In an attempt to further understand myself, share my brain with the wide abyss of the internet, and also make my blog look more dynamic and updated, I’m doing a series of blog posts that describe the various parts of my writing process.

Catch all of the entries under the tag “Writing with Joey,” which one day might make it as the best-ever after-school special for really, really intelligent dogs and cats.

Part 12: Second read-through and technical maintenance

Once I’m done with the beta-based revisions and any massive restructuring/changes I’ve made on my own, I always sit down and do another read through. When you’re dicking around in a manuscript, cutting things out, moving them around, deleting characters, adding characters, whatever, you’re always going to miss some stuff. Doing a focused continuity read-through is really important.

During this read-through I always keep my running list of problems/questions handy. If I get to the end and there’s still stuff left over, I go back at it until everything is tidied up. Every time I make an edit, I read the entire chapter beginning to end.

When that’s all said and done, I do a couple computer-aided things:

1. Spellcheck. It’s a must!
2. Capitalization consistency check. I check through all instances of made-up terminology and make sure I’m consistent when capitalizing meteora and The Righteous Jones.
3. Word usage check. This is sort of an odd thing, but I also do a search on my crutch words – the ones I marked back in Step 8 – and get the count down to 1 or 2 if possible.
4. I also run a frequency report on word use. I sort it by number occurrences and then delete words that aren’t function words, character or place names, or some other necessary words that doesn’t have any synonyms. What I’m left with is usually adjectives, verbs and nouns – and if the count for any of these that seems like a lot, I go at it with a thesaurus and a critical eye. For example, in TREAD, I used “FireLight” 53 times (OK) but I used “dark” 49 times (hmmm.) Dark is a pretty big word and I know at least, I don’t know, one or two synonyms for it. So I go back in there and look up every instance of the word dark and fix it (but remember – no compromises!)
5. After all this I run a word count. If I’m out of range by more than 5% (either above or below) my word count target, then I go and adjust.
1. When I need to remove text, I scroll through the weakest sections and delete as much as possible.
2. When I need to add text, I scroll through the weakest sections and delete them, then completely re-write them. I usually keep the old stuff in .txt files called “EXCISED” – feels like surgery.

Want to know what’s even better than Margaery Tyrell?

The JOEYVERSE COSTUME CONTEST JUDGES being announced! Wooooooo, fanfare!

I guess this is as a good a time as any to make an important announcement regarding the 2012 Costume Contest: This year I will not be judging. Since this is a contest for fans by fans (but coordinated by me) I really feel like the judging should be done outside of my direct influence. I also don’t want there to be any suspicion (as there was last year) of any kind of favoritism. Overall I think this will create further peace and harmony throughout the Joeyverse!

That said, please warmly welcome our three judges for this year:

Claire Marrinan is a designer, photographer, all around perfectionist, and J’s everyday partner in crime. She probably knows the Joeyverse better than J himself and having played both the model and the photographer on multiple cosplay occasions means she has an acute understanding of what to look for from all sides of the game. Certainly, she has her personal character favorites, but she also has a particular love for seeing uniquely fresh and inventive portrayals of little seen players. Check out her art and design blog or follow her on Twitter.

Beckie Margedant is excited to return as a judge again this year! She has been mucking around in the joeyverse for a very long time. She sells and styles wigs for a (part time) living in Indianapolis. She has taken an extensive break from cosplay but is hoping to get back into it very soon and hopes for inspiration from this year’s contestants! She is on Twitter.

Wendy L. Callahan is an urban and steampunk fantasy author, Pagan writer, homeschooler, and genealogist from Massachusetts, currently living in England with her husband, son, black-headed caique, and three cats (one of whom is certifiably demonic – at least, according to military veterinarians). Visit her author blog online at Wendy in Wonderland or follow her on Twitter.

A friend of mine brought in her old Brownie 8 model 10 the other day for me to look at/appraise and it was good times. As much as I love old video equipment (I could listen to the camera reel noise on loop forever) my favorite part was the decent condition lightning manual that came with the whole set. I scanned it in and… well, here it is for you to see in all its vintage glory. Enjoy!

In an attempt to further understand myself, share my brain with the wide abyss of the internet, and also make my blog look more dynamic and updated, I’m doing a series of blog posts that describe the various parts of my writing process.

