Hi!
I’m enjoying spring and with all the new life decorating my landscape, although I hope the rains continue into June, so I don’t have to worry about fires yet.
These last several weeks I’ve been in the editing zone with Sounds in the Silence. I spent a good week pouring through my current work in progress, looking for filler words. Each book is unique, so it keeps me on my toes. What I found were a lot of unnecessary thens, nods, and ups. Other times, it was very or definitely. Once I pay attention to a word, a new one sneaks in.
I am very thankful for that find feature in Words, especially when you have to go through 600 ups. Yes, I cut a good chunk of them.
It was nice to take a break from working on the story, although what I found was some of the weaker spots were in the same place as these filler words. Next, I will focus on the total flow of story and conversation tags. That last one is my least favorite. How many times can one character shrug, nod, or grin?
Sounds in the Silence was written during NaNoWri—a dual timeline with no plan ready. I just jumped in. I’m paying for that during editing, despite that, a story did bloom that I hope to release this June.
I have been offering excerpts of Sounds in the Silence in my newsletter. Interested? You can sign up to receive my once-a-month letter here on my website if you aren’t already subscribed.
This is also where you will run across my Book of the Month. I started the Book of the Month in September of 2021. The very first book on the list was: Ghostly Interference by Jan Sikes
Here’s the link to my lastest newsletter: March Newsletter.
The current Book of Month: Tell me a story: in 99 words
By Annette Rochelle Aben
I only mention this because it’s a great list of books by amazing authors. If you ever find yourself wondering what to read, you might just find your next read here.
Next week, I’ll be sharing my book reviews.
Embrace that inner child by reading a good book! D. L. Finn
That is a very good list. Good luck with your editing.
Thanks, Thomas 🙂 Time has become precious to accomplish it.
I know all about those filler words, Denise. Plenty of my own were deleted during editing. Seems like they multiply, lol.
They are certainly sneaky, Teri 🙂 I think they do!
Good luck with your edits, Denise!
Thank you, Priscilla 🙂
Great job, Denise! ❤
Thanks, Timothy 🙂
We are in exactly the same place with editing, Denise. I can answer your question (from my books) about “How many times can one character shrug, nod, or grin”–about 1485. Too many? Sigh.
Sounds a lot like my count, Jacqui 🙂 I feel like they are place holders for something better.
It’s so fun (assuming editing can possibly be fun) to hear about your process, Denise. I do those word searches too. Very tedious, but what an improvement to our prose in the end. My characters don’t nod much, but they do a lot of smiling and gazing!!! Lol. Looking forward to your new book!
They do smile or even frown a lot, don’t they… lol. It can bring out my detective side to find those words, which can be fun. Now, for the time to do it, Diana! Xo
Fabulous news about your new book, Denise. I’m writing away on my cozy mystery. I’m so excited!!
Thanks, Colleen 🙂 I love cozy mysteries. Happy to hear about yours xo
Well, paranormal cozy… you know I’m all about the magic. LOL! When I get there, I’ll send you a copy. xx
Even better! Any help along the way, I’m here if you need. Xo
My current WIP is from a NaNoWriMo project, Denise. They take a lot of clean up, but at least the nuts and bolts are in there! 🙂
NaNoWri does allow for pure creativity, but this one was interesting to fix. I should have saved my bloopers… lol
😆
Editing, eh? Rewarding in the end! 🙂 And thank YOU for the honor of TMAS being your Book of the Month!! <3
Yes, very rewarding on the other side! Thrilled to share your collection. Xo
I love the excerpts you’ve been sharing in your newsletter. I’m ready to read the story! 🙂 Thank you for making Ghostly Interference your first book of the month in your newsletter. I’m deeply grateful! I’m glad you’re seeing signs of spring. It’s here in Texas!
Thank you, Jan! I am ready to get the story out there, once I finish cleaning it up! Thanks for the idea of promoting others in our newsletter. Xo
You have a lovely list, Denise. Thank you for the Eternal Road and The Contract listing.
Thanks, John 🙂 I’m glad to have them on the list. Fantastic reads!
😁
I have a lot of but, smile, gaze, frown as weak words. It’s tough to come up with replacements that don’t sound stilted. Sometimes, I’ll get annoyed and just delete the whole line, lol
I spent today deleting smiles and frowns… lol. I did the same, just delete the line. Hard to always find replacements or decide how many is ok.
Have fun with your editing! With my last WIP read-through, I discovered that people were forever grimacing. How did that happen, sez I??
Thanks, Liz 🙂 I’ve had that too. Funny how we get stuck on a word.
I agree about the Find feature, Denise. I even use it on webpages, to quickly hone in on specific details when I do research.
Looking forward to your new book! Hugs
It’s so helpful, Teagan! Thanks, it’s moving along. Hugs xo
All the best with the WIP, Denise. Thank you for the recommendations, too.
Thank you, Mark 🙂 I appreciate you stopping by!
Hi Denise, some parts of editing are fun and some are just not. Good luck with your finalisation process.
I agree, Robbie. This editing process has been challenging.
Good luck with finishing it. I have to plough through the final (thankfully small) changes on my short story collection.
A great list, Denise, and good luck on your editing!
Thank you, Lauren 🙂 I’m plugging away!
Good work on all those filler finds Denise. As for dialogue tags, some of the great still say that – he ‘said’ is best to keep tags simple and not elaborated. Hugs xx
Thanks, Debby. I try to use said limited, but sometimes it is the best choice 🙂
🙂