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The Panster Perfectionist
There are many different types of writers. There are plotters (people who plot everything), plansters (people who plan a bit and then just write for the few plot points they’ve got down, and then there are pansters (people who plot nothing in advance and the story just kind of happens for them). Who you are as a writer determines your path to editing and publication. I tend to find that plotters start out with a series of events in their heads. Plansters start out with a character and a few major situations that they get into (the beginning, one or two in the middle, and the ending). Pansters often start…
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On adding MacGuffins…
Here’s the thing about adding a MacGuffin when you’ve got the whole series written already: It’s really hard to add one in that will work for a seven book series and still give the reader satisfaction at the end of each book. I’ve come up with belts, bracelets, swords, necklaces, potion ingredients, and just about every other possible way to work it in. I think I’ve settled on a necklace…maybe… Creating another plot line this far in is kind of like banging your head against the wall and hoping it doesn’t crack. (The “it” actually being two things: the wall or your skull). If you add in something too complicated…
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Who gets to play with my words…
Over at Clarion they asked about who edits your work yesterday. I thought I would answer it here as well as there. I have a few different sets of people that get to play with my words. All of them are free and willing to help for various reasons. Once all of these rounds are done, I’ll hire a substantive and line-by-line editor and a separate proofreader before sending it off to agents. Large Writer’s Group: · Pros: The larger group lets me know where they are confused or where I did well in general (i.e. choreography, images, dialogue, impressions of characters). I know I’m doing really well when they…