Editing Wildwood - aka - Nanowrimo in reverse

For those of you who have never participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month,) the idea is to write a complete first draft of a novel, or at least 50K words of one, in one month. It is HARD, and, to date, I've never succeeded.

So what does this have to do with Wildwood, book #3 in the Moonlit Trilogy? Well, the draft I submitted to my publisher was 156,000 words, and I knew in my soul that it was the best story I'd ever written. It's my favorite piece of the trilogy. My editor agreed: do not, under any circumstance, touch the plot, she said. And then she said: But I need you to cut 57,000 words. Minimum. Really, it'd be better if you could find 60,000 words to cut.

Sixty. Thousand. Words.

Or, NaNoWriMo in reverse.

When I first sat down to tackle this edit, I thought: I can absolutely do this. No problem. I'm wordy and I know it. I can clean this up in a single pass. So I painstakingly evaluated every word, tightened up sentences, cut an expository paragraph or lines three and four of a description here and there. And at the end of the first pass, I had cut 6,000 words. I had also taken two weeks to do it.

Editing a 75,000 word story like Moonlit and Windswept took every brain cell I had. Once I realized I was essentially editing them BOTH size-wise, I buckled down, glared at my screen, and launched into pass #2.

I started seeing some serious word-loving habits. Like descriptions. Boy-howdy do I love to word-draw. Three paragraphs of artsy, flowery page-decor became a sentence or two bold, direct strokes.

I'm a transition-junkie. I quit cold turkey, cutting their heads off whenever I saw them peek up at the bottom of a paragraph. CHOP CHOP CHOP. And boom, without the transition present, the paragraphs flowed BETTER, because if the writing is tight and the motion is streamline, a transition becomes a speed bump.

Full-body feels. This probably accounted for 25,000 words. And I don't mean the way a "feels" moment pulls at a reader's heart strings. I mean the way every single action pulled at every single possible part of my main character (although hearts, centers, stomachs, guts, middles, and mouths seem to be favorites of mine). I shouldn't tell a reader how my character internally responds to a positive or negative moment because the reader should experience the moment without me telling them how to do it.

And, last and certainly most painful for me, expository paragraphs. I love to sink into a scene and roll around, like a dog on a carpet, feet in the air, tongue out, just *feeling* it. Inviting a reader into a character's head space for a good long time. Like a page. Maybe two. I caught myself skimming these words and sections I was sure I loved, and why? Because sure they were pretty but they didn't affect the story in any way so I didn't need to change them so why look at them.

Wait, what?

If a sentence does not affect the plot or the character, if the plot and the character are exactly the same on the other side of the sentence as they were before it, then what was the point of the sentence? The idea of a story is to keep the action and characters in motion. You know what dogs do after they roll all over the floor? They take a nap.

And there was my other 35,000 words.

Finally, one month, 60,000 cut words later, edits for Wildwood were done. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and taught me some invaluable lessons about the way I write, and how to make it better.

Wildwood now has a release date - September 22nd, 2015, and one truly amazing cover.

I can't wait to see what y'all think of the conclusion to Tanzy's story, and my new, lean, action-packed story-telling skills.

It's been one helluva ride.

Thank you for coming along.

What it sounds like in my head during "official" edits

Quick update: we just finished content, or "overview" edits of the Moonlit sequel, which is currently called "Windswept." That means the plot for the sequel is pretty much set in stone (sqquueee!!!) and that we're moving on to inline edits, where my editor comes after my sentence structure and word choices like they owe her something. And, in fact, they do. She makes sure every word, every sentence, deserves a place on the page once they're finally printed.

In my head, the whole content editing process sounds something like this:

1. Right after I've submitted the manuscript to my editor: I can't wait to see what she says! I can't wait to get started and tear it apart and make it better better better!! (then, this tiny voice says: what if she LOVES it and there's nothing to do? Bwahahahahaha. Hilarious.)

2. Once I've received the edits, I typically glare at the screen - not at my editor's notes, but my own words. How could I have thought this was any good? Why in the WORLD did my publisher accept this novel? There is EVERYTHING to do. Then I dig in and rearrange, shore up holes, apply pressure to the bleeders. Things get better, but aren't sewn up just yet, the fact of which really ticks me off.

