It’s been two and a half months since I read Holly Lisle’s
article on One-Draft Editing.
I’ll cut right to the chase and tell you that . . . nope, I
didn’t make it in one session, although I did learn some lovely new editing
tricks. Those tricks helped shorten my previously protracted process, for which
I am very grateful.
It took me three tries this time, and I didn’t do everything
myself. After years of writing and interacting with others, here are the people
I’ve found invaluable in the editing process:
Work-shopping:
In June, at WIFYR (the Writing and Illustrating for Young
Readers Conference – which I highly recommend), I was able to receive feedback
from my fellow work-shoppers as well as my talented instructor. They were kind
but honest. They came from many walks of life and gave varied advice (from
which I could pick and choose – you don’t want to take it all) that enriched
and deepened my story.
People who know the
story:
When I ran into critical plot issues, it helped to bounce
ideas off others who understand my characters and storyline. A thousand thank
you’s go out to my amazing critique group!
One member of my group read the last forty pages, and then
the first forty pages in one day—in that order. (I know, she’s brilliant, and
she deserves a medal!) She came back with great advice on how to make my main
character’s arc stronger, make my ties between the beginning and end stronger,
as well as feed in more foreshadowing.
Beta Readers:
Two new friends from WIFYR agreed to read my story. It’s a
huge help to get a fresh perspective from someone who doesn’t know your
story. They caught completely different things from those in my critique group,
like lame lines, confusing parts (after I’ve removed sections and didn’t clean
up all the ties), and questions about character motivation.
Age-appropriate
readers:
This book is a mid-grade. One of my friends had her young daughter
read it, and mark the parts that worked, the words or parts that confused her,
and give general feedback. It was like striking gold!
I guess, at least for me, it takes a village. And it took
years to find that village, but it was worth the search. There’s just no way
to produce a book of quality without help.
I know some people have a hard time finding or joining a
critique group. What holds you back? What spurs you on? How did you find your
village?
Many of you will remember me advertising my Kickstarter campaign to get a Kirkus Review for my novel,