Tag: novel
Grand Opening—Or Nothing At All
[found on hatrack.com; by Orson Scott Card]
“If you mess up the opening, nothing you do later in the story will fix it. And because mistakes in the opening will reverberate through the rest of the story, when you finally do fix the opening you usually have to throw out and redo everything that you wrote after it. With rare exceptions, you simply have to get the opening right before you can go on.
But what is the “opening”? The first sentence? Having a good first sentence is nice, but it’s not the opening. By definition, the first sentence is in the first paragraph, and the first paragraph is free. That is, the first paragraph of a story does not have to be in the same voice or mood or tone as the rest of the work. The first paragraph is important for setting the scene, for giving vital information that allows what follows to make sense. But the real opening is after that first paragraph — when the story starts in earnest.”
For more amazing tips on writing from Uncle Orson’s Writing Class, click here.
[found on http://hatrack.com/writingclass/lessons/1998-10-29.shtml]
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One Word
“When asked, ‘How do you write?’
I invariably answer, ‘one word at a time.’”
– Stephen King
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Struggling Writer
“I’m a struggling writer, I’m struggling to convince people I’m a writer.”
― Tom Conrad
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Soul On Paper
Writer’s Parole…or Editor
“For writers, handing a manuscript off to an editor is like walking into a parole hearing. You’ve done the time but wonder if it’s going to satisfy the judge.”
― Shandy L. Kurth
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Craft of the Writer
“It is the writer’s job to craft a story so compelling that strangers will pay to hear it.”
― Seeley James
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The Least of It
“People approach writers, assuming we pull a perfect text out of our nose each time (well spelled). Spelling is the least of it.”
― Sara Levine, Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present
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Capture The Words
“Words raced thru his mind and his fingers ached to capture them all on paper.”
― Eveli Acosta
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How To Manage Your Edits
“As an editor, I have heard horror stories about authors who didn’t know how to process the edits they received back from their editors. Instead of asking what to do with the Word document, [caution, you’re going to scream] some of the authors printed the full manuscript, compared item by item, then RETYPED the entire manuscript.
Don’t let this be you.
Firstly, your editor is on your TEAM. An editor wants you to succeed. And even though you may feel like we are all jackals, we don’t really bite. Ask us questions—especially when you feel overwhelmed or uncertain.”
— Billi Joy Carson / Senior Editor, Editing AddictEDITOR Sends Completed File Back to AUTHOR:
THE AUTHOR’S JOB:
1. READ through document
2. CHOOSE FROM (to accept and/or reject changes)
a. Accept All Changes in Document
b. Accept and Move to Next
c. Reject All Changes in Document
d. Reject and Move to Next
3. SHORTCUT for authors
a. Save TWO* versions of the file you received from your editor.
i. File A [edits accepted]
1. In Word Doc, under REVIEW tab [File A]
2. Select Accept All Changes in Document [File A]
ii. File B [edits visible]
1. Leave the file the way you received from the editor
b. Read through File A side-by-side with File B
i. If you find an edit you don’t want
1. In File B
a. Under REVIEW tab [File B]
b. Select Reject and Move to Next [File B]
ii. When you are finished reading File A, and correcting File B,
1. In File B
a. Under REVIEW tab [File B]
b. Select Accept All Changes in Document [File B]
c. File B is now fully edited, and author approved
*At Editing Addict, I do this beforehand for my authors, however, not all editors have the [File A & File B] policy, and expect the author to do it on their end. 
How to Accept and/or Reject Tracked Changes in a Word Document: YouTube Video
Still have questions? Leave a comment below, or send a message to the editor: billijoycarson@editingaddict.com. Teamwork brings success!
Editing Addict, LLC 