tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post3571003721642551437..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: The Big Edits, Part 1Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-4096114091784609562009-02-10T01:38:00.000-07:002009-02-10T01:38:00.000-07:00Helen, I have a question. My YA ms is written in 1...Helen, I have a question. My YA ms is written in 1st person present, and I've received some feedback from people, one of them an agent, saying they prefer past tense. I changed it back and forth in the early stages and then finally stuck with present, but I wonder if it might appeal to a wider audience in past. I know it's subjective and more and more books are being written in present tense. Any thoughts?<BR/>Thanks!A.L. Sonnichsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358456786727534289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-83262919641465039672009-02-06T13:08:00.000-07:002009-02-06T13:08:00.000-07:00Very true, Lillie. I, myself, have put down a book...Very true, Lillie. I, myself, have put down a book that lost me in the first chapter.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-31250652914331329522009-02-05T22:17:00.000-07:002009-02-05T22:17:00.000-07:00Helen,Good advice. I often suggest my editing clie...Helen,<BR/>Good advice. I often suggest my editing clients eliminate the first chapter (or several chapters) and weave all that backstory in later. I've heard writers say, "The book gets better," but readers aren't going to read the boring part until it gets better.Lillie Ammannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01851121176224654240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-41716599136006752472009-02-05T15:18:00.000-07:002009-02-05T15:18:00.000-07:00Marvin, sounds like Diane has described your next ...Marvin, sounds like Diane has described your next book cover.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-46744747393316162822009-02-05T14:13:00.000-07:002009-02-05T14:13:00.000-07:00Great post, Helen, and I love the comments. Look o...Great post, Helen, and I love the comments. Look out for machetes and knitting needles. :-)Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-47469629955806709882009-02-05T13:55:00.000-07:002009-02-05T13:55:00.000-07:00Marvin the goat-herder...?If he does it dressed in...Marvin the goat-herder...?<BR/><BR/>If he does it dressed in robes such as in Biblical times, I want to see a photo!<BR/><BR/>L. Diane Wolfe<BR/>www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com<BR/>www.spunkonastick.net <BR/>www.thecircleoffriends.netL. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-15636216673580250742009-02-05T13:26:00.000-07:002009-02-05T13:26:00.000-07:00Dani, I have old attempts at knitting that are dre...Dani, I have old attempts at knitting that are dreadful, unfinished, tighter than a monkey's grip. And I couldn't cut them up. I can't even throw them away or take them apart.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-46626747162527367722009-02-05T13:24:00.000-07:002009-02-05T13:24:00.000-07:00Well, Marvin, that sends the imagination flying. Y...Well, Marvin, that sends the imagination flying. You as a goat herder. Poor goats. ;-)Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-85236401467207839272009-02-05T12:49:00.000-07:002009-02-05T12:49:00.000-07:00Good post and tutorial. I have SLAVED over POV in ...Good post and tutorial. I have SLAVED over POV in my manuscripts. And oh god, when you realize, with the dang thing 2/3 written that 1st person isn't "working" and you HAVE to go back and switch it ALL over - sometimes I'd wished I had taken up goat herding rather than writing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-40071785094544085372009-02-05T11:40:00.000-07:002009-02-05T11:40:00.000-07:00Great analogy. I made a huge jump in my knitting a...Great analogy. I made a huge jump in my knitting attitude when I learned to cut up a piece with scissors. Omigawd! But, it's a common technique in Europe, and it's very freeing to be able to do it. A whole new technique. Snip snip. Works with writing, too. <BR/><BR/>And you can post your snips as Penny Dreadful! Sometimes snipped pieces of your book are fine as stand-alone stories.<BR/><BR/>Dani<BR/>http://pdreadful.blogspot.comDanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-23969524696309946422009-02-05T10:33:00.000-07:002009-02-05T10:33:00.000-07:00Angie, it has to be done sometimes, doesn't it? I ...Angie, it has to be done sometimes, doesn't it? I had the occasion of changing the POV for a character, then eventually changing it back. The character changed too much when I put in the distance of a 3rd person POV.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-58891670838718018602009-02-05T10:32:00.000-07:002009-02-05T10:32:00.000-07:00I gave up on trying to knit. Even what little I di...I gave up on trying to knit. Even what little I did would have been hard for me to rip out. But it definitely needed to be taken apart. That's a good analogy!Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-3661683671875771382009-02-05T10:30:00.000-07:002009-02-05T10:30:00.000-07:00Meg, a machete is good. So is a teeny carving knif...Meg, a machete is good. So is a teeny carving knife, sometimes.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-64600734309158049482009-02-05T10:20:00.000-07:002009-02-05T10:20:00.000-07:00Yep, doing the major POV change on the ms right no...Yep, doing the major POV change on the ms right now. No fun, but gotta be done.Angie Ledbetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16407006980893727627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-87199325077520414532009-02-05T10:15:00.000-07:002009-02-05T10:15:00.000-07:00Doing the big work is so important. I just had oc...Doing the big work is so important. <BR/><BR/>I just had occasion to observe a couple women I know knitting and one was teaching the other. One of the first things she did is have the novice rip out all the work she had done so far because it was too wide for what the novice wanted to knit. The novice hadn't planned it out but she was going to keep knitting because she didn't want to waste what she'd done so far, but you really can't do that with either knitting or writing. If it's not right, if it's not working, slash and rewrite. <BR/><BR/>Good advice as always!<BR/><BR/>Wyatt at Pan<BR/><A HREF="http://www.panhistoria.com" REL="nofollow">We don't just write the stories, we live them at Pan Historia</A>Pan Historiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01784598437235690294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-84487577427439607662009-02-05T09:28:00.000-07:002009-02-05T09:28:00.000-07:00*pulls out her machete* Cutting away…*pulls out her machete* Cutting away…Meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08718382178913859357noreply@blogger.com