All material on this website not otherwise copyrighted is Copyright © 2009-2010 Gracie Stanners
27 July, 2009
My Apologies, Shakespeare...
Revisions, and revisions, and revisions
Creep in this draft of mine from day to day
Till the last syllable and final spell-check's done.
Now all my manuscripts sit like weighted tools
Upon my dusty desk. Out, out, brief respite!
Editing's like shooting shadows, a task unending
That eats your life and spits the bones upon the page
And then returns for more. So much for tales
Told by an idiot. Damned if mine will end up
Signifying nothing!
13 July, 2009
Writing Revisited
After a day of revisions on my manuscript TSOF, I've discovered three things:
- How easy it is to drag loose ends from one incarnation to another.
- How great it is when someone who knows the business takes a look at your writing and points out where a dozen army tanks could rumble three abreast through a plot hole.
- How wonderful it is when they offer possible fixes, without making you feel like a moron.
Why do we, as writers, find it so hard to open ourselves up to being critiqued? There are a whole lot of reasons, but here are two. Fear. And Ego.
I can hear your protests from here. Fear, absolutely. But ego?
Yes. It's interesting, isn't it, that people will accept their fear, but see as invalid their desire to succeed?
Like a bird, a writer needs two wings to fly. To be effective. To be balanced. Fear keeps us careful. Ego keeps us striving. The only time either is a problem is when it prevents us from taking on board something that will enable us to improve our craft or our product.
But, oh boy, it doesn't mean hearing the truth is easy.
08 July, 2009
The Hysteria of Writing
There's been so much happening I don't know where to start.
After a hectic three months the Web Building 101 for Writers class is about to end. It's been great.
I love watching the creative process--any creative process--and want to give full marks to the girls on the course who have jumped way out of their comfort zone. Their enthusiasm has inspired me.
And, while we're speaking of inspiration, I'm shelving TSSOH and its third-person problem in order to revisit the three first-person heroines in my Labyrinth Trilogy.
Phew! So much more comfortable. TSSOH is a fabulous story and I can't wait to write it. However, I think once I've finished and revised the Trilogy my third-person angst won't be as much of a problem.
Here's hoping.
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