Category script writing

Jan 19 2013

Editing :)

I’ve been thinking a lot about this post. And I hope that I can organise it so that it will be of benefit to any writer who is like myself. A pantser…

Anyway here are several things that have helped me when ‘editing’ my own work.

Of course it hasn’t been an easy job, but a very worthwhile one. As the comments coming in now just on the first two chapters are looking promising. At least from all the writer and beta readers. It has yet to go to the professional I hope to be working with over the next couple months etc. at

http://ejrunyon.wordpress.com/

I guess on that count I’ll have to report in on ‘what it is like to work with a mentor/editor’ 🙂 another time of course.

But for now here is my editing process.

1, print off a ‘rough copy’ and of course save that copy as a draft. Make no mistake you could delete something later that you want back. So always a good idea to keep several drafts throughout the process.

2, Leave it alone for a while. Ideally a few weeks, but when you are itching to get going this isn’t always possible.

3, Set yourself a small attainable goal for each day. As with Nanowrimo it is good to have a goal, so I set a daily one. To edit through as much of the novel on a ‘pass’ each day.

These ‘passes’ would be for ‘bad’ word phrasing. There is such a long list that I could accomplish a few of these each day, so that really helped.

I’d suggest looking up these words. A general search from google will give you a whole list of sites which list these. I won’t because it would make this post huge!

Okay, okay, here are a few. Just so you know what to look out for. These were my biggest overused words.

was
look
feel
like
nodding
walking
huge, large, small,
really

I said the list could really, go on and on.

Don’t get me started on ‘clichés’ either… they drive me crazy in reading other peoples writing, so I try and avoid those like the plague. (They still slip in now and again though)

There are sites which can help with this too. http://www.grammarly.com/ and another I discovered called ‘smartedit’ all these types of programs help with the editing process. And I’ve also found them enlightening too.

I would recommend both. 🙂

4, To work with other writers and readers. Find a group of people, some perhaps you’ve known for a while and others which you don’t know. Ask them to be readers, and to report back. They can help you spot things that your writing ‘eye’ can’t.

5, This is the last and utmost important part of the process. Hire an editor! You will need someone to go through your work on a professional level.

As a writer you cannot, cannot put work out there which is sub par. I’ve used a couple of editors over the last few years. Because my grammar and punctuation (mostly the comma) let me down.

I’ve had some ‘publishers’ trying to rush my process and one even wanted to publish my writing without it being edited by a pro, in the end I withdrew from their publication because I wouldn’t do that to myself. The last thing I would ever want is to be ridiculed for lack of my knowledge on the above.

I know my weaknesses, do you?

If you don’t, you need to find them and then work with them. But, don’t let yourself down by not doing the best that you can.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned more and more about grammar and punctuation, but I just can’t grasp it. My writing has improved to no end. But, it still isn’t perfect. I like it to be as perfect as I can get it, then I let a pro work their magic. Eventually, it can be free for the world to see. 🙂

Now what I’d like you to do, any writer who reads my post, please add your ‘bad’ habits. My intention is to make a file, then if anyone requests it. I can wiz it over.

Please feel free, or send me an email of your best ones. I love to learn and the more I read and experience the more I absorb.

Happy writing/editing…

Dawn x

Jan 10 2013

Tough first week…

Hi everyone.

It has been a tough week and this has reflected on everything I’ve been doing.

Work is slow, which makes the day drag, I love my customers, love seeing them to chat even for a brief moment while they buy their lunch, but it’s a drag for them, and it’s the same for me. They’re all suffering with January blues and it makes me feel even worse too. 😦

Anyway, last night I went to a gent’s house to do a pond visit. He put a message up on the forum I help mod and seeing as he bought pond equipment off me last year, and lived local, I offered to take a look at his fish.

Paul took me up there, Liverpool isn’t too far away, but I don’t like new places in the dark. lol, we had dinner in a local pub which was really nice and then went to visit the pond.

Catching fish in the dark, wasn’t so easy for him, but we caught two.

When you first look into a strange pond. There are several tell tail signs which your looking for.

How the fish are reacting to you being there?

How are they swimming?

and when caught how docile are they?

what the mucus scrape looks like when you first take it?

to be fair his fish were quite responsive, they were for the most part swimming about okay, one or two were a little lopsided though so that was the first indicator.

The second to me was the mucus sample we took. It was grey and thick.

