Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

I wasn’t going to work on Vicki until next year.  But I was listening to music on my iPhone last night and Need You Now by Lady Antebellum came on.  So I couldn’t help but pull up her file.

That song speaks to me so loudly.  The back and forth angst is totally Vicki and ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

While I’ve been blogging mostly about Vicki and “dream writing” this week, the real “work” I’ve been doing is Revision Xibalba.  I got the revision letter from my new editor at Carina Press last week and a deadline of 2/28, so I’m rocking and rolling through her notes.  ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

Nobody likes to make mistakes.  For one thing, it’s pretty damned embarrassing, especially when it takes someone else to correct your mistake.  But I tell you now that there’s nothing that’ll open your eyes quicker than a humiliating mistake - if you’re willing to learn ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

Last night after work, I finished the last revision to Return to Shanhasson, at least until my beta readers sign in with any confusion or holes they find.

Hopefully I’ve conveyed to you that for me, revisions are all about the layers, and so I stole that reference from ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

We’ve all heard the prime directive:  show don’t tell.  Newbies discuss it endlessly on writing loops.  We have incredible quotes like:  “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass” from Anton Chekov.

Great.  But in the end, what does that ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

One thing I’m watching for as I wade through revisions is the Big Fat Lie.  Yes, even my most beloved na’lanna characters I’ve known for years have an appalling tendency to lie.  They will say things that don’t quite ring true, or do things which in hindsight make me ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

Do you have a “stock” character in your story who is perilously close to becoming a cliche?  Someone you need for a plot convenience, or simply to show another facet of your protagonist?  Would it matter if you changed the character’s name or sex?  If you simply took the ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

As I said yesterday, I’m attempting the first pass smoothing of this revision as I make my initial readthru with notebook and pens handy.  Obviously, I’m not going to bother smoothing sections that I already suspect I will cut, but this gives me a chance to spruce as I go ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

I stand at the formidable wrought-iron gates leading beneath the Mountain.  I’ve delayed too long already.  This novel has been complete for a year, just waiting for me to find the time - and courage - to enter into…  da da DUM ….
Revision Hell.

Okay, in all seriousness, ( Read more... )

Originally published at Joely Sue Burkhart. Please leave any comments there.

This morning, I reached a place in this writing journey that I’ve never been before.

Awhile back there was some blog storm about when a story should be submitted.  Jessica Faust at BookEnds wrote that Good Enough is Never Enough, and obsessive-compulsive writers everywhere ( Read more... )