It’s time for the LAST round of Beautiful Books (and then we’ll return to the monthly Beautiful People linkup in January) so WEEP and CHEER, blogglings. And let’s get to it!
Welcome to Beautiful Books #3: The Editing Process
Around this time each year, Sky and I pause our Beautiful People writers linkup and switch gears to Beautiful Books — where we talk about our NaNoWriMo projects. Not doing NaNo?! NEVER FEAR. These questions fit with whatever manuscript you’re working on. And you can do this any time during the entire month of December for any project!
You can check out what we did for Round 1 here and Round 2 here.
[accordion_wrap][accordion id=”one” title=”WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL BOOKS EXACTLY?” open=”false”]Beautiful Books is a writerly blog linkup event, focused on NaNoWriMo novels. This month we’re introducing your work-in-progress and next month we’ll talk about YOU as a writer (!) It was designed with NaNoWriMo in mind. NaNoWriMo is a writing event where you write a 50,000 word novel in a month. But you can do it for ANY novel if you’re not a NaNo participant.[/accordion][accordion id=”two” title=”HOW DOES IT WORK?” open=”false” ]The format is the same as Beautiful People (see what that’s all about here). Each month, we’ll be posting 10 questions to answer about your WiP — aka your beautiful book. Answer the questions in a blog post of your own and then come back here to link up! Don’t forget to grab the blog button and link to this post.[/accordion][accordion id=”three” title=”PREVIOUS BEAUTIFUL BOOK POSTS” open=”false” ]Last year we had three editions about writing, plotting and editing.This year will be a little different, so if you want to steal those older questions too, go for it![/accordion][/accordion_wrap]Don’t forget to grab the button and/or link to this page on your blog. So anyone can join in!
- On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how did the book turn out? Did anything defy your expectations?
- Comparative title time: what published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men.)
- Do you enjoy working with deadlines and pressure (aka NaNoWriMo)? Or do you prefer to write-as-you’re-inspired?
- How do you go about editing? Give us an insight into your editing process.
- What aspect of your story needs the most work?
- What aspect of your story did you love the most?
- Give us a brief run down on your main characters and how you think they turned out. Do you think they’ll need changes in edits?
- What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever?
- Share a favourite snippet!
- What are your writing goals and plans for 2016?
If you have trouble with the button, just save it as a file, then upload it to your blog, and add a link to my blog manually (like you would link text).
OHMIGOSH. I completely forgot to do Beautiful Books this month even though I was planning to. Shame on me. I shall do a mini-post right here to appease Your Majesty.
1. How did the book turn out? Did anything defy your expectations?: I think 8? There was suddenly a lot of romance which you kindly helped me with while I squawked in fear. But otherwise at least it’s done and I ask no more.
2. Comparative titles: VICIOUS meets THE NIGHT CIRCUS. This is like the first time I’ve ever had decent comparative titles before planning to query.
3. Do you enjoy working with deadlines and pressure (aka NaNoWriMo)?: YES I NEED DEADLINES. Otherwise I just never get anything done!
4. How do you go about editing?: I’ve actually stolen your make-everything-red trick and it’s fantastic. But I can’t share any of the secret rituals with you.
5. What aspect of your story needs the most work?: … all of it? But probably voice.
6. What aspect of your story did you love the most?: The characters! They stab too many things and stab each other and it’s all fun!
7. Give us a brief run down on your main characters and how you think they turned out. Do you think they’ll need changes in edits?
8. What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing?: I think beta readers and then maybe querying? RIP me.
9. Share a favourite snippet: I kind of overshare snippets already and this comment is novel-length so never mind.
10. What are your writing goals and plans for 2016?: rewrite this manuscript? *shaky laugh* And I also want to revise Matryoshka and throw that one into the querying trenches too. I shall valiantly restrain from starting new projects.
Okay but “Vicious meets Night Circus” is like the best comparative titles EVER. I LOVE IT. XD (Of course I love it, pfft, I’ve got this gargantuan feeling that I will adore this book.) Stabbing things is great. *nods* Never too much stabbing.
