Mary Burton's Draft Process and Me

I’ve been following Mary Burton’s draft process with my third novel in the Cumberland Creek Mystery Series.  This is a new process for me—it’s much more methodical than the way I usually approach my drafts. If you’ve been following along on my blog, you know that I sort of skipped ahead on one part, which is that I allowed an early read of the manuscript. I have a beta reader who prefers a early read. She made several suggestions—some of which I’ve taken.

For example, I introduced a new character in this book that I was uncertain about—she set me straight. So, I got rid of the character. Now, if I had not been uncertain about this character, I would not let an outside reader’s opinion affect me in such a way. But there you have it.

So, I’ve been working on the next draft. And now I’m ready to move on with the fourth draft: 
Fourth Draft/Polishing:  Really perfect sentences.  Weed out weak words, eliminate passive voice, use literary devices, and search for clichés.
One trick I’ve learned through years is using Microsoft Word’s search and find function to make this part of the process go quicker and smoother. I will search for over-used words like “well” and “then” and so on. I will also look out for passive voice.

So while I’m working on the third book in my series, I am gearing up for the release of the second book in the series, which is SCRAPPED. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here with on this blog whose writers all have series in various stages, but it’s a real challenge. I enjoy it, but am finding it a bit surreal at times. (What year is it anyway? And didn't her daughter just graduate from high school--or was it college? heh.)
So, after I go through what I’m calling HYBRID (at this point) with an eye for perfecting sentences, I will be sending the manuscript to a few beta readers. So, I am nearing the end of the process for this book. After they read it and react, I will look at the manuscript again in terms of what they had to say about it. Then I will let it stew and go back to it one more time before I send it off to my editor. For this part, Mary suggests printing the manuscript, rather than reviewing it on the computer at this stage—I concur. Stay tuned.

Scrapped--New Title, New Cover!

Last week, I sent off the copy edits on the second book in my Cumberland Creek series. The new title is SCRAPPED. I love a good copy edit. With every copy edit, though, I learn something new. This time I struggled with past perfect tense and trying to rewrite those sentences that were clunky because of it.

The most exciting news about SCRAPPED is that I received the cover of it. I don’t know about any other writer, but for me, seeing the cover for the first time is amazing. My first look was a computer image, like the one I’m including here. Since then, I’ve also gotten the covers in the mail—and I like them even better. The color is much richer in person.

And I also love the copy on the back cover. (It's the first I've seen it!)

So while SCRAPPED is in production, I’ve been working on the third in the series, which I’m calling HYBRID. (It will probably be changed. Every one of my titles has been. But I have to call it something, right? )

I’m finished with the first draft of HYBRID. While perusing the web one day I ran across author Mary Burton’s blog post about the system she uses to deal with her drafts. It made so much sense to me that I’m trying it out with this manuscript. And I’m writing about it as I go along on my own blog. 

So this summer has been mostly a working summer for me, with little breaks here and there with my girls. We went to the local pool once, shopped a few times, go to the library weekly, and one of my girls was in a play a few weeks back.  So it's been busy. How is your summer going? Any special plans?

Copy Edits and Kitchenettes

So a few days ago I received the copy edits for the second book in my Cumberland Creek series. This book, formerly know as SCRAPBOOK OF SHADOWS, is now called SCRAPPED. Like many writers, I have a love-hate relationship with my book at this point in time. But, I love that an editor with a fresh pair of eyes is going through the manuscript and pointing out little mistakes or inconsistencies that I could not catch because I’m so close to the story.

But it also kinda annoys me that I did not catch these things myself.

Things like “You already sat your character in this chair on the last page.” Or “They are in the basement and the tea kettle goes off and they are served tea much too quickly. Your character has to get up stairs and come back down and so on." Hmmm. Had I neglected to mention the kitchenette in the basement? It seems I had. In my head, there’s always been a kitchenette there, yet does my reader know it? Probably not. Yet, I’m sure I mentioned the fridge and counters in my first book. But have I mentioned the stove? Have I mentioned the word “kitchenette”? Well not in this book anyway.

Thank goodness for copy editors. Some writers despise them. I don’t get that. They’ve saved me on more than one occasion. Copy editors are one of the MANY unsung heroes in publishing—at least to my way of thinking. Let’s hear it for copy editors!

The Music of my Stories

“Without music life would be a mistake.”  ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Do you listen to music when you write?  Or do you need absolute silence?

Since I started writing fiction, I write to music. When I worked as a writer and editor in offices, music was a definite no-no, though I often felt the need to put headphones on and listen to a string quartet, or something, anything, to get the office blather out of my head. But it turned out to be a great exercise in concentration. I can write just about anywhere, if I have to, and focus.

When I started writing SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, I listened to music that put me in the mood as background music for my characters and their scrapbook crops. My scrapbookers listen to all sorts of music. DeeAnn loves the Rolling Stones, Sheila mentions Usher, and Beatrice loves her Vivaldi.

But when I’m writing about them, I don’t listen to the music they like. I listen to what puts me in the mood to connect with them. The kind of music that reminds me of the emotional tone of my book. Does that make sense?

During the writing SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS, I listened to a lot of Alison Krauss, Hem, and Sara Watkins. All of this music is sort of a folk-bluegrass mix. But it has a current feel to it. All sung by women, of course. (Click on any of the linked words and you will be taken to a Youtube  page to listen.) Of all the songs I listened to, Half Acre by Hem reminds me most of SECRETS. Interesting, because it’s about Michigan, not Virginia, but the emotional landscape is what counts.

When I was writing the second book in my series—its new title is SCRAPPED—I listened to a lot of the same, but this book has a kind of otherworldly feel to it in some sections. So I listened to Enya, Loreena McKennitt and Azam Ali during the writing of those sections.

These days, while I’m writing the third book in the series, I’m listening to the Civil Wars, a new-ish bluegrass duo that is fantastic. Their music, while decidedly modern, is rooted in old bluegrass. The feel of straddling both worlds is conveyed so beautifully in their music. And that’s one feeling I use to connect to my story—and one that I hope my readers will feel.  

Sometimes I can get distracted by the words in music. When that happens, I listen  to Vitamin String Quartet—a string group that plays a lot of popular music.  I gotta tell you, I love this group. I have a soft spot for strings. My daughter plays the cello—or should I say struggles to play the cello.

Now I can’t imagine writing without music playing in the background. It really helps to free my mind, along with give me more focus.

Do you find music helpful when you’re writing?