Catch all of the entries under the tag “Writing with Joey,” which one day might make it as the best-ever after-school special for really, really intelligent dogs and cats.

Part 11: The First Revision

Let me say first: I love revising! But it’s because I have one iron rule about it, and I wish to impart it upon you:

Never ever compromise.

Seriously.

Example: I am going through my beta-reader feedback and sorting out the list of revisions that I’m going to make based on it. One of the things that’s bothering me is that someone said she thinks the scene where the side-character does some exposition at one of my characters is extraneous. I’ve always had some problems with it but I haven’t done anything with it yet because the side character does some other stuff and the scene is really important.

But now I’m thinking, well, maybe it’s not. So I look at it critically. Deleting the scene altogether isn’t going to fix it, and the idea of doing that makes me really unhappy, even if I could adjust the rest of the manuscript to compensate. Do I make the change, just because someone has a strong argument for making it?

No!

Instead, I will think about it some more. And wait. And suddenly, at whatever point in time, I get this brilliant idea. I’m going to switch around some other sections and merge the problematic character with my main character. This gives my main guy some depth, eliminates a character (getting rid of characters always tightens things up) and it gives me a chance to have an improved interaction between two main characters instead of one main one and one side one.

Do I make the change now?

Yes! Because I’m happy with it.

I absolutely refuse to compromise when it comes to revisions. I take all feedback seriously, but until I can find a way to fix the problem and maintain my literary integrity, I will hold off. I’m a pretty firm believer – at least when it comes to literary revisions – that compromise isn’t an “everybody wins” situation. It’s more like “everybody agrees the book is less bad now except the author who is still concerned about it.”

If a suggested revision can’t be accomplished without me feeling better than I did before about the manuscript, then I don’t make it.

Remember: You’re the author. The world of the book is your book world oyster. Make some magic and don’t make any revisions unless they improve everything.

In an attempt to further understand myself, share my brain with the wide abyss of the internet, and also make my blog look more dynamic and updated, I’m doing a series of blog posts that describe the various parts of my writing process.

Catch all of the entries under the tag “Writing with Joey,” which one day might make it as the best-ever after-school special for really, really intelligent dogs and cats.

Part 10: The Beta Read

This part is a pretty big part, hence a pretty big post.

For me, beta-reading is a really structured process because I want specific things out of beta-reading. However, in general, beta-reading is when you have someone read your stuff before it’s all polished and ready for more detailed editing work. Here’s a great breakdown of some times of editing/review work, including beta-reading. I’m not going to go into it right now, since that’s not what this post/series is about.

Finding Beta Readers

I have a really beloved following of readers, so I am never really lacking in that department. If you don’t have anyone to beta-read for you, I recommend checking out some writerly forums. AbsoluteWrite is a great place to start. Here’s another good blog post about finding beta-readers. You might also look into checking local libraries and/or coffee shops for writer groups. Having a core group of people to go to when you’re looking for beta readers is an invaluable resource.

Qualifications

OK, that’s a scary word, I guess, but really, I do have some qualifications when I choose beta-readers. And they are thus:

1. Must be someone who likes to read. Duh.
2. Must be someone who is at least marginally interested in the genre that I am writing. There’s no point in having someone who never reads fantasy beta-read a fantasy book.
3. Must be someone who knows that they are beta-reading and is interested in the specific task of beta-reading. You can’t just shove your book at someone and say “Hey read this!” and expect that they’re going to be mentally prepared to depose for you afterwards. Even if you give them $5.

Group demographics

I also am and can afford to be a little picky when it comes to selecting beta-readers, but I suggest it anyway even if you are not sure where to start. I always call for a mix of male and female readers, and I pretty much require them to be in my target age-range. I don’t mind giving manuscripts to older or younger people to read, but it’s important to me that I know where my reader is coming from so that I can appropriately interpret their feedback.

I also have this thing where I try to mix old readers with fresh-faced, brand-new ones. Usually I’ll ask my usual beta readers if they have any interested friends. I always get some of the best feedback from people who don’t know me and haven’t read anything I’ve written before.

My group of beta-readers is usually about 3-7 people.

Process

So what I do is I let them know it’s coming and confirm they’re still interested in beta-reading for me. I also usually offer them compensation in the form of illustrations. Or candy. Beta-readers love candy.