I’m trying to restrain from starting new projects next year too!! GAH BUT IT’s NOT WORKING. I already have 4 books lined up to write. >_> Please…stop me…I need to edit and rewrite what I’ve already got. *dies a little*
OOOH, this reminds me, I’ve been meaning to write a whole post on my 2016 writing plans. I may do that this week sometime 😀 And also, EXCELLENT questions. Mostly I want to bury my novel for several centuries, but luckily I have Wanderland to keep my occupied in the meantime 🙂
I think I’m going to dedicate a WHOLE POST to my 2016 writing goals because afjdksald there are so many things I want to do next year. AHHHHHH. Like including write 4 books…when I need to…you know...edit instead. >_> WANDERLAND YAYAYAY!!
1. I don’t really know how to rate it. 5 maybe? It’s definitely bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
2.Mine is definitely most similar to the anime Psycho Pass, seeing as how it was the inspiration. You could also compare to Minority Report and Demolition man… maybe. All names are inspired by characters from Batman comics.
3. I never gave myself a deadline until this NaNoWriMo, but I think it really helped!
4. Right now I’m taking a break to let the book marinate. Come January I’ll reread the whole thing without making edits. Then I’ll copy and paste into Scrivener (hopefully I have the program by then) and reread again, while making notes about changes I want to make. Then I’ll get started on a second draft.
5. Probably the characters. They need to be more rounded out and real. I unwittingly pushed then to the side because I was so excited about the plot.
6. I think the protagonists internal motivation matches the plot really well, which makes for a compelling story line.
7. I love each of my characters. While I’m trying to write YA, all characters besides the protagonist are adults (protagonist is 19, so I guess she’s also an adult). And each of them comes with an interesting backstory and personality. But they are also my biggest problem right now. I need to get to know them better and I’m even considering changing some names.
8. Probably a third draft. More edits. Send out to beta readers. Depending on reaction forth draft or just edits. My goal is to get the novel done right, and if that happens maybe I’ll consider publishing. But that’s a long way down the road.
9. (this is largely unedited, so forgive me)
“I’ve never been through this drill before.” She said. “Please lead the way.”
He did as instructed, his heavy black boots smashing the floor with each steep. “It’s not a drill.” He said. His voice still sounded thick with sleep. She got the impression that he wasn’t a morning person.
“Well, I know that, of course.” Cassandra felt herself straining her spine.
“Of course.” He repeated. There was no twang in his voice but he still managed to make it sound sarcastic.
Cassandra resisted the urge to say something back and it wasn’t long before he had led them to the weapons room, a small, dark room at the end of the apartment hall, with walls lined with guns.
“Do you have the chip?” He asked.
“Yes.” She reached into the compartment in her belt that held the small, metal square and pulled it out, pinched between her fingers.
“Do you have yours?”
He held his up as evidence.
“Ready?” He asked.
She nodded. “Initiating meld in 3…”
“2…”
“1…”
They simultaneously inserted the chips in the ports at the bases of their necks. Cassandra felt that odd jolt of electricity tingle through her body and then her mind became blank for a split second, just before buzzing with information. She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to focus. To focus on him and his thoughts and feelings and emotions. And when she focused she could fell it, reaching out like her. Tendrils of energy and thought. She grabbed onto that with her mind and then opened her eyes.
Mind melding was still an odd experience for her. She was still in her mind and her body but she was also in someone else’s and someone was in hers. That was the really weird part of it. She looked at Damian.
“Can you hear me?” She thought the words instead of saying them.
“Yes. Are you ready for this?”
Cassandra nodded and this time spoke aloud, “As I’ll ever be.”
“Good.” He went over to the wall and grabbed a gun from it, tossing it over to her. She fumbled to catch it, but grabbed it just before it tumbled to the ground. The thing was heavy and bulky for a hand gun, though it wasn’t really just a gun. Cassandra slid her hand over the handle and felt a buzz as it identified her prints, then a yellow light flashed as it scanned her eyes.
“Identity confirmed. Cassandra Kain. MPF agent authorized for use of the gun.”
