At the beginning of summer my husband urged me to take a break from work, which surprised me. I am a stay-at-home-working mom. I make my own schedule so I can take care of our son. How was I supposed to take a break? Wasn’t my shorter work day enough?
He didn’t think so.
It’s been a long while since I posted anything. All I will offer in way of excuse is that life caught me by the pen and I got lost in the creative vortex. It happens. Time slips away when words fill the page. I won’t say I am sorry. It has been a wildly creative time for me and one I needed.
If you’re like me, you are probably setting goals for the new year—promises to exercise daily or eat right. It’s the season for starting over and re-committing to good habits. There’s nothing like feeling you have a clean slate and can move forward freely into a new and improved you. But while you’re picking good habits, don’t forget your writing.
I run a small book club that actually reads the selected books. We are a tight group that loves books and sharing them, beyond our group reads. We have a page set up on Goodreads and talk about our lives, books and all things story in whatever form they exist. They are my tribe. The people who understand me. We may not always read the same books or genres, but we share a love of story and the feel of books in our hands. We are true readers.
I’ve struggled with the second part of my ways to avoid annoying editors series, mostly because the things that tend to annoy editors (okay, me) are difficult to write about without sounding harsh. I kept trying to couch my comments to be nicer, but in the end decided that telling the truth was more important. It is better to hear about them before you submit than after. So take this advice for what it is: tips to get better so your work is accepted instead of rejected.
How? By doing one simple thing. It’s easy. Trust me. I’m going to share one of my biggest irritations as a writer/editor—extra spaces.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I dislike extra spaces, specifically the ones that appear after a period.
I spent today editing materials for a client who clings to old habits and here is what I told him:
What I carry in my bag to keep writing on the go. What do you need to carry?
I am often asked to critique my friends’ work. I consider it an occupational hazard.
While I don’t mind doing critiques, they do present a few challenges and I always proceed with caution. This is especially true with new and unpublished writers, although it’s tricky with anyone who does not know my critique style. The last thing I want is to alienate another writer or come off as harsh, but I admit I have been blamed of that in the past. The problem is that what I consider a constructive critique (one that I ask for myself) is more detailed and direct than most writers want.
Every head in the coffee house followed intently two firefighters who ran off before placing their order. A call had come through and they booked, taking with them the focus of every set of eyes in the place.
As a group, we watched while they pulled on their turnout gear, climbed in the rig and took off down the street. Minutes later we all looked up as a companion truck roared down the street.
Fifteen of us were riveted to the spectacle.
It made me wonder how to write characters that draw that much attention.
This past weekend I went to a bookstore with my family and browsed for longer than they wanted and not as much as I did. As we were leaving, my son asked whether I had enjoyed my playdate. It made me pause for a moment, but I could not refute the basic sentiment. My friends are found within the pages of the books I love and, frankly, the ones I am still flirting with on the not-read-yet shelf. This is not to say I don’t have real, flesh-and-blood friends, but the ones who live on the page are among my favorite. I cannot lie.
I am a somewhat typical writer/reader, I think. Somewhat a recluse, though not completely. The condition is not even self-diagnosed. I have proof. On the Myers-Briggs test, which I have taken three times in my life, I have consistently scored 49 out of 50 as an introvert.
I am not a social creature. At least not with the living. But in the world of fiction, I am gregarious, open and a traveler of worlds. I am bold and engaged.
My fictional friends are constant and true. They have seen me through childhood, tumultuous teen years, young adulthood and whatever you want to call where I am now. I am certain they will be there through my golden years too. It is the gift all readers receive. Friends for life. No matter what.
It is also a gift given by writers.
There is nothing worse than sending out something you have written only to spot errors in it afterward. Those tiny errors haunt and are the reason why proofreading is an essential step. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve written an email, presentation or novel. You need it to be error-free.
Think of your poor readers. You don’t want them stumbling on your poor punctuation, misspelled words or clumsy construction.
The problem is that proofreading requires a shift from the creative writing mode into a detailed perfectionist state. It requires different skills than writing does, but is most often performed by writers on their own work. It is a circumstance rife with peril. Writers are least likely to see their own errors. Our eyes gloss over missing words and punctuations because our minds see what we meant to write. Unfortunately, it is not always possible or feasible to hire a professional proofreader or con someone else to read our work before hitting the send button.
The only solution is to do our best. Here are my top 15 tricks to help you find pesky errors in your work and someone else’s work:
Each new year is an opportunity to begin again. It’s a fresh start. A renewal. Whether you make resolutions or not, I encourage you to take stock and recommit to your writing by embracing these 14 habits:
Write Daily
I can already hear your protests and excuses. Every day? What about weekends? Yes, daily. Whether you take off weekends is up to you, but starting out, I suggest writing daily if you want to hone your craft. It takes time to find your voice as a writer and that only comes with practice and time at the keyboard. So pick up a pen or start tapping away. The more you write, the better you will be.
Stop Talking About It
Stop telling everyone about your novel and write it. The more you share your story idea, the less motivation you will have to put it on the page. Use that desire to share your characters to put more words on the page. Don’t waste them chatting with every random person you meet. Write it instead.