3. I submit the first round, and then I avoid my laptop at all costs for fear I'll delete the whole manuscript on a whim and attempt to pick up a new hobby. True story: A week ago I got a puppy because I couldn't handle the down time of two weeks (fyi - that's like super insano lightspeed in the publishing world) between round one and round two. I am an idiot, a busy idiot who is now training a very energetic 4 month old dog.

4. I received the second round of content/overview edits. While the second round is usually lighter, I have found that with Moonlit and Windswept, they make me dig deeper. The first round merely made incisions in the body. The second round probes for the source of the bleed. And boy howdy does it bleed. Everywhere. You'd think by the second round of edits the major cuts were over. Nope.

5. And then, the best feeling on earth: Here it is! This is the giant traffic jam/plot hole to nowhere/personality disorder my manuscript is suffering from. And this is my favorite part, because now that I've identified the offender, I can seek and destroy it faster than that very energetic puppy can rip up a pair of undies. In Windswept, Tanzy opens the sequel with an axe to grind and a very large chip on her shoulder. That big heart of hers was nowhere in sight. The original opening not only made Tanzy practically unlikeable, but also foiled her emotional development in the rest of the story. Tanzy's journey in Windswept has a lot in store for her, and if she's already burned up inside by page 10, we have no where to go. Once I realized I'd plugged the wound in Tanzy's bleeding heart with my own southern-born, grudge-holding, short-fused temper, it was an easy (and lengthy) fix. The story is so much better now that I've taken myself out of the equation

When my editor - who I adore, okay worship... possibly stalk... anyways, when she suggested I soften Tanzy I thought: had she forgotten how Moonlit ended? Wouldn't she be royally brassed off if someone had pulled the pin on the grenade of her life and walked away? In truth, I have no idea how my awesome editor would handle the situation in reality, but I'd also forgotten how Tanzy would handle it, and put too much of myself in the opening chapters. There's a reason I'm not a heroine in a book somewhere.

We still have work to do. In truth, I was a little intimidated by the sequel as a whole. I have fans - actual, legitimate, they-don't-know-me-outside-of-this-book fans. What if Windswept doesn't deliver? What if I'm not good, I was just... lucky? The story line is so different, the pace so blinding... Then I think back to the state Moonlit was in pre-edits, the holes, the weak places, the choppy sections, and I realize we're right on track with Windswept. We still have work to do, and I'm sure I'll stumble around a few times and eat my way out of a writer's block or two. But I'm finally learning all of those steps and feelings and frustrations and breakthroughs are just par for the course.

Sharing is caring: what tips do you have for an author in the editing stage? Tell us about what you're up to, too!

Blog Hop Interview for KidLit/YA authors

I was invited by my friend, Margo Dill, to participate in a “blog hop interview.” Margo sent me some interview questions, which I will answer here on my blog. Following my answers, I tagged 3 other writers who will, in turn, answer questions on their blogs next week. It’s been fun checking out the Blog Hops to see what other authors have posted. Margo posted her answers to the questions last week. If you like, you can leave a comment on her blog and tell her that you connected to her through me.

Here are my answers to the questions I chose from the list:

1. What are you working on right now? I am in the middle of the Moonlit series, and just submitted the second book in the series to my publisher for acceptance. While I wait to hear back, I am drafting specific scenes for the third and final book. It’s going to be a huge challenge to write. I’m hoping to tell the final installment from many different perspectives, and I’m also waging a gigantic, supernatural war. So it’s a little intimidating. I’m going to take it piece by piece. I want to make sure I do it right, and give my readers something to remember long after they’ve read the last page.

2. How is it different than other books in its genre? Moonlit is very different from other books in the YA genre. For starters, there is a love story, but love is not THE story. My main character, Tanzy Hightower, is flawed, and is strong in her own right, even before she becomes supernatural. There’s a mystery element to each book, which readers either really get into, or it puts them off. I love a little mystery, and I wrote what I like to read. The first-person present perspective makes readers pick up clues along with Tanzy and piece them together as they go. One reviewer called Moonlit “an explosion in reverse,” which is a perfect description. The sequel is a tad more straight-forward, and it moves at breakneck speed from page one. I’m writing the third book from many different perspectives because I have several endings I’m deciding between, and I’m not yet sure who will be there to bow for the final curtain call.

3. How does your writing process work? My writing process is… chaotic and spontaneous. I have two other jobs and I’m a full-time mom of a two year old, so I write where I can, when I can. Usually it’s after she goes to sleep. I write notes to myself during the day. I don’t outline, but I really REALLY should. My brain does not operate in a straight line, and it makes revisions challenging. I’m going to attempt at outline with book three. I’m very comfortable with the reality that my outline will likely be in hundreds of tiny pieces thrown every which way by the time the true arc rises to the surface, but it’s a good place to start.