She saw something flash across her vision, text that she knew was being sent through the bluetooth chip in her head from the gun to her retina display. The text came with an oddly natural, female voice that she herd in her head. “Welcome to the MPF, Mrs. Cain. Enjoy your fist day on the job. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.” She gave a small start as she realized the gun gave her direct access to the Hive System it’s self and, again, gave it direct access to her.
10. Finish at least the third draft of this book and blog on a weekly basis and go to journalism camps and…. I’m way in over my head.
I’m glad you had a great time during NaNo! 😀 And I definitely enjoyed reading this although *whispers* This is more intended for questions to do as a blog post on one’s own blog? And then link up. 🙂 Sorry if my post was scrambly and I didn’t make that clear!! Totally my fault! But anyway, YAY for your snippet!! And omg journalism camps?! That sounds exciting! And I totally take breaks and let my books marinate too! *hi fives* We are totally the same in this. *nods*
Oh that explains why there were so many questions! Silly me. Well I guess I’ll know for next time and, anyways, I did enjoy writing my answers. ☺️
Ahahah. Totally not your fault! A result of skim reading. At least I know now. These actually would make some pretty good blog posts…
Hi five returned for marinating buddies!
TOTALLY NO WORRIES! *gives you extra cake* 😀
My post goes up later this week, yay! 😀
I CANNOT WAIT.
I love these posts. The questions are perfect. I can’t wait to dive in. Thanks for putting this together. I really enjoy your blog by the way, although I’ve only been following for a short while now. Your posts are always so creative.
Awww, thank you, Tracey! 😀 That absolutely makes my day. YOU ARE SO NICE. Eeeep! I look forward to reading your post!
I didn’t do NaNoWriMo this year (because for some reason I am a secluded human and didn’t know about it until it was a little late in the game). So sadness 🙁 BUT, I did have a few people come to me to ask if I would edit their novels, so YAY! (almost slight participation)! I love your graphic 🙂
*pats shoulder* There, there…there’s always next year right?! OR CAMP NANO!! (Although I haven’t ever joined in a camp NaNo because the whole “cabin” thing befuddles me. heeh) Oh yay for editing! Do you enjoy it?! I die a bit at editing my own work, but doing others is sooo much easier. hehe. THANK YOU. 😀
Yes! I love editing other people’s stuff so much better than my own.
So I’m totally not a writer, but somehow being in the book community has been making it a thing pestering the back of my head. When I was in middle school I wrote some really strange, really weird stories (demons and ghouls and stuff – I have no idea what was going on in my young mind. Probably major influence from anime. haha). But seeing all the awesome encouragement for NanoWriMo and in general for writing has made me want to head back on track. Maybeee when I have more time from school? It’s the case of SO MANY AWESOME IDEAS but SO LITTLE TIME and NO WAY TO EXPRESS THEM. 😛 In other news, I will be checking out everyone else’s storiesss, yay!
AHHHH YOU TOTALLY SHOULD, AILA!! I mean, writing is very demanding and hard it’s soooo annoying if one is a perfectionist (like moi) and it’s hard to get it onto paper. BUT SERIOUSLY. IT IS tHE BEST THING OF EVER. I hope you steal a chance to try one of your stories someday!
Oooh, I think I may do this one on Wednesday, actually. *nods* Yes, I believe I will.
Umm, for this year my writing plans are very crazy and I’m probably planning waaaayyy too much for myself, but I always find it works out well when I aim really high because it does make me push myself. So I’m going to, in a few months, begin querying another book, and I’m going to begin edits on two rough drafts out of the massive stack of rough drafts I have waiting, and then I may write a bunch of short stories as well or write another rough draft or seven, we’ll see. And of course, I’m already storing ideas for next NaNoWriMo, so that’s a major part of my writing plans. I’m also going to see what I can do about getting some freelance writing jobs because why not? So yeah, that’s what my writing year looks like, at least for the moment. What are your 2016 writing plans?
yEAHHHH!!! I LOOK FORWARD TO READING IT.
