Ghouls love cryptids, an animal claimed to exist but never proven. Adrienne and guest, Leo Buckley of San Francisco Bay Area band, Hazzard’s Cure objectively debate about a giant squid attributed to have murdered a few Russian scientist upon its discovery. Sticking to the tropes of a really good (or really bad) B movie it can hypnotize, shape shift and shoot deadly venom. Don’t forget the part where Putin has designs to use it for military purposes.
It’s the first Wednesday of the month. Time for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group posts! We support each other by releasing insecurities offering and asking for advice. Join us by clicking https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html.
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
June 2 question – For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt? The awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner,Sarah Foster,Natalie Aguirre,Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!
My writing style changes depending on the project, but here are my Go To 3 Steps.
Step 1 – Pencil & Ink
I write everything by hand and have the calluses to prove it. Writing longhand allows the story to create its own neural pathways. I’m a lefty. Pencil and ink coats the side of my pinky and palm daily. It spreads, but studies have purported pencil/pen helps to better absorb and retain information versus typing. I don’t know if that’s true for everyone. It works for me. When I pause on a project to work on a new one (which is often) it’s easier to circle back around and jump back in. I’m a scheduler/outliner in theory, and a pantser in denial.
Step 2 – Every. 10. Pages.
My first edit is typing my long and short hand out. Typing is a different delivery system and allows me to flesh out my characters and refine dialogue, adding and subtracting as I go. How often do I spell check? Every. 10. Pages. King jokes in Room 1408 about the banality of evil and the boring monotonous hotel room being the 7th Circle of Hell. No. Spell checking an entire novel from beginning to end is the 7th Circle.
Step 3 – Seek and Destroy
I go through a plethora of pages multiple times with red ink and kill my babies. Scenarios I thought were great, but now find cliche. Sarcasm I swore was hilarious somehow fell lame. I seek and destroy. Once it’s tidied up enough I pass it onto beta readers. Bless you all! After I get feed back I’m scanning through their red ink. Some suggestions I take. Some I ignore. Filled with crippling self-doubt, second guessing the entire plot and character arc I send out the manuscript to be rejected over and over until (if I’m lucky) it finds a home. If it doesn’t I shelve it, contemplate on how to fix it while hoping in vain the answer will come to me in a dream.
What does your editing/re-drafting process look like? I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend, and Happy IWSG Day!
Sifting through what was left on the cutting room floor promoting Winifred Meeks, we cobbled together an interesting new angle on Figgis-West’s interest in the paranormal. Join John, Jason and Adrienne as they discuss future projects and share ideas on the creative process.
