7 January 2014

New Year, New Novel: The Bull At The Gate


Earlier today I nailed The Bull At The Gate, the second in the Torc of Moonlight trilogy. 100,376 words done, if not dusted. Pick up a glass of something sparkling and share my celebration.

I write slowly and edit constantly, so what is now sitting in various Word files will be close to what appears between the covers. But the blood-sweating creativity is only part of the process of bringing a novel to the hands of readers. The hard-headed, and hopefully clear-minded, business end of the process now begins, and I thought I'd share my step-by-step system:

1) to maintain a forward momentum while writing I add in a mass of queries as I go via marginal Comments: these need to be chased down and resolved
2) a structural check/edit to ensure:
-  the balance of the pacing
- that information harvested – the dramatic edge – has been previously secured via seeding and nurturing before it is needed in fruition
-  the three parallel storylines share the correct level of billing 
- that subplots and historical & contemporary detailing remain in subordinate roles
3) a line edit
4) an automated edit check via software to help identify anything I've missed
5) a second line edit
6) a beta readers’ check
7) mulling queries the beta readers highlight and marking priorities for change or honing
8) resolve priorities in order
9) a (hopefully) combined edit + polish, alongside identifying useful snippets for promotional purposes

…and then both it and I shall collapse in separate heaps to moulder, sorry, mature, like good cheese - make that wine - while I reconsider a rather flimsy marketing plan. But that’s a whole other post.

As can be seen, the most pressing of these – the digital cover – has already been completed, by Karri Klawiter, though she won’t be able to finish the wraparound for the paperback until I know its dimensions. And that, too, is a whole other post.

6 comments :

  1. "rather flimsy marketing plan" - the story of my writing life ;-) My process is similar (imagine that) but I have a beta reader who's only in it for the story read the second draft before I edit further to check for confusing situations I may then have to rewrite. After my next to final edit, I send to nit-picky grammar-knowledgeable readers to catch typos and such. Nice cover!

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    1. Thanks for calling by LK. The editing system used to be as flimsy as the marketing plan, or at least as hit & miss, but I find a true thought-through plan helps enormously. If you come up with a fully thought-through marketing plan before I do, let me know - LOL!

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  2. Thanks for posting about your editing process. Your plan is very interesting because it's this aspect of writing that I always struggle with. What software do you use Linda?

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    1. Hi Vasiliki, it's a long time since we've spoken. I hope you are doing well.

      During the year I've road-tested the free version of Pro Writing Aid - http://prowritingaid.com/ - ideal for short fiction, but I'm purchasing the premium version to tackle the novel. You'll find a clickable link on my Author Resources page of this blog. I hope this helps.

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  3. I also use Pro Writing Aid, and I happily recommend it. Your editing process is entirely different from my own, Linda, but you edit constantly, whereas I write the full story first and then begin the editing process. Different writers, different schemes. So long as it works for you, it's fine. I think if I were to edit whilst composing, I'd never get past the first page! But, like you, I have a structured editing plan for when I start that process (currently doing that, in fact). Looking forward to reading Bull at The Gate, especially since I enjoyed Torc of moonlight so much.

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    1. Oh yes, every author's editing system has a caveat. The trick, I think, is to see how others do it, try it on one's own work, and make adjustments. I simply can't do what is often called a 'fast and dirty draft' because nuance plays a leading role in the forward momentum. Or maybe I'm just a slow writer - LOL!

      Glad you can can endorse Pro Writing Aid as a benefit. And watch this space for the announcement that The Bull At The Gate has gone live.

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