This is a very exciting day for me. I have been asked to write my very first blog post. And here it is.
Writing:
This morning I completed the second draft of Bk 3 of my Crystal Journals series. I’ve called it Lady Knight.
The First draft is the actual writing of the story. The story, for me is the most important part of the first draft.
The second draft is when I go back over the entire book.
I look for places where I can improve the grammar.
I use this draft to tighten up the language too. There’s a lot of ‘thats’ to be removed. Also was and were’s.
I also check that I have all the necessary quotation marks around speech. (Anyone who has read one of my books knows that my characters are very chatty)
I’m also checking that the time works out and that there are no holes in the story.
I pay attention to the continuity of the action. You can’t have a person drawing their sword at the end of a paragraph and then have them draw it again at the beginning of the next one.
I also look for words that I’ve used too much. In Bk 3 I can see that I have used seemed way too much. (when you read bk 3 hopefully there will be just a few.)
The Third Draft is my next step
I will be honing the language even more.
I want to add detail. Not just the word vegetables, say, but exactly what vegetables. Not just a coat, but what color and what was it made of. Is it correct clothing for the time period?
Once I am happy with the book, I will send it off to be edited by a professional editor. I’m sure she will find things I have missed – and she’ll have some good suggestions for me to make the book even better.
Reading:
The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow
I attended a lecture given by this lady at the Writers Festival in Vancouver last summer. Now I’m reading her book and thoroughly enjoying it.
I don’t want to give away any of the plot, but I can tell you that the story is set way in the future. War has been almost eliminated by holding the children of rulers hostage. You declare war on someone and your child is killed.
The story focuses on these hostage children. How they live, what they think, how they’ve been brought up. And then what happens when a disruptive influence is dropped in their midst.
The cover states that the book is for age 14 years and up, so you might want to take that into consideration before you read it. (G.Rosemary Ludlow 22nds Feb. 2017)
Challenge:
Crystals play quite a large part in my stories. After all, the series is called Crystal Journals.
So, I challenge you. Look around your kitchen. Make a list of all the crystals you find there. You will probably be surprised at how many you find.
I would love you to send me your answers. Then I could draw up an overall list of what we found.
Questions:
When you’ve read one of my books, let me know if you have any questions about something that has happened to Susan. I would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think. Is there anything in any of the books that you would like to hear more about?
Thanks for visiting my web site. Have good time here. Subscribe so that you receive notice when my blogs arrive on the site.
Until next time. Stay safe and have fun. (G.Rosemary Ludlow 22nd Feb.2017)
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(G.Rosemary Ludlow 22 February 2017)
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