20 Monday Oct 2014
Posted in Ermisenda
I love the heart and light-bulb symbols! 😛 With most editing happening in Word with track changes, there isn’t need for little symbols. But I think if my editor drew on my manuscript she would use numerous comic speech bubble symbols. It would represent ‘let us into the characters thoughts’ here’. Is there a symbol your editor would create just for your manuscript? Did these symbols make you laugh/smile?
– Ermisenda Alvarez
28 Monday Jul 2014
Posted in Ermisenda
Tags
books, creative writing, editing, editors, free, free editor lessons, handling romance, help, how to avoid info dumping, need help editing, service, stories, strenghtening the setting, the climax, the saggy middle, writing, writing belieable antagonists, writing believable dialogue
Have you finished your novel? Are you editing it? I found this great resource called ‘Novel Boot Camp‘ on Ellen Brock’s blog. She posts a lesson every weekday of the month of July. I really like this initiative and I’ve gained a lot of Ellen’s short and sweet blog posts that have great take home messages. Even if you haven’t finished your first draft, she has great lessons to keep in mind while you write.
Blog posts include:
There are many more lessons to read and the month isn’t over yet! Let me know if you read some of her posts and whether you were able to gain anything from it.
– Ermisenda
09 Wednesday Jul 2014
Posted in Ermisenda
Tags
author, editing, problem words, stories, writing, writing tips
When we write we all have our problem words we have to watch out for. For me, I have a terrible habit of using ‘suddenly’, ‘began’ and ‘started’. Suddenly pulls the reader out of the story and doesn’t create immediacy (which is what I want it to do), it’s a short cut that isn’t very good. The words began and started are words that are delaying action. Rather than saying ‘it started to rain’ just say ‘it rained’. It creates a stronger and richer story. And I know these things but it’s so hard to catch ourselves sometimes. Yay for editors!
Other common words to avoid include: then, in order to, very, really, like.
What are your problem words that you know you should avoid in writing but often struggle to do so?
– Ermisenda
21 Wednesday May 2014
Posted in Ermisenda
I’m working on a 5000 word literature review for my Psychology Honours year and well… I’m working on making sure the essay is 100% content. With that many words, it’s easy to waffle. As writers (whether we’re working on essays or stories) we often get lost and write filler garbage. Editing is a pain but it’s necessary. To make sure that what looks like a cake… is not just a tiny cupcake.
More comic bits at Endless Origami.
– Ermisenda Alvarez
16 Wednesday Apr 2014
Posted in Eliabeth
(Sorry guys, doing taxes. Got it done a full two hours before the deadline this year!)
When you see a typo, do you look down at the keyboard to see how close the letters are? The proximity of c to x is the reason I type “brb” instead of “be back in a sec.”
Should you forgive or forget? Grammarly did an interesting blog post about typos. As Ermi and I edit Blind Sight and the Picture it & Write Publication, we’re getting some good laughs. We have to remember that there are some times to pull out the red pen and mark-up every comma splice and typo, but there are also times to overlook them (aka the earlier stages).
How do you feel about typos? Can you forgive and forget?
20 Monday Jan 2014
Posted in Ermisenda
Tags
books, comic, editing, funny, gif post, humor, humour, stages of editing, stories, woes of a writer, writing
So…Eliabeth and I have just about finished our first draft of the second Blind Sight. After the draft comes the editing. The dreaded editing. Sometimes I get energised to edit and other times I really don’t want to do it. It’s a love/hate relationship for me.
Here are the exaggerated stages of me editing in GIF form that hopefully other writers (from fiction to even essays) can hopefully empathise with. For your entertainment!
1. “I don’t want to do it….why me??? Why can’t I write a masterpiece in the first go?”
2. I finally accept my fate and put my super-editing face on. I’m going to own this!
3. I realise the amount of work I have to do.
4. When I find a scene I’m so proud of. “I can write!”
5. When I find a scene I’m ashamed of. “Did I write that piece of crap?
6. There’s too much to fix!
Continue reading
18 Wednesday Dec 2013
Posted in Ermisenda
Tags
500 words exercise, authors, editing, editor, exercise, self-publishing, stories, think polish edit write, writers, writing
While I have gripes about some aspects of my creative writing class (mainly directed at the professor), one thing I really enjoyed was bringing 500 word workshop writing pieces. Even though the feedback was coming from other inexperienced students and then a single ‘experienced’ teacher, the idea was fantastic. Think about it, if you had to show only 500 words of your story, what 500 words would you show?
As soon as I had that word limit, I found myself fussing over the 500 words. It was 500 words that was somehow meant to intrigue, inform, and ‘show off’ what writing ability I had. I wanted feedback but I wanted to give my best. After all, this was the first time I was showing a group of people like this my work. I edited those 500 words many times. I felt like the 500 words I ended with was better than the 500 words I had SIMPLY because I was fussing over it.
That’s the editing fever that every author needs. If we treated each 500 words of our story as a segment, would our stories become stronger over all? I think so. When you’re writing novels especially, you can get lazy at moments or slide in lazy transitions. I also liked how the 500 words made me question each scene I had. If I wasn’t proud to read it out loud, should it be included? Continue reading
05 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in Ermisenda
Tags
comedy, editing, essays, funny, hilarious, humour, joke, reading, taylor mali, the the impotence of proof reading, video, writing, youtube
The The Impotence of Proof Reading
I cannot recall if I have ever posted this on Ermilia Blog. I thought I had but I can’t seem to find it through the archives. Regardless, one can never have too much Taylor Mali. An amazing video for all those writers, readers, and anyone who enjoys a good laugh.
Always remember to proof-read! Read up on some funny writing quotes to see what spurred me to post this video. 🙂
– Ermisenda Alvarez
26 Friday Oct 2012
Tags
As we prepare Blind Sight to be released as a paperback, this seemed particularly relevant.
Image found on Facebook.
14 Friday Sep 2012
Posted in Announcements
As Ermisenda and I prepare Blind Sight to come out in paperback, we once again toil over the editing process. Not only is it almost impossible to edit your own work because you know what you meant to say, this image (found on Facebook) shows how easy it is to trick the brain into reading something correctly.
Why does editing have to be so difficult! But the good news is, we are working very hard to have the paperbacks out in time for the holidays. Wish us luck and much thanks for being part of our community.
-Eliabeth
Ermilia 