Blog

AutoCrit, C.S. Lakin, Critique groups, finding professional editor, Grammarly, Holly Lisle, One Pass Manuscript, Revision, self editing, Writing

Five Tools to Use After Writing "The End"

Mona Alvarado Frazier
gettyimages

After 12 drafts of my first manuscript I believe I now have a few ideas on what to do after writing “The End,” on a first draft. No matter how capable you are as a writer and proofreader, your first draft is just that-a draft. 

Writers use several different ways to revise their writing: critique groups, beta readers, or scrutinizing each chapter with a lice comb. You can do that, ad nauseum, but I found that delving into your manuscript using a method such as Holly Lisle’s One Pass Manuscript revision process was the most helpful. 

Yes it can be a difficult task, but isn’t what you want to say worth it? If it’s not, then perhaps you should rethink why you’re writing the novel, short story or memoir that you initially thought was a good idea. 

Unfortunately, I did not realize the wisdom of using a revision process until after several months of long and laborious critique group sessions. Don’t get me wrong, the right critique group can be invaluable and I belong to an awesome group, but why waste their time, and yours, ‘critiquing’ a piece that isn’t ready. 

Now that your first revision is done, it’s time to make like a gold miner and  sift through the muck, dark water, and rocks. Run your sediment and dirt clods through the sluice by using these (or similar) writing tools:



1. Spell check- I use Grammarly to make any grammar corrections and list the use of passive phrases. This tool goes beyond the MS word auto check function. And it’s free.

2. Editing– How many times did you use words that weaken your writing by using “and,” “that,” adverbs “-ly‘s” or repeated a word six times on one page? (five too many). 

AutoCrit identifies these types of problems and can identify sentence variations, cliches and readability. Copy and paste 1,000 words of your revised draft through this software tool and you’ll be amazed at what comes up. 
gettyimages
Now that you’ve rinsed your nugget of gold through the water it’s time to fix your revision. Do this before you meet with your critique or writing group.
3. Critique Group-Take your first 5 pages or whatever is the limit for your group and ask your fellow writers for some specific information about your writing:
  • Have I introduced the main character in the first few lines?
  • Did I introduce some sort of a conflict, either internal or external? 
  • Have I begun the story in the middle of something that’s happened or about to happen? 
  • Have I given the reader a sense of the setting? year, locale
  • Is there a hint at the character’s need, desire, goal, fear, dream?
  • Is the dialogue (if any) concise, at cross purposes, and give a sense of the characters personality? 
  • Do you consider my first line a “hook?” Does it give an image that grabs the reader, makes them go to the next line, the next paragraph, the next page? 
4. Self-critique: That rock is beginning to look more recognizable. Yes, it may be gold. Use this checklist I found at C.S. Lakin’s “Critique My Manuscript. Read it, use it, revise your manuscript. You’re shining up your nugget.

5. Professional Editing: Your piece of gold may be at a dull shine, but you want to polish up this baby, fashion it into best it can be, see the true luster of your work, then hire an expert.
gettyimages
Yes, this tool is the most expensive in your toolbox. The decision to find and pay for a professional editor to review your work is highly personal. It can be scary. You have to decide if you will pay for another set of eyes to constructively criticize your manuscript. But wouldn’t you take your gold nugget to a reputable jeweler, have it appraised, help make it into something beautiful? 
If you answered “yes” to the question above, come back next week when I’ll take you through my experience in looking for a professional editor. 

Until then, put your butt in the chair and keep writing.


30 day writers challenge, A Room of Her Own, Editorial calendar, Encouragement, Fear, Goals, Roadmap to My Dreams, Robert Lee Brewer, Wordsmith Studio, Writing

How to Celebrate a Writing Anniversary

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Woo-Hoo, this month is my first year anniversary!

gettyimages

I’m single, but I still have an anniversary to celebrate. An important one.

How to celebrate? 

Well it wouldn’t be a commemoration without food. Unfortunately, it’s not with that yummy looking cake and fizzy champagne, but with a vegan carrot cake muffin and a huge cup of coffee. 

Because an anniversary is not a one woman or one man show, the observation must include the over 130 participants in the April 2012 “30 day challenge to build and refine writer platforms,” given by Robert Lee Brewer (poet and editor).

An event such as this one is also a good time to reflect and assess the writing challenges of the last year. 
How apropos that first year anniversary gifts are paper because a letter is a perfect way to contemplate last years 30 day challenge.
Some of the tasks during that month are noteworthy because I discovered more about my writer self-and other writers- than I previously knew: my writing strengths and weaknesses, my level of commitment, and I found group support to push on during the long and bumpy road of a writer’s often lonely life.
Who understands that driving need to write whether it’s four in the morning or midnight, in the car waiting for kids, or holed up in your bedroom for a weekend other than fellow writers? Who knows the pang of rejection e-mails or the yin-yang of writing and revising? Only other writers.
But back to the celebratory part. Here are some of the highlights of the challenge:
  • The best task: Set your goals. Create an editorial calendar.
  • The hardest: Think about SEO. Go to Brewers site for that one.
  • The easiest: Join social media site (s) and participate.
  • The surprising: Do a Google search on yourself.
  • The ‘I didn’t do it:’ Pitch a guest blog post. 

Participant writers found their community and pledged to go on after the challenge was over. A year later, over 130 participants continue supporting each other via the Wordsmith Studio website, Facebook page, and other social media sites. 

The challenge to one became a writers community for the many. Now that is dedication and commitment.

Has working on a writing platform helped me? Yes-even when I thought “what does this have to do with writing?”
gettyimages
You see it’s the discipline of the challenge. The tasks push you towards assignments you don’t want to deal with because of your self-imposed boundaries. 

Every day the new assignment put me in front of a task I feared, some more some less. It forced me to look at what I didn’t want to do. It made me examine, confront, and drill down to the why and find out my truth.

This self confrontation made me assess whether I was being rational or was I  just uncomfortable with the assignment. Hands down it was a comfort issue.

Through self assessment you find out if you want to keep the fear or pull up your big girl/boy chones and charge ahead. 

The great thing about this challenge was that you were not on your own, and it was easier to cross that frontier with others helping you across. (This is extremely important when you get rejection letters in your email box).

The best and most helpful part of the challenge, for me, was to “set goals and establish an editorial calendar.” From those two assignments I learned:

  1. Place “butt in chair.” Write consistently, whether it’s daily or three times a week, one or three hours, or X amount of words. Pick a number.
  2. Post your goals where you can see them. Use a Roadmap. Pay attention to it. Check your progress every week, then bi-weekly. 
  3. Set a time limit on the time sucks (social media). For me it’s write first, party later. Sometimes I can only party for 30 minutes.
  4. Push past the fears. My top two fears? Spending money for a professional edit and sending out query letters. I did both. After revisions and 10 query re-do’s, I received a request for my full manuscript three days after I sent out the final query letter. 
  5. Submit your writing. I wanted to attend a writer’s retreat, but spent the money on the professional edit, and no longer had funds in my budget. I found an organization, A Room Of Her Own (AROHO), that offered writing fellowships. When I received the award I read the letter several times because I couldn’t believe my good fortune.
As in most new relationships this past year has been a time of excitement and romance (with writing). But make no mistake, there’s a lot of hard work in this 30 day challenge. 

But to the hard worker comes the harvest. And best of all, after one year, I’m still in love. 

Now, please excuse me, as I have some social media sites to visit and I need another cup of coffee. 

gettyimages