Volunteer Before Victim! On Editing and Revising

As someone who enjoys writing in a stream of consciousness (and who has a funky writing style), editing is certainly important.

I have to make sure my ideas are clear and well organized. A spell check won't catch this miss steak (wut), but it would label dis as a mistake. So, not only do I have to do a read-through for careless mistakes I may have made, but I also have to keep in mind what mistakes spell-check may be making in terms of what I want in my writing. So revision is more than just a spelling or grammar check--it's an idea check.

Are my thoughts coming across the way I want? Is there a better way this scene or sentence could be executed?

In small amounts, I do enjoy revision. I enjoy laughing at some of my mistakes, rewriting sentences into stronger statements, and reordering paragraphs. Why? Because I see my thought process strengthened and it makes me feel giddy inside.

On the other hand, I put myself on an editing schedule recently where I risked burnout from the amount of editing I had to do, which is why I said "in small amounts."

Now, I do all of my revisions on software, so I couldn't take a picture of the process. I also cut down on the depth of edits I have to do because my outlines are pretty thorough. Unlike my editing process, my outlines are printed, and I mark them up as I write. I also have a separate booklet that I fill with scene edit ideas. Those ideas I either add as I go or save for the editing process.

So, for me, editing is a process that begins the moment I type the first word of my manuscript.

Another blog prompt brought to us by Wriye.

Who Moves You?

Motivation gives us purpose, in fiction and in reality. High achievers, strong characters, and those who break the system all have powerful motivating forces, whether it's a mission from God, a lost or missing family member, a desire for a high status, or a dislike of the status quo.

I haven't written very many complete works, but I find that my ideas don't stick to certain genres or archetypes. What motivates my characters?

The main character in my trilogy is motivated by a dislike of the status quo. She grew up dreaming of an equality that wasn't a reality. As she gets older, she's one of few who feel things aren't right, and she eventually decides to do something to change it. Along with two of the other protagonists, there's an overarching desire to prevent the further loss of family. The "antagonist," on the other hand, is motivated by an anger at what he has become.

The main character of my upcoming novel has lost his parents, his only loving support group, and seeks to learn the truth about their demise.

In a short story I'm currently planning, the character's motivation is to escape her fears.

Many of these motivations are a desire for tranquility. Perhaps that sums up all motivations, minus the desire to be supreme lord ruler.

Personally, my favorite character motivation is probably the epic journey to set things right--fighting against the status quo. They make stories of epic lengths where anything can happen, but can also be super cheesy if the character is "the one and only" for no particular reason and somehow manages to set everything straight alone. It's not a theme you see often in real life because public opinion, peer pressure, and group mentality work together to convince people that the status quo or the person with the loudest mouth is the right way. This sort of theme is present in my trilogy, but familial loss also seems to be a theme among the works I've planned.

My characters' motivations all stem directly from their personalities or, in the case of my upcoming novel and the short story, from the plot itself. I don't deliberately give a particular motivation to a character--I let my characters develop as the plot develops and vice versa. It may be unconventional, but it works for me. I let the character become a person in my mind, then I consider adding something to a character sheet.

I've realized I have a difficult time creating characters for novels (short stories are fine), but when I develop a character first, the world develops around them. Three of the characters in my trilogy and three in the novel existed in some form prior to their plot development. This is also why I'm so sure I'll be writing a romance novel using the character in my sidebar. Once I realized my repurposed characters sprouted novel and trilogy ideas like nose hair while my attempts at new characters eeked short story ideas that could possibly be stretched into novels, I decided I want to again shift through my old, unused characters and see who else can be repurposed.

I'm eager to see the diversity of motivations that arise in my future works!

Stay tuned to hear more about these characters!

Another blog prompt brought to us by Wriye.

Mid Year's Resolutions: My One Main Goal

It isn't quite January, but I've decided to pick up this year's Wriye blog posts from the beginning.

This year, my goal is to complete all three books of my trilogy. I'm entering a new stage of my life and things will get hectic come August, but I don't just think I can do it, I know I can. This has become the mantra that I use to push on when I get distracted. I've always been one to focus in on a single goal in my life, and because of it my writing, drawing, and other hobbies always drifted to the wayside. This year, I'm determined to keep my writing going strong with everything else in my life. Additionally, I hope my writing will rekindle my drawing spirit.

Also, since I know I work best one project at a time, I tell myself I'd be happier with one complete novel at the end of a month than with two half-finished drafts. Besides, I'd have to develop a system to make myself write near-equal amounts on both, or one would fall by the wayside anyway!

On other writing-related notes, I want to decide if I will be serializing or publishing any of my work on my blog and whether I can participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time ever.

A Musical: The Five-Second Rule is So Overrated

Once upon a time, in September 2012, a friend dared me to write a musical script involving "giraffes," "a loaf of bread," and "the five-second rule." And so, a horrible disfigurement was born.

Fun Fact: I use Japanese quite randomly sometimes, despite my verbal Japanese being poor. (Hence the name of this blog!) This work contains a short burst of nonsensical Japanese. The original file is signed in Japanese, but here I simply omitted my name.

Comprehension Warning: The script below is meant as a joke. Comprehension is not expected. Also, I'm horrible at rhymed poetry, so I thought that bit worked out nicely with the atmosphere. I also did not revise it in any way from the original 2012 file (besides removing the Japanese name).

Enjoy!

I reserve all rights to this work. Please do not use or repost in any form without my permission.

On Grammar Check and White English

I've been editing the past couple of days. And something caught my attention. My characters use "slang," and sometimes sentences of mine that are underlined just don't mean the same thing "corrected." So I started thinking about the long standing debate about Black English, or AAVE. Additionally, there's the lesser-known issues with Black ASL. These issues exist because of a desire to label Black-associated things as "less than."