4. What scares you? The idea of bad reviews used to scare me. But now that I have a few to my name, they don’t bother me anymore. Some of them are actually helpful, and some of the make me laugh. After a reviewer literally said she hated me, I got over the hope of making everyone happy. What scares me more are the people who truly love Moonlit – who dove head first into the beginning of Tanzy’s journey and are eagerly awaiting the rest. I am terrified I’ll let them down. So many sequels fall flat in comparison to the first installment, and I really want to defeat that statistic.

 

Tag! I am tagging...

Kerri Cuevas, YA author of "Deadly Kisses." The sequel was just picked up by WiDo Publishing. Congrats, Kerri! Kerri's Blog: http://kerricuevas.blogspot.com/

Aviva Orr, YA author of "The Mist on Bronte Moor." I read this book a few weeks ago and was completely swept away in the time travel and Bronte history. Aviva's blog: http://www.avivaorr.com/blog.html

Charity Bradford, YA author of "The Magic Wakes." This book is at the very top of my TBR pile, and has scored rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Charity's blog: http://charitywrites.blogspot.com/.

Kerri, Aviva, and Charity will choose four questions from the master list and answer on their blogs next week, and will tag three more kidlit/YA authors. It's like a never ending chain letter of goodness for book lovers. :)

 

Giveaway, review, and a stop on the blog tour for "Deadly Kisses" by Kerri Cuevas

First thing's first - the Deadly Kisses' official summary:

Aiden Grant is seventeen, has a killer kiss, and a boss who used to be President, back in the old days. You see, Aiden is a grim reaper and his kiss welcomes the newly dead. But Aiden’s pleasant grim reaper lifestyle is in jeopardy. And it’s not only because Honest Abe keeps throwing out history lessons with reaping assignments, just to confuse him. It’s because Aiden’s next assignment is to reap the soul of Bee, the only girl he has ever loved.

When Aiden’s kiss of death fails, intertwining their souls, Bee is still very much alive and they are both in trouble. The ancients want Bee, who has special powers of her own, and they’ll do anything to get her.
 

Some rules are meant to be broken—even if that means Aiden must bargain with his own soul to save Bee. Who knew the afterlife could get so complicated?

My thoughts, beginning with a summary of my own: Aiden Grant is your typical teenage guy: loves music, not a big fan of taking orders, and has a crush he has no plans of discussing. There’s just one problem: Aiden’s dead. Not glittery, vampire undead, but dead-dead, a decaying reaper of souls, black cloak, scythe, and gondola to boot. The life he left and the eternity he’s fated with collide as his boss, none other than past-president Abraham Lincoln, tests Aiden by ordering him to take the soul of Bee, his aforementioned secret crush. But things don’t go as planned. Not only can she see him, but she also fights back, leaving their souls, and their lives, in a twist. They only have seven days to figure out how – and who – will survive.

My favorite aspect was main character Aiden Grant: he has depth without being morose, and even though he’s no longer living, he pays tribute to his memories in a way that feels natural and not overdone. Deadly Kisses has the feel of a Cassandra Clare read, but set to an upbeat tempo – with a guitar solo somewhere in the mix. Cuevas weaves a tale as grounded as it is fantastic, with an ending that entices the reader to stand side by side with Aiden and his allies – both living and dead alike.

GIVEAWAY! There's also a giveaway for a copy of Deadly Kisses and some killer swag! Enter using Rafflecopter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway About the author: Kerri Cuevas was born and raised in Rhode Island. She moved to New Hampshire with her husband, three kids, cats and a rabbit named Hercules in 2005. When she's not writing, she's chasing chickens on her small farm or searching for the ultimate mac-a-cheese recipe.

Kerri went to college for Early Childhood Education but now writes books for young adults full-time. Her storytelling stems from watching too many horror flicks as a teen, but she no longer needs to sleep with the lights on.