I always aim low so I can over-achieve. XD I am terrible I ADMIT IT. Freelancing sounds exciting and fun! Best of luck with that *nods* And omg querying?! YAYYYYY! Let me know if you want any help/advice on that front. The querying trenches can be tough. XD
I will probably do an entire post just for my 2016 writing plans because…I have many. Gah. I want to make next year a more WRITING year and not read so much. (hahah, we’ll see if I can stick to that. I LOVE BOOKS TOO MUCH.)
I actually have one querying question, if you don’t mind. I’ve pretty much stopped querying my last book and I’m taking a break to finish up my current project, but I have two agents who still have my full manuscript. My problem is, one has had it for over a year now, and I checked in with them after four months just to make sure they actually got it and they said they had so I left it at that. And I’ve thought about checking in again now that it’s been so long just to make sure that it hasn’t slipped through the cracks or anything, but I don’t want to come across as annoying or pushy. Do you have any thoughts on that? (The other one who has my full hasn’t had it for nearly as long so I’m not so worried about him.) Thanks!
Agh, okay I TOTALLY get that. Agents can be really slow. If it’s been a year though, I think you’re totally fine to check again. I had to wait…I think 6 weeks? while my agent had my full manuscript. Then I let it go to 8 weeks and then I nudged and…I think it took a few more weeks? But she came back and loved it and wanted to sign. *nods* SO. dO IT. (And omg congrats on this too, btw!! That is amazing. And I knoooow how nerve-wracking it is to have your baby out there, so *fingers crossed* Good luck!!)
I have absolutely loved these links! I’ve always been hyper shy about sharing writing work. I think it was always because I believed I had to publish something before I could start actually talking about my writing. PFFFFT with that! It felt really good to write up that blog post this morning!
I’ve been a follower of your blog for a while but have only just recently been unlurking myself! Really tremendous link-up idea and I can’t wait for it to go on again next year. It is a yearly thing, right? I need it. I neeeeeeeeed it!
Happy 1 year blog name anniversary too!
And I absolutely enjoyed reading your post, Auggie!! THANKS FOR JOINING IN. (I can be totally shy about sharing my work too, so, hehe, don’t worry. You are among shy humanoids here too. 😉 YAY FOR UNLURKING. Cake for you! And afjdklsad thank you so much! This is actually a monthly linkup, but around NaNo we feature the books themselves, while usually we do questions for you to answer about your characters. *nods*
I did not do NaNoWriMo this year, and probobly won’t next year. I just can’t deal with deadlines! First of all it would probobly take me the entire month to think of an idea that I kind of liked. Then once I began writing I would hate every letter I put on the page. After that I would think, wow my idea actually sucked! I would the proceed to take whatever it is i’m writing and throw it into some dark corner and leave it there forever. XD this is why I should never become a writer…
Hhehe, okay but I TOTALLY get this. WRITER PROBLEMS *collapses* I’m usually planning my NaNo book months in advance (all the planning is the only reason I’m able to write so fast). But deadlines and nano and writing aren’t for everybody, too *nods* So you have to follow what you want to do!!
No, I was 3K under! But I plan on finishing my book, “The Butler Did It.” It’s an alternate history Victorian murder mystery, with monsters, and lots of manners. I am really loving my characters, which is what makes or breaks an idea for me.
As for writing plans – promote my debut novel, polish/finish my current favorite WIP, “The Last Coffee Shop,” and maybe get started on another novel draft (I have way too many ideas crowding my brains out right now).
What are your writing plans?
Yayy!! I remember reading your post specifically because of your epic title. 😜 and I’m ENDLESSLY sorry I can’t comment on your blog! I don’t have google+ *hangs head in shame*
Zomg, “The Last Coffee Shop”?!??! YOU HAVE TITLE SKILLS OF A QUEEN.
I’m basically planning to get stuck into rewrites myself. I almost always write just a bunch of new drafts but never edit. AND THAT’S NOT GOOD FOR ME.😂 I need to learn how to polish/refine *nods* And also stick to projects to see them to the end, hehe. So 2016 = the year of rewrites. Hopefully!!
Now worries 🙂
Thanks – would you believe that I have endless title anxiety? I doubt them even when I like them.
Here’s a toast across the internet: to 2016-may we all finish at least one project, and rewrite something! *imagines glasses clinking and breaking*