A healthy fish has an almost clear sample. This wasn’t.

So, really I knew I was looking for something under the scope, I just wasn’t so sure what I’d find.

The first sample was from a sanke, it had pinked shiro (white skin) and stress veins showing. Under the scope, it also had flukes…

First one done. Looking over the slide, probably around 20 flukes.

Second scrape came from a Magoi, much bigger than the first, and although it should have been a rich black, was greying with over producing mucus.

Again this had flukes on, (skin flukes I believe)

But I also found a few Chilodonella as well.

I carried on looking for about 30 mins, checking both slide again to make sure I wasn’t missing anything smaller, like Costia, but even though I thought I saw the odd, tiny movement, I couldn’t spot anything else.

Job done. And I left, at least knowing he could treat the pond correctly and his fish would soon be much happier. 🙂

—————————-

On the writing side of things this week.

I’ve read a lot, and I’ve edited a lot of the first three chapters of TSK – The beginning. I’ve also had some very good crits back from the nano website and from the OWWSFF which is a crit site specifically for sci fi, fanstasy and horror writers.

I finally think the first three chapters are getting there. Only another 26 to go… lol.

Looking forward to the weekend.

How are you all doing? Busy, slow, what’s your first full week back at work etc like?

Take care and speak soon.

Dawn

Jan 5 2013

Love Sat mornings :)

Been up and about really early. The other half is always in bed till after ten.

It gives me time to be out and about, clean the ponds, look over the fish and see how they’re all doing.

The weather today is lovely and dry and sunny 🙂 bonus, so the garden really looks nice and ready for spring.

However, I do think it won’t last long. Feb and March are usually our worst months. I guess we will have to see.

So, my goals for today are after finishing off the ponds to take a walk to the village and get some exercise and then to carry on with editing the first few chapters.

I’ve had a couple of days to think things through, so I have a plan…

I also want to post a blog later with all the editing tips I’ve found that are very useful. And some of my own which cross over from script writing.

Busy day, so I should get on with it.

Hope you all have a lovely morning.

Dawn x

Dec 31 2012

Goodbye 2012

helllooooo 2013…

I am not going to be sad to see this year disappear into the dust.

It has been one of the hardest years of my life, in terms of work, (both for myself and Paul) my home life (a result of work) and my koi. 😦

Too many ups and downs for my liking and I can only hope that this next year has a more positive and happy outcome.

I can say that 2012, has been more positive for my writing. That has taken a much better turn. So I have one thing I am pleased about.

Best Friends, Irobe and working on my Sci Fi TV series and novel for The Secret King.

So, without any hesitation I bid 2012 goodbye. See you on the other side. 🙂

May you all have a wonderful evening with family or friends, stay safe and enjoy.

Dawn x x

Dec 29 2012

Professional etiquette :)

So I wanted to post a little about the above.

I know I am a writer. I’ve had some very good successes this last year. Which I’ve been very pleased with.

But I’ve found that even these successes come with a different tag.

I’ve always been a reader. I used to get request after request to look over people’s work. Which I did, and yes, it took up a lot of my time.

In any sense time is money. This last year, I haven’t had as much time at all. With writing for Best Friends, and then having very sick fish.

So my time has been even more important to me.

I’ve had two very different experiences today. (Bar the hangover)

The first, I was contacted by a random person… I’d never had a message an email or even a chat with. Directing me to a website and his script.

I’m still a nice person, I like to help others. So, I went over for a nosey.

It was an instant put off. The website okayish, but the work, not so good. I like to think I am nice most of the time. But this guy had a price tag on his script of 1 million dollars. For a 32 page script. I couldn’t help but point out that his price tag was the very top end of the pay scale for any writer (even an established one)

He quickly retracted the 1 mill and asked for 200k.

Yikes, not any sort of way to conduct business.

So the second encounter was a slightly different shock.

Again contacted by someone I’d never met, wrote too or spoken too.

The difference was he ‘actually’ asked did I have time to talk.

That one tiny question made all the difference. : )

I do believe in some professional etiquette, I’d never dream of asking a pro writer or producer to look over my work without building a relationship first. Better to be asked to submit work, than to hound someone that you don’t know and put them off for life.

The article ‘no I won’t read your f’in script’ is one of the most truthful pieces written. See Casey’s message below for the link… Thanks Casey. 🙂

What do you think?

Dawn