 

Learn more about author Kerri Cuevas and buy her book using these links:

 

Website: http://www.kerricuevasbooks.com/index.html

 

Blog: http://www.kerricuevas.blogspot.com/

 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17156824-deadly-kisses

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Kisses-Kerri-Cuevas/dp/1937178323

 

Publisher: http://www.widopublishing.com  

 

Release day celebration and author interview with Aviva Orr

First and foremost, I want to extend a *huge* congratulations, good luck, and SQUEE!! to my fellow WiDo Publishing author, Aviva Orr, on today's release of her novel, "The Mist on Bronte Moor." (Side note, Aviva might be one of the coolest names I have ever heard. But I digress...)

The concept of Aviva's book is also sublimely original. Here's the blurb (provided by www.widopublishing.com:) When fifteen-year-old Heather Jane Bell is diagnosed with alopecia and her hair starts falling out in clumps, she wants nothing more than to escape her home in London and disappear off the face of the earth. Heather gets her wish when her concerned parents send her to stay with a great-aunt in West Yorkshire. But shortly after she arrives, Heather becomes lost on the moors and is swept through the mist back to the year 1833. There she encounters fifteen-year-old Emily Bronte and is given refuge in the Bronte Parsonage. Unaware of her host family’s genius and future fame, Heather struggles to cope with alopecia amongst strangers in a world foreign to her. While Heather finds comfort and strength in her growing friendship with Emily and in the embrace of the close-knit Bronte family, her emotions are stretched to the limit when she falls for Emily’s brilliant but troubled brother, Branwell. Will Heather find her way back to the comforts and conveniences of the twenty-first century? Or will destiny keep her in the harsh world of nineteenth-century Haworth?

The cover: (LOVE. I see something new every time I look at it.)

I had to know how Aviva came up with this enchanting idea, so it was the first question I asked her when she agreed to an interview.

How did you come up with the idea for The Mist on Brontë Moor?
I visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum several years ago and came up with the idea shortly afterwards. It’s not hard to imagine the Brontës at home in the parsonage when visiting Haworth, as I’m sure many tourists have done. After my visit, I started reading biographies about the Brontës, and the more I read, the more interested I became in their lives. The idea grew from there.

What made you decide to give Heather alopecia?

My niece suffers from alopecia. Her hair started falling out at age fifteen—the same age as Heather. I had never heard of alopecia before my niece developed it, but I quickly became aware of how much distress it can cause a person, especially a teenager.

Heather’s alopecia also gave me the opportunity to relay some important messages. I have a teenage daughter, and I am constantly surprised at how heavily teens are influenced by their peers, ranging from what they wear to how they feel about themselves. Heather is extra vulnerable because of her condition. At the beginning of the novel, Heather is tormented by her peers and focuses heavily on her alopecia. When she goes back in time, she is gradually able to relax because the Brontë family is non-judgmental. Branwell is somewhat curious about her hair, but he finds her beautiful regardless. Basically, I’m illustrating that if you accept others as they are without fixating on their differences, they will, in turn, be more accepting of themselves.

Did your characters have any surprises in store for you as the writer?

The Mist on Brontë Moor started as a mid-grade book, so all the characters were initially much younger. I loved watching them mature into young adults. It really helped with the character development because I got to know them so well. Branwell was a mischievous kid and he played some nasty tricks on his sisters and Heather, so I was pleased by how his charm and sensitivity shone through as a young man, despite all his troubled moments. As for Heather, she handled her problems much better as a teen. She turned out to be quite strong, and I am delighted with that. 

I love your cover. Are there any little plot secrets in the design?

The cover sets the tone for the novel. I wanted the graveyard and a lot of mist with the parsonage in the background.  The subplot also comes into play, so the cover reflects much of what the novel has to offer.

When you think of your book, is there one line that stands out to you?

The last line in the book is my favorite; it is derived from a line in one of Emily’s poems, which is quoted at the beginning of the last chapter. Of course, I can’t quote the line here or it will give away too much! 

How will you celebrate on the day of your release?

There will be an international giveaway on Goodreads, starting January 8, to celebrate the release of the book’s print edition. The winner will receive a signed paperback copy of The Mist on Brontë Moor. 

What's next for you?

I’m working on another young-adult novel. This one is contemporary with a literary theme as well. 

Thank you so much for your time, Aviva. And I hope you have an incredible release day. I have to admit that I've been stalking this book of yours online. A couple of days ago, a review for The Mist on Bronte Moor hit Goodreads, and prompted me to click over to Wido Publishing's website and pre-order a print copy of the book immediately. Click here to see the review that made me jump to action.

I am eagerly awaiting my pre-ordered copy of The Mist on Bronte Moor, and will read and review it as soon as possible!