a story it should be evident without dialogue tags which player is speaking from what they say and how they say it.”

Soinastoryitshouldbeevidentwithoutdialoguetagswhichplayerisspeakingfromwhat theysayandhowtheysayit.Thisiswhyitjars withthereaderwhenthreeunrelatedcharacters inabookallusethesameuncommonexpression,suchas“Well,aren’tyousweet?”Wheneverybodyuseswordsinthesameway,dialogueis flatandgrey.Ifyouhadspanielearsyouwould noticethesethings.

Sophie

Wealleasilyrecognisethereareracialandregionalsimilaritiesinspeechpatternsanddialects.Morethanthat,ineveryareaoflifegroups sharenotonlytheirownjargonbutalsoacommonstyleofspeaking.Writersusethosedistinguishingwaysoftalkingtocreateasenseofauthenticityandtohelpthereaderfeeltheyare partofthegroupandpresentintheaction.

Ifacharacter’spatternofexpressingthemselves isdeliberatelytoodifferent,thatcanthenbe usedtoaccentuatetheirdistanceandotherness fromthereader.Authorsofhistoricalfictionespeciallyrelyonextensiveresearchtousethe correctvocabularyfortheperiod–whenwere particularwordsincommonusageandbywhich classesofpeople?

Butallwritersneedtobefamiliarwiththeappropriatelanguagetousewhetherthegenreis crime,romance,espionage,medicine,academia,orpolitics.Dialogueinfantasyandscience fictionisnoeasiertowrite.J.R.R.Tolkien’s worksdemonstratethemasteryrequiredtocreatedistinctivepatternsofspeechforhumans, elves,dwarves,orcsandevendragons.

Althoughnotwopeoplespeakidentically, friendshipandinterestgroupsgainunityfrom usinglanguageinsimilarways.Youcaneasily distinguishbirdwatchersfromtwitchersand nerdsfromgeeks.Evenfamiliesusuallysharean extendedidiolect.

“Although no two people speak identically, friendship and interest groups gain unity from using language in similar ways.”

Inourhousethehumansaddresseachotheras “indiv”,whichisshortfor“belovedindividual”. Sayingtheyare“crisp”or“blot”meanstobe tired.Babies,childrenandgrandchildrenarereferredtoas“LFCs”(littlefurrycreatures)or “podlets”becauseoftheircutelittlepodia (beingtheGreekforfeet,obviously).

Forreasonsnobodycanremember,thegeneric termthehouseholduseforsnackssuchas

crisps,biscuits,orpiecesoffruitis“anostrich”. Soeverytimetheyarrivedhomefromschoolmy auntiesanduncleusedtobeaskedto“declare yourostrich”.Yearslaterthisledtomuchembarrassmentwhenmyuncleinvitedanewgirlfriend backtohisflatfor“adrinkandanostrich.” “I thoughtitwasarealthing,”shecomplainedlater.“Younevertoldmethatostrichonlymeans snackinourownfamily!”

“Give every person their own unique pattern of speech and their special catchphrases.”

Blandcharactersandlifelessconversationskill anystory.Giveeverypersontheirownunique patternofspeechandtheirspecialcatchphrases. Becreative.Ifyoucanmaketheirwordsfiteach characterwecanallcelebratewithadrinkand anemu.

Rev Peter Thomas has published three non-fiction books and is delighted now to assist Sophie in her creative writing projects. Originally a teacher and author in the fields of chemistry and computing, Peter retired in 2023 after 36 years as a Minister of local Baptist Churches. He continues to add to his blog and videos of more than a thousand sermons and reflections found at www.pbthomas.com.

PeterThomasandSophie

EditingPoetry

Editingpoetryisasimportantaseditingany othertypeofwriting.Itisoftenthought, thatpoeticlicenseallowspoetstouse grammarinanywaytheylike,andinfact,many poetsbendandbreaktherulestocreatedramaticeffect,oraccentuatephrasesorlines.However,atthesametime,therulesofgrammardo providestructureandimportantly,clarity,soit’s importanttoknowwhywearebreakingthem.

