Off the Bookshelf: INTUITIVE EDITING, by Tiffany Yates Martin

 

This is our June book for the Great Lakes Fiction Writers craft book club.

Thanks to whoever first suggested this book. A LOT to learn, new angles that make me rethink how I've been editing for years. This helps me see the process in new ways -- and make me more alert to things that I might have been doing automatically, without thinking about them.

This book approaches the whole editing process in a methodical, step-by-step fashion that takes apart a book and puts each piece under a microscope.

Or, in the author's words, starts with an x-ray ... and goes even more in-depth.

Wow. A little intimidating, a lot to take in and consider. Writing is both an art and a craft. Books like these help us refine our craft. Just because my approach doesn't match the one outlined in this book doesn't mean I'm doing it wrong, because the "art" portion of writing means we have to find what works best for each of us. 

If we're smart, we keep learning and growing and adapting. This is a book I wish I'd read years ago. It crystalizes a lot of practices and principles I know I follow, maybe without thinking about why. But it sure helps to be able to put them into words at long last.

Many thanks to Tiffany Yates Martin.

The Adventure: SANDRA MERVILLE HART, The Story Behind the Story, part 1

This is the “story behind the story” of how my Civil War romance set during the Battle of Gettysburg, A Rebel in My House, was born. 

Something drew me yet again to Gettysburg. I knew a story awaited me. My husband and I walked the battlefields. Ideas stirred when I found Tennessee troops with the brigade who began the fighting on the first day. Nothing solidified so I kept digging.

I discovered fascinating history at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum. Surely my story touched this place. After spending several hours wandering the museum and surroundings … nothing. I trudged on.

I explored Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg Museum of History, Gettysburg Railroad Station, General Lee’s Headquarters Museum, and The David Wills House where President Lincoln stayed. I learned intriguing facts at the Jennie Wade House, Shriver House Museum, and “The Women of Gettysburg Tour,” an evening walking tour.

Ideas strengthened. My husband and I walked the town’s streets around the “Diamond”—the town square where women and children suffered a nightmare from which they didn’t awaken for many months. Then we spent another afternoon and evening at the battlefield.

Three Tennessee regiments fought the beginning battle on July 1^st. They didn’t fight again until they joined in Pickett’s Charge on the battle’s final day.  

The sun sank low on the horizon as I stood alone on Cemetery Ridge reflecting over the expansive field crossed by Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. Though the land is peaceful once more, it still tells a story. My imagination soared while the sun disappeared.

I had to tell what the townspeople endured. What if a Gettysburg seamstress fell in love with a Confederate soldier? What if they both made promises to loved ones? Some promises are impossible to keep …

About Sandra:

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover little-known yet fascinating facts about our American history to include in her stories. A Musket in My Hands, a Civil War romance where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, is 2019 Serious Writer Medal Fiction Winner and a 2019 Selah Award Finalist. A Rebel in My House, set during the historic Battle of Gettysburg, won the 2018 Silver Illumination Award and second place in 2018 Faith, Hope and Love Readers’ Choice Award. Her debut Civil War Romance, A Stranger on My Land, was IRCA Finalist 2015. Her novella Surprised by Love in "From the Lake to the River" is set during the 1913 flood in Troy, Ohio. Trail’s End in "Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys" is set in the wild cattle town of Abilene, Kansas. Not This Year, her nostalgic story in the "Christmas Fiction Off the Beaten Path," released in the fall of 2019.

Connect with Sandra on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Amazon Author Page, and BookBub.

The Adventure: with author CINDY THOMSON: My Current Scribing Adventure, pt. 2

CONTINUED from Thursday:

And that brings me up to today. I just finished a new novel, one I worked on for nearly two years. When it’s polished and the book proposal is ready, I will seek out a new publisher. I could publish it myself, but I would like the support a big publisher can offer (having experienced that earlier with my traditionally published books). Maybe I’ll get another agent at some point. Or maybe not, who knows?

The publishing life is filled with ups and downs. Once I realized that, it was a little easier to go with the flow. In today’s environment, there are lots of possibilities for writers. While competition is tough, there are still plenty of readers out there. Traditional publishers, small presses, indie publishing, blogs, magazines … so many opportunities await.

One thing I’ve noticed while quarantining and observing social media posts from others is that this time of slowing down has sparked creativity in many people. Baking, painting, gardening, sewing, crafting, writing, making music … I hope you are doing something to get connected to your creative side because everyone has one. Do you agree? Keep on creating!

Bio: Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of six novels and four non-fiction books, including her newest, Finding Your Irish Roots. A genealogy enthusiast, she writes from her home in Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families. 


PRIZE DRAWING:

Anyone who comments on either post Thursday and Friday AND comments on any post at http://cindyswriting.com/blog/ will be entered in the drawing to win this nifty bookmark, to be held May 22.

Web site: http://www.cindyswriting.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cindyswriting

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cindy-thomson

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindyswriting

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cindyswriting

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/cindythomson

Off the Bookshelf: THE FANTASY FICTION FORMULA, by Deborah Chester

MAJOR writing guide, well worth the time and effort to read through, mark pages for reference and keeping handy for quoting -- and to re-read, maybe between every project.

Yeah, THAT useful.

And guess what, even if you don't write fantasy, this is a great writing book, period, for any kind of fiction.

I wish she had been one of my creative writing teachers.

I heard about this book either from the Science Fiction Marketing Podcast, or the Writing Excuses Podcast. Can't remember now where I heard the name and title. I just know I made a note on my iPhone while I was getting some exercise and catching up on podcasts, found the book, bought it ... and then, like everything else in life, the book sat on my to-be-read bookshelf until a couple weeks ago, when I finally opened it up and started reading.

Don't waste your time trying to find this book at a used bookstore, to save some money -- because I can bet you no writer worth her salt is going to trade this book in. Ever.

Chester walks through the whole process, from planning to creating characters to understanding the whole scene-and-sequel pairing, and show-vs-tell conundrums  and on and on, to editing and all the "do I gotta?" steps we all hate -- all the totally useful stuff. And she teaches from a slightly different angle than I've heard these principles and extremely useful and helpful tips if I've heard them before, so they struck me as new and fresh and yeah, useful!

Get the book. Invest in a paper copy, so you can underline and highlight and put sticky notes in places where you'll go back again and again. You'll be glad you did!

Off the Bookshelf: ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING, by Ray Bradbury

A book on BEING a writer, more than a book on the writing craft.

Part autobiography.

It went way too fast, and yet there's a lot of meat for digesting, slowly, so maybe the smaller portions, highly condensed, are a wise choice. This is a collection of essays on writing Bradbury wrote over several decades.

I enjoyed remembering the books I had read, or short stories, and the movies I had seen as he talked about the various journeys to get them written. I had a little bit of shock to realize that a story I read in an English class magazine was written by Bradbury. Mind-blowing -- "name" SF writers having their stories appear in required classes in school. Of course, I remember when "Rocky" was coming out, and we had some scenes from the script in our English class magazine, so ....

Even if you don't write SF or fantasy, this book is highly useful for just getting into the mind of a writer and seeing that we don't all do it the same way, we don't all have the same journey, we don't all run at the same pace or learn things the same way. What works for YOU is the right journey to take and the right tools to pick up and the right approach to use.

Thanks to the master for making clearer what I've been learning for some time now, and will probably have to keep learning, as I go along.

As a note: I have a big stack of writing craft/writing resource books that have piled up, and my goal is to read at least 1 each month. Here's hoping -- and hold me accountable!