When spell-checking work, you always have to have a decent grasp of grammar yourself in order to decide whether or not you should make a change. But, if you are not a user of "standardized English," as most are not (I tried something yesterday where I tried to communicate using two grammar rules related to something I was researching and ended up unable to make English), you also have to be able to discern when anti-blackness is putting a squiggle under a word you write.

In an article describing the different voices characters may have, the author chose to describe slang-using characters as illiterate, implying that people use slang or "make their own words" because they are incapable of learning big, "educated" words. This is a view held by most proponents of standardized English just out of pure ignorance.

I was surprised to learn that most of the things taught as no-nos in my English classes are actually considered "less formal." Ain't is a word. You can say like instead of as if. "Off of" is not always incorrect. Not using all the forms of  "to be" is not incorrect. Yet, if you go onto grammar sites, you will quickly see heads roll because the masses believe certain "uneducated" phrases are not English.

Additionally, many people still believe that the way to success in this world is "learning the White man's language." It's not just a thing of history.

So, it takes a lot of focus (oh no, I said "a lot!") to look at a correction of a sentence and not change it. Many times the "less formal," "slangified," and/or "incorrect" version of a word or sentence holds more or different meaning. I always felt this when I was forced to change things in the past, but I thought it was all in my head. On the other hand, I do tend to use "just" too often. Unlike "even" (in my opinion), it doesn't really add meaning. ("Really" is another one!)

Yet the battle still continues, debating whether Black English and Black ASL are languages. Why? Anti-blackness.

Which Genre is the Right Fit?

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've been doing genre searches. The genre listings on Amazon aren't as extensive as I expected, hearing raving comments on the benefits of checking there, but it helped.

I also came across a general description of Sci-fi/Fantasy that made me more comfortable with classifying my novel(s) as fantasy. I suppose if it isn't historical or futuristic (Earth or existing planets), then it's fantasy! Which makes sense... but we don't classify all fiction as fantasy. They obviously have different meanings. If it's about possibility, who's to say it's impossible for elves to be living under rocks undiscovered by science?

But let's push technicalities aside--I'll understand it eventually. Right?

Picky Choosey

I narrowed the genre to "African-American Women's Coming-of-Age Fantasy" then proceeded to prance about the room. If I had to choose two, I'd probably go with African-American Fantasy or Women's Coming-of-Age--the latter seems more intriguing but a lot less descriptive. I'd also consider Spiritual Fantasy, but I wouldn't miss a chance to slap them all together!

It turns out coming-of-age stories are typically written with male teen main characters. I found this very interesting, and all the more compelling to apply that genre... once I convinced myself that it was okay that the main character was female and 18, not 12.

I'm also aware that most non-Black people (and Black people) turn the other way when they see "African-American" as a label. I have to admit that I've been guilty of it, as well and I'd be a fool to say I haven't been, given this society. They automatically think it means a) positive: it's only for Black people or b) negative: it's full of a lot of race-stuff that they dedicate their lives to perpetuating and denying the existence of. There's also people who think "low-quality."

One look on Amazon'll blast that low-quality thought out of your head. Your school/community only put a few poorly-designed and written 60-80 page urban romance novels in your library or at your book fair to make you think that! And a focus on Their Eyes Were Watching God to keep you from realizing it.

Breaking the Chain

While I was researching, I felt I was doing something wrong because it seemed like fixing a genre on your writing was supposed to be easy. At the same time, I kept reading and observing how editors, expectations, and preference make most novels fit nicely in a genre. Advice popped up saying decide first your genre and audience, then write.

Another way to interpret this message is "make it fit in a genre to be sure it'll sell." Only once did I see advice that matched my own beliefs--if you have a story, write it, and then fix a genre--and it was a single stray comment. Deciding a genre first would certainly help the story conform to that genre. And that's the idea.

There are genres I avoid because I feel the books in them are very similar, though I may read one occasionally. I don't believe I'm alone in this sentiment, either.

Once standards of evaluation are set up, they end up restricting good works that don't match. And those that match eventually grow monotonous. Twinkle, twinkle little star, next time won't you sing with me?

I've seen a lot of authors asking for help when their novel "has a little bit of mystery, romance, and suspense." This example doesn't make an atypical novel, but it certainly makes a more realistic novel. The traditional market seems to favor fast-paced writing with a largely singular focus, but readers wouldn't agree. (After all, they do make us read theme-less, boring classics in school.)

A fellow writer asked if anyone else experienced the phenomenon where you feel like you're including too much about the character's life in unimportant settings. I definitely have. Conversely, there are fast paced novels where the character is never out of the action except to take a sip of coffee at a conveniently-located coffee shop. And it's ironic how movies are so bent on inserting unimportant sex scenes when we don't focus as much on the character popping a squat, or--more importantly--eating food. Is the character a leafy greens kind of girl or the polar bear brains type?

If, for artistic purposes, it's okay to focus robustly on sex in non-romantic works, why not blaze paths freely in every direction?

(Aside: There's so many different definitions bouncing around, I believe I have the idea of mainstream fiction wrong in a previous post.)

I Hit a Milestone

I haven't updated in a while! Why, you might ask?

Well, I've been busy writing the past few days, planning the order in which my little ideas can demand my attention. As a result, I've finished the first draft of Book One of my trilogy and have decided to focus on Book Two and Book Three before proceeding with any other novel ideas.

Now, I'm off to edit! Wish me luck!

(And stay tuned in case the short pieces I'm holding captive escape my mind and flee to this blog.)