Withthisthoughtinmind,ifyouareeditinganotherperson’spoetry,itisworthhavingaconversationwiththemaboutwhytheyhavebroken therules,andhavetheymadethatchangeon purposeorisitamistake.

Anotherthingtobeawareofwhenreadingoreditingsomeoneelse’spoetryisthatiftheyarenot fromthesameethnicityasyou,theirusageofthe Englishlanguagemaybedifferentfromyours. Weliveinadiverseworld,whichmeanspoets andwritersarelikelytodrawontheirownculturalbackgroundstoexpresstheirnationalidentity. Communicationsstyles,suchasphrases,words, gesturesandcolloquiallanguageused,createsa wonderfulrichnesstopoetry.Don’ttrytofit someoneinaboxofyourmaking.

Someideasforeditingyourownpoetry:

*Onthefirstreadthrough,checkforspelling,and sense.Alwaysreaditaloud–you’llfindanymistakesatthispoint,andyou’llnoticeifthepoem doesn’tflowwell.

*Afterwriting,it’salwaysgoodtoleaveyourwork andcomebacktothepoemafterashortbreak. Thenyoucanseeitwithfresheyesandsomeobjectivity.Onthisreadthroughyoumayfind wordsthatdon’tquitework,andyoumaywant torewritethatsection.

*Doesthepoemcomeacrosswellwiththeidea thatyouwantyourreaderstounderstand? Andisyourmainthemeorideacoherent throughout?

*Arethereplaceswhereyoucouldhaveused betterwordchoices?

Haveyouusedanyofthefollowingdevices?

Alliteration:

e.g.‘Yourshapeshimmerswithinshadowsofthe sunlitalcoves.’

Onomatopoeia:

e.g.‘Rustlingleavesswaywiththebreeze’

Metaphor:

e.g.‘Canopiesofgreenstretchingforthesky’

Orsimiles?

e.g.‘Treesreachupwardslikeembracingarms’

*Couldyouswapsomeofthemoremundane wordsformorecreative,orexpressivewords? Haveyouusedanywordsandimagerythatlink tothesenses,bothinternalemotionsandphysicalsensationstodrawyourreadersintothepoem?

Lis McDermott takes us through the ins and outs of editing poetry.

LisMcDermott

*Whenyourpoetryistobereadbyotherpeople, doesthelayoutofyourpoemhelppeopletoread itthroughthefirsttimewithagoodunderstanding?

Forexample,doesthemeaningofaparticular sentencefinishoftheendoftheline,ordoesit followontothesentencebelow? Inpoetrythisis called‘enjambment’,aFrenchwordmeaning–to stepover. So,youaretellingthereaderthata thought‘stepsover’fromtheendofonelineto thebeginningofthenextline,withnopunctuation.

Thisisoftenusedinmodernpoetrytocreatea freer,moreflowingpoem–wheretheendofeach linerhymes,butratherthangettinganexpected rhythmcreatedbystoppingatthematching rhyme,youflowthroughtothenextline.Thiscan havetheeffectofsofteningtheimpactofthe rhymingpattern.

Notamodernpoem,butanexampleofenjambment:

Athingofbeautyisajoyforever: Itslovelinessincreases;itwillnever Passintonothingness;butstillwillkeep Abowerquietforus,andasleep Fullofsweetdreams,andhealth,andquiet breathing.

JohnKeats,Endymion(1818)

Oneofmypersonalbugbearsisaboutthelayout ofpoetry(whichI’malwaysmentioningtomypoetrygroup). Ithinkwe,aspoetsneedtohelpa readertobeabletomakesenseofapoemonthe firstreadthrough.

Asreaderswetendtoscanahead,andseeinga capitalletterdoesgivetheexpectationofnew meaningwithanewline.

Therefore,ifaparticularlineshouldleadintothe nextIthink,alower-caselettershouldbeused, ratherthanacapital.Thisdoesmeanyouhaveto

editthelineswhereyouwantthemtostartwith alower-case,duetohowcomputersmakeevery newsentencestartwithacapitalletter. However,itdoesmakelifeeasierforthereader.

