On Friday night, I finished the read through of Planes Shifter. About two weeks earlier than I’d expected to. This was the first time I’d read it from start to finish, without letting myself tweak anything. The last time I …
A New Editing Checklist
The early stages of writerhood can be confusing. The advice given to the first-time or aspiring writer generally points to “finishing your first draft.” Once you’ve crossed that border, you can call yourself a writer, and the suggestions of next stages are …
Editing Categories: Meeting My Story’s Needs
Before I could bring myself to start the paper edit of Planes Shifter, I searched the internet for guidance. How do you begin editing two years of your life’s work? I’d seen inspiring photos of highlighters and lovely desks with …
Discovering Writing Weaknesses
Every writer has strengths and weaknesses, and we learn what these are as we write. At some point, we realise just how many skills we don’t yet have. Sometimes we recognise a weakness in our work: “oh, I need to …
Restlessness
At the end of December I printed off Planes Shifter. It’s 411 A5 pages double-spaced. And having hole-punched the lot, I put it in my writing binder and pushed it out of sight. I gave myself a minimum of three …
Goal-Setting for 2014
Since 2009, I’ve picked a word for my year instead of resolutions. Then I began adding goals, and one year, that worked amazingly well for me. For 2014, I’ve picked a few goals around de-cluttering ready to move house, balance …