Then, when the time comes, I send out a PDF of the manuscript with some legal preamble saying don’t steal my stuff or send it to anyone. I only send this to trusted people and I suggest you do the same.

I also send out an overview of what I’m looking for and the state of the text they’re about to read: i.e. that it’s a DRAFT and I don’t want spelling errors checked or my grammar being fixed. For me, beta-reading is about the overall feel and impressions from the story and the characters. Since most of the text will be reviewed from a copy-editing standpoint later, I don’t want to make any changes now or ask people to waste their time with a red pen when the text will most likely be changed. However, some people want line-editing during the beta-read. Clarifying what I want out of this makes everyone less stressed out.

I also include an optional questionnaire. This is really helpful, I find, in guiding my beta-readers to the specific feedback I want. Usually this includes a quick recap of their demographic information, what kind of books they usually read/like, etc. It also has a few generic questions about what they liked and didn’t like, and finally, has some manuscript-specific questions about things I might be particularly concerned about. Like, “Did the twist-ending take you by surprise or were you kind of expecting it?”

Feedback

The feedback usually comes in an array of forms. A lot of times, if the reader is local, I’ll take them out to lunch and basically interview them. It’s super intense, not gonna lie. But they get free food out of it. Sometimes I’ll get the questionnaires back answered essay style and sometimes I get emails with feedback in narrative form.

The most important thing here, I think, is that you (or me, or whoever) as the author needs to be ready for this feedback. You’re asking these people to take time out to read your book in more than just an entertainment-seeking capacity. The worst thing you can do is freak out about something critical they have to say.

Okay, I mean really, receiving critical feedback with grace is a whole blog post of its own, but I really think it needs to be said. Not everyone is skilled in giving feedback – especially critical feedback – so if you get something that hurts your feelings, you’re just gonna have to digest it. I think it’s usually really safe to say, though, that anything critical that comes back is about the manuscript, not about you.

ALWAYS thank your beta-readers for their time and feedback, even if you don’t like it or agree with it. NEVER act like their opinions don’t matter, because why did you ask them to beta-read for you if you didn’t want their opinion? And finally, even if some piece of critical feedback makes your stomach hurt when you think about it, just set it aside and maybe once you’ve cooled off, take a look at it. You might be surprised.

In an attempt to further understand myself, share my brain with the wide abyss of the internet, and also make my blog look more dynamic and updated, I’m doing a series of blog posts that describe the various parts of my writing process.

Catch all of the entries under the tag “Writing with Joey,” which one day might make it as the best-ever after-school special for really, really intelligent dogs and cats.

Part 8: First draft edit

My editing setup. Note manuscript, pen, iced tea, iPad for looking things up. Not pictured here: backup pen, chips, salsa.

When it’s finally time to edit, I clear my schedule for at least one day. Sometimes two, if I can get away with it, but usually I can do about 6k words in an hour, so one full day usually does the trick.

The first draft edit is always (obviously) the most extensive. Since I’ve spent a week away from the manuscript, usually the first thing I do when I open the box and look at it is shred the first 15 pages to pieces. Tiny, itty bitty pieces. A screenwriting professor of mine once remarked that the first 5% of any written work is usually “warm up” material and can be deleted. Same goes for the last 5% (also known as an epilogue). I used to try to pre-edit this stuff but then I realized that I was going to edit it later anyway so I might as well keep it.

I go through the draft page by page and make as many markups as I can. Spelling, grammatical, formal, typographical. Formatting, paragraph breaks. Phrasing. Dialog. Chapter order. Character names. Everything. Even things I’m not sure I want to change – I mark it all up. I have a consistent shorthand for myself, covering everything from word choice changes and awkward sentence structures to plot holes and crucial unanswered questions. I have my iPad handy for quickly cross-referencing facts on the internet (if I go to the computer I usually get distracted watching people crying while eating)

Aside from the actual redline, I keep a notebook handy for running unanswered questions (which get crossed off when I make an edit that resolves the problem), plot inconsistencies, crutch words and other global changes. This way I can go through all this at once without having to page through the draft.

I’ve tried doing the redlines digitally, but I still miss so much that way. Can’t do it. Can’t do it, and have no desire to. Some things are still best on paper.

…and Part 9: First draft revision!