CarolAnnDuffyinherbook Rapture writes,only usingacapitalletterwhereanewideastarts;see herpoems: Text and You.

*Anotherthingtoconsideris,ifyouarewriting withinasetpoeticform;haveyoukepttothe rules?

Manymodernpoetsdon’tsticktothesetforms, butmakethemtheirown,whichisfine.However,ifyouraimistostaywithintherulesand write, forexampleaSonnet,oraHaiku,have youactuallygotthecorrectnumberoflines,or therightnumberofsyllables,ortherightrhymingpattern?

It’sparticularlyveryeasytomiscountsyllables.

*Howdoesyourpoemlookonthepage?Doesit lookaestheticallypleasing?Lookatthewhite spacearoundyourpoem? Ifyourpoemfollowsa syllabicpattern,youshouldhavelinesofsimilar lengths.Haveyougotequalspacesbetween stanza’sorhaveyoucreatedlargerbreaksbetweenlinesforaspecificpurpose?

Howyourpoemlooksonthepageispartofthe overallcreativeprocess.

Poetryisaboutexpressingourfeelingsandideas byuseofwords,sometimesrhyme,rhythmand imagery.Ifyougivefeedbacktosomeoneelse, remembertogiveconstructivefeedback,becauseinthewordsofW.BYeatspoem,‘Aedh WishesfortheClothsofHeaven’:

‘Treadsoftly,becauseyoutreadonmydreams.’

Lis McDermott is a multi-genre author, poet and writing mentor. Visit Lis’ website: https://lismcdermottauthor.co.uk

SUBMISSIONGUIDELINES

Writers’NarrativeeMagazine

We are interested in submissions on any aspect of writing and publishing and will accept simultaneous submissions.AllinterviewsmustbepitchedtotheEditorinChieffirstbeforedoingtheinterview.

We accept varying lengths of submissions depending on the topic - 500, 1000, 1,500. Book reviews can be shorter but should include a substantial review in addition to the book blurb. Only submit previously unpublishedwork(eitheronlineorinprint).

MonthlythemeswillbepromulgatedinboththemagazineandintheFacebookGroup.

Please use Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. Light editing will be undertaken. If major editing is required, the article will be returned with general advice on what is required to bring it up to publication standard.

All submissions are to be in Times New Roman or Times, size 12 font, single spaced, with no formatting. Allformattingwillbecarriedoutbytheeditorialteam.

Theonlyimageswhichshouldbesubmittedwithyour articlesareyourauthorphotograph andbookcoversifdoingabookreview.Includeabriefbioandauthorphotographalongwithyourfirstsubmission.

Pleasestatethemonthforwhichyouaresubmittingyourarticle.However,thismaybechangedifitisfelt itbettersuitsadifferentissue.

Writers’Narrativeispublishedmonthly.Submissioncutoffdates:

January–7th November

February–7th December

March–7th January

April-7th February

May–7th March

June–7th April

July–7th May

August–7th June

September–7th July

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December–7th October

Submissionsviaemailto writersnarrative@gmail.com

Tonominate yourwritinggroup, locallibrary orbookshop tobefeatured in futureissues and for anyqueries including advertising with us email writersnarrative@gmail.com subject headed for the attention of EditorinChief

Whilethereisamonthlythemeandfocus,thiswillnotbetheonlytopicforthemagazine.General articlescanalsobesubmittedforpublication.

Themesfor2024

Month Theme

January Newbeginnings–Settingthescenefortheyearahead

February RomanceWriting–WhatelseinFebruary

March WritingforChildren–TiesinwithWorldBookDay

April Editing–Selfediting,workingwithaneditoretc.

May WritingMemoir–It’sNationalMemoirMonth

June WritingPoetry

July WritingNon-Fiction

August

WritingHistoricalFiction

September ScienceFictionandFantasyit’sNationalScienceFictionMonth

October Worldbuilding

November WritingCozyMysteries

December WritingHabits.

ComingNextMonth

….

May2024

Theme-WritingMemoir

FeaturedAuthor—Jessica Bell

BookReviews

Newreleases

Andmore….

May2024