Darswords

I’ve been considering the topic of content edits over the last few days, since I’m dealing with a first round of edits right now. Today I wanted to focus on something that is obvious for us writers: so obvious that we sometimes forget to do it.

When you realize that something in your plot doesn’t hold together, it’s important to ask why that is before trying to fix the story.

MASKING VERSUS CORRECTING

You see, masking a problem versus fixing it can be two different things.

When you–or your editor and beta readers–don’t focus on the reason that some aspect of your plot isn’t holding up, your chances of just masking the issue, rather than fixing it, go up.

If a character is acting inconsistently–propounding one point of view in one scene and then acting against it with no real consideration of it in a future scene, the real issue…

I sometimes write about blogging from the perspective of an author: how blogging can help us develop our skills, develop a community of readers, and get us thinking in creative and new ways about the craft of fiction.

Today’s post is about blogging, but from the perspective of a blog reader. Following a number of quality blogs—and there are LOTS of quality blogs out there—is time-consuming.

However, an author who follows and interacts with numerous bloggers reaps a lot of benefits. Some of these benefits are less obvious, and others more so, but the fact is, the benefits are definitely there.

I got to thinking today about the wealth of resources blogs represent. In my personal experience, I can say that blogs are a goldmine, and I sincerely wish I’d started reading blogs sooner than I did! Here’s why:

1. READING BLOGS REMINDS US THAT WE ARE A COMMUNITY.

I rely on writing in my head. It’s something I’ve always done. If you see me space out, there’s a 98% chance I’m planning Josh’s opening line or Nicole’s next move or what Lizzie’s going to say to Connor or exactly how Ariana’s going to discover Caleb’s dirty secret. That’s what my head looks like an incredible amount of the time.

And I love it that way. I love my characters and my dialogue and my situations and thinking about what comes after. I spend a lot of time thinking about what comes after. Many a night I’ve lain in bed mentally writing the non-existent epilogue of MY NAME IS EVERETT, or the undocumented history between Emily and Jake.

For me, it’s really important to write in my head; I don’t get a ton of time to write things down on paper, so when I sit down, I maximize my…

The VE Day Times Square Kiss.  See that…and more….at   CWin Post.

Every time I see someone being complimented for “looking so great” after their recent weight loss, I cringe a little.  People who undertake weight loss attempts are often encouraged to motivate themselves by hating their current bodies.  When they are successful at short term weight loss, they are encouraged to look back at their “old body” with shame, scorn, and hatred.  And that’s a big problem.

Not just because at some point the person will probably start to think “if everyone is talking about how great I look now, how did they think I looked before?” but also because the vast majority of people gain back their weight in two to five years.  Then they are living in a body that they taught themselves to hate and be ashamed of, remembering all of those compliments. Yikes.

I’ve also had friends and blog readers who’ve lost weight because they were sick…