On day two of my editing adventure, I sit down at the computer with a stack of redlined manuscript, a notebook of running global changes, and a large bottle of Jameson.

Three hours later, I’ve implemented all of the minor changes and I’m also a little drunk.

I usually add about 3000-5000 words during this phase… and once or twice I’ve deleted the same number. It’s kind of the messy, so I always do a quick read through from beginning to end, skimming/scanning most of it and reviewing the parts I know I changed. Mostly this is just to make sure that in adding paragraphs and everything, I haven’t introduced any annoying redundancies, bad paragraph breaks… you know, that stuff.

I also finally run a spellcheck! Not that this fixes everything, but I guess it should be noted this is where the first instance of spellcheck is run. Haha.

Below is an example of some redlines between the first draft of GEARS and the first draft, as an example of how much gets changed on page-by-page average.

Hey y’all!

Since I missed a lot of you at Anime Detour this year and may miss you at ACen, I wanted to open up the floor to CON-PRICED commissions starting now and through April 26! That’s right, regular ol’ portrait commissions for convention prices. In case you don’t know, that’s roughly half off.

Here’s the deal:

1. I’m only doing portraits (head-shots) just to make sure I can keep up with requests. See some examples below:

2. Pricing lasts only for commissions requested between now and midnight, April 26

3. You cannot use VIP credits for this sale

4. Choose between a pencil sketch ($5) and a colored (DIGITAL ONLY) sketch ($10)

5. Paypal or cash only!

6. Delivery is DIGITAL ONLY. If you really really want your commission mailed to you, please add $4 (USA) or $6 (International) per print.

The process is pretty easy: Email me (j at violetiris dot com) with a description of your commission request and any reference material. Send Paypal payment to the same address and make sure you either use the same email address or write in the subject the name of the character the payment is for. I will not start work on any project until payment is received; however, you can email me first before sending payment and wait for my email response before sending moneys.

I should be able to have a pretty quick turnaround on these, but please give me at least 24 hours.

Spread the word!

J

In an attempt to further understand myself, share my brain with the wide abyss of the internet, and also make my blog look more dynamic and updated, I’m doing a series of blog posts that describe the various parts of my writing process.

Catch all of the entries under the tag “Writing with Joey,” which one day might make it as the best-ever after-school special for really, really intelligent dogs and cats.

Part 7: The Separation

So! The draft is done! Claire has given me real-time feedback! I have a manuscript that is complete! Now what?

Well, this post will be short because it’s about doing nothing. After completing the first draft, I print the book to prepare for editing and then I leave it in a box on my desk shelf for one week.

Seven days. Half a fortnight. Yep. I can’t look at it. Dreamer writer-self has done what he had to do to get the manuscript done and now needs to let go of it. A forced divorce from the manuscript lets me get out of the super obsessed, entrenched, infatuated, honeymoon mentality. I simply can’t edit in that mode. If I keep re-reading the manuscript right after finishing it, I’m just in love with it and I can’t really look at it objectively. (Or, if things weren’t going well, I hate it so bad and want to fix everything right away and might overlook the parts that are, you know, decent — maybe even good)

So I set it on the shelf. I don’t open the Word file. I try to do other things like, I don’t know, go to work. Grocery shopping. Maybe get a haircut. Watch some movies. I think last time I was at this phase I made a tray of cornbread muffins and watched The Lonesome Dove with a bottle of espresso-flavored vodka by myself on a Saturday afternoon.

Me waiting to get back to my book.

Ah, the life.

It’s actually really difficult. At this point all I want to do is re-read all my favorite parts over and over again (I’m kind of in love with myself, apparently). But that’s dreamer writer-self wanting to stay in the dream, and I’ve got work to do. While waiting, I’ll schedule a weekend editing date with myself. No other plans can happen, just editing. I’ll buy a Sharpie for redlining. I’ll think about it a lot, but as the week goes on, the fixation will fade a little. Just enough that I know I’m ready to take that red pen to the darlings.

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN

or should I say… BRRRRRM

I have wanted to draw me the Pokémon trainer for a while, so here you go. I know that in real life if a Skarmory were sitting on the back of a bench like that it would fall over backwards, but maybe I weigh 500lb or something. You don’t know!

So basically whenever I sit down to write I end up playing Pokémon instead. That is the story behind this picture, and my life.