This post is about editing a first draft. Anyway, about the way I do it. You can compare the product of the first edit (this post) with the unedited first draft (last post). Note: as with any of my other posts in this section of my blog, it may contain spoilers to my writing. So proceed at your own risk. In my last post I discussed my routine of reading
I now tend to write scene by scene rather than chapter by chapter. I imagine each scene as something from a television show or film. What is cohesive? What sticks? What camera angles? Who do I focus upon? When do I shift focus? These thoughts tumble into a rough plan in my head. I play with this plan, not yet having started to type. When I do eventually type I
Hi all, Just letting you all know that my short horror story “Eighteen Steps” is now published in Thief, a micro-publication by Tribe Media. An online version can be found at
On Monday I listed my writing goals as: finish reviewing and editing my short story “Restored” Identify possible buyers for my short story Identify next most viable short story idea I have now finished reviewing “Restored”. My wife, upon reading it, felt that I needed to give some clear indications of what transpired in the story. This is because my chief character changes bodies three times within the story without
One of the tasks that I set myself for this week was finishing the first draft of my short story called “Night Terrors”. The good news is that I succeeded, but not as I quite expected. Okay, let me explain, and note that there will be spoilers should you ever choose to read this tale. My initial notion for this tale was a horror story where a woman wakes during
Hi all, Just a brief update: the short horror story that I submitted to Thief has been accepted by the editorial committee. Yippee! Apparently, it is now being sent
Possessed of a writing frenzy, my second short story in as many weeks has been sent off. I have sent it to Lamplight Magazine. As with last week’s short story, it’s now just a matter of waiting to see whether they accept it. My biggest concern about my story is that it is not speculative fiction, but rather a dark reflection of current society. Here is their call for submissions
Now that I am back to being creative, my first endeavour
Late last year I attended a session run by my local library (Sutherland Library). Led by
It was painful, but I finally listened to advice provided by many writers upon writing – I deleted several chapters of my novel. Well, technically I just cut and paste them into another document, but it still hurt. The problem was not that the chapters were no good. I actually felt that they were fine. It’s just that they did not take my characters on the journey that I finally
